There's not an awful lot to tell about these last few days on the Llangollen. We're making our way now towards Hurleston Junction, where the Llangollen Canal meets the Shropshire Union. When we get there, it will mark the end of our winter cruise and the beginning of the Summer Cruise, though the weather rather gives lie to that fact! And I'm sorry, but I didn't take any photos this week, so there are no pictures. There will be next week, promise!

Wednesday, 8th to Monday, 13th March
We left Frankton Junction and made our way to Ellesmere, and moored up in the countryside near Bridge 50. Then the next day we moored at the Shop in the Garden--still closed! The next day, Friday, 10th March, we moved less than a mile, as we had a plan! We're going away for the weekend to stay with friends near Pontefract. A group of us is meeting up at a friend's house for the weekend. This is the same group of schoolfriends with whom I met up last year, after over forty years. This time the 'men' are coming too, and there is to be a planning meeting for a walking holiday next year in France.

I had chosen what I thought would be a scenic route over the Pennines, but it didn't turn out quite so well! The first fifty miles were through urban areas, and the second half was over the moors and fells, but the mist came down and then it snowed and we didn't see a thing! It took four hours to do one hundred miles So Trev decided that we would come back a different way, via the motorway, and that was thirty miles longer and an hour and a half quicker! We had a great weekend, and the men eyed everybody up and decided that they could cope with a week away with this gang and so our holiday plans began to take shape. We got back to the boat on Monday afternoon, all was well and we stayed put as it was getting dark.

Tuesday, 14th March
We continued along the Llangollen and travelled as far as Grindley Brook. Here we had a w.c. pump out and filled up with water and stayed there overnight.

We talked to a man who had moored his boat in the Whitchurch Arm for three months and had just returned to it. He and his wife had been to India to work in an animal rescue centre. When he got back to his boat, he'd started it up and set off, only to have the engine cut out after a couple of minutes. He'd tried to get it going, but without any luck, and had rung for Canal & River Rescue, the AA of the waterways. They had come out and started it up again and left when they saw that all was well. Within another couple of minutes the engine cut out again, so he phoned for RCR to come back. They were on another job and it took some time before they arrived. Meanwhile the boat had drifted on to a sandbank and he was stuck on the offside of the canal, and his wife was on the opposite bank, freezing because she hadn't got her coat! Eventually, another boat came along and pulled him off the sandbank and he tied up and waited for RCR to come. This time they checked the fuel tank, and there was no fuel in it--it had been syphoned out whilst he had been away, all one hundred litres! Fortunately there was a diesel outlet within a few hundred yards so he pulled the boat in to there and filled up.

It's not possible to buy a locking fuel cap for a boat as it is for a car. We've often wondered why someone doesn't manufacture one, it would be very popular!

Wednesday, 15th March
Today was a very cold day, and I had so many layers of clothes on, I could hardly move! BW had been very busy chopping trees down and so we loaded lots of logs on to the roof, ready to saw later. We had just got down to our last basket of logs, so it was most opportune!

We moored up in the country, just above Marbury Lock. Trev wanted to be sure he had tv reception to see "The Apprentice" tonight! He sawed up some of the logs and was rewarded by the sight of a beautiful Barn Owl swooping and hovering, coming closer and closer to us. It was a very special treat, and the first one we had seen. I read in my Girls' Book of Birdspotting that Barn Owls do sometimes hunt in the daytime, especially if they have a brood to feed.

Thursday, 16th March
It's funny how a day can start and end so differently to what one anticipates! We set off in very cold weather again, me dressed up like a Michelin tyre man, and were aiming to get to just above Hurleston Locks, ready to leave the Llangollen Canal tomorrow. We had planned to stop at Wrenbury to buy groceries, as it's the last shop for some time. As we drew in to moor up for the lift bridge at Wrenbury, a BW operative told us that we would have to moor up and wait for quite a while as the lift bridge was closed. In fact, quite a few lift bridges in the North of England and the Borders were closed as there had been "A National Incident"!

There were quite a few boats moored up either side of the lift bridge waiting to go through. We were told it could be a few days before we could proceed. This wasn't a problem to us, but the three boats in front of us were all hire boats on a schedule. Their hirers all needed to get the boats back to their base and themselves back to work! Well, there was nothing we could do so we walked in to the village and shopped, and decided that we would go to The Cotton Arms for dinner this evening. With two main courses for a tenner, it was hardly worth getting the potato peeler out!

Around 6.00 p.m. we heard a starting up of engines and everyone moved off in convoy. Apparently BW staff had come to check the bridge and whilst they did so, boats could go through. However, we weren't in a hurry, and stayed put. It seemed that there had been a problem with a lift bridge on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal. I believe a counterbalance had fallen off it, so all similar bridges had to be checked.

We had an excellent meal at the pub and moved off the next morning.

Friday, 17th March
We set off through the lift bridge this morning and made good progress, better than we had expected and got right down to the end of the Llangollen, and so it was a sad goodbye to what had been home for two and a half months. On the way we passed loads of logs which had been thrown in to the canal by someone with more brawn than brain. What a pity; these are the logs left by BW for boaters to help themselves to. Some of the logs were very heavy, and BW was going to have to pay for contractors to come and haul them out, as they needed specialist equipment. What a waste of limited funds.

We dropped down through the four Hurleston Locks and were back on the Shropshire Union. We turned left and within about a mile we turned right on to the Middlewich Branch. This Branch is ten miles long and links the Shropshire Union canal with the Trent & Mersey. We went about two miles along the Branch and moored up, thankful at last to be out of the cold. The boat was lovely and warm when we eventually got inside, thanks to all those lovely logs!

Now we shall start our Summer Cruise, despite the weather! So please look for this header on the Home Page. Thanks for being with us through the winter, and thanks also to everyone who has sent such nice emails. I love to hear from you.

Since we left Calcutt Marina, in Warwickshire on December 6th, we've done 311 miles and 104 locks.

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