Rebecca's Blog..

The end of a chapter..

2011-05-06T02:51:00.001-07:00

I first have to apologise to everyone who reads my blog that I have not written for a very long while. When I last wrote, we were at Whixall Marina heading to the Forest of Dean to run a few errands. After we returned to the boat, we made a life changing decision. With all the uncertainty of future employment we decided to stay here in North Wales. Scott has already found a job with someone we met here and I am being a ‘boatwife’ for a while and doing some voluntary work for the Red Cross.

It was not an easy decision to make and I still cannot believe that we are not heading back to Uxbridge. It is also very sad to think that our year of travelling is over. It is however very exciting to start a new chapter in the countryside.

When I reflect on our year I have such happy memories. I think that not only have we come along way along the canals, we have learnt so much about each other and especially how to get on 24/7!. I really have developed the skill of relaxing and to enjoy and appreciate my surroundings. I think I have become a happier person.

I am unsure if you can be proud of a cat, however, I have been very impressed on how Matilda coped with moving from place to place. She also has come into her own. At home, she never hunted and she hardly went out into the garden. Here as soon as the boat stops she jumps off the boat to explore and bring us presents.

We have also had many welcome visitors who kept us company along the way. I think that my parents enjoyed popping up to the many different places and staying in an array of B&B’s. We were also visited by many friends, who brought a little bit of Uxbridge to us. I have been thankful for all the visits and hope that they will continue.

My final thanks is to Scott, who really was the driving force for this adventure. I would imagine it is very rare that a married couple would spend so long together (unless retired!) and I have been very lucky to build such a happy memory.

I am unsure if I keep blogging, I guess to blog is an incentive to do ‘stuff’ so that I have something to write about! But to end this chapter of our ‘journey’ I would like to thank you all for reading. It has been an honour and a pleasure to have shared this adventure with you..…

Whixall Marina

2011-03-12T12:54:00.000-08:00

We have had to run a few errands back in the Forest of Dean, so we stored the boat in Whixall Marina.

This marina is fantastic, the best I have ever seen. Friendly staff, good electricity and water points, little shop, shower block, laundry room (cheaper than the Llangollen launderette), excellent pontoons BT line and Wifi. The only problem is that it is in the middle of nowhere and you do need a car. On the plus side, it is surrounded by fields and it is so peaceful.

The marina is situated along an arm of the canal and involves undertaking 2 lift bridges. Our book warns us that the first one is difficult to manage and it was not wrong. It was such hard work that my arms are still hurting!

Grindley Brook

2011-03-03T10:02:00.000-08:00

On Tuesday we left Hindford and travelled along the open countryside to one of my favourite places Ellesmere. I have been really taken in by Ellesmere, not only does it have a handy launderette and dare I say a Tesco’s close to the canal the canal, it has a lake and of course the canal which as a BW yard.. We stopped there to do some shopping and to go to the launderette. It was quite busy with canal boats and they have winter moorings along the arm.

On Wednesday we left Ellesmere quite early and travelled along to Whitchurch. It was quite far and we did not make it all the way, we did about four hours and then the cold got to us and when we could not bear it any more we moored up in a lovely spot with the sun shining through the windows. After Ellesmere the canal makes its way through woods and the lack of leaves makes it easier to see through the trees to the woodlands and lakes beyond. As I found going through the forest a little monotonous I multitasked and prepared our evening meal, ready to heat up later that evening leaving Scott steering the boat. My excuse was that the quorn needed to marinade, however, I just wanted to be in the warm a bit.

Today I woke up much to my dismay and my cold had not vanished. I felt terrible, everything ached and I could not move let alone being to think about doing the three lift bridges ahead of us. I stayed in bed until lunch time before slowing getting up. As the engine needed to be on to charge the battery it did seem silly not to move the boat so with me at the helm and Scott with the faithful windlass in his hand I navigated through three lift bridges whilst sniffling and sneezing, not a pretty sight. We are now moored up at Grindley Brook.

A Fond Farewell

2011-02-28T10:29:00.000-08:00

It has been quite a sad few days. My parents came up to pick up the car however as a finale we drove along my favourite three roads all on one day. The road to the waterfall, the road along the Berwyn Mountains followed by a drive back from Llangollen the scenic route. A total of 70 miles. Luckily for me, Scott did the driving so I could savour every moment of the journey. Overall in 6 months we have added an extra 6000 miles to the little car and all during this time, I only recall one traffic jam which was in Shrewsbury.

This picture of course is of Thomas the Tank Engine, I could not resist taking a photo whilst we were in Llangollen.

Today we said a fond farewell to Chirk and headed back along the canal. We had not meant to stay in Wales for so long, however, I am pleased that we did. We made lifelong friends, enjoyed the fantastic countryside, had many a cream tea, enjoyed many lazy days admiring the views together with some very hard and spectacular walks. We had loads of visitors and I loved showing them around. It was very sad to leave and I did get a lump in my throat as we crossed the Chirk Aqueduct wondering when we would see it again.

We travelled along the canal and moored up in Hindford. It was about an 3 hour journey and my word was it cold. The wind swept across the fields and I was shivering, however, the views were lovely and the air was fresh. Despite being sad to leave Chirk, it was nice to be on the move again. Sadly it is a move to the unknown as I have had still no word on my redundancy

Damp and Cold days with trips to Llanymynech and Ellesmere Port

2011-02-19T08:18:00.001-08:00

The weather has been miserable it is so damp that even my bones feel cold. We have done a mixture of walks, launderette and chores around the boat mainly consisting of patching clothes. I am now a dab hand at the running stitch!

On Thursday we drove the scenic route to llangollen but it was so foggy you could only see a few feet in front. The trees and bushes on the edge in the road popped up in front of us like an old driving computer game. Sadly the lovely view was not to be seen and today it is no better.

Yesterday we went to Llanymynech. It was a miserable place with a very grubby feel to it. The shining light was the little general store which made their own cakes in the back.The reason for the visit was to see the un-navigable part of the Montgomery Canal and a visit to the Heritage area. The village is home to one of only the three remaining Hoffmann Kilns in the British Isles, and the only one with a chimney. The kiln at Llanymynech was used for lime burning.

Today we took a drive to Ellesmere Port to see the waterways museum. It was one of the best ones that we have been to, having been to the Gloucester and London museums. It had some lovely restored boats and workers cottages.

Now these are what I call pictures of lambs, however a bit of a health warning, after seeing these, I bet it will be harder to eat that lamb curry or lamb chops.

Larry the lamb

2011-02-14T07:06:00.000-08:00

The weather has been really odd recently. Take Saturday, woke up with not a cloud in the sky. As it was warm and sunny we decided that a drive into the Berwyn Mountains was in order with a walk somewhere along the way. We took a different route taking the A5 to Cowen before turning off. We wanted to do a walk near a village called Llandrillo and but as soon as we arrived there was dark clouds overhead so in a quick change of plan, we took a short stroll around the village. This village seemed almost perfect, perhaps not that pretty, but it had everything. A local shop, church, school, small river going through it, bridge and little lanes. The houses were all different, not much uniformity to them which made the village more interesting. From little cottages to big bungalows.

After our walk we hopped back into the car and drove on the B4391through the hills and ending up Oswestry.

This morning again it was sunny and I have been meaning for a while to see the lambs in the field near the Marina, so we packed up our camera and our walking boots and headed down to the A5 and found a footpath which took us right into a field of sheep . Sadly the lambs not seem that engaging or wanted their picture taken. In fact we had to wait ages in a muddy wet field to take these ones. Their mothers did seem rather protective of them and there was lots of baa-ing from them when we arrived. We carried on through a number of fields and across some woods which housed a number of rabbits who also did not what their photo taken.

We have just now returned back from an afternoon drive to Ellesmere where we stopped to walk around the town and the lake. We came accross Shropshire's oldest pub (picture). Ellesmere seems to be getting ready for the tourist season, new signs posts, parking clearly displayed and the centre of Ellesmere seems to be a lot cleaner and brighter since we were last there .

It is now raining, damp and miserable again, but I don’t mind, as long as it clears up by March when we set ‘sail’ again. Just looked at my blog stats.. I have had 18 people from Belize look at my blog this week. Now is now isn't that just wierd?

Ruin, Chester, fish nibbling feet and a visitor

2011-02-08T06:13:00.000-08:00

On Friday night we went to the pub for a rugby match. Now, I am not one for rugby at all, but I have never seen a match so I thought that as this is a year for new experiences, why not. The pub was just in the border of England, but you would not know it. Welsh flags everywhere, I think we were almost the only ones without a Welsh team t-shirt. The game was won by England, but I am unsure if it was a good game or not as I still am unsure how to play it. Later that evening the winds came and I have never been on a narrow boat when it was so windy. Despite using all three ropes, the boat rocked to and fro. Even Matilda was scared.

Saturday saw another miserable day but was brighten by a visitor. She arrived by train from Watford and was happy to be here again in this beautiful part of the country.

We did not do much on Saturday as her goal was to relax, we had a pub lunch and then a tea on the top of Horseshoe pass. The weather was really bad, wet, cold and windy and the evening was spent watching a film.

Sunday we took a walk up the Ruin above Llangollen. The view was not fantastic as it was cloudy. The wind was so strong, probably the strongest I have ever experienced, remaining standing was tricky especially at the top and whilst trying to negotiated the precarious steps back down. With the cobwebs gone and a good few lungs full of fresh air we treated ourselves to a cream tea.

Monday also was windy so we took a drive to Chester for lunch and found a café underground for a jacket potato. After lunch we decided to give our feet a little treat and found a shop which has tanks of Garra Rufa fish. Basically you put your feet into the tank and they eat all your dead skin cells. It felt very odd, like lots of little bubbles. I am unsure if there is any cruelty aspect of this, however, all I can say is that it worked after only 15 minutes of being nibbled my feet felt better. If I ever went again, I would do it for longer.

Today my friend went home and typically it is a lovely sunny day. We drove her to Shrewsbury as there are no trains from Wrexham to Shrewsbury due to flooding on the line as we did not want her to miss the connecting train by taking the rail replacement bus. It was lovely having her to stay and the boat feels a little empty at the moment. Tomorrow back to the routine as its laundry day yet again.

Eglwyseg Mountain.

2011-02-02T03:02:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was such a lovely warm day and we could not resist a drive into the country.

Instead of the Berwyn Mountains we went up over the mountains on the other side of the river Dee. Of course, it is not a real mountain like the Alps, but the map calls it Eglwyseg Mountain.

The drive started over the village of Garth and took as long the panorama road which we have been on before. The road then twisted away from the Dee and through a variety of fields and very sweet farm houses before hitting a small forest. On the other side of the forest we were greeted with a surprise mass of barren landscape not unlike the Berwyn Mountains and the air was just so fresh and invigorating. We drove through this landscape for a while before turning back towards horseshoe pass.

Whilst on our way back we found ourselves at a café dedicated to mountain biking, for a Tuesday morning it was surprisingly busy full of people just coming back from a mountain bike trek all covered in mud. Rather them than me, me thinks.

Pictures: The road above Llangollen with a view of the Ruin and pictures of the Eglwyseg Mountains

Train Spotting

2011-01-28T12:24:00.000-08:00

Today was a bright but very chilly day, the temperature did not reach over 1 degree but this did not stop us from taking a walk to take a photo of one of the last Wrexham and Shropshire trains. Sadly the service which runs from Wrexham to Marylebone for the last three years has come to an end and today was the last day these silver trains trundled through the English and Welsh countryside. We had been on the train a couple of times. It was a very cheap way to travel and the trains were very comfortable. I loved the fact that I could get on the train at Chrik and sit comfortably for 3 ½ hours and arriving at Marylebone.

After our bit of train spotting, we took a drive in the countryside, it was such a beautiful day with not a cloud in the sky and we took a random set of country lanes admiring the view, we even saw some lambs and I did wonder if spring is on the way, but perhaps it was a bit of wishful thinking. Our drive took us to Llangollen where we found ourselves in a café enjoying a spot of cream tea.

Back on the boat..

2011-01-25T07:16:00.000-08:00

We are back on the boat in rainy Wales after being away for a while. In the past month we have been in London looked after by my parents with a fantastic trip to Israel to enjoy a bit of winter sun.

Whilst I was in London, I had some rather sad news and an opening of an email has made my future rather uncertain. I am unable to go into detail as it is very delicate, however, I have been told that I am at risk of redundancy and that in 90 days time, I may not have a job to return home to. I am particularly sad as I (like my colleagues) worked hard to gain a qualification to enter a profession which helped people and made a difference in the community. Only time will tell if I maintain a position, however, my future is currently in the hands of others and out of my control, a horrible and uncertain feeling.

We are staying in Wales for a while as there are stoppages along the Llangollen Canal, I really don’t mind as I love it here. I am enjoying the fresh air and the green fields and despite it raining ever since we got back I am happy to get back to the familiar routine. Our day normally starts with a lazy breakfast and a decision of what we are to do with the day. If it is nice, then we take a trip out, however, as it has been rather miserable I am been using the time to declutter and do a bit of early spring cleaning.

Israel

2011-01-12T03:48:00.000-08:00

What seems a million of miles away from our boat in Chirk, we found ourselves in Tel Aviv, a coastal city in Israel. Perhaps an odd choice for a holiday, but it ticks a number of boxes. Despite being winter, the weather was warm, not hot, but t-shirt and cardigan weather, with a thin jacket in the evening, however, at the dead sea and Masada it was a lot warmer. It is next to the sea and even though I am not a beach person there is a promenade which takes you to some lovely cafes along the sea front. The flight was only 4/5 hours and Tel Aviv is only 30 minutes drive from the airport and of course Israel has loads of history and historical places to visit. So tick, tick, tick, tick and tick.

We stayed in the Crown Plaza hotel (beach) on the 15^th floor with a fantastic view of Tel Aviv looking left and the beach and sea looking right. The hotel would definitely be recommended, the breakfasts were an array of bread, fruit, hot food (apart from Saturdays), cheeses and salads which can be eaten very lazily whilst looking out of the window at the beach and sea below. The rooms were modern, but and cosy. One evening we dined at the hotel which had a buffet which consisted of all types of salads, meats, rices, pastas, breads and an array of puddings.

We stayed in Tel Aviv which is a new city (1909) and has a mixture of building, some very modern and others very run down. There is even a deserted area near to the hotel, which is a empty concrete jungle of unused shops and buildings looking very much like the Brunel University campus. It is quite a busy city, lots of hustle and bustle with an array of shops, but I did not see many of the major department stores which we have at home, interesting really as somewhere like Dubai has all of them. The streets seems to be an unorganised mess of shops, offices, flats and restaurants in no particular order. We did find a shopping centre which had an array of shops and café’s . We were able to walk through the streets quite safely and unlike other middle east / northern African countries I have been to we were not hassled to buy stuff. We walked through the town to a street market which sold all sorts of goods from fruit and vegetables to shopping trolleys to carry your shopping home.

