Back up onto the Llangollen, and a shopping trip to Ellesmere.

On Thursday we moved the short distance to the moorings on the stub of the Weston Arm. A bit cloudy and warmer, all the previous day’s ice had melted overnight.


Triangular bird-boxes along the canal.

I wonder if the design is for a specific species, or it just easier to make them that way?

Up through Graham Palmer Lock, around the corner and under Bridge 70 took us to the moorings where we stayed until this morning.

Plenty of room on the Weston Arm moorings.

The weather was a bit mixed over the weekend, we’ve had rain and snow, wind and sunshine. Often all within a few hours! But the highlight was a visit on Saturday by Dave and Lisa who we haven’t seen for nearly 2 years. They were part of our convoy that crossed the Wash back in 2015…
We had a great few hours, catching up before they had to up and leave. They tend not to cruise in the winter, so they’d come up by car, stopping for a few days at the Chain Bridge Hotel up the Dee from Llangollen.

So today, after filling the water tank and disposing of the rubbish and recycling, we moved up to the bottom of the Frankton Locks.

A beautiful start to the day today. Calm and cold after a frosty night, with just a thin smear of ice on the water.




We got to the bottom lock at 11:00, an hour earlier than the scheduled “window” of 12 till 2. But Chris the lockie was pottering about at the staircase and told us to set off as soon as we were ready.

The two single chambers were empty with the lower gates open, so it didn’t take long to pass those.

Lock 3


A little bit of history, here, too…



Tom Rolt’s book, Narrow Boat, is probably the most common book on boater’s bookshelves.

Coming up the staircase pair.


We thanked Chris, then set off, turning right at the junction and heading for Ellesmere. The canal twists and turns around the rising ground of Val Hill, and there’s two bridges here that have only recently re-opened after a 3 week closure for underwater repairs.
They’re still clearing the equipment they used.

Nice new brickwork

All of the structures on this canal tend to get a bit battered, due to it’s summer popularity.

What, never seen a boat before?


Just over an hour from Frankton Junction we arrived at Ellesmere, passing the maintenance yard and turning into the Arm to moor.

Ellesmere yard and Beech House

One trip to Tesco’s has made a start on topping up the stores, I’ll be going up into the town tomorrow for a few more bits before we set off, heading back towards Wales.

Locks 5, miles 5

The weather forecast said ice…

…and it wasn’t wrong!

Our first frozen canal this winter! Not really surprising as the temperature dipped to five below last night.
We come onto the Llangollen Canal to avoid getting frozen in, but every time we make a short excursion down here on the Montgomery we seem to choose a cold snap. And this canal does freeze!

It wasn’t any thicker than 3 or 4mm, so not a show-stopper, but we did wait until around 11 o’clock to let the bright sun start to work on the temperature.

A beautiful morning


The sanitary station next to Bridge 79 is on the site of an old wharf. There’s a restored crane here, believed to be the only remaining 15cwt crane still existing on the network.


On open, exposed sections of the canal the ice was about 3mm, but thinned a little where there were overhanging trees. It still seemed to take a while though before the bottom of the three Aston Locks came into view.

When we came down yesterday I left each pair of lower gates open, just a few inches but enough to ensure that the chambers stayed empty. But a boat left the moorings behind us in the afternoon, and he had the benefit of those empty locks. Not content with having a “good road”, though, he was too idle to close the top gate after he’d left the lock. Not normally any more than a nuisance, but today it was difficult to close the gates against the ice that had formed overnight. He got called a few names…

After the locks we pulled in for lunch at the Queens Head moorings. My shoulders were aching with the heavy tiller working against the ice. But we pushed on again for another hour or so after we’d eaten, pulling in on the offside just before Perry Aqueduct.

Crunching past Rednall Basin.


Moored near the aqueduct.

A breach here in 1936 caused the canal to be closed and finally abandoned in 1944 by an Act of Parliament. It wasn’t until 1996 that this length, from Frankton Locks to Queens Head, was reopened.

Locks 3, miles 5½

Snowy and slowly to the end of navigation.

