The bluebells are out near Monk’s Bridge
We were hoping we’d timed it right to get across the single width Chirk Aqueduct and through Chirk Tunnel without having to queue or wait for boats coming the other way. And that’s how it turned out.
Chirk Aqueduct, with the slightly later railway viaduct alongside.
Into the tunnel.
The tunnels and aqueducts make slow going, pushing against the steady flow running down from Horseshoe Falls.
By the time we emerged back into daylight there were a couple of boats waiting to go through the other way.
Through Chirk Tunnel cutting.
We needed diesel so pulled into Chirk Marina, a bit tight to turn around but we got onto a pontoon and had to wait for half an hour or so before we were dealt with.
I’d already rung to ask about convenient times and days, with hire fleets to service and turn around it’s not always possible for private boats to be helped at the marinas. I was told to be there before noon, and we pulled in at around half-ten, leaving soon after eleven.
I expected an eye-watering bill for the 140 litres we took on board, but in fact the base rate for the diesel was a very reasonable 75p per litre. And we could self-declare our usual 20%/80% split.
Out of the marina and we pulled in just a few hundred yards on.
A job I’d been putting off for a while was the cleaning and painting of the swim under the battery tray. There’s no room to get in there without removing the batteries, quite a big deal.
So I set to first thing on Saturday, disconnecting and removing the six batteries, then connecting temporary leads to a couple of them to keep the water pump and fridge and freezer running. Then I had to cut the ½” ply base board in half to get it out, as the cabinet work had been completed before the electrical gubbins was installed. I could have removed the invertor, charge controller, solar panel MPPT, fuse boxes for the invertor and VSR and the Voltage Sensitive Relay itself, but that would have been a step too far!
With the floor of the compartment out the steel of the inner surface of the swim was exposed in all it’s glory, and it wasn’t as bad as I supposed. Being close to open cell lead acid batteries for a considerable time had stripped some of the paint and started to rust the exposed steel, but it was only on the surface. (Remember the 1960s motor cars with the battery in a tray on the inner wing? In a couple of years the tray had started to disintegrate, another couple of years after that the inner wing had gone the same way!)
A good wire brushing…
…followed by a couple of coats of Hammerite…
…should see it through the next several years.
All re-assembled and running again by half-six.
There were a few bits and pieces to sort out on Sunday, cable runs to clip neatly, things like that, then I could put my feet up.
So yesterday (Monday) we were on the move again. Whitehouse Tunnel was around the corner, it’s short and is the only one you can see through without sticking your nose in if you’re heading west.
Whitehouse Tunnel, you can see if anyone’s coming from a distance.
An awkward left turn takes the canal along the slope above the Dee Valley.
A fleeting glimpse through the trees of THAT Ponty-watsit aqueduct!
Just after Fron Lift Bridge the canal makes a right turn, heading for the crossing over the Dee. Up until now we’d only seen two or three boats, but it was all to change as we waited for the water tank to fill at the end of the Fron long-term moorings.
We had to hold off while a couple of boats came across the aqueduct, then set off ourselves, following a hirer. Another two joined our little convoy shortly after we’d embarked on the crossing.
Over the Dee.
Mags didn’t like me getting off to take photos…
Instead of turning left under the bridge to Llangollen we went straight on, past the Anglo-Welsh base and under the bridge into Trevor Basin. We’d hoped to moor here, but alas there was no room, so we came back out and moored on the left side just before the footbridge.
I’m glad we came in when we did, the two following boats also tried the basin and had to turn around, and there’s not a lot of room. Then Jones the Boat, the trip boat that runs across the aqueduct from there turned up, and they took half an hour to get themselves sorted out.
Meanwhile we were say smugly on the only free mooring in the place…
In the winter both sides of the arm leading to the basin are full of hire boats laid up for the off-season. But at this time of year you can moor on the east side – if there’s space!
Locks 0, miles 5 (since The Poacher’s)
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