Llangollen Canal - Day 6

Six days at sea and still new experiences every day. Today we set out for Trevor which was to be our launching point into Llangollen the following day. A cruisey morning with lunch canal-side wedged between the Chirk Aqueduct and Chirk Tunnel immediately after. The tunnel proved challenging as although only 459 yards long, cold and dark, there was sufficient debris (leaves and sticks) caught in our prop to bring us to a standstill even at full power. Hmmm...what to do. I suggested pulling Lucy out and my suggestion was heartily accepted with he help of two fellow boatmen coming to our rescue. Well, they were waiting to go through and had no choice really!

[Martin: Whilst we traversed the Chrik Tunnel on our first day - this time we were heading upstream. The strength of the current is focused when the canal is flowing in a confined space. We were experienced enough to know that there is a "sweet spot" with the throttle. Adding power beyond this point simply drags more water under the boat, dips the bow down, and actually causes you to go slower. Whilst it is dark in the tunnel, I could monitor our progress by the thin arc of light cast on the brick wall of the tunnel that is thrown from our headlight. As you've read - about three quarters through we started slowing - noticeably! I increased the throttle almost fully but found that we were almost stopped. About 30 seconds of the revving engine bought the people into the tunnel that were waiting for our exit. Merrilyn threw them the bow line and they literally heaved Lucy the remaining way through the tunnel. But the story is not over. I found that there was no power in the engine. I had hoped that as we cleared the tunnel entrance and the canal widened, there would be less current to work against. As it was - were just limping along. I wanted to clear the tunnel sufficiently so we could pull up again the bank to inspect the prop. A clue was the prop wash. It didn't look right - sort of "disorganised" rather than the pronounced turbulence you'd expect. Anyway - we pulled to the bank and Lynne and Merrilyn held Lucy. I turned off the engine, pocketed the keys, lifted the engine hatch and removed the prop inspection panel. All clear. We were to learn that the leaves - now falling - were focused in the tunnels and were dragged into the prop reducing its efficiency. Once realised - I could simply fix the problem by a quick burst of reverse thrust. This counter rotation of the prop cleared the debris. Sorted!]

Anyway, on we went, past the Chirk Marina. James delighted in feeding stale bread to the ducks from the bow. They were pretty canny birds, greeting our boat with their greedy quacks. At this point we did a Canal-kill count : 1 drowning squirrel, 1 rabbit, 1 waterbird with long spindly legs (we think).

At 2.15pm we successfully navigated the Whitehouse tunnel, 191 yards long, and this time Martin first put the boat into reverse thrust, shedding potential debris before we got stuck again. To Mum's and my delight we worked the New Marton locks 1 and 2 with ease. Well, we hadn't done a lock for a whole day and were rather proud of our new-found abilities! At the next Lift bridge Mum got chatting to a newspaper photographer who was on the trail of a body reportedly found in the woods below the Pontcysyllte aqueduct. Eerie 'Midsomer Murders' stuff. Which brings us to a highlight of our trip - The Mighty Aqueduct! All reports of this treacherous crossing were pretty accurate - it was indeed a long way down to the River Dee (Afon Dyfrdwy) 126 feet below.

Keeping James inside, we traversed the 1007 feet with some trepidation but no option! Martin felt the sense of the immense height the most as he stood on the stern a metre or so from the sheer drop. The aqueduct is bordered on one side by a fence and footpath and by nothing at all on the other. Yikes! Nevertheless, he did a sterling job.

[Martin: We creeped along the Aqueduct and almost idle. To my right was the walkway. To my left the cast iron edge of the Aqueduct tub about an inch thick. I had to hang over the left side - with the sheer dop below - to make sure that the boat did not bang against the side. At the end of the day I had very little control. Getting our over the valley the wind picked up. Fortunately it was blowing left to right so we were forced to the side of the walkway. Don't know how I would have felt if it was blowing the other way...]

Just after crossing the Aqueduct there is a sharp left-hand turn under bridge 31. Martin was prepared for this and placed the boat gently against the concrete band and pivoted the stern around before heading under the bridge to begin the journey through the upper part of the Llangollen Canal. As Martin has mentioned previously, this part is very narrow and very shallow so navigating it was no simple task. As we climbed higher into the Welsh hills we were pleased to experience a different landscape, more lush rolling hills and deep valleys than the flat pasture land of the previous days. After about an hour we moored for the night just before Sun Trevor Bridge.

[Martin: I have to admit that I wasn't entirely convinced we could get Lucy up to Llangollen. Along the way we had spoken to others that had difficulty with 50ft boats - and Lucy was almost 70ft. I was concerned about the sharp bends and narrow canal. I had pictured in my mind that the lee side of the bends would be shallow and sandy. As it turned out this was not the case. Anyway - as we moved further upstream the weather started to change and for the first time I was contending with a rather stiff crosswind. This just added another dimension to navigating. To top it off, the canal was definitely getting shallower - in some placed a definite V shape. Keeping in the middle I could see the rising banks either side.]

We thought we had the mechanics of mooring all tied up (ha!), but disaster struck when Martin struck concrete hammering a mooring pin in, and the mallet went sailing through the air and splashed into the canal. Martin and I looked at each other in horror! Mum contemplated for a second then collapsed with shrieks of laughter! Well! What to do?! Poor Martin - it seemed he was the man for the job and duly stripped down and braved the icy canal water to retrieve the offending mallet. He had an audience in a man and his dog who would not take a hint and decided to hang around to see the action! Oh, I can laugh about it now but at the time I wasn't happy! So, after a hot shower and making sure the moorings were absolutely tight we walked uphill to dinner at the Sun Trevor pub, a 14th Century building, reportedly haunted and I believe it! The views across the Dee Valley were gorgeous in the golden evening light. Standing outside waiting for the pub to open we were surprised to see a loco from the Llangollen Railway whiz past on the back of a lorry (truck). We hoped there was a spare loco for our trip the next day!

Photos are here.