We were able to visit a number of places:

Jaffa a short walk out of Tel Aviv,
The dead sea which is 400 meters below sea level and contains 33% salt
Masada which has such an interesting and sad story attached.
Jerusalem which of course is the holy city for three religious which has a wealth of history
The Holocaust museum which was extremely moving

For this blog, I have decided that I wont write streams about the history of each place as Wikipedia does such a great job and instead I thought that I would post some photos.

Tel Aviv

Tel Aviv is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400,however during the day is rises to over 1 million. It was founded in 1909 on the outskirts of Jaffa

View from hotel room:

Market:
Shopping Centre:

View of Tel Aviv from Jaffa:

Jaffa:

Jaffa is a ancient port city believed to be one of the oldest in the world. Jaffa has been incorporated with Tel Aviv creating the city of Tel Aviv-Yafo.

Street in the newer part of Jaffa (Arab quarter) and flea market:

Street in old Jaffa:

Masada

Masada was built by King Herold in 35 BC as a three tiered winter home, but he never used it. In 73AD after Judaea became a province of the Roman Empire, it was the refuge of the last survivors of the Jewish revolt (1000 people), who chose death rather than slavery when the Roman besiegers broke through their defences. Masada is 1300 feet high.

View of Masada:

Cable car to the top of the Masada:

Footpath to the top of Masada:

View from the top of Masada:

Ruins of Masada:

View of a Roman settlement outside Masda:

View of the ramp which the Roman built from the ground to the top to break the defences which is amazingly still visible today:

The Dead Sea

A picture to show how far the Dead Sea is receding, I think the sign is where it used to be. It is receding as the water which was feeding it has been diverted as domestic water. A plan is in place to build a canal from the Red Sea to Dead Sea which is a joint venture between Isreal and Jordan, but I do not think that it has started as yet. :

The Dead Sea with the Jordan mountains in the background:

Jerusalem

View of Jerusalem:

Streets in Jerusalem:

Inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (which is the holiest place in the Christian Religion) is where Jesus is said to have died and been buried.

Stone of Unction where Jesus was prepared for burial:

The Western / Wailing Wall which is the most sacred sites in Judaism:

The buildings around the Wall:

The Al-Asa Mosque next to the Western Wall:

So as the sun sets on our trip and we are back home, I would recommend a trip to Israel and I have made a mental note to visit again so that I can enjoy again a huge fresh salad lunch over looking the sea whilst drinking ice coffee getting immersed in it's history and culture.

Last day of the decade..

2010-12-31T03:15:00.000-08:00

Well Christmas has come and gone and just like the snow it is a distant memory. Everywhere is just so damp now and when I go outside the cold and damp really gets into my bones. My knees are especially suffering and climbing up hills and steps is quite painful.

We had a lovely Christmas at my parents house. We actually celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve, rather than Christmas day - I believe it’s a Swiss / European thing. So as the rest of the country were preparing for the next day, we were tucking into our feast and opening presents. Normally my parents Christmas tree has real candles on it instead of lights but this year my mother we could not get any of the special candles, so we had fairy lights on our real tree. Christmas day was spent pottering and Boxing day we saw some of our friends.

Whilst we have been in London we have been out and about a bit. Seeing friends, going shopping, popping into see colleagues at work and shovelling snow from the front garden.

One of our trips was to Northala Fields in Northolt which is four manmade mounds with earth taken from the demolition of Wembley Stadium. Their purpose is to act as a sound barrier for residents, but is also forms a country park with a few ponds, a visitors centre and a walk up to the top of the mounds. Perhaps it is not the nicest place to walk, especially compared to the wonderful countryside of Wales, however, it is a nice bit of green in between roads and housing estates. The views from above are meant to be good, however, we could not see very far. We walked around the largest of the mounds which was very noisy on the side of the A40, however, on the other side it was quieter. It really does therefore work as a sound barrier.

We have also been to Brentford to see where the River Thames meets the Grand Union Canal. If we decide to come back home via the Thames then we will need to know where to turn left!

There are still patches of ice around the boat and even though there are signs of defrosting, I think it will be a long while before we will be moving her, unless spring comes early (fingers crossed)

As today is New Years Eve, I just want to wish you all a very happy, healthy and stress free 2011!

Photos of frozen Britain, lydney Harbour and Gloucester Cathedral

2010-12-08T05:56:00.001-08:00

Have been fighting a cold so have not done any major trips. We have been walking locally and have been surprised how cold it actually is. I recall last year walking down the canal at 7.30am to work and being cold, so cold that Scott had icicles on his beard. What I do not recall was that the cold continued throughout the day and here the frost just not melting and it is so icey. I am pleased though we are not in Scotland and also rather happy that I am not working so I can stay under the covers, all nice and warm for a bit longer.

The news discusses Frozen Britain and whilst it focuses on the travel and transport, however, these pictures demonstrate to me how the countryside has also just been frozen. The scenery is just lovely, the white trees look so pretty and the countryside as a pastel look which is a stark contrast from the vibrant colours of the summer

Just a couple of places which we have been to which I forgot to add previously.

Lydney Harbour
This is a harbour in Lydney and has been under some redevelopment. My word it was cold and the fog made it very eerie. The harbour is on the Seven Estuary and was used to aid the transport of Iron and Coal.

Gloucestershire Cathedral
We took a drive into Gloucester and wondered around the shops. It was just like any other town really, however, teh Catherdral was nice. For some reason I did not take a photo of the outside, however, the picutre on the left is part of the building and was in the Harry Potter Films.

Chilly start to December..

2010-12-05T07:19:00.000-08:00

Trying to sightsee and do things in December has proven very tricky. All the normal 'tourist' places are shut during the week and even though the countryside is very pretty and white, the coldness and slippery pathways have hindered our motivation to go walking. It seems that all I want to do is curl up on the sofa under a blanket.

We have however been shopping to Sainsburys and rediscovered Beanfeast, been on a couple of walks and today treated ourselves to a Sunday lunch at a very busy Weatherspoons pub.

Below are some photos that I have taken recently.

Its been 6 months...

2010-11-30T09:04:00.000-08:00

It has almost been 6 months since we have been away and we are getting closer to going back to work and at the end of the journey.

So far, this has been an adventure of 2 halves and a bit. The first half was travelling to the famous Trevor Aqueduct by boat, second half has been exploring North Wales and area around Chirk (with a quick trip to the Isle of Man). The final bit has been going back and forth to the Forest of Dean and area.

Our attention initially was different, we had always planned to keep travelling along the canal until winter and the stoppages, however as the Leeds and Liverpool canal was closed coupled with falling in love with North Wales our plans changed.

I loved cruising along the canal and recall with great affection sitting on the top of the boat taking deep breaths and enjoying the fresh air. We travelling through fields, woods and towns. Even though I preferred the countryside, the towns no matter how rough they were was interesting to travel through looking into peoples gardens and the different architecture of the buildings. At times there were many boats along the canal and other times we were the only ones for miles. To me the travelling had a draw back as I could never get attached to a place as we always moved on and even though we stayed in some places longer than others, I kept an emotional distance as I knew that if I loved a place I would be sad to leave which is why the decision to stay in Chirk for longer than expected was not surprise to me.

The second half of our trip was travelling around North Wales and surrounding areas and we have done over 3000 miles in 3 months. We have seen places which the canal boat would never see and probably where you would not go if you were on a weeks holiday in the area. I have lost count as to how many different places we have visited and I think I have walked more miles in the past 3 months than I have ever done. Some of the views have been breathtaking and I would not have missed them for the world.

This journey has not fully been about sightseeing. I have been able to switch off from the stresses and strains of everyday life and have enjoyed doing one task well rather than many tasks badly. I no longer multitask or always rushing. I can spend time just sitting and taking in the surroundings and therefore notice a lot more, ‘smelling the roses’ if you will. It of course was not always like that, at the beginning I really missed work, the routine and feeling useful. It has taken me a long time to fully appreciate and enjoy the journey. Perhaps through my training for work, I do lots of reflection, so I started to think about a few learning points and what I would tell a stressed, anxious, harassed version of me. As I thought for a moment I could only come up with the usual cliché such as ‘life is too short’ or ‘ wake up and smell the roses’ or ‘ you only live once’ and it dawned on me, my light bulb moment, I have always known of these sayings, but was always to stressed, harassed and anxious to appreciate them and realise how true they are.

So what does the next 6 months hold? Well, there are stoppages along the canal so we are going to stay put for a while, we are in a fantastic location for transport back home, shops, countryside etc The stoppages finish I think around mid February so that is when we will look at our canal guides and plan our journey home if the canal is not frozen! In the meantime, we will continue to use our little borrowed car and devalue her even further by adding even more miles to the clock.

Abergavenny, Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal, Sharpness and the snow

2010-11-29T09:43:00.000-08:00

I guess I cant write this blog without making a note of the snow. All very pretty, but my word it is chilly. What I have just realised is that I have never been to the countryside when it is snowing so I am just loving the white fields and watching the poor sheep and cows trying to keep warm huddled together. Initial pictures of the snow below, guessing that there will be more later.

We have been on a couple of trips, however, with the weather being so cold all I want to do is to stay indoors with a blanket. I hope this winter will not be a long one, I do prefer sightseeing when the weather is nice, rather than sitting in the car with our flask of coffee and sandwiches.

Abergavenny and The Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal

Abergavenny is a pleasant market town in Wales and close to the border of England. It is another town which is located in the Brecon Beacons national park. We only took a small stroll through the town and went to the market. It has a nice array of shops of which oddly in the windows of a few were dogs just sitting and staring into the street.

This town is close to the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal so we could not resist a quick visit to a place called Goytre Whalf. The Whalf has a café, a marina and a place where you can hire a boat for holidays. We walked along the canal for a bit and enjoyed the countryside views. I would really love to travel along this canal and made a mental note that this would be a good place to hire a boat for a holiday one year.

This picutre on the left shows platforms into the canal. I have been debating what they are for. My first thought was for fishing, however, I now think that they are for mooring as the canal was rather shallow on the edge, therefore the platforms allows a boat to moor in more deeper waters.

Sharpness

Perhaps an odd location for a day trip, however, I wanted to visit the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal. We first when to Saul Junction to view the canal then drove to its start in Sharpness. Sharpness is a dock area and the canal was built to make navigation easier to Gloucester. The canal runs alongside the tidal River Seven. Sharpness was all very bleak and very windy. I was surprised to see two rows of houses in the dock and figured that they could be for the dock workers. I noted a couple of things which interested me (pictures), Firstly the lock was the biggest I have ever seen and huge mooring dollys, just like the canal only bigger. It shows that a good design can be adapted by size no matter how big the boat is..

Tintern Abbey, craft shops, cider factory, docks and a canal basin

2010-11-24T10:13:00.000-08:00

Been out an about over the past few days. Luckily the weather has been good but it is now rather chilly now. Snow on the way I believe. I don’t recall ever having snow in November before. I am looking forward to seeing the countryside in the snow, all crispy and white, the photos will be amazing! Other than visiting a few places we have not been up to much. I did have some correspondence from the BBC regarding a photograph I sent to them of Matilda, they wanted my contact details so that a reporter could interview me, but sadly they did not call. I had visions of being on the news but I think the announcement of the Royal Wedding scarpered those plans. Below I have listed a few places which we have been to recently.

Tintern Abbey:

The Abbey was founded by Walter de Clare, Lord of Chepstow in 1131. It is a fantastic building sitting on the backs of the River Wye. It is a very impressive building and I feel that my couple of photos do not do it justice. The present-day remains of Tintern are a mixture of building works covering a 400-year period between 1136 and 1536. Very little remains of the first buildings. I would imagine on a dark winters evening walking it would seem a tad eerie.

Taurus Crafts

This is ‘village’ of 7 little craft shops, a deli and a tea room . It is a centre which provides opportunities for people with disabilities to gain work experience and qualifications. It is an Aladdin’s cave of knickknacks s and I could have easily spent a fortune on bit and pieces. Luckily for me, I am mindful that there is not much space on a boat.

Cider Factory

This is in the heart of Herefordshire and when you step out of the car there is a distinct smell of apples in the air. Unfortunately we were unable to go on the tour so we settled for a drink of apple juice which was lovely and sweet. The café had walls and walls of different cider bottles both old and new.

Herefordshire and Gloucester Canal

I was unaware that the above canal existed and from what I have read it is still being restored by the Herefordshire and Gloucestershire Canal Trust. When it is completed it will restore 34 miles of rural canal from Gloucester to Hereford. According to the trust website, once finished it will be one of the most attractive cruising routes in the country. I am unsure if any of it is navigatable just yet, there were a couple of boats on the basin, however, I think they were part of the restoration project. I also could not establish when it will be finished, however, it is worth while keeping at eye on the Trust Website as I would imagine it would be a lovely canal to have a holiday on.

Gloucester Docks

We took a quick visit to the docks to look around, very modern with new flats which I guess were converted from old warehouses. There is a Waterways museum there, but we did not visit as we went there last year. This marks the start of the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal, which I believe can only be accessed via the River Seven and seeing it flow quickly I think you would have to be very brave to travel along it in a narrowboat.

Symonds Yat Rock

This is a rock which raises about 120 meters over the River Wye and it one of the most popular view points in the Forest of Dean. We only quickly stopped to look at the view and I hope that we can go back there again for a longer walk. (Weather permitting!)

Only 31 days till xmas! - Apologises for the quality of some photos, they were taken with the phone,

The tale of a Church, a big apple and a pub

2010-11-21T10:40:00.000-08:00

This weekend saw a quick trip back to London and on Saturday we found ourselves at the Swiss Church in London. This Church was founded in 1762 and is for Swiss nationals to meet to particpate in a wide range of activities and to feel less isolated in a foreign country. As a child I recall impatiently waiting for Father Christmas to give me my gift during the Christmas Service. It was also the home to a mother and baby group where in the 70’s my mother made some Swiss friends who turned out to live only a few miles from her. The church at the time was falling down, but now it had a face lift and is very modern. We went on Saturday as they had their Charismas Bazaar where all sorts of Swiss produce could be bought from cheese to chocolate but no cuckoo clocks.

After we had a bread and cheese lunch, we walked to the Apple Store in Covent Garden. It is the worlds biggest Apple store and had a wealth of toys to play with. It was busy with people playing with the different apps and checking to see if you can really open up the macbook air with one finger. I can confirm that it is possible.

Covent Garden was very busy and in fact so was the underground. I recall with a shudder the days that I used to commute for over an hour to South Kensington.

In the evening we went to the pub with a number of our friends and we choose a pub which we thought would be quite, but it turned out to be very busy as a band was playing, however, time went quickly and it was good to catch up on all the gossip.

