Hello
folks ...Its blog time again.... It’s not the first time we have
sailed the Shroppie canal, we first did it 7 years ago as a treat for
my 60th birthday with our very good friends Peter and Sue
Huggins.
I
love the Shropshire canal with all its quirks. Very narrow in places,
impossible too moor due to low water levels and obstructions
underwater. However it is a beautiful area. The wild life is lovely
but sadly not every one respects the countryside. We had a holiday
hire boat in front of us with a couple who couldn’t control it,
they bashed from one bank to another, eventually, when ramming the
farmers side bank, their large dog jumped off and rushed into a flock
of Canadian Geese scarring them to death. Some people shouldn’t be
allowed out unaccompanied !! There is a lot of these birds here at
the moment, I looked around the other day when I heard a ‘honk’
behind me and there was a squadron of these beautiful feathered
creatures coming into land. . a perfect ‘V’ formation. We are so
blessed living so close to nature.
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| Canadian Geese |
We
dropped down the Audlem flight with few problems, meeting some people
going in the other direction which makes life easier because the
locks are with you and saves time, not having to flood the lock
chamber before we can go in.
We
stopped over near the pub called the Shroppie Fly named after a very
fast narrow boat used in the heydays of water transport, the fast
juggernaut of the day. It used to be a warehouse with a crane outside
to unload the vessels. It turned into a public house in the 1970 and
used to be a very popular establishment.
We
had a quiet drink...mainly because we were the only people in the bar
!! Two other people were having a meal, we checked the menu, but we
passed on eating, far too expensive. Silly prices which we are not
going to pay. Sadly the canalside pubs are their own worst enemies.
Pricing a lot of people out. Am I getting mean ?? …..Answer’s on
a £50.00 note please ;-)
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| Shroppie Fly Pub Audlem |
The
trip to the Llangollen canal was a bit uneventful, however the
entrance to the Welsh arm was far from uneventful ….We got jammed
!!!!...We couldn’t get through the lock. ...DOH !!!
The
lock at the bottom, I’m lead to believe, was built to an exact
size...6ft 10inches...but over the years the walls have bowed inwards
due to a poor repairs regime, also we are a bit wider due to having
the re-plate, so halfway in…... we jammed. The lock-keepers came
and tried to raise us up a bit and pulled to no avail. We were going
nowhere, our planned North Wales holiday was cancelled !!! This is
happening a lot to boaters recently a few a week according to the
lockie.
A
passing holiday boat had to pull us out, even at full revs our engine
and prop wouldn’t move us..So we continued on to the city of
Chester.
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| Stuck in first lock on Llangollen Canal |
We
seem to be making a lot of what I call ‘five minute friendships’,
some of the locks are wider and can take two boats at a time. Makes
life easier, as you share the opening and of the paddles and the
gates..(Jenny’s job) I do the driving and chat to the driver of the
other boat. Met a couple on a boat called ‘Grumpy Git’ …..turned
out to be the opposite, we shared the last lock into Chester and
moored in front of them for two days ...a 48hr. mooring. We were
joined by another boat called ‘New Dawn’ another lovely couple
who came over on the Saturday night for a glass of wine and a cup of
tea. Roger and Dawn….Dawn wrote rap...63 years old, but her rapping
was brilliant...I sang to her and she rapped to us. Another great
night. Friday was shopping day . .topped up at the local Tesco, then
Saturday we left the dogs on board and became ‘tourists for the
day’ and had a look around the beautiful city of Chester.
Chester
is an old Roman fortress town originally, then taken over by Monks in
later times. We did the usual tourist things, sight seeing, spent a
bit of money in local shops ..Jenny bought a new cap and we bought
some posh cheese, was brilliant, Jenny took a few photos, and we just
soaked up the atmosphere. There were buskers of various styles an
Australian guy from Sidney doing street theatre. Something for
everybody.
There
were two or three buses doing the ‘round the city’ trips so we
jumped on the very old bus (as in the photo below). It is classed as
a replica now, but is is a genuine 1912 omnibus which saw life during
the WW1 and is only one of three still in existence.
Sorry
but ‘goldfish brain’ I can’t remember the make..It has to be
classed as a replica now because of all the modifications done to it
too conform to legislation required to be a public service vehicle.
We
had a lovely lady called Barbara, dressed in the clothes of the day,
giving a running commentary and telling us all about the city. It was
always being invaded by the ‘heathens over the boarder’ i.e. . .
The Welsh….All the churches in the city only have clocks facing
away from the Welsh boarder, some have been removed, some never had
any clocks in the first place. The reason?. . so the welsh won’t
know the time...From which we get the expression.. ‘I wouldn’t
give her / them the time of day’ !! It was a really informative
half an hour.
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| Vintage bus. |
Jenny
and I are on a face book site called ‘The Narrow boat users group’
on returning to Infinity I posted a comment saying what a fabulous
city Chester was and recommended any one in the area stop and have a
look.
A
lady asked if we had been on the old bus for the tour?,
I
replied yes ..to which she said ‘I thought you had ..you were on
the 2pm bus..,
I
was your guide’...Barbara.. Turns out she is a boater as
well...living in Chester.
We
did a tour of the old monastery, again with a guide, the Cathedral is
a beautiful building and terrific history. By the time we returned to
the boat, too say I was knackered would be an understatement. I
collapsed into the bunk and slept for a couple of hours but it was
well worth the effort . . a lovely, beautiful city.
Sunday
morning saw us turning around and heading back along the Shroppie. We
have decided to return back the way we came and are heading again for
Fradley Junction. We did debate doing the ‘four counties ring
again, but the Harecastle tunnel is not the best...very long….very
narrow and claustrophobic-ally low..… We have been through once,
have the plaque, so will leave for another day.
Its
pouring with rain today so . . no cruising. May stop here for the
weekend ...depending what the bosun says.
Jenny
did a check on the blog as I was wondering if it was being read ..I
was gob smacked to find out how many followers/readers we have and in
the different countries as well.
It
appears we have at least...564 followers !!! In the following
countries UK..Ireland..France..USA..Singapore (?)..Australia
..NZ..Russia(?) ..Spain.. and Israel so pleased I’m not wasting my
time and glad you seem to be enjoying the ramblings of an old phart
!!
Right
lunch has been served..so I’ll had over to the brains of the outfit
to put on her photos.
