Llangollen Canal (still) – Between Ellesmere & Whitchurch

Thursday:

Rain??? Just a very light drizzle, but still warm. Stopped by lunchtime. Very grey & overcast at the moment, but still T shirt.

 

Pretty uneventful day, but still very pleasant. Totally different scenery today,  cruising beside very lush, bright green pastures, then beautiful tranquil forest. Stopped for lunch and couldn’t hear any human activity. Could only hear birds.

 

 

 

 

 

It can get very tiring with this slow life, so sometimes we all need a break.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We moored at the end of the Ellesmere branch arm to call in to the supermarket for more coffee (Cafe Noir again), fresh bread and more Brie cheese. Mooring was right beside Tesco Supermarket. Another successful 3 point turn in the winding hole.

 

From there we cruised down the canal towards Whitchurch, passing under a few  lift bridges. The lift bridges are all on minor roads, we’ve seen cars actually use some of them. Gill’s broken elbow is not quite ready to operate the winches (lifting a wine glass is OK), so she drives the boat through and Rick winds the bridges up and down.

 

Tonight’s stop is also a very peaceful area, can only hear birds and the occasional boat passing. Some of the private boats are really beautiful, with superb paint jobs and decorations, many boats with brass fittings, leadlight windows, varnished timber framed doors. Many boats have double doors opening to the bow deck, ours doesn’t. The disadvantage of having access to the bow deck is that either the double bed is narrow so you can get past, or the double bed has to be made up and disassembled each day. Ours is a permanent big double bed.

One of the boats waiting for the locks yesterday will be up for sale when the owners finish this cruise. It seems to be in very good condition & the owner hopes to get 25k pounds for it. Apparently the resale prices have dropped. Just dreaming!!

Don’t know how much water we have, but we topped up twice just to make sure. The water heating is through the diesel engine, so we have to start up about 15-20 mins before we want a shower to ensure hot water. There is gas water radiator central heating throughout the boat, but for some reason doesn’t heat water for shower or sink. Haven’t needed heating, in fact some nights it has been just a little warm under the light doona.