We even managed to have a quick look at the Canal and saw the lady who made our cratch cover so we gave her an update on our journey. The canal was very busy and I forgot how congested it is with all the boats compared to Wales which is rather quite at the moment. I have not tried at looking at the boats on the canal, each boat is so unique that no matter where you are on the canal it always is interesting to walk along the towpath looking at the different styles and paintwork, to me it is still rather magical and special to see a line of boats with the fires on, smoke out the chimney and the burning of coal smell.

Cheese Factory and a Royal Wedding

2010-11-17T12:21:00.000-08:00

Well a Royal wedding is soon to be upon us and as I recall the excitement of the Prince Charles and Lady Diana wedding where as a little girl I got up early with my Swiss cousin to watch everything from the build up to the ceremony waving my little plastic Union Jack flag I wonder about the timing of this wedding. Is it now just when there is huge debt, high unemployment and spending cuts that this announcement ensures that there is a ‘feel good’ factor in the air? Or am I cynical? Will we as a nation be hurrying to purchase commemorative coins and stamps and will they sell the little plastic flags again?

Today it rained and it rained so a trip to a cheese factory was in order. We saw how cheese is made from start to finished and was very surprised at the amount of mold which grows on it as it matures, it was like fur!. It was a small factory and the work seems very back breaking and extremely scientific. Unlike a cheese factory we visited in Switzerland this one did seem less hygienic as the one I had visited before was all behind glass, where this one we walked around the factory floor. The cheese was expensive to buy, however, from the tour I can see how much work goes into it from filling the moulds to turning the cheese by hand everyday whilst it matures.

Black Mountins, Hay on Wye, Brecon and the Forest

2010-11-16T11:57:00.000-08:00

Black Mountains, Hay on Wye and Brecon

In order to visit Hay on Wye we took a longer route via a road through the Black Mountains. As we drove towards the mountains it was very foggy and I began to wonder if we had made a mistake, however, the fog soon cleared as we were able to see the road ahead. I am of course used to the fantastic views of the Berwyn Mountains of North Wales so was slightly disappointed with the journey however, as we turned one particular corner we were greeted with outstanding views of the countryside which rival any of the ones in North Wales. After a photo stop we arrived in Hay on Wye and took a stroll. The town lies in the Brecon Beacons National Park and is famous for its secondhand bookshops. It is also host to a 10 day Literary festival . I would highly recommend a visit if in the area and in fact a nice trip could be to combine a walk in the Mountains with a spot of lunch in Hay.

After we had a cupper and Scott had a warm scone with cream and jam we drove 15 miles to Brecon. This town sits north of the Brecon Beacons and is a market town which marks the start of the Brecon and Monmouthshire Canal. The basin was a slight anti climax as there was not a signal canal boat (apart from the day trip ones). The Canal is 35 miles in length and runs mostly through the Brecon Beacons National Park and I have read it meant to be a lovely stretch of water but sadly, unless we put our boat on a lorry and take it there by road it will never cruise this canal.

After a another stroll around the town and a cup of coffee we drove through the Brecon Beacons via a reservoir. This area is one of the three national parks in Wales. It is home to Welsh Mountain Ponies who graze wild as well as the many sheep. I have a feeling that we only explored a fraction of the Black Mountains and the Brecon Beacons so we have made a promise to ourselves to return very soon.

Sculpture trail

As it was such a bright, frosty and sunny morning we drove at first to a place called the Pudds which is just above the village of Lydbrook to look at the view.

After The Pludds we drove to the Sculpture Trail which as the name states is a series sculptures in woods. The actual trail is quite long and as we forgot any form of refreshments we only did half. The weather was lovely, nice and bright and as the sun melted the frost the air was clear, mist was rising from the leaves and little sounds of droplets falling could be heard. The ground of the forest changed and underneath some larch trees lay a bed of needles
which reminded me of snow as we walked along it. Some of the sculptures were odd to say the least but it made a walk in the woods more interesting.

Pictures: Top two views from the Black Mountains, next two are the reservoir in the Brecon Beacons, next are some sculpture and I will leave you with some forest ones below, note the mist in the first one below rising from the ground.

Forest of Dean

2010-11-12T12:47:00.000-08:00

We have been fortunate to have spent a few days in the forest of Dean and will be going back and forth over the next few weeks. Even luckier for this journey Matilda came with us. She was fine on the journey and slept for most of the way despite her initial meows of protest. She settled in very well however I think we may need to clip her claws as she likes the new carpet.

In return of some basic DIY we are able to stay in the village of Lydbrook. The village perhaps is not the most prettiest, however, it is nestled in the forest with the River Wye at the end of the Village. Neighbours are nice and the village has a local shop which is a few minutes walk. From the patio window you can see into the garden and forest beyond whist the winds blow the leaves from the trees. In between DIYing we will have the opportunity to explore a bit.

We have been out and about a little. We drove to Monmouth which is a market town and worth a visit Cinderford which has seen better days, Colefold to nip into the coop, we popped to Tescos in Lydney and we undertook a forest drive which was not indicted very well and we got lost on a couple of occasions. The drive is called the Royal Forest Route and takes you to a number of the attractions within the forest, some are along the route and others are just off it. Unfortunately most of the attractions were either closed (due to being out of season) or cost to get in. We were however able to go to a couple of nice places, Cannop Ponds which is a largish pond in the forest and a walk along a nature trail. The forest reminds me of a big Black Park which is a county park near home.

There is loads to do here in the Forest of Dean, I would however recommend it for a holiday but perhaps when the weather is a bit warmer and in the holiday season.

Photos: Various picutres taken in the forest

Waterfalls and a mishap..

2010-11-08T11:23:00.000-08:00

Yesterday the weather was lovely, nice and sunny. We decided to take a drive to the waterfalls. I know we have been there quite a few times, however, I never tire of the journey . We took a long walk and had a cup of tea in the café which was surprisingly busy for a Sunday in November. As time is ticking, I have a feeling that this may have been our last trip to the waterfalls for a while.

Today was not without event. We decided to take the boat out as we needed a pump out and fuel. Just as we were untying the knots, I heard an almightily splash only to see poor Scott in the cold water of the canal. He had slipped from the edge of the boat and as he was wearing gloves they inhibited the ability to grip to the edge to save himself. He had to heave himself back onto dry land. He is fine, but has a slightly bruised rib and perhaps a bruised ego as well.

Number of times fallen into the canal:

Scott 2, Rebecca 1, Mailtda 1

Bonfire Night...

2010-11-06T08:55:00.000-07:00

Last night was bonfire night so we went to the local fireworks display at Chirk Football Club. For a mere £2.50 we were treated to the biggest fire I have ever seen and some basic fireworks. It started at 6.30 and we left around 7.30. It was slightly chilly, but the fire and hot chocolate kept us warm.

It reminded me of bonfire nights of yesteryear when I would spend hours raking up the leaves for the fire and eagerly waiting for my favourite firework the Catherine Wheel which was nailed to the fence whilst drinking my home made soup.

More recently we were in Switzerland on Swiss National Day, staying with relatives who have a fantastic view over the Lake of Thun and the towns and countryside below. Not only could we see the professional displays along the lake but everyone else’s fireworks miles away.

Yesterday was also Diwali, so I would like to wish everyone a Happy Diwali.

Today we walked again to the ruin above Llangollen. I was not looking forward to the hike as it is really steep and a long way, however, despite my initial grumbles I walked to the top (with only one rest) where we had a picnic lunch. Being such a lovely day the views were outstanding and clear and below we could see little dots of sheep being herded into the next field by a sheep dog with the farmer being on a quadbike.

On our way back we stopped at Llangollen for a cuppa, sadly it was the weakest cup of tea ever, so we are back on the boat have a real tea whilst Scott is playing on Spectrum Games on his PC. I was quite eager for this revival thinking that as I am a few years older the games would be easier, sadly this is not the case. It appears that even though I am older with a few years of gaming experience behind me, it seems that my reactions have slowed down, ability to remember the keys and my lack of patience have hindered my progress on many of the classics.

The two photos above are from the fireworks last night, however, I thought that I would share a couple of photos that I took of the fireworks on Swiss National Day.

Country Park..

2010-11-04T11:58:00.000-07:00

I have just come in from the wind and the rain taking my flowerpots off the top of the roof. They had blown over in a very strong gust of wind, it is very windy here at the moment. This afternoon it has done nothing but rain, all very miserable. This morning the weather was better so we went to the county park again and walked along the River Dee to the Aqueduct at Trevor. I have been to the Aqueduct a number of times, but am still impressed by its marvellous feat of engineering. Tevor was empty, we were the only ones walking around which is a stark contrast to the summer when it was busy. We walked back just in time before the rain started and it has not stopped since.

Yesterday we drove to Ellesmere to buy some special toilet paper at the chandlers, but they did not have any. It never occurred to me to phone first. We took the opportunity to have a coffee at the lake and shared a bowl of chips for lunch before we walked around the lake. I really do like Ellesmere and was pleased to have taken the opportunity to see it in autumn.

Currently we are sitting inside, doors open as the fire is very hot listening to the noise of the rain on the cratch cover. I love this sound as it remains me of the many wet Glastonbury Festivals sitting in the tent waiting for the rain to stop before venturing out into the muddy fields. Fingers crossed for better weather for bonfire night.

Photos: The first one is of the Viaduct for the trains over the River Dee, second is a picture of the Aqueduct from its base and finally is a view from the aqueduct which has been shown before on this blog but I thought it highlights the different colours of the trees.

Chester...

2010-11-02T09:27:00.000-07:00

Yesterday it was a bright and sunny day and unfortunately it was also washing day. We had no clothes left so washing had to be done. The morning in the launderette seemed to drag and I was itching to get outside into the country air. Once the washing was done we drove to horseshoe pass where we walked for a while. Normally when we have been there it is always very windy, however yesterday it was very calm. After our walk we went to Oswestry to get Matilda some cat herbs which is enjoyed at the cattery. Sadly they have had no impact on her and our boat is smelling rather odd.

This morning was a morning where you don’t really want to get up, cold, wet and windy, however Matilda had other ideas and was up very early. She obviously does not know that the clocks went back.

We took this opportunity to visit Chester and I was pleasantly surprised how nice it was. The journey was only 30 minutes by car and we found what must have been the most expensive carpark in the whole of Chester. The Micra was in good company surrounded by BMW and other such cars.

Chester is well worth a visit. We wandered around the shops, saw the cathedral (but did not go in as it was £5) took a walk to the city walls and found the canal which looked slightly unloved and very grey. The City has a multitude of shops and restaurants. It is very lively, busy and pleasant . I would highly recommend a day trip. We left the city just as the rain started and got a tad lost around the ring road, luckily the Satnav came to our rescue before we went around it for the third time.

So, Autumn is truly upon us and the trees are so colourful, fantastic shades of browns, reds and yellows. The weather forecast is miserable for the next week so I think some autumn cleaning of the boat and a good sort out is in order, however as I write this, the fire is on, Matilda is snuggled next to me, it is getting dark so we may just watch a movie and clean tomorrow.

As it is November and we have been away for about 5 months I feel that some refection is in order. We are both enjoying our time away, are both very relaxed and are always grateful for the opportunity of taking a year away from work. The constant knot in the back of my neck has vanished and I have learnt to appreciate my surroundings. I don’t feel the need or have to multi task everything I do and fit everything in the shortest time possible. I have especially enjoyed cooking from scratch and taking my time. The lie-ins have been fantastic and the alarm clock is rarely used. I have enjoyed spending time with Scott and Matilda and we have not really got on each other nerves (yet!). We have however, tried to do something everyday and I probably can only count a couple of times where we have not left the boat; whether this is because I still have the need to be busy or because I want to ensure that no day of my year is wasted I am not sure. The difference being of course is we do things that we want to do rather than because we have to.

Black Park

2010-10-30T11:11:00.000-07:00

Today we picked up Matilda from the cattery. She seemed fine after her stay and has forgiven us for abandoning her. This afternoon I took a walk to Black Park which is a county park not to far from the Marina. The weather was nice and the trees were a fantastic colour. The country park is on the edge of the River Dee which was flowing very quickly, it was interesting to see the river from close and this river was the reason why the aqueducts were built. There is a walk along the River taking you to the base of the aqueduct which I will do again with my camera.

Yesterday we came back from the Isle of Man on the ferry. The journey was not that enjoyable. The ferry was modern and we had a good place to sit at the front with lots of windows so that we could see out. Unfortunately it was very windy and I was told by a member of staff that this is the strongest wind that the ship sales. It was very very choppy and poor Scott was not well (despite taking seasick pills) . Walking around the ship was tricky especially as I needed to keep getting up to get Scott water, tissues and dispose of his sick bags!

For our last night in the Isle of Man we went to a Indian restaurant which was 13 miles away from the hotel. The drive there was a little hair-raising. It was very dark with no cats eyes on the road and it was terribly windy. The restaurant was very busy however, the town was completely dead.

So we are now back on our boat. It is odd that normally when I return home from a holiday I am very sad to leave our holiday destination as it means that the relaxation is over. In fact, I was not sad to leave the Isle of Man and happy to return to our boat and to continue our time in Chirk.

Picture of a windfarm from the ferry:

Isle of Man

2010-10-28T10:00:00.000-07:00

Firstly apologies for no blog for a while, but we have been on holiday to the Isle of Man.

The reason for picking the Isle of Man was a simple, Scott has always wanted to go and being in Chirk made the journey to Heysham to pick up the ferry very easy.

The Isle of Man is an Island off the coast from the Mainland UK. It is self governing, (apart from foreign affairs and defence) has its own currency, tax system, mobile phone network, car number plates etc. It is almost like going to a foreign country and in many ways it is foreign. In 2006 the population was 80,058 people, of whom 26,218 reside in the island's capital, Douglas.

The countryside around the Isle of Man was slightly disappointing, I felt that it lacked the wow factor of Wales that I have seen, however, the scenery around the coast was dramatic and I must admit at times I was wowed.

Houses range from very expensive (a few million) to cheaper flats. There are some very grey housing estates dotted around the island. Douglas appears to have all the usual shops, however, as the ferry to Liverpool is 2 ½ hours away, islanders go shopping to Liverpool. There is a Tesco’s. M&S, HMV, Boots to name a few high street shops on the Island. The Island also has a cinema and a theatre.

Day One

After an early start and a drive to put Matilda in a cattery we were on our way to Morecambe to stay for a night before embarking on the ferry to Douglas. I had high hopes of Morecombe and choose to stay there as I really wanted to stay in a seaside town.