The sky was grey and there was fine snow in the wind as we set off this morning at around ten.
To re-open the canal to navigation the bridge ahead was one that had to rebuilt as it had been lowered while the canal was derelict. It looks almost right, but the brick facade hides a concrete span. Still, needs must. It’s certainly better looking than the A5 bypass bridge just beyond!

There are three locks to deal with before the current terminus is reached, and the first was 10 minutes away, just time enough for a coffee.

Aston Lock 1

No sign of the killer geese christened Bonnie and Clyde by George and Carol in 2012. Must have been long in the pot!

Beside Lock 3 there has been a wetland nature reserve for some time, but it’s now being extended uphill, alongside all three.

Feeder to the new lake below Lock 1




Go to https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/news-and-views/news/montgomery-canal-restoration-dream-becomes-reality-with-launch-of-4-million-project for more information.



Aston Lock 3, with a derelict lock-keepers hut on the offside.

It’s a slow half-hour to Maesbury Marsh Bridge from here. The canal, always shallow, is particularly so along here, and at this time of year is clogged with last autumn’s fallen leaves.

A factory chimney on the north side of the canal belongs to the now-disused Bone Manure Works. There used to be a taller one too. The works started out as a lead-smelting foundry, changing it’s use in the 1860s. Horse and cow hooves were boiled up for glue, and the bones were ground up for fertiliser. The smell must have been wonderful...


There’s a sanitary station just the other side of the bridge, no rubbish disposal though, unfortunately.
Crofts Mill Lift Bridge is the last one on the currently navigable section. From there it’s just a couple of hundred yards to the winding point at Gronwyn Wharf.

Turning back at Gronwyn Wharf


Gronwyn Bridge, the current limit for powered boats.
The snow has arrived in earnest now.

The canal is in water for another ¾ mile to Bridge 84, and work continues beyond there. But there’s no winding hole until the restoration reaches Crickheath. I walked up the restored section way back in 2013. Post here…

We returned back through the lift bridge and moored before Spiggots Bridge. My feet were getting cold, but my head was nice and warm!

Thanks for the hat, Johnny!

Heading back tomorrow.

Locks 3, miles 3

Valiant Remora Stove Fan

Heat–powered stove-top fans have been around for a while, sitting atop solid fuel boat stoves all over the network. Employing a principal rediscovered by a gentleman called Thomas Seebeck back in 1821 they require no power to run, instead the difference in temperature between the hot base and the cooler radiating fins generates a small voltage, which drives a motor fitted with fan blades. Especially useful in narrowboats with stoves at the front of the saloon, the fan moves a small but significant amount of warm air down the boat.

But there is a major drawback in their use in boats that cruise. Inevitably, due either to the helmsman’s inattention, inconsiderate wind or inconvenient cross-currents, the boat is going to come in contact with parts of the stationary scenery. If the bump is heavy enough, the fan falls off, causing bent fan blades and possibly a bent frame as well.

A company called Valiant has recognised this problem, and have come up with a design that attaches to the stove’s flue pipe. This is the Remora Magnetic Flue Pipe Fan. We were asked to try one out and write a review.


It came well packed, with formed polystyrene packing protecting the contents. A pity that it wasn’t packed in compressed cardboard instead though, that would have enhanced the company’s eco-friendly image. The four-blade fan comes packed separately, but an Allen key and spare grub screw are provided to fit it.



















What makes this stove fan different from others on the market is the magnetic “wings” that attach to the flue pipe above the stove top.





I was frankly a bit dubious about the effectiveness of this mounting method, but was surprised at how well the magnets hold the unit onto the flue. Time will tell if they remain as tenacious.
They should do, they're made from Samarium Cobalt, one of the strongest magnets available, and the one best suited to high temperature applications.







Within a minute of it being fitted it was off, the fan revolving quickly enough to produce a significant airflow close to the unit. And it was silent, always a good thing.


I experimented with different mounting heights, but found around 300mm above the stove top to be about the best. The flue pipe is hot enough at this level to run the motor, and it also leaves the stove top clear for the kettle and a pan of stew to simmer away.

