Saturday 4th August
Well today was to be a really big day, 2 tunnels and 2 aqueducts plus a few surprises along the way!
I set off steering whilst John walked along the towpath with Dex.
I got stuck on the bottom going through the first tunnel as I had pulled over to let another boat through.
Past a lovely looking canalside hotel complete with private marina.
It was incredible how this tree was managing to keep from falling in the canal!
We moored up at Chirk Aqueduct as several boats were coming across and it's only wide enough for one boat.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chirk_Aqueduct
Soon it was our turn to cross over. Great views on both sides!
Straight after the tunnel is the Chirk tunnel. We had been advised to moor up first to check nothing was coming the other way as again it's only wide enough for one boat. It's a good job we did moor as John went to check the tunnel and could hear a lady crying out for help! Her Rotweiler dog had fallen in the canal in the middle of the tunnel! Luckily no boats were coming. John helped her pull him out of the water and lent her a torch to find her way through to the other side. If I had carried on it could have been awful as not sure I would have heard her cries for help over the engine noise!
I have to say this was the worst tunnel I have ever done! It was 459 yards so not the longest but it was such hard work! The Llangollen canal has a current as it is filled from the river Dee and I was going against the flow of water. I had to have the engine on full revs but could hardly make it through. It was also hard to steer straight.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chirk_Tunnel
It was such a relief to get out the other side! We saw the lady with her dog and she gave back the torch and thanked us again.
We passed Chirk Marina where there are numerous hire boat companies.
We had another small tunnel to go through, the Whitehouse tunnel. This was better, only 191 yards and I let John struggle with the boat!
Out in the beautiful countryside which was getting more mountainous.
In the distance I could see the famous Pontcysyllte Aqueduct which we would soon be crossing!
We passed the old Lime Kilns at Froncysyllte.
http://www.brocross.com/industrial%20history/welsh%20limekilns/flintshire/froncysyllte%20kilns%202.htm
Under a lift bridge which we had to close after passing underneath.
Then we were on the approach to the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct.
It was tourist central, loads of trip boats, cafes etc and so many gongoozlers.
There was even an Ice Cream boat!
We had been advised to follow another boat across if possible as this saved checking the way was clear. It also made me feel safer somehow. So we followed a trip boat and then another day boat jumped in front.
Eek - here we go, no turning back now! John was steering (on the towpath side) and I was free to take photographs. Dex was safely inside the boat, no way could he be on the roof!
Smile Mr Brookes! Clearly gritting his teeth, he hated every minute!
I took some video footage. I have put this on a separate page as was easier!
Finally we were over. It was such a thrilling experience for me and a horrendous one for John but he did it!
After the aqueduct there is a shapr turn left to go through a narrow bridge.
Now we could really start to enjoy the countryside. The canal was quite shallow in places and sometimes it was a struggle to go through bridges against the flow of water.
There are sections where the canal is only wide enough for one boat and there are some passing places but not many! At one point I went ahead and let John know when it was clear to proceed.
A wonderful picnic spot!
A day boat was following us along this narrow stretch.
Finally we came to the basin where there are mooring spaces with electric hook up and water. It costs £6 a night but worth it to catch up on my washing!
John reversed expertly into our slot beside a floating pontoon. We needed to reverse as the ectric hook up point is at the back of our boat.
What a great spot to moor! There was a rock concert going on nearby (the Lllangollen Bike Festival) so we had a beer listening to the music and looking at the view - perfect!
Unfortunately things went very wrong later on that evening as we got flooded out in our kitchen! We had linked the mains water to an inlet pipe we had not used before which was located in a locker at the back of the boat. We did some washing and all seemed well but clearly it wasn't as it had leaked water under the boat and it started coming up through the kitchen floor! It took hours of pumping to clear it all but thankfully it was so hot the next day it all dried out well. I had used loads of dog towels to help absorb the water. Luckily it didn't reach our carpets! Needless to say we won't be doing that again!!
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