The journey to Morecambe was about 2 hours along the motorway and we only hit a bit of traffic into Lancaster. We booked ourselves into the Westleigh Guest House which is on the sea front. The hotel was terribly outdated. The carpet was similar to the show house of 1969 at the slate museum and the bathroom was a shocking pink colour. The room was cold and the only redeeming feature was the lovely view of the bay and the mountains beyond which as the sun set gave a fantastic colour over the horizon.

Morecombe itself is very rundown. The beach and sea is very petty, however there were so many shops empty or which could have done with a lick of paint. We walked along the promenade and along the road on the way back. We popped into a amusement arcade which clientele can only be described as people in Jeremy Kyle’s waiting room.

I was very sorry to see how sad Morecombe looked, especially as I would have imagined that it was a bustling and vibrant seaside town. I read that it was thriving in the mid 20^th Century and between 1956 and in 1989 it was the home of the Miss GB beauty contest. Now, apart of the nice views over the bay there is no reason to visit unless you wish to see the statue of John Eric Bartholomew, better known as Eric Morecambe.

View of Morecambe Bay

Statue of Eric Morecambe

Day Two:

We woke up very early Monday morning and saw the frost outside on the cars. The sea and beyond looked lovely and I noted that I have never seen a frosty seaside before. I had a bad night, there was a distance humming noise in the room which kept me awake for a while and the blue light of the standby of the TV was very annoying. I was in the middle of writing my review for the hotel whilst Scott was in the shower when the power went, the whole hotel had a power cut. I went to find someone but only found a stressed and grumpy landlady who did not know what to do. We did go down to breakfast but all we could have was cereal and being so cold I really wanted a coffee. As a refund the landlady gave us £10 to get breakfast elsewhere, which we did in a Weatherspoons.

After breakfast and a walk along the promenade we drove to the port to get to The Isle of Man. The crossing was OK, the seating area was awash with children being half term and by 5pm we went on deck to see the boat cruise into the harbour with a fantastic 180 degree turn at the end. The sailing took 3 ½ hours and apart from the last hour was very calm and pleasant.

As we took the car on the ferry, we were able to drive out of the harbour quite quickly and head to the hotel. The journey was fine, however, we did not realise that the Sat Nav postcode feature did not work on the Island so we had to rely on good old fashioned map reading.

The hotel was lovely, nice room and the best shower ever. It is situated about 20 minutes drive from Douglas in the countryside.As it was late we had dinner in the hotel.

Day Three:

Up again bright and early and headed to Peel, which is a harbour town on the coast. However, it was dead and the only shop open was a charity shop. They had a couple of museums, however, we skipped them and headed to Port Erin to go on the Steam Railway. The weather even though was not raining was damp and cloudy so the views of the countryside were not as dramatic as it could have been.

I dropped my parents at the station to park the car. When I arrived back at the station I saw them chatting intensely with the Station Master. I discovered that he used to work with my Mother at Elal Airlines in their London office. What a small world. He looked after us and we travelled in the first class carriage to Douglas and on our return from Douglas we met him for a coffee where we began chatting about life on the Island.

The steam train took us to Douglas in an hour. It mainly followed the coast stopping at stations along the way. It was a nice way to see the area especially as no one was driving so all could enjoy the view.

We did walk a bit around Douglas to find somewhere to have some lunch, the shopping area could be anywhere, however the seafront however was very nice. After 3 hours in Douglas we took the train back a tad cold and tired. Doughas Bay: The Steam Train:

Day Four:

Again, up quite early as today was Manx Electric Railway day. We boarded this train at Ramsey and took it to Douglas and return. The tram hugs the East coast with some outstanding views. The journey is 17 miles long and the line began its life in 1893. The tramway winds itself along fields and roads whilst crossing a few roads along the way. The journey was not without incident with a couple of emergency stops and one where a lorry nearly crashed into us.

After lunch (which has been difficult to find a place to eat) we went for a drive in the country. First heading to the most northern tip of the island at its pebble beach followed by a drive over the ‘mountains’, I would be more inclined to call them hills. The vegetation of the mountains reminded me of the mountains around the horseshoe pass and the Berwyn mountains in Wales. Very bleak with heather growning on it. The colours were lovely, browns and greens.

The roads in the Isle of Man tend to be single carriage ways. I did not see any duel carriageways. For some strange reason it’s easy to get lost on the island and take the incorrect road. The island is home to the famous TT races, which is a motorcycle race round the island. The road for the TT is very well marked and one could drive the course if wanted. I understand the island gets very busy round TT time.

View from the tram:

View from the Mountains

Day Five:

Up again very early and drove to the South West tip of the Island to a place called The Sound. It has fantastic views of the Calf of Man, a little island and the sea beyond. There is also a café which makes the most of the views.

After we dropped my parents at the Airport it started to rain so we went back to Peel to one of the island many museums. This museum explores the island Celtic, Viking and Maritime traditions. It was a very interactive museum which kept the interest going.

Once we had lunch in a local pub we drove to The Niarbyl Visitors Centre. In fact the Centre consisted of a TV in the café. The Café is on a cliff over the sea and the wind was gale force. It was so windy. We walked along the cliff which was a little precarious especially as the footpath was very muddy and the wind could have almost blown us over. We did not walk for long I was worried that the fog would set in and we would not be able to find the path back.

After a bit of a drive we arrived back at the hotel and took a stroll along the river near the hotel to the waterfall. The walk, which I thought would only be a short wander, took around an hour and we arrived back at our hotel tired and rested whilst we had a cup of tea and the complimentary biscuits.

The view to Calf of Man

The road to nowhere

Cliffs near Niarbyl

Two types of rocks from derived from two separate continents:

Waterfall near the hotel

So this ends a very long blog and our trip to the Isle of Man....

Snowdon and Anderton Lift

2010-10-23T06:37:00.000-07:00

Over the past couple of days the weather has been cold and rainy so we have not been up to much. Been to Llangollen to do the laundry and purchase coal and wood, nipped into Oswestry and generally pottered.

On Wednesday the weather despite being bitterly cold was very sunny and we took, what may be the last opportunity of the season to take the train up Snowdon. This mountain is the highest in Wales and is located within Snowdonia National Park.

The summit is at an altitude of 1085 meters above sea level and on clear days you can see Ireland, Scotland, England and The Isle of Man. The views were fantastic despite being very cold. There was even snow on the ground. We took the train both up and down. A few years ago, we did walk up (from the half way station) and down to the bottom, however, my knees were a lot younger then, so this time we decided to “let the train take the strain” The train starts from Llanberis and is a narrow gauge rack and pinion mountain railway (based on Swiss technology) and is over 100 years old. The locomotives are steam or diesel and push the carriages up the mountain. Once at the top the train waits for 30 minutes before heading back down. Which gives just enough time to climb a few steps to the top and have a cup of tea in the new café on the summit.

After we descended we took a walk around the lake just near the base of the mountain and found ourselves in a slate museum where we stopped for a welcome coffee and shelter from the cold. The museum spoke about this history of slate mining and the different roles and tasks involved. The museum even had houses to show the changing décor of miners houses through history ending in 1969. It was fascinating and I was very interested in a water wheel which powered the tools. A marvellous peace of engineering. This waterwheel is the largest working wheel in mainland Britain. 50 foot or so in diameter and 5 foot wide and was constructed in 1870.

(Picutres: View from Snowdon (you can just see in the first one a fluttering of snow) and the water wheel)

Thursday saw another bright day and after a slow morning we drove to the Anderton Boat lift. I was pleased to visit something related to the canal and secretly very happy that my boat was not going on the River Weaver, it is so big and daunting compared to the canals. The lift, which is the first of its kind, links the River with the Trent and Mersey Canal It was built in 1875 and used until 1983. After lots of fundraising and campaigning restoration started in 2001 and opened in 2002 with a visitors centre.

We did a little boat trip on the lift, basically starting at the bottom and ending at the top. Unfortunately the lift did not work to plan for our trip and we were stuck on the lift for about 30 minutes. It seems the computer lifted the lift too high which in turn would not allow the barrier to open. We had to wait for the computer to recalibrate before being able to set sail with me being once again thankful that I was not on our little boat and wondering why they needed to use computers to operated it when it worked well fora centry without them.

Picutres show the lift on the bottom one you can see the 2 levels. The river at the bottom and the canal at the top. So a boat from the bottom would drive into the lift and it would raise to the top just under the white hut.

Llangollen food festival, walks and Liverpool

2010-10-19T05:49:00.001-07:00

We have done loads over the past few days, been out and about quite a bit, but the highlight was a trip to Liverpool yesterday.

On Saturday the morning started very dull so we took a drive to the Llangollen Food Festival which took place at The Royal International Pavilion. It was a marvel of culinary delights, from sauces to different types of garlic, from yoghurts to toffee vodka. We sampled Llangollen Ale, dips, vegetarian black pudding and ice cream. A few bits were bought, Indian pesto, chilli sauce from Australia, chilli garlic and vegetarian scotch eggs. We were thankful that we went in the morning as by lunchtime it was getting very busy.

In the afternoon we walked up to Castell Dinan Bran which is a ruin of a medieval castle standing on a 800 foot hill above Llangollen. It was also the site of a Iron Age hill fort. The footpath up to the top zig-zags up the side of the hill and it was a good 45 minute climb, however it is well worth it. The 360 degree views were outstanding.

(photos: food festival and view from ruins)

Sunday was a very cold morning. The temperature in the cratch cover was 0 degrees and the ground was covered in frost. I checked the temperature at home at it appears that it was 5 degrees warmer. I was very surprised at the difference in temperature. Another notable difference is the sunset and sunrise times. Today in Chirk the sunrise was 7.45 am and sunset 18.04 and back at home sunrise 07:33 and sunset 18:00, quite remarkable.

Anyway, we woke up quite early and headed to the car boot sale. Sadly no old Tamiyas for Scott at a bargain price, but a new bed was purchased for Matilda (which she is not using despite it being next to the fire). In the afternoon we walked in the Berwyn Mountains. The walk in our book was described as an’ Easy, a fairly level walk with no steep hills’, which I imagined to be a slow meander especially needed after our hike the day before. Sadly, this was not the case, the footpath went up and up through fields and woods before turning down a country lane into a field of sheep where the footpath took us along a river. It was such a lovely sunny day and this valley was sun trap and very peaceful.

On Monday the alarm was set at 6.30 am and after a quick breakfast we drove to Chrik train station. The journey was a little hazardous as it seems the little rabbits had a death wish as they kept leaping out into the road. The car park at Chirk despite being small is very handy and free. The station soon filled up with commuters. The 7.38 train seems to be the only commuter train and even though it was busy it was not full. The train travels onto Wrexham, Chester and ends at Holyhead. We alighted at Chester and transferred onto a train into Liverpool. This train was more like Metropolitan line train and the journey from Chester to Liverpool stopped at many stations along the way. The scenery was very much like any other suburb and reminded me of the journey from Rayners Lane and Uxbridge. During the train journey we made a plan for the day. I had a list of things to do from a friend who was from Liverpool. He wrote so passionately about the city and gave us such a comprehensive list that we were determined to see as much as possible.

We arrived at Lime Street Station and first walked to the Albert Dock via the Cavern Club (made famous by the Beatles). Even though it was not open, I had wanted to see it since I was little that I was too excited not to go there first. After a few photos we walked to the Albert Dock as the rain started. We got there just in time to take a ride on the ‘Yellow Duck Marine’ a tour bus which changes into a boat and goes into the water. The bus took us to the main sights before splashing into the water and taking drive/cruise around the docks. A fun way to see the city. After the tour we walked around the Docks. In particular the Albert Docks which is of course where This Morning was filmed (you remember, Richard and Judy and the man with the weather map in the water). We also went into the International Slavery Museum which was very moving and the Merseyside Maritime Museum which had a very detailed model of the Titanic. Time was ticking and during lunch we figured that in fact we would not have time to see everything on our list. I was wishing that we had put the food timer on for Matilda so that we could have stayed the night to explore again the next day, especially as I saw a hotel which was Beatle themed. With a lack of time in mind, we decided that we would return another day and see the more cultural side of Liverpool. (The two Cathedrals unusually situated on either end of the same road) and booked ourselves on the Magical Mystery Tour (the Beatles Themed tour). This has been something I have wanted to do for years and really can’t believe that I have waited so long to do this.

The Tour bus was of course Beatles themed, quite tatty and the dashboard was held together with tape. The guide was very knowledgeable and spoke to Beatles history as the bus trundled through the suburbs of Liverpool. At times we were able to get out of the bus to take photos, however, other times we could only take pictures from it (e.g Strawberry fields).

The Magical Mystery Tour Bus:

PennyLane

John Lennon's home, 251 Menlove Avenue L25 7SA. This house is open to the public via the National Trust

This is one of Paul McCartney homes, his mother was a midwife and moved around alot. This house is also open via the National Trust

George Harrision's home and where he was born.

The Street where Ringo lived. I was surprised to see many streets where the houses are borded up and empty. I was unsure why, but I am guessing regeneration.

Strawberry Fields (L256EJ) This is a former Salavation Army Childrens home and was originally a Victorian Mansion which has been replaced. The gates however remain.

The wall outside the Cavern Club which has all the names of bands who have played inscribed.

Outside of the famous Cavern Club. The club was closed down in 1973 and was demolished in 1981. The club was rebuild on the original site and opened again in 1984. The beatles played 275 performances and played their last gig at the Cavern on the 3rd August 1963.

We ended the tour at the Cavern which was a fitting way to end our trip to Liverpool and I can tick something from the 'things to do before you die' list. We had a pint and watched a guitarist playing Beatles tunes before heading back on an uneventful journey home.

Photos of Llangollen Railway

2010-10-15T09:10:00.000-07:00

As promised below are some photos of the Llangollen Railway:

These are a couple of the train. There were only 5 made in the 1950's. Of the 5, 2 were transported to the Caribbean, 2 scrapped and this one was preserved. Information about the train can be found of the Llangollen Railway website.

Inside the train, the seats are very comfy and springy. The controls of the train.
Have not been up to much in the last few days. Been to the launderette and today discovered a very well stocked and big Sainsburys. This and a few drives / walks have kept us busy. The weather has been horrible, very cloudy. Currently it is windy and has started to rain. Hoping to go to the LLangollen Food Festival this weekend and next week go to Liverpool if possible.

Llangollen Railway

2010-10-13T05:27:00.000-07:00

On Sunday I said farewell to friends and on Monday welcomed my father. He arrived by train from Marylebone which is a very easy journey for him. He stayed in a local hotel and we were able to join him for breakfast as well as having the opportunity to watch TV. Its only when I see it do I realise I miss it. I watch intensely for the initial bit Sky News with the rescue of the miners. It seems ages ago when I first read about their plight. Since we left home there have been a number of notable news stories which I missed watching on tv, the floods in Pakistan/china and fires Russia to name a few.

After my father arrived we took him to the waterfall for lunch. Even though we were only there the day before I really wanted him to see it and the countryside surrounding it.

