Wrenbury to Ellesmere
Tuesday 14th May
Yesterday morning at Wrenbury the day started out really
well, with bright sunshine and just a light breeze. However, since we were
short of coal and logs, we decided to wait until the hire boat chandlery opened
at 8.30 before going on to Grindley Brook.
By the time we had pulled in opposite the boatyard, down
came the rain, which didn’t look good for our chances. But, since we needed the
coal anyway, we bought a couple of bags, along with a bag of logs, by which
time the rain had stopped, so off we went.
Grindley Brook is about 4 miles from Wrenbury, with two lift
bridges and a lock in between but, by the time we got to the lock at Marbury,
the wind was much stronger and very much colder. Needless to say we didn’t make
Grindley Brook, instead we pulled in just above the lock and enjoyed the rest
of the day, which was a mixture of wind, rain and sunshine.
This morning has again started out bright and sunny, with
just the hint of a breeze, so we just might get to yesterday’s destination.
For only the second time since we left Mercia I am unable to
access the Internet, but this is a bit iffy. When I first booted up everything
was fine, but then, just a minute ago, when I tried following a link in an email,
I couldn’t access it.
This WiFi unit has a little triangular indicator in the
System Tray that tells me if I’m online. When it is not possible to access the
Internet, that icon shows a yellow mark, which is what it did a few minutes
ago. However, having moved the unit, just slightly, everything seems OK now. Ah
well, that’s modern technology for you!
Wednesday 15th May
We arrived at Grindley Brook at about 10 am yesterday and
took a quick walk to the local garage for milk and Daily Mail. Later in the
day; unsurprisingly considering the heavy clouds about; down came the rain, and
it hasn’t stopped since. After the fairly light stuff, when we could still walk
the towpath without tracking mud into the boat, the rain became much heavier.
By 9 pm it was coming down like stair rods and it’s still doing so at 7 am. The
towpath is now all but impossible to walk along, with deep puddles and muddy
bits. Yeuk!
We had intended to go on to Whitchurch this morning and take
the bus into town; our food stocks are getting pretty low; but this weather has
put the kibosh on that idea. Still, if it clears up later, as the ‘experts’
told us last evening, we might move on later today.
I forwarded an email earlier but, maybe because my Avast
programme was still updating, that email didn’t go through. I do hope I’m not
about to have more problems with ‘3’ because, if I am, I’m not going to be a
happy bunny.
Thursday 16th May
Well, yesterday carried on pretty much the same as Tuesday,
mostly wet and windy, until late afternoon that is, at which point the wind
eased off and the rain stopped.
This morning, although cloudy, is calm and mild and the wind
seems to be in the opposite direction. With a little luck we’ll be through
those locks and moored up at Whitchurch before more rain hits us.
Friday 17th May
Arrived Whitchurch at about 10am and, after walking Rusty
and partaking of a cup of coffee, we caught the bus into town. Had we been
aware that there was a new Sainsbury’s a reasonable walk away and, had we known
exactly where it was, we would have shopped there. But, since the only store
near to the bus stop in town is a Tesco, that’s where we went.
Actually, when taking the bus to town, with only Tesco in
mind, the bus terminus is right outside Tesco’s door. Anyway, on our way back
from Llangollen we’ll probably give Sainsbury’s a try.
Having arrived back at the boat, laden with a week’s supply
of goodies, we settled in for a pleasant afternoon. And it was very pleasant,
all sunny and warm, just right for warming the cockles! However, by about 2.30
we were feeling our itchy feet and decided to move on and enjoy a coatless
cruise and set off at 3pm for ‘The Shop’.
This part of the Llangollen used to have a small shop, which
sold general goods; such as milk and tinned stuff; but it closed down a couple
of years ago. However, the 48 hour moorings are still there and, unlike some
canals, the grass along the towpath is kept to a reasonable length. So, here we
stopped for the night.
Of course, the good weather couldn’t last and, later in the
evening we were subjected to thunder and lightning, along with heavy rain. This
morning is dry and calm, no rain yet but, judging by the heavy cloud cover,
we’re in for some later. We want to be in Ellesmere for the weekend, so we
really do need to move a few miles nearer today, otherwise we’ll have a pretty
long haul tomorrow.
Rusty, poor wee thing, has taken sick again. This time she
had us up twice during the night, 12.30 and 2 am. This is not like her, so we
suspect she’s either picked something up whilst out walking; as dogs tend to
do; or something we’ve given her didn’t agree. But, since she has been eating
the same combination of foodstuffs for quite some time, we can’t see that as a
possibility.
The only thing that’s changed is one of the small treats we
give her. She doesn’t seem too keen on some of the harder biscuits, so we’re
leaning more towards soft and meaty treats. But, as usual she’ll be nagging for
her breakfast just as soon as Sheila gets up and, later on she’ll be running
around like a puppy.
Saturday 18th May
After getting washed and dressed yesterday morning, I had my
first cup of tea, after which I took Rusty out and messed around on the laptop
for a while and then gave Wifey her first cup of the day, along with my second,
never dreaming for one minute that it would be my last of the morning.
Wifey deigns to join us most mornings at about 7.30 and,
after she too is washed and dressed, I usually prepare breakfast, which where,
yesterday morning, things started to go somewhat awry.
Like a good, domesticated chap, as soon as Wifey gets up I
put the laptop away and get on with it. Unfortunately, having connected a new
gas bottle only about three days before, the darn thing ran out. Normally they
last about six weeks when we’re cruising but, alas, this one was probably
leaking away without us being fully aware of the problem.
Funnily enough this has happened before but, on this
occasion, even though Wifey had said she could smell gas, when I checked I discovered
I had left the valve open on the old one and assumed that was where the smell
came from. Wrong, because, when I put the kettle on for the third time that
morning, very low gas.
Thus it was that, by 08.00 we were on our way to Ellesmere,
seven miles away.
Now, about half a mile from the moorings lies the Preese
branch, at the end of which is a small marina. However, from past experience we
know the chandlery there only opens for a couple of hours in the afternoon and
so, even though their nearby sign says they now open from 9 until 5, we weren’t
about to waste the time, so we carried on to Ellesmere, where we finally
arrived at about 11 am and by which time we were gagging for a coffee.
But first we had to trundle our two empty bottles to the
marina, load them and a bag of coal onto one of their flat trucks and get it
all back to the boat. With the very generous help of a nearby boater named
Andy, we finally had the gas re-connected and a kettle on the boil at about midday.
While we were trundling said empty bottles to the chandlery,
Andy remarked about the lousy weather and how he was undecided about buying
another sack of coal. He was down to just a few lumps and, after he had left us
to walk into town, Sheila thought it might be a good idea to leave him some
coal before we also walked into town.
Some folks would have been offended at this gesture, but we
decided to risk it and leave a note for him. However, before we could get our
coats on and leave, we spotted Andy coming back and, far from being offended,
he was quite pleased. So, all’s well that ends well, I suppose.
Actually, we had spoken to Andy a couple of weeks before,
when we were at Gnosall, talking about the lousy weather and lack of phone
signal there. Parts of the Shroppie and Llangollen are pretty remote and phone
and Internet signals can be a bit weak. Here at Ellesmere we have no phone
signal, but the Internet is working just fine.
So, now that we have ample gas and coal, we’re going to
tempt the fates and stay until Monday morning. This stretch of moorings is only
48 hours and, if there are any CRT wardens about, we’ll be told to move on
tomorrow morning. But that won’t be a problem because, if we move the boat down
to the nearby arm, we can moor there again because that stretch is 72 hours.
Happy days! Take care you lot and enjoy your weekend.
Dave, Sheila and Rusty.
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