Wednesday 13th June
I have just posted # 11 of these blogs and, having inserted three photos, could not post any more. Sorry folks, I hadn’t realised there was a limit. Will post more in this one.
Yesterday remained dry, but not always sunny, and we managed to get all of the green paint finished on the starboard side, and all the diamonds completed on the front of the cratch. I had thought to persuade Wifey to stay another day and paint the bow and stern, but then, it looks to be another dry day, so perhaps we’d best be moving on to Chirk, where we can do a bit of shopping. Needs must when the Devil drives, etc.
Thursday 16th June
We are now moored up opposite Chirk Marina and are hoping to get some work done today. I managed to remove one of the front cleats, with the use of a drill and hammer, but then the weather looked a bit threatening, so I decided to forget about further efforts.
We are staying here for another day and, since it has started bright and sunny, we may get the other cleat off, affix the two new ones and get the bow and stern painted. We will then have just the paintwork on the port side to worry about, and that can be done, either at Sun Trevor, which is a couple of miles short of Llangollen, or when we get back to St Martin’s Moor.
Our next stop should be the Trevor Basin but, since that has few moorings – although we did manage it last year – we may have to bypass it and go on to Sun Trevor. We are hoping to spend the weekend at Llangollen itself, where they have water and electricity beside the moorings. This is run by British Waterways and, last year, cost only £6 per night. We’ve been advise that a local pub called the Bridge Inn does really fine food, so we’re hoping for a proper pub lunch on Sunday.
Meanwhile, back to the grind, but not until Wifey raises her head from her pillow, and we’ve had brekky.
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| Approaching Chirk Aqueduct from East |
Friday 15th June
The weather stayed fine for us during yesterday morning and early afternoon, and you know what they say about making hay while the sun shines. Without more ado, and straight after breakfast, I removed the second cleat, drilled and tapped new holes for the 5mm screws and fitted the bigger cleats. That done, I was wondering what else we could do.
We were sitting and enjoying a cup of coffee, when it occurred to me that we ought to be thinking about the red. After all, it does take up a goodly proportion of the sides of the boat. So, I suggested to my dear Wifey, that we should see about getting some T-Cut.
“Well”, she said, “I know we have some back at the marina, but we do have the proper, International Paint Restorer in the bathroom cupboard”
So, we grabbed a couple of cloths and dusters and set to on the starboard. Now, I know it’s been six years since we bought the boat, but I hadn’t realised just how flat the paint had become. All it needs now is a good polish and a buff-up and it will look as good as new. Well, it will do once we have rubbed down and filled in the scratch marks. We really were quite proud of ourselves after all that effort.
Needless to say, as soon as we had finished, down came the rain, and it didn’t stop for the rest of the day and, as far as I can tell, all night too. It’s stopped now and the sun is trying to break through, so perhaps we’ll get moving this morning.
Trevor, or Sun Trevor, here we come.
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| Silly me on the Llangollen |
Saturday 16th June
Even though the weather was looking somewhat threatening yesterday morning, we set of at 07.45 with only a vague idea as to how far we would get. Trevor Basin was overflowing with boats and I wouldn’t have been surprised to see them stacked on top of each other. So, that was out and, since it wasn’t raining yet, we continued on hoping to reach Llangollen. Sadly, no sooner had we passed Trevor Basin than the heavens opened up. We therefore pulled in at Sun Trefor – that’s the Welsh spelling – and have stayed the night.
For the rest of the day we were confined to barracks and could do nothing but watch the rain fall. No matter, we’ve always got plenty of books to hand and, of course, the radio, which we pay more attention to than the telly. There’s such a load of crap on that I wonder why we still have one on the boat. I’m seriously looking to buy a decent 12 volt record player with recording facility, so that we can play our old vinyl albums and record them to cd.
This morning, although the wind has dropped, it is now coming down like stair rods. But, we have a secret weapon, in the shape of a ginormous umbrella, a gifet from our son David some years ago. This thing has come in useful on several occasions and we wouldn’t be without it.
For the most part the Llangollen is much like any other canal, plenty of wild vegetation and moorings separated by miles of open spaces and areas where it is impossible to moor up. But, from Trevor Basin onwards, that all changes. Being an area of outstanding natural beauty this stretch of canal is open to government and European grants and, with all that lovely, free mazumah, both sides of this stretch are lined with concrete blocks. There are one or two gaps in this, especially on the opposite side to the towpath but, in general it’s well lined for most of the way.
Between Sun Trevor to Llangollen, about two miles or so, there are two short stretches, of 300 and 500 metres respectively that are only wide enough for one boat to pass through. This means that Wifey has to walk ahead with her mobile and, if there is another boat coming through, warns me to stay put until they are through. If it’s all clear, then I can go on. In some places this can be a delicate operation because, not only is it very narrow, but it’s very bendy and you’re driving against a current. This two mile stretch can take up to 1½ hours to complete.
Unfortunately, although the canal is wide enough for two boats to pass safely, the powers that be have not included quite as many mooring spots, especially for the holiday season. What with the concrete blocks and the solid towpath, which has been tarred and loosely gravelled, it’s impossible to stop anywhere between Trevor Basin and Sun Trevor, and then the two miles to Llangollen, where you can only stop for 48 hours at a cost of £6 per night. The £6 does include electricity and a water supply though, so it’s pretty reasonable.