We took a trip on the Llangollen railway. It was really good. The train was a 1950's one of which only 5 was built. We paid a £1 extra to go first class of which we were the only ones in the carriage. The journey followed the River Dee and was very pretty. A round trip of 1 1/2 hours which if you take the 11.00 train means you are back at Llangollen for lunch. We in fact went to a hotel along the River Dee for a £5 lunch which was very reasonable for the amount to eat. After a quick trip to Wrexham and a rest we went to an Indian restaurant in Oswestry called Simla. Highly recommended.

The Temperature is getting colder at the moment. Monday saw a fantastic day, not a cloud in the sky but to my surprise there was frost on the grass and on the walkway to the boat. I don't recall getting frost so early in London. Yesterday after being out all day the temperature in the boat was very cold and this morning was very chilly but a getting the fire going quickly warms us up. . The cratch cover has also been a godsend as it stops the draught from the vents. People have always asked how we keep warm in winter. Once lit the stove gets the boat hotter then what we have at home and we also have gas central heating which is hardly used.

The days are getting shorter and I really hate the darkness (not the band) and have a real fear of it. It's almost like I feel that when it's dark I should be inside rather than out and about
which is tricky when it gets dark
so early. We are however getting used to driving down the country lanes at dark and avoiding the many rabbits which appear at night. We will be purchasing a good torch for the car in case of emergencies as it is so dark with no street lights and general light pollution. Perhaps I am over precautious but we have watched a few Vampire movies recently.

During breakfast with my father I could see the A5 and noted a number of trucks carrying sheep. Obviously they are not being transported for a winter holiday but I guess more likely for a journey which is accompanied by mint sauce.

Sorry no pictures at the moment as I have used all my data allowance so will upload them in a couple of days

Out and about with visitors.

2010-10-10T11:11:00.000-07:00

Five friends came to visit this weekend so we had a lovely time showing them the sights. We did loads: Aquaduct with a canal walk, walked to Llangollen which was a long at times steep trek. Horseshoe pass and today a visit to the waterfalls. We had fun catching up and i was amused that as we are getting older conversations turned to aliments and Radio4 programmes, rather than talking about nights out and bands that we had seen. It was a fun packed weekend and was really fantastic to see our friends.

The weather at the was not that good, the mornings started foggy and it took ages to clear. It was not cold, just misty. Sadly the fog did stop us looking at the views, especially on our walk to Llangollen. The leafs of the trees are beginning to turn which really makes the countryside colourful.

So after an action packed weekend, we are relaxing with throbbing feet whist our friends have the long journey home.

It is great that so many people have visited this lovely place and I have loved sharing the sights with them. I hope that the visits have given all a break from the stresses and stains of London life and gave them a good opportunity to get some fresh air into their lungs. . So next time they are stressed they can close their eyes and remember the refreshing breeze from horseshoe pass and the beautiful countryside views and take a second out if their busy day to take a deep breath and relax.

Lake Vyrnwy

2010-10-07T07:45:00.000-07:00

Today was laundry day (yes again) so we drove to Llangollen and sat in our usual spot in the launderette watching the washing go round and round. This afternoon has been spent cleaning thoroughly as we have a friend staying with us over the weekend. The morning started off very miserable and foggy, now there is not a cloud in the sky.

Yesterday we had decided to stay on the boat and potter to save some money, however the weather was so nice that we felt it was criminal to stay inside. We drove to Lake Vyrnwy which is actually a Victorian reservoir for the City of Liverpool. It’s stone dam was built in the 1880’s was the first of its kind in the world. There are 311 streams, waterfalls and rivers that flow into the lake .The construction of the dam and reservoir flooded the village of Llanwddyn and when the water level is low, you can still see the houses. The village was rebuilt next to the lake. Lake Vyrnwy is also a nature reserve and the RSPB have several bird hinds and a shop. When we arrived the weather started to turn and you could see the black clouds over the lake heading towards us. We managed to take a short walk and head back to the car for our sandwiches before the heavens opened and it started to rain.

After the lake we drove along a very narrow and country lane to Bala. The road was really a grade up from a dirt track and at times I was a tad scared that we would fall off the edge. The road, hugged the hills through its twists and turns. Bala was an odd place, there were lots of cars parked along the high street, but no one was around. It felt very eerie and I really did not like it much. Even the petrol station was strange, pumps on the side of the road, no forecourt or anything and it is the first station that I have been into which you have to wait for an attendant.

After Bala we took the long way back via horseshoe pass. We took a walk up the hill quite far over the most awkward sty which really was very unsafe. The walk was quite difficult (or perhaps I am unfit) but when we reached the top we were rewarded with a lovely view. There were many sheep grazing and we noticed that they are becoming more and more fluffy (or fluffier) as the colder weather is setting in.

Pitsyll Rhaeadr (waterfall)

2010-10-05T04:09:00.000-07:00

On Saturday we took a trip to Ludlow to meet my parents for lunch as they were in the area. Nice town with a Saturday market. We found a pub for lunch which had a huge vegetarian choice. I was a bit sceptical at first, however, the food was really good. Ludlow is worth a visit, not got for shopping all little shops which were overpriced, but it was good to wander. – A nice day trip.

Sunday it rained and it rained. The evening before, Scott had said that he wanted to go to the local car boot sale. We have been before; it is huge and very busy. The alarm was set very early, however, I heard the rain and snuggled back into the covers to have a long lie-in. However, the rain did not deter Scott who was up within a second still wanting to go. After some persuading, I decided to join him and we drove first to McDonalds to have breakfast. It has been a long time since I have been in a McDonalds and despite it being cheap I did not rate the food. I had a bagel which was akin to eating rubber. After breakfast we drove to the car boot sale however it was empty, not a car in sight. I was sort o f relieved as I did not fancy walking around a cold, wet muddy field. The rest of the afternoon was spent watching movies until the sun came out and we took a walk to get some fresh air.

Yesterday we drove to a waterfall called Pitsyll Rhaeadr. It is 240ft high and the UK’s tallest single drop waterfall. The journey to the waterfall was not without incident. The satellite navigation decided to take me along what can only be described as a ‘road which is clearly for Land Rovers’ that got more and more off road the further down we drove. Getting concerned over the state of the track I decided that I had to reverse back which was quite far, despite Scott saying that I should carry on. The Sat Nav, then took us along a series of mini country lanes with hardly any passing points. I was very grateful that there were no other cars coming towards us. As it was a lovely day you could see for miles and the sheep were little white dots in the distance. Once we arrived at the waterfalls, there is a way to walk to the top by ‘steps’. It was very steep, precarious, my poor knees suffered and I somehow managed to choke not once but twice drinking from my water bottle. However, the top was amazing and I just sat at watching the water whilst Scott leaned over the edge. I started to reflect on our year as a part of me wondered if we should have spent our time doing something different, perhaps saved up more money to get a round the world plane ticket or continued to travel on the boat. However, when I sat and watched the waterfall I felt content and tranquil. Having read the website about the waterfalls it actually states that people when they visit find a sense of peace and this location has been held and revered in the hidden orders of druidic folklore as one of the most special and sacred locations. I could clearly see why.

On the way down, I decided that it was best to go the long way down the slope rather than risk the ‘steps’ The ground was rather wet and I was telling Scott that my trainers were really not very good for this as they had lost their grip. Within a second I slipped and fell. My whole behind was wet and muddy, which stayed with me throughout the afternoon and our trip to Oswestry to purchase a memory card. I must have looked a sight.

Today is a ‘pyjama day’. We have been out and about so much recently that we decided to save a bit of cash by staying on the boat, perhaps to a bit of cleaning, pottering and if the weather improves go for a walk later on this afternoon.

Photos: Top Two are in the Berwyn Mountains, next are the waterfall and finally photos along the way to the waterfall.

Anglesey plus other drives

2010-10-01T11:42:00.000-07:00

I think like other parts of the county today started with rain. As today was a laundry day it did not really matter but we were very thankful for the car as we drove in the rain to Llangollen. We took the scenic route, however, unlike other days all we could see was a haze of clouds. After the launderette we took a random drive which my lack of navigational skills made us get very lost. Despite this we drove through some fantastic countryside of the Berwyn Mountain. This area has been called the ‘British Roswell’ as there was an alleged UFO crash in 1974. The mountains are very wild, remote and covered in heather which is a stark contrast from the lush green fields only a few miles away (will upload photos as soon as I can, my memory card is not working at the moment). On Wednesday we also took a random drive as it was really too wet for our planned walk, we found ourselves driving along a panoramic route along the valley above Llangollen and ended up in a village called Garth. As the clouds were dark overhead the contrast of the green was very striking.

Yesterday we drove all the way to Anglesey, what a fantastic drive through the Snowdonia National Park. The weather was good, however, we would often drive into a cloud and out of it again in a flash. Often the clouds in the distant obscured the views, then in a second we would turn a corner to see a vast expanse of countryside before us.

We first Stopped at Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch which really is only famous for its name. Other than to take the obligatory photo and pop into the tourist shop there was no reason to visit. . We carried onto Holly Head where the only good thing about this town is that it is a gateway to somewhere else (Dublin). The houses were bland and different shades of grey, the shopping ‘high street’ was dead and the only remotely interesting part of Holly Head was looking at the ships. By this point in our journey I was very disappointed with Anglesey and dispute stopping at a beach and I could not think why anyone will want to visit, however, we then arrived at Beaumaris, which was lovely. A castle ruin, tea rooms all overlooking the tidal waterway which separates Anglesey from the rest of Wales and the mountains beyond. In fact, it reminded me of the lakes of Switzerland which are surrounded by mountains. I think we will be going back there if possible.

In the past week or so since we have had the car we have travelled over 500 miles. I am beginning to feel sorry for the little Nissan Micra, we have been up hills which only is possible in first gear, been down country roads and muddy lanes. It really has worked hard for us and is a far cry from the town driving it is used to. I bet it misses its little journeys to Waitrose.

Photos: Top is on the A5 near Llangollen, below is Snowdonia National Park, Station with the long name, Ferry from Holly Head and finally Beaumaris.

Re-designing the blog

2010-09-28T13:50:00.001-07:00

I decided that I was going to update the layout of the blog, however, its one of those things that when you start you wish you had just left it alone. I think I prefer the old look, however, I can't find out how to get it back, so looks like I am stuck with this layout for the time being.

I have also changed the title as really the blog has taken a break from a narrowboat adventure to having an extended holiday where we are pottering around Wales, relaxing, enjoying living in the countryside and the having joy of not needing an alarm clock! Since we have stopped travelling, I have felt more relaxed and refresh as ever. The familiarity of the marina together with the easy come, easy go attitude has really had such a positive benefit on my well being. I know it is only temporary as before I know it I will be back to work, however, I am hoping that I making the most of being 'retired' for a while.

I have been also checking out the stats of this blog, fascinating. I have had 1083 views since it started following the following countries:
UK 1531, USA 149, Canada 30, Switzerland 21, China 16, Netherlands 15, Denmark 7, Australia 6, Russia 6 and Latvia 4.

It also tells me where people find my blog from and I was surprised to see that I am linked to a couple of Canal web sites and other peoples blogs. How they know about my little blog I have no idea.

Trip to the seaside..

2010-09-27T11:00:00.000-07:00

Even though I love travelling along the canal, I equally love taking the car and just driving. Today we found ourselves in Llandudno, a lovely town on the beach dispute being a dull and miserable day.

In fact, Scott was up at the crack of dawn putting on the fire, feeding Matilda and making sandwiches for the packed lunch before I had even woke to see the clouds overhead and thinking is this really the right day to go to the seaside. However, not to be deterred by the weather we found ourselves driving along to LLandudno.

It has quite a long pier, good shops, loads of hotels, a tram and a cable car which we took up to the Great Orme which had fantastic views. The cable car is the longest passenger cable car in the Britain. At the top there was a café, a tad tacky but quite nice. I think we were the youngest in there when we stopped for a coffee. In fact, Llandudno I think is a haven for older people and coach parties. I would like to go back and would defiantly consider a holiday there in the future.

After Llandudno we drove to Rhyl. A stark difference from the hustle and bustle of Llandudno, in fact it was so dead that I thought that we had been invaded by zombies and we were the only people left. Maybe on a busy Saturday in the summer it has some life as there were the normal amusements, rides, sea life centre and this ride (photo below) which personally I would not trust looking at the rust on it. The beach at places had quite a bit of rubbish, however, we persevered and walked along the promenade and was surprised at the long sandy beaches of which we were the only ones walking along it. In the distance you could see the wind generators which gave the normal view of a bland sea a bit more interest.

At the weekend we had friends visiting. After a long journey with loads of traffic they arrived from London and was taken in by the views and fresh air. We did the usual tour of Trevor for the aqueduct, horse shoe pass and Llangollen with a meal at the Indian restaurant in Chirk. I think they liked the area and like me were very keen to look at the estate agents windows and dream of living in the countryside.

Pictures:

Top are of Llandudno and bottom two are of Rhyl.

Chirk Marina - we have a car!

2010-09-24T12:47:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we went to Banbury by train to pick up the car from my parents. The handover went very well. They drove to Banbury and took the train home, whilst we took the 11.39 from Chirk. The train journey was very comfortable and I enjoyed every minute of it looking at the world go by.

So now we have a car and we made use of it already today by going to the launderette. In the morning, after a very long lie-in we pumped out the boat. A tad tricky in the wind, however all went smoothly and we are level again! Afterward we left our laundry for a service wash and took a drive to horseshoe pass. At the top they have a café and we decided as it was windy and chilly to have a soup. Sadly it was not very nice and I am convinced it came out of a tin. I don’t think we will be eating there again.

We then drove a bit further to a town called Corwen. This sadly is a town which has seen better days. It is situated on the A5 and I think most people would just drive through it rather than stop. I think you can always tell when a town is in decline by the number of shops which are up for rent/sale and this one had a few. After Corwen we stopped at the Llangollen Motor Museum. A small place with 20 or so cars, a large number of motor bikes and a C5. The museum (WIP) had a personal touch and each car had a little story about its history and renovation some of which were quite rare.

The fire is on every evening and Matilda is just loving laying next to it. When we first had the boat, when we started the engine she used to hide behind it, even when it was on! I was extremely worried that she would get burnt and we had to rescue her a few times and luckily she has not done that for a good while.

Chirk Marina - tidy, walking and friends

2010-09-21T08:37:00.000-07:00

Saturday was cleaning day and I spent the morning putting things away to where they should be. It is amazing that even though we are not working and have time to keep some order nothing ever is in its place. When we moved into the boat, I had an order, a system of where stuff would go, however, as time has past things have moved and it is only when you tidy do you find the 3 bottles of shower gel or the 4 packets of headache tablets which you never knew you had.

