The Winnipeg connection as we reach Ellesmere

Blakes Mere (Br 56) to Maestermyn Bridge (Br 4), Llangollen Canal, 9 miles 0 locks

No, we are not going backwards, the bridge says Bridge 4 ahead of us!.. The numbers are starting again since we passed the junction with the Mongomery Canal.  Actually just after the bridge number 2, which is a turn over bridge, Lucy waited to come aboard No Problem, we soon realised why she needed to come aboard, the towpath ‘ran out’.. such is the corrosion along the bank of this canal that the towpath has been eroded away with no sign whatsoever of any sort of repair.  I always thought that a towpath had to be put into a state of repair on every canal, I must be wrong!

Anyway… it was a lovely morning this morning when I poked my head out.. so much so that I went straight back in to get the camera as a boat was just emerging from the bridge ahead of our overnight mooring along the early sun kissed canal..

Nice mooring here last night it was, once again so very quiet away from roads and railways.. but onward today to Ellesmere to pick up post and some much needed fresh vegetables.. Along the way we passed the short Ellesmere Tunnel..

Which reminded me that I had forgotten to do anything about our nice new chrome francis spotlamp which I want de-chromed back to brass.. I have shoved it in the cupboard!.. Must do something about that before the winter is out..

Walking towards us just after the tunnel was a group of people taking pics of No Problem.. not unusual for people to take pics of her.. the flowers for a start are still giving a good show.. but as we drew alongside “Hi Sue, Vic and Lucy, I am Dennis and we are the Canadians from Winnipeg!”.. WOW!

So I immediately pulled in and greeted my blog readers of over 3 years … A grand tour of No Problem followed while Vic patiently held No Problem into the side.. then it was off along the canal to give them all a ride back to Ellesmere where they had walked from to meet us after parking their car there…

Here we are then moored alongside in the Ellesmere Arm.. and left to right are Linda, Sandra and Dennis.. It is Linda and Dennis who are from Winnipeg.. they are staying with cousin (I think that is right) Sandra in the nearby town of Oswestry, just south of Chirk.

It sure was lovely to meet you all, and we were so pleased to have caught up with you today after missing you knocking the door on Monday when we were out..

So with fresh vegetables, meat and milk aboard as well as the post collected we continued to the end of the arm..

Winded at the end (turned) and back out onto the main canal again turning right to leave Ellesmere behind after filling with water at the services.. There was a much admired and talked about narrowboat moored opposite the services today.. narrowboat Saturn..

“She is the last horse-drawn Shropshire Union Canal Fly-boat in the World – originally built to travel non-stop, day and night, carrying perishable goods. Over 100 years old, she has been fully restored to her former glory; not only to preserve her for posterity but to educate present and future generations about our waterways, narrowboats and horse-boating.”

It was getting a bit late, but I want to get to Chirk for Saturday/Sunday morning without having to rush, so thought we would put in a couple of hours this evening hoping it would be a bit quieter along this busy waterway.. but no it wasn’t, and boats were still piling past us in the opposite direction using the canal like a bloomin’ racetrack.. I just burst out laughing at one point when I saw trees on the non towpath side ‘painted’ all sorts of colours where boats had scraped them.. as I went through a bridge a boat was coming round the corner ahead of me.. panic set in and he shoved it in reverse making the bow come right across the canal.. I had to stop.. by now I was in fits of giggles at the antics of some of these boaters..  We even had boats steaming up behind us like they were on a mission.. I just pulled over and let them through, and within minutes they were out of sight, sheeeeeeeesh.. madness!

OK,OK I know they only have a week to do all this lot in.. I have a lifetime.. I don’t mind all that, just I don’t like to see a canal in such a state as this is getting in, it is worrying.. the bridges are getting badly damaged, and seemingly they are not being repaired, the towpaths are eroding away, and seemingly not being repaired either.. I just hope that this canal is not going to suffer because of all the traffic that have to rush about just to ‘do’ the canal in a week.. *sigh*

Moored tonight on a hard edge along a bit where there is no official towpath.. no walkers can get here, so we have the place to ourselves!