One thing different from a stove-top fan is the response to varying states of the fire in the stove. With it drawing the fan runs quickly, slowing down as the fire dies down and the flue cools. In fact with the stove banked down overnight it stopped completely. But with the fire riddled and fresh fuel added it soon got going again.
A free-standing fan has a larger base area to absorb the heat, and the top plate of the stove is a lot thicker than the flue pipe, so holds heat for longer. So the fan reaction to a cooling fire is a lot slower. Having said that the four-blade fan on the Remora shifts an awful lot of warm air down the boat, a lot more than our old two-blade Eco-Fan.

The unit looks well put together and is covered by a 24 month warranty. The manufacturer also offers a maintenance and repair service to refurbish worn out parts. Hopefully several years down the line…

It’s not the cheapest of it’s kind on the market, stove-top fans are available for less than £30 now. But the Remora does what it’s supposed to do with no fuss, and it’s not going to finish up on the deck if we have a knock or two while locking.

There’s just one fly in the ointment. The recent upgrades to the Boat Safety Scheme recommend that boat stove flue pipes be insulated for safety and to improve efficiency. And the Remora relies on a hot flue pipe to work. It is only a recommendation, however, and I suspect the vast majority of flue pipes on boats are, like ours, uninsulated.

I  must point out that we have no connection to Valiant, only that I was asked to try out and review the Remora. I hope I’ve done so fairly and impartially.


  

Down on the Montgomery Canal

On Friday we met Chris the lock-keeper at the top of Frankton Locks. We’d set off around 11:00, arriving 25 minutes later.

A fine day for a short cruise.


Turning in to the Montgomery Canal at Frankton Junction.


The locks are only manned between noon and two o’clock, and in the winter have to be booked 48 hours in advance.

Chris was down the flight, setting up for a boat coming up, when he came back up we were able to drop down the double staircase locks then pass the uphill boat above the two singles.




Meg waiting for the lockie


Coming down the staircase pair, the shared gates looming above the lower chamber.




We reversed into the remaining stub of the Weston Arm, at the bottom of the locks, joining one other boat there.

A fine afternoon.


We spent the weekend here, with Val and Johnny arriving on Sunday with mail and a special package…

…a new design of stove fan.
I’ve reviewed it’s performance on a separate post here…

This morning we set off down the canal, sunny spells made it feel warmer than it was, but at least the wind has dropped for now.

Just five minutes on is Graham Palmer Lock, a new chamber installed when the canal was restored to lower the level between here and the Aston Locks.

The lock only drops the level about 14”, but it’s enough to better manage leaks on this section of the canal.




The lock is named for Graham Palmer, the founder of the Waterway Recovery Group. The WRG is at the sharp end of most restoration projects on the network. It’s a pity that some thug has defaced the memorial.




The Montgomery Canal is known for it’s rural isolation, with a diversity of wildlife still around even after the waterway was reopened to navigation in 1996.

Not exactly wildlife, but that one on the left looks annoyed…


Ahh, that’s better. This guy was lurking in the offside bushes making it difficult to photograph him…


…but he was a lot more co-operative later!

Rednall Basin runs a short way from the canal on the towpath side, with a swing bridge crossing the entrance.
A railway trans-shipment wharf, it’s now overgrown and weed-clogged. I was speaking to a local boater some time ago who was keen to see the basin cleared and re-opened for moorings. But, with the emphasis on conservation on the Monty, I can’t see that happening.

The canal loses a bit of it’s isolation at Heath Houses, running alongside a minor but busy road heading to Queens Head.

Bridges and a restored canal warehouse at Heath Houses

The settlement of Queens Head has grown around the junction with the A5, the pub that gives it it’s name sitting just a short distance from the canal.

We pulled in here, not the quietest spot on the canal but it’ll do for one night. The weather looks to be a bit mixed for the week, but we’ll try to avoid the worst. Tomorrow we’ll head down towards the terminus at Maesbury.

Locks 4, miles 5