Regardless of the weather, we’re off to Llangollen this morning. Looking outside right now, we’ll probably need that gamp again. The forecast for the weekend is for more of the same, so I doubt we’ll get any painting done.
Sunday 17th June
As I said yesterday, 1½ hours to Llangollen, mostly in the pouring rain. Once again we managed to find a spot at the top, rather than having to go through to the basin, which is a much longer walk into town.
Our first port of call, once we had enjoyed our cup of coffee, was the hardware store, which lies at the far end of the town, on the A5, the road most travelled by us when visiting Auntie Bob and Uncle Ron. We found the masking tape but, as we expected, they didn’t have a buffing disc for the drill.
After that a trip to a few shops; butcher, baker, general store, greengrocer, the local supermarket; and, of course, the ice cream parlour.
The River Dee, which runs through the town, was in full spate. Indeed, of the three visits we’ve now made to Llangollen, we’ve never seen it so angry. Falling in would not be a safe bet under those conditions.
Sadly the rest of the day was rather wet and windy, so we still didn’t manage to improve on the paintwork. Today though has started calm and fairly bright and so, even if we only manage to paint behind the stern rail, this would be an achievement.
With only 48 hours of mooring allowed along here I’m afraid, come hail or shine, we have to retrace our steps towards Ellesmere and back to the Shroppie. Meanwhile, around midday, we’ll be trying the delights of one of the local pubs.
Monday 18th June
Llangollen lies way down in the Dee Valley, whilst the canal is way up there in the clouds. Consequently, when visiting the town from the canal, we have a rather steep hill to negotiate downwards, or an equally steep flight of steps.
Yesterday lunchtime we decided to take the stairs, simply because they would, supposedly, bring us out a wee bit closer to the pub we wanted to use. Sadly, no pub. In its stead we found a huge block of flats.
O.K. No worries, we’ll just walk in the opposite direction to the next one. That one was closed and up for sale.
The nearest one to us is a huge hotel, and we hate hotels, so we decided to take a walk across the bridge and into the middle of town, where we found a one bar pub called The Bull. Now, although this was only small inside, judging by the light hearted behaviour of the clientele, it was certainly friendly and popular. And, with the price of a Guinness only £3.10 pence I’ll remember it for next time.
After telling you lot that I shouldn’t moan in my blog, will you allow me just a small one? Pretty please!
At Tesco, some time ago, I bought a bunch of shiny, new socks. After one wash they will now fit Sheila. Thank goodness for that, otherwise my money would have been wasted altogether. They were a pretty good fit at first but, what can you expect from cheap goods?
I could indulge in a second moan, this time about Aled Jones’ discussion about gay marriage yesterday morning, but I’ll refrain. Suffice it to say, why enter into such a discussion on radio, when the majority of gay people are, according to some surveys, totally uninterested in the matter? Well, they wouldn’t be, would they, because the vast majority of heterosexual folks don’t seem very much interested in marriage either? ‘Nough said!
Well, we’ve had our 48 hours at Llangollen and must be on our way this morning. The sky looks clear at the moment and, with a bit of luck, we’ll get to wherever we decide to go without getting a soaking.
Tuesday 19th June
Unusually for us we travelled six miles yesterday and moored up just short of Whitehouse Tunnel. This was with the express intention of carrying out further paint jobs. Sadly, all we managed was the application of green paint to the already applied rust preventative on the port side, and we then had to wait until it dried. Pretty soon along came the rain, putting paid to further efforts with paint. I did, however, manage to finish off the diamonds on the front of the cratch, so all was not lost.
This morning has started with a completely clear sky, but, as we already know about Welsh weather, what starts out fine can easily turn to mush. We live in hopes.
Meanwhile, the bus goes to Chirk from here, well, actually from a stop above the tunnel, so we’ll either take a trip this morning or, if it stays fine and sunny, Sheila will go whilst I slave away with the paint brush.
Wednesday 20th June
It’s raining. Well, there’s a surprise. But, as a young woman replied when, on the approach to Llangollen, I remarked about the lousy weather, “This is Wales, what do you expect?”
Thank goodness it wasn’t like it yesterday. We waited until after 09.30 and caught a bus into Chirk, only to discover that our passes are not valid in Wales, except if the start point or destination is in England. Ah well, we’ve done alright so far.
When we arrived back at the boat, after we had a coffee and read the Mail, out came the brushes and paint pot and, with no interruption from the Welsh weather, painted all the green along the port side. We now only have the bow and stern to do, and we need to restore the red on this side too.
The next project after that’s done will be the roof, which is a job for Wifey, although, now I come to think of it, we could paint up to the middle from one side of the boat, and then the other side when we’re moored along the opposite bank. It does seem a little unfair for Sheila to have to paint all of it on her hands and knees, which I am unable to do on these mechanical things.
According to our Nicholson’s Guide the short tunnel ahead of us, and which we will go through later today, is called Whitehouse Tunnel. According to the local bus stop timetable, it’s Whitehurst. Just thought I’d pass on that wee snippet of useless information before I post this blog.
All the best for now from Dave, Sheila and Rusty.
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