Monday 5th
September 2016
Wrenbury to
Grindley Brook above the locks
6.75 miles,
10 locks, 2 swing bridges
Well they
were right about the shop – Sue and I headed off across the fields, through the
churchyard and turned on to the street to find a well-equipped Spar shop.
Then it was
off and the first of today’s swing bridges – a big feature of this canal. At least with two travelling together you can
leap frog, so the winding is not just left to one person. Sue did the first one – Wrenbury Church lift
bridge
And I was
afforded the honour of stopping the traffic for the electronic bridge at
Wrenbury itself.
Fortunately there was not much, so we were able to get both boats through before lowering the bridge and removing the barrier.
The weather
was kind to us – dry and fairly warm.
The scenery was for the most part idyllic
When we
arrived at the third lock of the day (Willeymoor) there was a group of people
sitting in the sun enjoying a pint.
Sadly we did not have time to join them, so pressed on. I was feeling a little under the weather, so
Ken and Sue were stopping to assist at locks where possible so we had someone
each side on the bottom double gates.
They had gone through, moored up behind a hire boat and come back to
help. We went through and passed the
moored boat – the occupiers were the party from the pub who were making their
way back to the boat, saw Ken untying, sped along the towpath, untied and got
in front of him!! I did explain very
politely at the next lock that it was not the wisest or most polite thing to do
and that some people would really take offence.
It was only their second day on a boat and they did apologise and we did
let them go ahead of both of us as I am sure they had a much tighter time table
than we have.
At Grindley
Brook there are three single locks and then a stair case of three which is
controlled by a lock keeper. They
operate three boats up and then three down at busy times and today was busy, so
there was a bit of a delay here, but nothing massive and we were stopping at
the top, so were not in a hurry.
A good place to enjoy a cup of tea whilst gongoozling
So here we are moored at Grindley Brook for the next three nights.
What is so fascinating about Grindley Brook to necessitate such a long stay? Well nothing, but we had to go home on Tuesday to return on Wednesday. That was the original plan, but when we tried to organise an Enterprise car (they usually come to collect you from wherever you are) we found that does not apply to the wilds of Shropshire! We tried the Crewe office and then the one in Shrewsbury. The best they could offer us was for us to get ourselves to Shrewsbury and return it there, so a new plan was hatched. I would go home on my own by train - a slightly convuluted journey, but it worked. Taxi from Grindley Brook to Whitchurch, trains from there to Crewe, Smethwick Galton Bridge and then to Droitwich Spa where I got a taxi to the marina to collect our car.
The reason for the return was primarily to do Grandparent duties. Our youngest grandson started school this week and was on half day. His Mum had a meeting she had to go to on the Wednesday and we had agreed a long time ago to cover her absence. The car was also due it's MOT, so that was pre-arranged as well as various appointments (hair etc) and the collection of new medication to keep us both going! It was a very busy 36 hours, but I did get everything done and enjoyed a meal out with a friend on the Tuesday and I took Jamie out for lunch on the Wednesday which was great fun. He is very chatty and kept me very well entertained. The journey back was slightly easier - same taxis in reverse, but just two trains - Droitwich to Hereford and then direct to Whitchurch. If anyone ever wants a taxi in Grindley Brook I can recommend Fozzies - they were early to collect me on Tuesday and waiting at the station on Wednesday.
When I returned Chris, Sue and Ken were in the pub at Grindley Brook which is where I met them for a much needed glass of wine!
So what did they do whilst I was away - well apart from the necessary dog walking for Chris, there were domestic duties and other jobs to stop boredom setting in!
Thursday 8th
September 2016
Grindley
Brook to Ellesmere Arm
13 miles, 0
locks, 5 swing bridge
We woke to
rain pattering down on the roof. When we
cast off at 09:00 we were fully kitted in boots, gaiters and waterproofs which
I am glad to say were gradually discarded as the day wore on. The rain had pretty much stopped by 09:30 and
the rest of the day was sunny intervals and a lot of wind.
All today’s
lift bridges were wind up jobs. The
worst I did had required 67 turns to raise it!
I had walked ahead, so did the first one only to find there were boats
everywhere!
The two of
us to go through east to west
One waiting
patiently in the Whitchurch Arm to join the canal (they did not go through the
bridge, but followed us towards Llangollen).
