In June my wife and I and two other couples completed a narrowboat cruise on the Llangollen Canal. For my wife and I and one couple it was our second narrowboat adventure, for the other couple it their first. In July 0f 2016 we attempted a 10 day round trip from Middlewich to Llangollen. I was warned that I might be biting off more than we could chew. On the fourth day we arrived in Ellesmere. We realized that to complete the trip as planned would have to push hard to get to Llangollen and then return to Middlewich. We decided that such a plan would not be fun. We spent two nights in Ellesmere and made a leisurely pub to pub return to Middlewich. We had a great time! On this first trip, each couple had their own boat, scheme that worked out very well.
The plan for this second trip was to complete the first in very leisurely manner. We hired three boats from Crest Narrowboats, Chirk Marina, for pickup on Saturday, June 16. We would return the boats on Saturday, June 23. So, from the get-go, we were traveling at much less busy time than the end of July!
One of our lessons learned from the first trip was not to get off the train and go directly to pickup our boats. I made reservations for Friday night at the Hand Hotel. Staying at the Hand would enable us to leisurely shop for groceries (a grocery store, a butcher shop, a bakery, and vegetable store just down the street from the hotel) in the morning before we picked up our boats. We had a bit of problem when checking in at the Hand, but it was solved to everyone’s satisfaction. We had dinner at the Indian restaurant across the street from the hotel.
On Saturday morning our plan worked out fine. We had time to complete grocery shopping and even spend some time at Chirk Castle. We took a taxi from the Hand to Chirk marina. One of the things that we discovered on this trip was how (relatively) inexpensive the cost of a local taxi is when split among 6 or 4 people. The pickup time was 2:30. We were a little early, but I think that we were loaded up, briefed and out of there by 3:30 or 4:00. The briefing was pretty simple; how to operate the bilge pump, how to start the motor, how to push grease into the prop shaft gland every day, how to turn on the furnace, how to turn the AC power. There were warnings to run the engine at least 5 hours a day to insure a full charge on the household battery, and a stern warning to have two people in the cockpit when traversing a tunnel. And a warning to stay off the gunwales. And fill with water on a daily basis (we didn’t). A marina guy helped each boat get out onto the canal and we were on our way to Ellesmere.
My plan was for us to spend the first night tied up near the Poacher’s Pocket pub. We transited the Chirk Tunnel and Chirk aqueduct without incident and without encountering any traffic. Some of the women expressed a desire to eat indoors, but it was packed so we ate outside. The weather was nice so that happened to be my personal preference. As this was our second narrowboat outing I have become used to ordering at the bar and can waltz into a pub and with perfect equanimity order a “half pint of diet coke” for my wife!
The next morning there was a bit of excitement (Chinese fire drill) watching an inexperienced crew attempt to turn their boat around in the nearby winding hole. The had people ashore with lines and lots of shouting. I spoke to one of them. They were having fun!
The cruise to Ellesmere was pretty uneventful. There was once case of having to suddenly stop and back up at a bridge as another boat came through. The boat following me managed to get crosswise in the canal. But things were sorted out without banging of boats or ill will! Somehow Thomas Telford had a knack for locating bridges at blind corners on the canal!