I recall whilst I was at work always being unorganised and taking a day off work to tidy with the resolution that I would ensure that I would keep it as is, sadly a day or so later the socks no longer matched and the pots and pans where all over the place and you end of living in a constant disorganised mess.

So currently we have a tidy boat, well at least for a day or so.

In the afternoon, we walked to the local Spar, this is just under an hour walk down little county lanes and over a couple of fields. We took the bus home as it looked like rain and we just got in before the heavens opened.

Sunday after a lazy morning we walked to Chirk Castle, it was surprisingly busy with visitors and despite being chilly there were families braving the cold and having their picnics for lunch. We were not so organised and only had an apple each to eat, which we enjoyed whilst watching everyone else tuck into sandwiches, crisps and strawberries.

We were very honoured and happy to have visitors yesterday, Friends on their way back from their honeymoon in Scotland came to see us. We had such a nice time visiting the aqueduct, horseshoe pass and had a lovely meal at the local Indian Restaurant. I would like to thank them for taking time from their honeymoon to visit us, it was very much appreciated and lovely to see them.

We have booked to stay in the marina for another month as we are enjoying the area so much We have made the decision to be in a marina rather than on the towpath mainly as there are not really any 14 day moorings here (mainly 48) and it is secure for when we go out and about. Later this week, we are borrowing a car which is very exciting. We have picked up loads of leaflets for day trips and I am really going to enjoy exploring Wales.

So this blog will take a different direction from an adventure along the waterways of Britain to day trips in North Wales and beyond. .

On a final note, today, we saw a sheep dog herding his sheep, very impressive as I have only seen this on TV . (Pictures are along the horseshoe pass)

Trip to the launderette

2010-09-17T11:32:00.000-07:00

After a night of heavy rain, the morning was very sunny for our trip to the launderette. We packed up our dirty washing in the shopping trolley and headed down to the bus stop. Again the bus was late (same as yesterday), but once it arrive it is a very quick journey to Llangollen.

As it was a nice day, we decided to do a service wash. This is in fact roughly the same price as doing it ourselves, however, they fold all the washing nicely. It gave us a chance to explore Llangollen a little further. We walked down the canal until we found a bench for an early picnic. It was a beautiful day, with the sun shining and you can almost see a few trees getting ready for autumn.

At about 3pm, we had picked up our washing, purchased some vegetables and had a coffee we were ready for the bus. Looking at the timetable there was one at 3.30, so we sat in the sun and waited. 4pm, no bus.. I asked a driver of another bus if we were sitting in the right spot, he confirmed this for the 4.10 bus, however said that the 3.30 bus is the school bus and undertakes a different route and does not go past where we were sitting. How were we to know that?? no notices, or signs or anything. We waited eagerly for the 4.10 bus, however, by 4.30, no bus and I was cold. The sun was behind the clouds and there was a chilly wind. By 5pm, I was freezing, I then remembered of course, we had a trolley full of clothes and I found my jumper sitting nicely on the top. Why I did not think of it before I don't know. By 5.05 the bus finally arrived and the driver had no idea where the 4.30 bus had been.

The bus sped quickly through the countryside and even though I now know its route, I heart misses a beat when I see the Dee valley and the surrounding countryside. I wonder if people get oblivious to it in the end?

We arrived back on the boat cold and hungry after waiting 2 hours for a bus. I think we could have walked it in less time. This is the second time we have had problems with getting buses back from Llangollen, its almost like they don't want to you leave.

Chrik Marina - food shopping

2010-09-16T10:26:00.000-07:00

Today we went to the Coop to do some food shopping. We decided that we were going to go to the big one we saw on the bus on the way to Wrexham. Unfortunately it was a anti climax as really the outside of the shop looked far bigger than inside. The range of food was also disappointing, hardly any veggies, however, we still managed to purchase more that we could really carry, so it was a struggle getting all of the shopping home. The shop had problems with its till, so half way through scanning our food the till stopped working, so we had to unpack everything and start again. - We were slightly amused by a coop staff member who came over to the lady serving us and asked "whats occurring".. Right out of Gavin and Stacey, even the accent was the same.

Its getting a tad chilly at night now, so we have started the fire. Scott has done a fine job in cleaning it out and painting the flue, it almost looks like a brand new stove.

Whilst we were at home, I caught a cold, I have been sitting outside getting fresh air trying to blow it away, but now I am left with a cough which is driving me potty. Tomorrow another chore day, we are planning on going to Llangollen to do our washing.

Weekend at home

2010-09-15T11:04:00.000-07:00

We have arrived back at Chirk after a whistle stop visit back home for a wedding. We had a very enjoyable time. The train journey to Marylebone is easy one, with no changes and takes around 3.5 hours. The train carriage especially on the way home was very plush with powerpoints for laptops and was extremely comfortable. As it sped through the countryside I was treated to some amazing cloud formations over the horizon.

The wedding was fantastic and we were very honoured to be part of their special day. The bride looked lovely wearing a blue and white dress, the wedding cake was shaped as a narrowboat and this is the first wedding that I have been to where the bride and her band played. It was really nice to see our friends again and catch up on all their news. We even stayed at our house which was surreal as I had not slept there for long while. Time was spent with my parents and we went to see our friends puppy and was surprised how lively she is. All in all a busy couple of days, but very enjoyable.

Everyone told us how relaxed and well we looked which we put down to not working. This opportunity of taking a year sabbatical I guess is sort of unique and it really has opened my eyes to the effect that the stresses and strains that work has and normally, I guess it is only when we retire do we notice this. For people of my generation it will be when we are 67 before we are able to see recognise our non work self or in fact if I am all doom and gloom, it may be a sad fact that some of us may not be able to afford to retire at all. I have often said that I spent more time on my work chair that I did on my comfortable settee at home, in fact, we may spend more that 50+%(?) of our non sleeping week working and work related tasks (and a good % of our week on chores). Yes, I know we have to, so that bills are paid etc, but what I am pondering to myself is how many of the population enjoy what they have to do for more that 50% of their life? and probably a high % thinking / worrying about work during the evening and weekends.

I am in a fortunate position that I enjoy my job, working with young people, however, despite the fact that I have a job which I helped people and get a great deal of satisfaction from doing this and really do love my work, it still consumed me and my life and only now I have been able to recognise this.

We have almost decided that we are staying here for a few months, mainly as it’s a lovely place, so why leave?. However, we would like to take a few day trips from here. Chester, Liverpool and North Wales spring to mind and thanks to my parents, we may borrow a car come October.

At first, with the thought of staying here, I was checking courses, thinking about voluntary work. I was all consumed in finding something to do, so that this year would not be a waste, so I could say that during my year I learnt to paint or to line dance etc. However, during the train on the way home, I changed my mind, even though we will not be travelling for a couple of months, I really don’t need this time to achieve anything, I can just use this time to be a unstressed and relaxed me.. (of course, this is the famous last words, you can just see the blog in a couple of weeks time moaning that I am bored!)

Yes, I am aware that this blog has been nothing about narrowboats or travelling so apologies, but I do enjoy rambling on about nothing, and when you can touch type it is very easy to get carried away, luckily a cup of tea has just been made for me, so I will quickly post my blog before I start to discuss politics, the flooding in Pakistan or the poor miners, who I have been informed are not getting paid whilst they are stuck in the mine.

Chirk Marina ... drive in the country

2010-09-08T05:25:00.000-07:00

Our visitors went home yesterday after a very busy few days. Today the car went back, however, yesterday we went for a long drive in the countryside talking random roads. We found ourselves in a little hamlet with a pub where we stopped for lunch. I know I keep mentioning it but the scenery is fantastic, it reminds me of Switzerland.

The night before it was raining and the roads were very wet. As we were driving through the country lanes we saw loads of frogs in the road. I don't know how many I squashed, however I was weaving all over the place trying to avoid them. It was hard to tell a leaf from a frog, then all of a sudden you see a frog hop or eyes starring up in the headlight. I actually wanted to stop to get Scott to drive as I could not be responsible for a frog massacre. We checked the tires in the morning, no squashed frogs.

Just some random photos.. The one of factory is not Cadburys like I thought, it is a wood factory.

Chirk Marina.. day tips

2010-09-06T09:48:00.000-07:00

Today we took a boat trip from Llangollen to Trevor (the bit which we did not take our boat). A very nice journey of a couple of hours and well worth it. We saw flowers at the Aqueduct where the girl jumped. I found out from the local paper that she was just 19.

Yesterday we did a mixture of different things, car boot sale in the morning and a walk round Ellesmere lake in the afternoon.

I am still liking it here and enjoying being in a familiar place. I know where the local shop is and which of the 2, coop or spar is better and I know the bus timetables as well as the numbers by heart. The background noise of which I have discovered is a wood factory is annoying me a bit, however, once up on the hills it soon vanashes.

Scott has just done some stove maintenance and the first fire of the autumn is on whilst he adds something to help clean the flue. The familiar smell of the wood burning is reminding me of last years winter and the hour walk to work along the canal in snow. I have been thinking a lot about work recently, its our busy time and have even had a number of dreams about it. I do think back to the daily routine and at times I miss feeling useful.

I have attached some random photos.

Chirk Marina day 12 - Drive in the country

2010-09-03T10:10:00.000-07:00

I have been very touched by the friendliness of people in the Marina and this area in general. In a week and a bit that we have been here we have had two lifts into the shop and an offer of another one, been invited for drinks twice and have had lovely conversations with fellow boaters about how nice it would be if we were to stay here for winter and that I should not worry not having a car and being a bit remote as I can always ask for a lift.

Yesterday we hired a car!. I forgot how lovely it is to drive.. well in this area as there is hardly any traffic. Up and Down hills, through country lanes.. its just fantastic. Did take me a while to get used to it, especially as on the canal you 'drive' on the other side, but I love the freedom of a car and the joy of not having to wait for a bus which on our trip to Wrexham on Tuesday was 20 minutes late. The car is a Silver Vauxhall Meriva 10 reg, this was one of the basic models, but it is lovely and so easy to drive.

Today we went for a drive in the country over a 'mountain pass' looking at the hills in the background. A bit bleak but very pretty all the same. We carried on driving to Denbigh Castle. Which was built in the 13th Century high on the hill tops with a 360 degree view. I think the pictures really speak for themselves as to how pretty it is. We ended the day with a walk along the Aqueduct at Trevor.

In writing this blog I have always written about the interesting and nice aspects of the journey, however, today we were on the Aqueduct and we saw a young lady looking a bit forlorn, she was by herself and looked a bit out of place as she was wearing work clothes with a black jumper, about 10 minutes later we discovered that she had committed suicide by jumping from the Aqueduct. My thoughts are with her family at this time.

Chik Marina day 7

2010-08-30T11:51:00.000-07:00

The place where we are now I would go as far as to say is magical - (Despite the distant road noise I hear in the background). I am unsure why it is so magical, perhaps its the countryside views, the sunny weather today with not a cloud in the sky, the herd of deer in the woods, the fact that we all (including Matilta) sleep soundly until 9am, the fresh alp like air or the ability to sit in my favourite spot at the marina watching a few boats along the canal, ducks swimming and birds flying over head in the evening sun without a care in the world, perhaps only now have I finally learnt to relax just under 3 months of leaving home.

Today, we walked to Llangollen. Not intentionally. We decided to explore a little lane near the marina and as we walked further up the hill the views got better and better. Before we knew it we were looking high over the fields below and across the horizon. Unfortunately my camera battery died, but a few photos were taken with the iphone. The walk took over 3 hours and when we finally got to Llagollen, we were tired and achey feet so we treated ourselves to lunch.

We decided to take the 5A bus back, somehow the 4.30 bus did not arrive so we had to wait an hour for the next one. The driver of the bus was unsure what had happened to the 4.30 bus however, it seems time is not a factor for us here, I did not mind at all sitting and waiting for the next bus, it was such as lovely day. I know we have another month here, but I am going to find it very hard to leave when October comes, to continue our inland watnerways adventure. Oh, I have just found something to worry about..

Chirk day 6 - walk to Chirk Village

2010-08-28T07:55:00.000-07:00

We took a walk to the village today, in fact, only half a walk as someone from the Marina saw us and offered a lift into the village. We wondered around and looked at the church before finding a hotel to have a coffee. I realised as I was sipping my coffee, slowly to make it last, that I was very scruffy in jogging bottoms and t-shirt whilst next to us was a wedding party all dressed up.

Whilst we were in the church a lady doing the flowers (yes very "Jam and Jerusalem") suggested a walk just a bit further along the canal from the Marina. We followed her instructions and came to hill with cows. I really wanted to walk across the field. I was not scared of the cows, but it was the one with horns which stopped us in our quest to see what was over the hill.

In the afternoon, we sat with our Times newspaper and watched the hire boaters pick up their boats for their weekly holiday. My word, I have have never seen so many MPV's all with new registration numbers in the same place at the same time. All very middle class. I was surprised at the about of stuff they had, from ikea bags full of food, to boxes of donuts, from deck chairs to scarf's. I think most of them had more packed for a week than we had for a year!

Chirk day 5 - Walk to Chirk Castle

2010-08-27T12:49:00.000-07:00

Today we went for a long walk to Chirk Castle. The sun was shining and the air was very fresh, it reminded me of the air in the alps. The Castle was up a hill so once we reached the top we were rewarded with a fantastic view across the countryside.

This evening Scott was 'playing' with his radio control car whilst I was enjoying the evening sun. This marina even though is very basic is in a fantastic spot, I found a bench and watched Scott's car go back and forth surrounded by trees and fields. I was fascinated how he was so engrossed with his hobby and whilst I am a tad jealous that I do not have a hobby, sitting in the evening sun with no stress or worries of work reminded me how lucky I am.

Chirk Marina day 4 - trip to the launderette

2010-08-26T10:05:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning very disappointed as I heard background noise of cars, something that I wanted to escape from, it was like being back at Packet Boat Marina. I had not noticed it before, however I think that the noise was because the roads were wetter than normal.

We decided to take the bus to Llangollen to the launderette. I got the bus times wrong and it seems that the service on Sunday is better than a week day, so we had to wait another 20 minutes which was very lucky as normally the buses are every 2 hours. I was getting very despondent whilst waiting for the bus as at home the local 222 despite sometimes being unreliable at times is about every 10-15 minutes, unlike every 2 hours here. But when the bus went through the countryside I remembered why we are here.

The launderette was good cheaper than normal and we found a café which was away from the tourist area which made a good cup of tea.

The weather today has also been miserable, not raining but it the air was damp and it was very misty.

