Return through Trevor and a farewell today too

Llangollen to Chirk Marina, Llangollen Canal, 6.5 miles 0 locks

We pulled the pins a bit earlier than normal this morning.. and what a beautiful morning it was too.  But before we left I was out with the camera to take some final pics of the newly built basin at Llangollen where 40 boats can be moored.. I counted all the little bays! 

We were lucky to be able to moor along a hard bit rather than on a pontoon.  The pontoons are quite short, maybe 40ft or so that’s all, but here on the edge of the basin we felt more comfortable.. Here is a pic from over the other side..

Pretty innit? You can see what I mean now about the shortness of the pontoons.  There will be a lot of pics in my blog this evening by the way.. In all today I took 50 pics of which, after sorting the best of them, I kept 20, so I want to put a few on.  I will update the album as soon as possible, probably tomorrow evening so you can see them all from Wales.

OK, so pulling the pins, we left with Vic being skipper for the morning while Lucy and me trod the towpath getting those last snaps of a very pretty part of this canal… see I did like this canal after all!   Here we go then leaving Llangollen which is over to the left down the side of the mountain!..

Much of the canal for the next mile or so is cut out of pure rock, and there is only room for one narrowboat to pass through.  I had to go ahead some 500 metres to check that nothing was coming before radioing (do you spell it like that?) back to Vic to proceed…

Back out into the open countryside again…

This goes by the wonderful name of LLanddyn No 2 Lift Bridge.. always kept open it is.  It was a much easier trip back going with the flow, as people have commented that it would be.. yep correct!

Then onward to an open bit with views across the valley..

Still as you see, in a very narrow channel.  It wasn’t busy today, in fact the British Waterways Warden at Llangollen was telling me that every year on 1^st October narrowboats seem to disappear into thin air.. “Last weekend there was not one space to be had in the basin, but this weekend it is virtually empty”.. Well we passed many boats today on moorings along this canal where people were ‘putting boats to bed’ for the winter.. back and forth they were going with stuff to the car until next year..

I hopped aboard not long after this, well I had walked for a good couple or three miles I guess.. took the tiller while Vic made a cuppa.  I was thinking of exiting out at Trevor and having to turn before hitting the far bank.. I had been warned by Trevor who commented earlier about the turn at Trevor.. teehee that sounds odd!.. Anyway..

“When we came to the end I was practicaly on tickover but still got shot across the junction and emptied all the shelves, felt a right twit.
I later found out that even Helmsmen, and Women, who have been on the cut for some years, and know this section, have been know to hit the bank…..  Don't forget about the right turn at Trevor, Or keep everything on the floor.”

But I was going to have to turn left because we needed a drop of diesel, a pump out and a bag of coal or two..

Ah, but no problem for No Problem.. a little jink to the left then once I cleared the stern from the bridge I put the gears into reverse, and she gently did as was asked and turned left without hitting anything!

We cruised to the end of the very short arm and winded (turned) and moored at the boatyard facing the right way to get a pump out and diesel at the Anglo Welsh Boatyard

Diesel today was 57p a litre, a better price than Chirk Marina who wanted 65p.. sheeeeesh!  But I was astounded at the price of a bag of 20kg of coal at an extortionate £9.95.. checking our book, the price I paid at Victoria Wharf at Market Drayton a month or so ago was £6.25.  I had to begrudgingly pay for one bag to make do for now, I will find a coal merchant tomorrow on the internet to deliver me some bags, plus I will do an email to the MD of Anglo Welsh narrowboats to ask why that price.  I mean, after all when the summer is over and the hireboats are moored up for the winter, they rely on us boaters to just keep the tills ticking over.. but at those prices they are doing us no favours for helping them through the winter months with our purchases are they?

Onward…

I left him to it!…

Aww he does look lonely up there!  Teehee!   I notice he is not looking at the camera.. “Hey Vic look this way!!!”  Fell on deaf ears me thinks!.. Wonder why..   Maybe this is why..

That is all the edge there is on that side of the aqueduct.. but the views are fantastic, this is what the towpath side view has to offer with the railway VIADUCT (got it right this time Ron!) in the distance..

A great day’s cruising today, I really did enjoy, but then the weather helped.  Not long after this we said a fond farewell to our cruising companions of almost 2 years Chas and Ann on Moore2Life until next spring, they need to get back to Napton for their Xmas mooring, winter stoppages are making them hurry.. is it really two years you two?.. I am trying to think about that.. A final wave from Annie before they disappeared round the corner..

We have done a bit together in that time, we will miss you both and of course Molly the mutt too..   

We put the pins in opposite Chirk Marina, tis a nice spot here with a grassy bank.  Have spied some potential wood for the roof tomorrow, so the chain saw is getting sharpened!