Going with the flow…

It’s turned decidedly wintry again. Saturday’s snow still lingers in shady spots, and it’s cold out of the sun.

Yesterday morning at daybreak… brrr!

Today we left the basin above Llangollen, retracing our route back towards Chirk. It’s been handy being here, though. The town is reasonably close for supplies, with a good range of shops. The hardware store provided a new Carbon Monoxide alarm to replace the one that died yesterday; Spar and Nisa the groceries, the greengrocer fresh veg and the chemist a cold gel pack for my right foot. But more of that later.

After my shopping expedition we pulled out of the basin, then paused again at the services to empty the loos. The water and rubbish we’d dealt before we left the mooring.

It was getting on for 1 o’clock before we entered the narrows above the Wrexham road.

Not expecting to meet anyone coming in I didn’t bother to walk ahead to check. It’s a good job we didn’t delay any longer at the services else we’d have met this boat in the narrow stretch.

He was one of only two we saw today.

The day was bright and sunny, but cold in the shade.

The shorter narrow section starts at Bridge 42W, Wenffrwd Bridge.
The turn into the bridge hole is as awkward to negotiate as it’s name…

We didn’t meet anyone in or near this narrow bit, and the rest of the trip to Trevor was uneventful.

Plas-y-Pentre Bridge, aka Bridge 34W, gives the first glimpse of that brilliant bridge from this direction.
It was not long afterwards that we made the sharp right turn at Trevor and had a view along the trough instead of at the side of it.

I didn’t bother taking any pictures forward, the sun was just above Pen-y-graig, almost dead ahead.
But looking to the left, the railway viaduct, further downstream, was clear to see.

Looking back as we leave Pontcysllte Aqueduct.
There must have been railings on the offside at some point, judging by the square holes pierced through the edge of the wrought iron trough. 

Mags took over on the tiller to go through Fron Lift Bridge, then we had another 15 minutes before pulling in on the moorings above the river valley. It was 3 o’clock, and starting to get cold as the sun disappeared behind the hills.

Not sure what we’re doing tomorrow, depends on the weather.

Now then, why I need that gel pack… I’ve been using a bag of frozen peas for a week or so to relieve the pain in my right heel but it’s getting a bit care-worn. It’s a reccurence of the Achilles problem I had last year, where the tendon attaches to the the heel bone or calcaneus. The bursa, a sac of fluid which prevents friction, has become inflamed and a bit swollen. Normally the pain disappears after 10 minutes of walking or running, but at around mile 12 on yesterday’s run it came back. With a vengeance. It’s never done that before.
So I’ll be on a regime of RICE for a few days. Not the boil in the bag variety, the acronym stands for Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation. The mantra for injured athletes. And me.
No running, but I might have a pedal on the old bike. At least I’ve plenty of time to pick up the training again without too much loss of form. I was just coming to nicely as well. Ah well. must be getting old, eh!

Hi Gary, Carolyn. I think the info you were given is a bit confused. The basin is the only mooring available to casual visitors in the winter, the linear moorings above the town are given over to winter moorings. We’ve moored in here for a short time in the winter for the last three years. If you’re lucky the water and power are still on, too! Sorry to read about Molly. What a shame. Our last dog, Bruno, had the same trouble.

Locks 0, miles 5½