Chirk Marina day 2 and 3

2010-08-25T05:27:00.001-07:00

Yesterday we walked into Chirk and the ‘local’ shop. Took us 50 minutes to get there, down country lanes and a shortcut through 2 fields. After walking back we decided to visit the golf club bar which is next to the marina. It has a lovely terrace overlooking the golf course and the fields beyond. You can also see the Cadbury’s factory with its smoke, (its not all fields and cows in the country) however you can sit with your back to is so it does not spoil the view (photo 2)

In the afternoon we invited a neighbour from the marina for a cup of tea. Our first visitor into the since our friends came to visit in Brauston about 2 months ago! We were a bit in a mess with clutter everywhere, so today was tidy up day. It is amazing, even though with so much time on our hands, I really don’t have the urge to tidy.

Chirk Marina

2010-08-23T07:43:00.001-07:00

We have arrived in Chirk Marina early, our home for a month. The Marina is basic, but everyone is very friendly. The man in the boat next to us took us shopping for food which was good as we could purchase heavy stuff.

The time here will be spent exploring the area (with visitors) before we decide what to do for the winter months.

Llagollen and Wrexham

2010-08-21T04:26:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we moved the boat away from the nightmare of the basin to a mile down the canal. After the boat was moved we took a walk and saw a bus to LLagollen,. It was a nice journey through countryside and up little lanes. Llagollen is worth a visit. A smallish town with a few shops, the canal for boat trips and a steam train.

Today we went to Wrexham, again on the bus but the journey was not as good. We are currently in the library where we can get internet access for the laptop. Quite happy that I bought a light little netbook as I have been carrying it around all day.

This morning there were many day boat hirers going along the canal. I saw someone wearing ‘Captain Sparrow’ wig because they are of course the ‘captain’ of their hire boat all was missing was an eye patch and a stuffed bird

And now the photos…

1) Chirk Aqueduct which has a train running alongside.
2) The Pontcysyllte Aqueduct before we travelled along it,
3 & 4) Two picutresof the side of the boat where you can see how high we are
5) and finally the view from the Aqueduct looking towards another Aqueduck

I have realised I do not have any picures of the pontcysyllte Aqueduct from afar, I will try and get one to upload.

Trevor

2010-08-19T09:43:00.000-07:00

Roughly 290 miles, 174 locks and 154 hours of cruising time we have made it to Trevor and the famous aqueducts.

The main one is 127 feet high and 1007 feet in length it has 19 arches and 18 pillars. It was built over 200 years ago by 500 men who use wooden scaffolding, primitive cranes and muscle power. It is clearly a marvellous feet of engineering and highlight of our trip so far. The view is breathtaking and a tad scary being so high.

This is as far as we're going on this canal so we have done our first 180° turn in 290 miles. We have decided not to go to Llangollen as we have heard it shallow in places so will probably let someone else drive and find a boat trip so they can scrape the bottom of their boat.

The basin here is a nightmare. Boats turning, trying to moor, using poles to help them but pushing against the sides (and paint work) of other boats and children walking along the gunnels of our boat! At 4 PM today the day hire boats came back causing all sorts of chaos and the boat trips have stopped for the day. One boat trip (driven by a professional?!) bumped into us quite dramatically I put my head out to see what was what had happened and no word of apology and when I looked at the damage I heard the two men on the boat complaining that I was checking my paintwork. I understand that boats bump into each other, however they did not have to be so rude. Imagine the nightmare when the weekly hire boats all return together at the weekend.

We have arrived here earlier than expected so will have some time to explore the area before visitors arrive in September. I have purchased my map so if weather permitting will be doing some walks and bus trips, however it always does seem to rain.

No internet signal here so I've used iPhone and Dragon software. I will post some pictures as soon as possible

St Martins

2010-08-17T09:17:00.000-07:00

We left Hindford late morning in sunshine. In the distance over the hills I could see black clouds and by the time we were going through the 2 locks it was pouring. We hit our first real queue for the lock. 4 boats in front of us and by the time we left there were at least 10 behind. I helped out a grandfather and grandson as they were trying to pull their boat into the bank, they got themselves in a muddle and kept shouting at each other and getting nowhere. I do hope that they relax for the rest of their holiday.

As it was raining we stopped the boat 10 minutes walk away from St Martins. An overgrown housing estate in the middle of beautiful countryside. The church at the centre of the ‘village’ was pretty and a few houses surrounding, but the rest was non descript. We did encounter a nice shop called Stans. It’s the UK’s largest single site independent retailer. Selling food, garden stuff and household goods. It was like going to a supermarket in a foreign country as unlike Tescos, Sainsburys and Morrisons which look pretty much the same wherever you go this has an individual feel and a different vibe about it.

In St Martins we saw a street with the worst pot holes that I have ever seen. A picture just had to be taken for the blog

Hindford

2010-08-16T08:32:00.000-07:00

Not much to write about today, so I will upload some photos instead. Spent the last couple of days washing, food shopping and walking to the lake in Ellesmere which seemed to the only place where a phone signal could be guaranteed.

Today, we travelled further along the canal which twisted and turned through the countryside. We were surrounded by fields of grass, cows, sheep and corn and for as far as the eye could see was countryside. The weather made this journey even more pretty as the sun shone throughout the morning.

We took walk into the hamlet of Hindford, just a few houses, a daily bus and a empty phone box which was there I guess for decoration.

Still listening to Radio 4, learning loads, currently listening to a programme about pork scratchings, an

interesting choice for a vegetarian!

Still in Ellesmere

2010-08-13T09:15:00.000-07:00

And it rained and it rained. Surely we are not in August the height of the summer?? After a very lazy morning, still in pyjamas at lunch we went for a walk to the lake, which seems to be the only place where we get a phone signal. As it was raining we had a cup of tea in the tea room. Once the weather cleared up, we carried our on journey to purchase a newspaper and it started to rain again, so we took shelter in a another tea room and had a mug of hot chocolate. We then made our way back to the boat dogging the rain by running from tree to tree and bridge to bridge.

Yesterday we took another bus trip to Oswestry which is a town 20 or so minutes from here. I had already had a picture in my mind of another Market Drayton but I was surprised how nice it was, not over pretty, but very functional with not many high street stores but enough to spend sometime to window shop.

Last night after “book at bedtime” the news mentioned that there was a display of shooting stars which could be seen if the sky was clear. I got up from the cocoon of the bed covers to have a look outside. I waited for a few minutes before a saw a star flowing across the sky, sadly I only saw the one but I was pretty impressed.

We are now in the boat and it has stopped raining, the sound of the rain tip tapping on the boat has been replaced with cows mooing.

Bus trip to Shrewsbury

2010-08-11T10:02:00.001-07:00

Today we went for a bus trip to Shrewsbury. The bus took 50 minutes. We sat at the back therefore we were slightly raised so that we could see over the hedges to the countryside beyond. It was lovely, what a lovely commute. The fields were a mixture of corn, cows, sheep and grass. The bus journey was bizarre to say the least. We were joined on the bus by a group of walkers and when they got off the bus, the driver over the speaker system commented that it was like driving a group of school kids. The bus both to and from Shrewsbury sped down the country lanes, never been on a bus so fast, I did of course work out that the buses at home are unable to speed due to the traffic and the 30mph speed limit. The final oddity was on the return journey the bus went down a residential road just outside Shrewsbury for about ¼ of a mile, then did a three point turn to go back!. Strangely enough it did not do that on the journey to the town.

Shrewbury was a nice place, a mixture of shops, M&S, a QVC outlet shop (never seen that before) and the usual Jessops, Maplins etc. There seemed to be a couple of shopping centres, however, one in particular had so many vacant units. It appears that the recession has hit here as well.

Matilda is clearly enjoying herself, perhaps a bit too much. She really has learnt to hunt. It is very hard to believe that she is the same timid cat which hardly went outside. I do however; miss the old Matilda, who did not need to be watched to see what creature was in her mouth.

(Picture is Ellesmere Lake)

Ellesmere

2010-08-10T08:22:00.000-07:00

On Sunday we arrived in Ellesmere a small town which again has seen better days, apart from Tesco’s and a very nice pub / restaurant which looked very European it consisted of small shops which did not really sell much.

Yesterday we did some washing in the local launderette. Was not the most nicest ones we had been into but it sufficed. Today we took a walk around the lake. I did have visions of Swiss style lakes with café’s where you can drink ice coffee on their balconies watching the sailing boats with mountains in the background, however, this was more like a Black Park Lake, slightly larger but surrounded by trees much the same. There was a nice Tourist Information section and a restaurant.

The signal is not good here both for our phones and the 3G card, currently I am sitting on top of the boat writing this with some very curious people wondering what I am doing. The boat is swaying slightly in the wind, making me a little dizzy being high off the ground.

Sorry, no photos today, the internet cannot cope with the upload.

Somewhere in the middle of nowhere

2010-08-07T08:40:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we spent it in Whitchurch. They had a farmers market which sold a mixture of fruit and veg, fish and meat. There was one stall selling chicken and wood pigeon on a table and the meat was not refrigerated. I thought that meat had to be kept cool??

This morning it was a bit chilly and really I did not expect to be wearing jumpers in August. We travelled for a couple of hours then the heavens opened and we got soaked. We stopped in the middle of nowhere which I would like to say was very peaceful, however, there are small aeroplanes flying overhead which causing a constant hum. The sun has come out now and it is quite warm, I wish the weather would make up its mind.

We saw in our canal guide that a local marina down an arm of the canal had laundry facilities so we packed up our trolley and walked for over a mile to get there. Alas it was only for berth holders so we had to turn round and walk back. – Looks like I will be wearing the same jeans for more than 4 days. Our poor trolley was probably looking forward to being purchased by an old lady in Leighton Buzzard who would only use it once a week to go to the local Tescos; who would have thought that it would have been bought to be dragged through rough terrain for a few miles with dirty laundry.

So it is Saturday night and no going out for us. Will be spending the evening undertaking a crossword puzzle from a puzzle book I bought; have a feeling though that they are for older people due to the advert on the back for chairs which raise and lower to aid its use. I have been amazed how quickly we are spending money. At first we ate out quite a bit, the odd lunch here and dinner there. Like you do when you are on holiday, but we have really had to curb the spending so we are cooking more. Oh joy, pasta again!

Whitchurch

2010-08-05T10:35:00.000-07:00

Currently we are just by Witchchurch a small town which sadly has seen better days. I think the recession has taken its hold with so many shops which are To Let. However it had a nice church and a few shops to peruse.

This morning we tackled our first staircase locks. Being very wise, we decided to moor just before them and went to see how they
worked so that we would be prepared. This is the Llagollen Canal in August we were warned about. There were boats everywhere and the Lock Keeper had a job in controlling the holiday makers. To avoid the rush, we decided to start the lock at 7am, so up bright and early, however, not quite understanding how the locks worked (despite watching the day before and reading the guide) , I filled the middle lock a bit too high causing a little overflow and got myself into a pickle. However, it all worked out in the end and I drove the boat perfectly through the staircase locks. Whilst I am self praising, I did a fantastic manoeuvre into the smallest mooring space; I was quite proud of myself.

Yesterday was far from relaxing and more like ‘Crystal Maze’. First I had to work a manual lift bridge, then our very useful mooring guide fell into the water which I had to fish our with the pole, I stopped traffic with an electronic lift bridge which clearly you needed a degree to operate, and finally had to reach for the umbrella which fell into the canal. All this and the usual locks. I have to say, the hot chocolate that we had at Grindley Brook was very well deserved.

On one of our evening walks we took a footpath through fields. It is so peaceful and all the background noise that you can hear is the cows and bird singing. As we walked through a field of cows we noticed that they were walking towards us and in a couple of minutes we were surrounded. I am guessing cows are friendly however, it was the most oddest experience to be scared of a herd of cows.

There has been some other oddities which I have never seen in London. The job advert for a herdsman, the chickens roaming freely in a petrol station and strangers being friendly.

Bridge 6 Llangollen Canal

2010-08-02T11:58:00.000-07:00

Woke up with the hope of a sunny day however they were soon dashed as I saw the clouds come over (photo below). It did not rain, but it was very dull. We left Nantwich(photo) and have arrived on the Llangollen canal and have done the one thing that we were advised against which is travelling along this canal during the peak season as we were warned of queues at locks. To enter the canal there are 4 locks very close together. We went straight into the first one and the subsequent ones, however the boat in front of us had to wait and there was a queue building up behind us. We were lucky.

Holiday makers do seem to be in a rush and even with Scott at the tiller and me doing the lock gates, we do not seem to be fast enough for some of the boaters. I have noticed that if they have a crew they are able to manage the locks a lot quicker – 1 person on each side. The other day a young lad from the boat behind us was sent to help me as I guess we were just a bit too slow and today, a group of ladies sent me ahead to set the next lock before I had even finished opening the paddles of the one of which the boat was in!.

We also seem to be going a bit too slow along the canal for some boaters and despite us sticking to the 4mph speed limit on a couple of occasions we had boats overtake us. Some boats do go stupidly fast.

We are moored next to cows again, at first I did not notice due to the hedge between us and them. I could not work out what the odd munching noise was and it took me a few minutes for the penny to drop to work that the cow was having its lunch.

So a leisurely month along this canal to Chrik where we have booked ourselves in a marina for September. I have to admit, I am feeling a little bit lost at the moment with a lack of things to keep me occupied, especially when we are moored up for the evening after our stroll

Matilda caught another animal.. we think it was a Shrew!

Nantwich

2010-07-31T12:41:00.001-07:00

We took a 2 hour cruise today to the town of Nantwich. After a trip to the launderette which was very conveniently placed on the side of the canal we took a walk into Nantwich itself. I was most impressed, little coffee shops, market and independent retailers all situated in the shadow of a church.

The weather is still very dull, the sun comes out for a minute or so and then vanishes. The water level in the canal I believe is lower than normal, which means that we have not been able to moor in certain places and the boat hits the bottom of the canal. Yesterday, we actually got grounded, the boat would not move forward or back, we were stuck. Scott used the pole to push us back into deeper water. I have read that British Waterways has closed a section of the Leeds and Liverpool canal because of the drought.

We have been using our radio a lot now and listening especially Radio 4 in the evenings. I have been listening to “Book at Bedtime”, a programme about 18^th centuary cases at the Old Bailey and a discussion about the low water levels in the inland waterways. We have changed station and are now listening to some classic rock, well it is Saturday night.. Rock On!

If I don't get a chance to blog tomorrow I would like to wish everyone Happy Swiss National Day!

Just after Audlem (raining again)

2010-07-30T10:31:00.001-07:00

On Thursday we took another walk around Market Drayton as Scott needed a box as he told a Tamiya Radio Controlled car. I decided that Market Drayton could really do with some investment, there were so many shops which were empty and it just look a bit sad and empty as if it has seen better days.
In the afternoon we travelled a few miles to just outside Adderley and moored opposite some cows (probably the nicest place we have moored so far). Matilda really did not know what to make of cows and just starred at them for a while. We even for our usual evening walk into the village of Adderely and despite being in the middle of the countryside it did not have much to offer. The walk to and from the village was through little country lanes with fields of cows on either side. One cow had a tag “ready 831” and I did wonder if this was come sort of code of when he will become a Beef Wellington.