And two
coming from west to east
Sue did the
second
I did the
third by which time we had been joined by the boat from the Whitchurch Arm and
a single hander. There were two waiting
to go from west to east and a car waiting to go across the bridge – he was keen
to get to work, so I had to lower the bridge and leave the two eastward
travelling boats to raise it again – we were beginning to realise just how busy
this canal gets.
When we
arrived at the last bridge someone was already raising it to come towards us,
so we nipped through with no effort needed apart from giving them a grateful
thank you.
We have
never seen so many boats going past us in anyone day. This really is a seriously busy canal. It is narrow in places and we went aground on
more than one occasion when moving over to pass oncoming craft requiring a lot
of power to get us going again!
There were
several bumps under the hull, but thankfully no trips down to the weed hatch
were required.
So is it
worth coming here? Most definitely,
yes. It is a delight to travel along.
With wide open views made even better with a blue sky and fluffy white clouds
With views
of Cole Mere and Blake Mere. We walked
round the former with our friends Jane and Chris with their black lab, Kiera
one bitterly cold February day when the wind was so fierce there were white
horses on the Mere! A little better
today, but it could be interesting on the way back when Kiera will be with us
and she does love to swim – even in February!!
There is a
very short tunnel just before Ellesmere
Then under this bridge with a welcome sign
We turned
down the arm where there are 72 hour moorings - we could pretty well take our pick
With a good
sized Tesco at the end.
We winded (turned round),
moored up and visited Tesco before Chris headed into town to get his hair
cut. Don’t go too mad he said to the
barber – he said he wouldn’t – I would hate to see the end result when he does! It won’t need cutting for a
while!
The view
across the cut is a very English scene.
The moorings
by early evening were fairly full, but room for another couple if there are any
late comers.
Friday 9th
September 2016
Ellesmere
Arm to Chirk
10 miles, 2
locks
First stop
this morning was the service area at Ellesmere to empty and fill as required. There is evidence a plenty of the past
history of this working wharf. The
weather was dry, but windy.
Once we were off Monty and I jumped ship and walked the first couple of miles – more ‘emptying’ to be done! My plan was to walk to bridge 64. Sue and Ken had gone ahead of us and I was surprised to find them pulled into the side at bridge 63 with a boat on the opposite side of the canal in the trees and firmly aground. They offered to pull them off, but the offer was rejected and they just quite curtly asked them to move off and give them a bit more canal to work with!! They did manage to free themselves, but I gather the helmsman’s wife had warned the Cleddau crew that her husband’s only recourse to everything is full power!!
I was near
bridge 64 as they were disappearing through it.
There were
some wide open views to wonder at
And this
enormous farm building under construction
Then we got
our first view of some hills in the distance and they looked – well grey!! A sign of things to come our way we feared.
We went
through Frankton Junction which goes off to the Montgomery Canal which we plan on taking a short walk down on the way back.
It won't be the full 7 miles though!
You do get a
brief glimpse of the Frankton locks on the Montgomery Canal which were restored in 1987
There is a superb house with an immaculate garden at the junction
The hosta
display is one to be proud of
And I do
like the urn with a good head of hair!
Just two
locks today at New Marton – the view from the bottom lock (first of the two for
us) was far reaching. We met a couple there who had moored a few hundred yards before the locks and had come up to assess how it was all done as these were their first locks ever. A wise move, but I am not sure whether watching boats coming and going eased their fears. Sue did meet them a few days later to find they had survived, but found it pretty terrifying!
By 2pm the
rain has started in earnest, but it did not spoil the enjoyment of the scenery
Even the horses had their coats on
As we
approached Chirk you pass houses on your left with gardens that come down to
the canal. They vary from completely
neglected to those that are loved and are of interest. Tea cups and teapots seem to be a trend, but
I just did not have the camera in the right place at the right time – good job
we are coming back this way in a few days time.
We moored
just past bridge 21 right by a small car park as we have family joining us for
the day tomorrow.
Sue and I headed
off to find the craft boat mentioned by Ken.
A few purchases were made.
We then
walked across Chirk Aqueduct and onto Chirk tunnel. More pictures of the aqueduct
will follow tomorrow when we have been over it, but we did spot nb Naiad with a New Zealand crew who we have been leap frogging with for the last few days as they went across late afternoon.
We walked on to the mouth of the tunnel and noticed lights coming towards us. We assumed It was a boat, but as it progressed the noise was wrong. It was the swish of paddles as this canoe travelled along it
He emerged
to this and said he thought he would go back into the tunnel again!
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