Retirement with No Problem

Maestermyn Bridge (Br 4) to Llangollen, Llangollen Canal, 13 miles 0 locks

Well we are here.. got to the end of this canal, Llangollen.  Over the pair of aqueducts, both are very different.. here is Chirk..

With the railway aqueduct in the background.. then the big one.. Pontcysylite Aqueduct

It sure is a big drop!

I never really thought I would see my own boat going over this, but here it is.  Mind you the big boat did struggle to get to the end, the canal is in a trough for much of the way between this aqueduct and the end..

And the going was desperately slow.  The water struggles, you see, to get from the bow of the boat to the stern where the prop is.  With a shorter boat it is easier, but a couple of times No Problem almost stopped, and I must admit I was a bit worried about being able to reach the end.  But of course, a good percentage of the hire boats are about the same length, and they seem to do it OK.. maybe I not giving my boat a hard time to go faster!

Anyway before all that, we decided to stay opposite the marina at Chirk for the weekend.. we left our Friday night mooring and cruised on Saturday, knowing that most of the hire boats would be back in their bases as it is traditionally the ‘change over day’.. and we were right, very few boats indeed were cruising the waterway.. before we left and looking out of the window at breakfast, a reminder that winter is close…

This little fella was singing like mad outside in the hedgerow, and I managed to snap him from inside the boat.. bit of snow, and would be the perfect pic for the Christmas cards this year!!

To say that I have really enjoyed this canal would not be true.. but then again maybe my expectation was higher than it should have been.. whatever, to me this canal is in need of some tlc.. badly.  It looks and feels tired, it looks worn out in places, tis a shame.  The reasons I guess is the number of narrowboats now using it, far too many hire boats are registered on this canal as far as I can see.  No maintenance is being done, and what is broken is staying broken, whether it be bridges, visitor moorings, banks..

I spoke with a BW guy today, a lone person making a difference.. A tree on the non towpath side has slid literally into the canal and obviously fallen across the canal at some time and damaged the fencing on the other side.. he was fixing it.. I asked “When did that tree come down then?”.. “Oh last year sometime”.. well to be honest he was the one and only person working on this canal that I have seen.

‘Tis nice.. OK, maybe you think I am being unfair..

Well maybe I am when I can take a pic like that.. the views were stunning as we cruised nearer Llangollen.

We are moored in the lovely basin right at the end.  There are plenty of moorings here.  Tomorrow I want to explore on foot and take a trip on the railway.. looking forward to that.