This morning, up early to tackle 15 locks. We took turns and had an early lunch after lock 11 in Adlem. A nice village, however, I have decided that an ‘open sandwich’ is not really value for money as you only get one slice of bread. We finished the 4 locks and travelled for another hour so that we could visit Hack Green Secret Nuclear Bunker. This was a bunker which was used in the second world war followed by a bunker for Regional Government in the event of a nuclear attack. Very chilling. As well as artefacts from the 1940s’and beyond into the cold war it also contained government literature about how households can be prepared for a nuclear attack and a 1960’s film showing what would happen prior and in the aftermath of an attack in the UK. I am now going shopping to purchase tins, salt, water, peanuts and orange juice.

Market Drayton

2010-07-28T07:13:00.000-07:00

Have been unable to write for a while as we have not had access to the internet. Our 3g card would not pick up a signal and it was same with our phones. It is amazing how much we use our Iphone that I feel so lost without the internet. We actually had to have a conversation!

So we left Breewood on Sunday and travelled to Church Eaton. A small village, again a contender for the ‘best village’ competition.. In these villages they have a village notice board with minutes of the last council meeting. I read that in Church Eaton they were “in a quandary” as to repair or replace their notice board, how lovely that this is all the village has to be in a quandary about.

After Church Eaton we travelled for a couple of hours to Norbury Junction. It had rained over night and the air was very fresh. Apart from a boatyard which had a tea room and little shop and a British Waterways information point (with showers and toilet) there was nothing here. We wanted to do some washing however, did not know to use the British Waterways machines a special card is needed and to get this card, you have to purchase it at another town , so we decided to use the service wash at the boatyard at £9.50 per half bin bag. 3 hours later, the washing came back, all nicely folded, it was a pity they could not put it away for us as well. Whilst we waiting for our washing to be done, we went for another little walk into the village of Norbury, only a few houses, a village hall and a bus stop.

The scenery got a tad monotonous after Norbury Junction as it was very wooded and one tree really looks like another tree. The landscaped opened up, however the fields were obscured by hedges and we could not see over them, however, we got glimpse of open fields in the gaps of the hedges . There were some helicopters in the distance and one which kept flying overhead, I did wonder if we were near a helicopter flying school, I have never seen so many. (Picture shows a telegraph pole in a bridge)

We arrived in Goldstone Bridge which is near a village of Cheswardine and took a stroll into the village which was a good ½ an hour walk. The views over the fields were just wonderful and I was kicking myself as I forgot my camera.The village was pretty standard, however, it did have a community shop which was opened up when their village shop closed. We are moored next to a caravan park so we were able to look at the different caravans and wonder if I could live in one of them instead of a boat and if it is even possible, especially in winter. The caravans all seem rather the same and they lack the colour and the uniqueness of narrowboats. I did smile to myself as I was now the “gongoozler”.

Today we arrived in Market Drayton. A “useful stop” is the best way to describe it. The journey here was through woods so not much scenery to look at. The canal was very narrow with no passing places, so we were lucky there was no other boats coming the opposite way. I did wonder what we would do if we saw another boat, but luckily that was not something that we needed to worry about. The canal travels through a deep rock cutting which was made entirely by hand, no machines, pretty impressive (see photo). We were very lucky to get a mooring spot here and we just about managed to squeeze into a gap, if we were a couple of inches bigger we would not have fit.

This afternoon I decided to feed the ducks as bought some duck seed, not very good as it sinks before they could eat it. Some swans came to the boat to also have some food, however, I do not think they were happy with the duck seed as one of the bit my sleeve.`

Brewood

2010-07-24T12:01:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we arrived in Breewood a lovely large(ish) village outside Wolverhampton. The village is very pretty and all the houses have well kept gardens. I did wonder if they was all an act as the judging for the ‘best kept village’ was between May and July. Even today, Saturday, the village was very peaceful. We bought ourselves a lottery scratch card today and won!! – only £40 which was a far cry from the £40,000 per year per life, however it paid for lunch and another card.

99.9% of the people that we have met along the way have been retired people living full-time on their boats or holiday makers on hire or owned boats. We have not really seen (away from home) full-time live-aboard people of non retirement age. Yesterday evening we went for a walk, where we are moored is surrounded by trees, however, further down it opens up and there are lovely views over fields. As we walked we noticed a group of boats they were clearly true "live-a-board" boats. Seats outside their boats, washing frames, tomato plants replaced flowers, clutter on the roof and BBQ’s - A true boating community enjoying the evening sun. I love this boat, hence taking a photo, I hope the owner did not mind.

We have just come back from an early evening stroll through along the canal, through fields and into the village. The horses in the fields were very interested in Scott’s jumper and he was concerned that they would nibble a hole through it. He wondered if his jumper smelt of apples or something that horses would eat.

I am currently sitting on the front of the boat and can see a fisherman just behind the boat who has just caught a small fish. I am still not sure if I approve of fishing. We have seen fishing lines / poles which are so long they reach to the other end of the canal. The owner of the poles seem to wait to the last second to retract it, almost playing ‘chicken’ with us. I really do not know why they have to leave the line across the canal until the last second – as if a few seconds is actually going to make a difference in catching the fish. About a week ago, we went past 20 or so fishermen, Scott did drive slowly and was thanked by them, as I guess most people do not really bother to slow down.

And now a pleasure boat has just gone past with a number of people waving at me, all very nice, but I did feel that I was an exhibit on display!

Wolverhampton photos

2010-07-22T13:17:00.000-07:00

As promised in previous post, I have attached some photos.

Tram into Birmingham, the boat, the lock at Autherley Junction and Wightwick Manor (credit for photos goes to my father)

Currently relaxing listening to new radio playing to 90's alternative tunes, wondering where Matilda is currently roaming and when she will be back. Right, that is me done for the day, a hot chocolate I believe is in order.

Wolverhampton part 2

2010-07-22T09:55:00.000-07:00

It has been pointed out to me that at times, my spelling is not quite accurate and it has made my foreign readers have a few problems when looking up meanings of words which do not exist in the dictionary. So apologies to my readers abroad, I will ensure that I will use my spell checker (Scott) a little more often.

We have spent the last few days in Wolverhampton with my parents who came to visit. We went to a couple of National Trust Houses and took the tram into Birmingham. (I will add some photos when they are sent to me).

Every morning we met my parents for breakfast in their hotel, what I did not know is that one can just purchase breakfast without actually staying and £5 ish each was good value for money for a buffet.

Birmingham was a 20 or so minutes tram ride away, a nice and clean way to travel. Each tram had a conductor on board and I did think that it would be a nice and easy job, however, I was told that they do 10 hour shifts and have to deal with very difficult people at night so I decided that a career change was not in the pipe line (or tram line). We wondered around the shops in Birmingham trying not to be tempted by an Ipad or Iphone 4 and I was very happy to have purchased a DAB radio which works superbly, however, I am thinking that the reception will depend on where we are. Whilst my parents were here, we also visited Moseley Old Hall and Wightwick Manor and Gardens, both National Trust and worth a visit. The guided tours were very interesting and made the story of each of the properties come to life.

During my parents visit, Scott was driving their car and one evening we left my parents at their hotel whilst we went back to the boat to feed Matilda. Scott did a fantastic job driving around the ring road which requires some very quick changing of lanes. He quite enjoyed driving again especially as it was an automatic car and it was odd him driving so fast as we have really been conditioned going 4mph along the canals.

I don’t think that we will be returning to Wolverhampton, however, I have a feeling that we will be needing to pass it on the way home. Despite my initial concerns that this was not a pleasant town some part were surprisingly nice.

So tomorrow we are off again. We are aiming for the Llangollen for September, so we have a nice and easy month ahead of us.

Wolverhampton

2010-07-19T10:39:00.000-07:00

We arrived yesterday in Coven a place just north of Wolverhampton. We decided to treat ourselves to a Sunday Lunch in a local pub. Menu was not that exciting and Veggie options were limited to 1 main dish. Coven was 'nothing to write home about' so I wont really, however, count not resist this photo.. unsure what they will do if they win 2010.

Now we are in Wolverhampton and took a wonder around the town. The polite - "Useful stop" probably describes it, rather than what I really think. I did however see an old Woolworths whilst debating taking a photo I saw this record shop and wonder how long it has been closed for. We went into a shop or two of which were playing old 80's music, a song which I had not heard for 20 years was Shazm(ed) just to check that it was Bros! (I dont think it was even a hit, rather an album track) so with that and Our Price I felt I was in a timewarp.

When we arrive in new places we use the map application on the Iphone to check we are walking in the right direction, it reminds me Star Trek, however in Wolverhampton we were slightly more cautious of using the phone in public. Again using the map is very useful on buses to ensure we get off at the correct stop, especially as we were not paying much attention on the bus going into the town.

So whilst we are here we are going to stay for a few days, off to a National Trust place tomorrow and Birmingham the next.

Penkridge

2010-07-16T11:24:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday we left the place of name which we are unsure as map was wet and headed to Rugeley, we did not leave until the afternoon as we were transfixed on playing a game which we brought from Itunes for 59p, had 4.5 stars, so thought it must be good. We finished the game by lunch time with a bit of an anti climax to it.

The journey to Rugeley was OK, it was dwarfed by the chimneys. Rugeley was a useful stop, however, I would not be in a hurry to go back. With Shopping complete which took two trips with the shopping trolley and me saying ‘I told you we bought too much’ and vets for Matilda (her blog has the details) we left in the afternoon through some very pretty countryside and meeting the train again. The canal at times is very overgrown which is unlike the Grand Union which is far more tidier. The journey was very windy and the poor boat had to work hard against the wind and the odd shower. We stopped in Great Haywood which has a Junction and decided to go down the Staffordshire and Worcester Canal which makes its way south to Wolverhampton.

I have noticed how cheap houses are in this area. In Tamworth, I saw a 3 bed semi, garage and conservatory for £150,000 and a 4 bed, detached with all the works for £210, 000. Compared to home the prices are about say, £100,000 cheaper.

Great Haywood, is a small village, a Spar and a couple of pubs – We could not find the cash machine at all. I also noted that it was 5pm when we took a wonder, and I really do not think that they have rush hour. Even Rugeley which was a town at 9am barely a car was in sight.

After a lazy breakfast (there seems to be may a lazy breakfast) we were off again and are now in Penkridge.

Mentioning breakfast has reminded me of a sight that I saw a couple of weeks ago. A boat moored next to a field in pretty surroundings and next to it a table laid with plates, knifes, forks, orange juice, toast, jams and a smell of bacon from the boat, what a lovely location for breakfast.

We have also seen some people having picnics in the most oddest of places. For example we saw some holiday makers eating on the towpath next to a main road and the big chimneys.

Currently We are moored next to some Park Homes, which are very nice, yes I am surprised. Never seen so many.

The village seems nice, well the bits that we saw and again house prices are so cheap. The journey to Penkridge was fantastic and yes, I keep saying it, the views are lovely and was only spoilt when we hit the Motorway. The canal seemed more like a river and at points very wide. The picture on the right shows a turning circle, far better than the ones at home. I am doing more driving now, I was not very good at it and still my boat moving skills are rather questionable, however, I figured that I really needed to learn.

The weather has been very odd and not really July weather, today we battled through winds and rain. Now its sunny and warm. – not really July type weather. Wonder what tomorrow will bring? blizzards probably!

Passed Farley Junction - unsure where as map got wet

2010-07-13T11:48:00.000-07:00

On Monday afternoon, Scott suggested that we go to the cinema to watch Predator, reluctantly I agreed so we walked for about an hour along the road into Tamworth. The town centre I can only describe as a larger ‘new arcade’ in Uxbridge (Opposite Nandos) apologies for those who do not know Uxbridge, but it is the only polite way I can describe it.

The film was OK – Don’t think I will watch it again and did spent a lot of time hiding behind the sleeve of my coat.

Tuesday was the first day of travelling in the rain. I was very thankful for my new raincoat which I got for my birthday, however I think I will wear my waterproof trousers as well. I did not really mind the rain, at least it was not cold. I was wondering about starting a fire (however, we have no coals at the moment) and was surprised that we passed a number of boats who did had a fire, I was reminded of the familiar smoky smell from the stove and it brought back memories of the cold winter and wondering where we will be this winter. Knowing my luck, frozen in, miles away from anywhere and unable to get coal, water or pump out (watch this space)

My cratch cover is becoming useful, I had visions of a little seating area with fluffy cushions like I have seen so many other boats have, currently it has turned into a storage and drying area for wet clothes, I don’t mind as muddy shoes are far better in there than inside. I do have a couple of cushions (bought from Sainsbury’s for £5) so I can still sit around the clutter.

We went through Farley Junction, was told it’s the busiest junction on the waterways. We did have to wait for 2 boats before we could use the lock and I was very useful in helping other boaters and having a chat to them in the rain. Would not like to be there in the height of the summer holidays. Have visions of getting up early to avoid the holiday boaters. Mind you, my definition of early has changed somewhat, no longer am I getting up at 6.30, I cant remember what 6.30 am looked like, normally we have been lying in till 8.00am, even Matilda is not up before then.

Hopwas - in the rain

2010-07-12T03:33:00.000-07:00

Its raning today, I beleive its the first day of rain since we have left. - I would say a welcome relief from the hot weather, however, it is rather miserable. - I bet my colleauges at work are happy that their office is no longer a sauna.

We arrived here Saturday evening after a few hours curising. We stopped in Tamworth and found a lunderette, I did not like it it Tamworth, it did not seem a suitable place to stop which is why we took an evening cruise to Hopwas and arrived about 8.30pm in the evening.

This is a nice village, have not found the village shop yet, however, we went for Sunday lunch at the local pub. The veggie options were limited. Scott had an atempt at a veggie roast dinner and I had a starter and a salad as I was not over hungry.

Scott completed a few odd jobs, touching up paint work whilst I worked on my assigment (currently doing a Managment qualification) ready for a conference call to work to discuss the topic with some colleagues who are also doing the same qualification as me.

In the evening we went for a walk in the country. I know I do keep going on about it, but I love the countyside, air is so much cleaner and you can see so far into the horizon, where as at home your line of sight is always blocked with something. I noticed the clouds, had not paid much attention to them before, they were full of twirls and Scott said like mashed potato.

Today we do not have any plans, sent a few emails and had my call to work. This afternoon I think we are going to watch some TV programmes. The outside of the boat could do with a clean, luckly the rain is doing that for us.. I think I am begning to really get into this relaxing life style, however, I do get twinges of missing work and its challenges.

I think we are off again tomorrow, into the deep unknown of the Midlands.