This morning Rosemary and Sarah went to investigate Faery Fest, which was just beside the canal at Llangollen. Most of it is inside the impressive Llangollen Pavilion, which can seat 5000 people.

There were lots of people in fancy dress and some amazing things to look at and admire. The little tree houses (right hand side below) took about 6 weeks each to make. The steampunk R2-D2 was radio controlled, but sadly not steam powered. I definitely want one, but he’s not for sale, just a labour of love by a fan.

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We cast off after lunch, when the worst of the rain was forecast to have passed. In the end though, the weather wasn’t too bad all day long, though the clouds threatened rain.

Sarah expertly steered us through the narrows, whilst I went ahead with the walkie-talkie. I found a couple of boats already heading through towards us, so Sarah held back with two other boats until they were through and it was our turn.

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There was a lot of juggling of boats about before we got onto the aqueduct, as the trip boat was coming the other way and needs a lot of room to make the left turn off the aqueduct; Sarah did an amazing job reversing and fitting us between two other boats until the trip boat had passed.

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Even after the aqueduct it was still pretty busy, with 5 boats all trying to fit around this bend in one direction or the other!

The views make it all worth while, what lovely scenery for a cuppa.

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The trees are a little overgrown in places, so some ducking was required!

We made it to Chirk just in time for me to watch the opening Manchester United football game of the season. 4-0 vs Chelsea, so I’m a happy man tonight!

We set off about 8:30 this morning; the forecast was for 40mph winds later in the day so we wanted to be moored up in Llangollen well before then. We had waterproofs on ready for the showers, but by and large the weather was sunny and dry, if a little blowy. The scenery around here is as pretty as a postcard.

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Passing through the narrows, there’s only room for one boat so it’s advised that someone walks ahead to make sure the way is clear. I got a bit distracted taking photos, but luckily Sarah did stop another boat from starting onto a 500m section until we’d popped out the other side. Rosemary did a cracking job helping Sarah on the couple of lift bridges we pass through.

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We reached the basin in good time, and were pleasantly surprised to find a bit less than half full, so plenty of room. By happy coincidence, we moored up in the exact same spot as four years ago!

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Llangollen was very busy with tourists. Between Thomas the Tank Engine, horse-drawn boat trips, and a festival (more on that tomorrow), there’s lots for people to come and see and do.

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The River Dee runs through the valley, and is ultimately the source of water for the canal. It was great to see some people enjoying it to the full doing some white-water rafting. They were cracking along pretty fast!

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We took the more gentle option of a walk up to the horseshoe falls where the water is pumped from the river and into the canal – all controlled by computers these days.

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Back to Oliver for lunch, and then we walked into town. I got a newspaper and headed back, whilst Rosemary and Sarah did a bit more browsing around the shops. There are lots of temptations – cakes, ice cream, fudge, chocolate, sweeties, pastries, you name it they have it!

We had a lovely meal out in the evening courtesy of Barry, at The Corn Mill pub with lovely views of the river. After dinner we then walked back up the hill to Oliver ready for showers and bed.

We got well and truly mullered last night with the torrential rain, thunder and lightning. I was convinced the rain was pouring in the engine bay and Toby went out in his PJs and a torch to check – I was far from popular on his return! We walked to the shops and topped up supplies, Toby cleaned the outside and I prepped dinner and made chocolate brownies….I know who got the better deal.

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We saw the boats going through the tunnel, including a rowing boat who look a bit too close to the stern of the narrowboat for my liking.

Mum arrived from Oxford, it was lovely to see her.

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No sooner was on mum on board, we had cast off and underway, trying to stay one day ahead of the rain clouds.

We crossed the Pontcysyllte aqueduct, we were lucky to be the only boat, I got some great pictures thanks to my secret santa selfie stick. I admit the crossing made me feel wobbly, I stayed well in the boat and held on tight.

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We took all the advice and moored about an hour short of the Llangollen basin, in the hope that we get near first pickings of the moorings in the basin as the boats will be leaving. It absolutely hammered down as we were mooring, but it soon passed and we’ve had a dry evening.

…when you step in dog poo and your hubbie offers to clean your shoes, thank you Toby, you’re my hero!

A beautiful warm sunny morning, Toby had the left over crumble for breakfast (and the same yesterday), I do wonder where he puts it!

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The canal seemed to get quite twisty today, the scenery kept us entertained with the back gardens and farmland although the smells could be quite ‘fruity’ at times.

Only two locks today in close succession, I’m glad we were going our way with at least five boats queuing to come down. We’re hoping that most boats are going back to base with it being close to the weekend. I know we struggle getting rid of rubbish on the Llangollen, it doesn’t look like this boat has moved recently.

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We soon reached Chirk and over the aqueduct, the bridge to the right is the railway bridge and intentionally built higher by the railway builders as a sign of superiority. It was waiting here that I had the incident with the dog poo! We also left England and are now firmly in Welsh territory.

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Through the tunnel and the whiff of molten chocolate is almost too much – I’m taking in deep breathes and enjoying it! Chirk is the home to Mondelez, the owners of Cadbury. We’ve moored up ready for mum arriving tomorrow afternoon by train, so an ideal spot.

We walked in to Chirk and topped up supplies at the local Spar, a wonderful butchers and a fruit and veg shop. We’ll go back tomorrow as it was a bit too much to carry in one go (I think it was the Bara Brith that tipped it!).

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Before we cast off, Toby baked the latest loaf of sourdough bread ready for lunch, he’s mastered the knack of cooking the bread in the gas oven and we’ve only purchased one loaf when Toby had a migraine.

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It was a changeable weather day, these photos are taken at the same time, I’m glad we were moving away from the clouds! Speaking of directions, Toby was reversing before a bridge to let two hireboats past coming the other way, the second boat asked if we were going their way…….what all the way in reverse?!

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A day for squishy faces too.

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We stopped for lunch next to Blake Mere, formed some 10,000 years ago at the end of the Ice Age, Toby managed to get a good photo of a damselfly.

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The traffic increased as we approached Ellesmere, the festival starts on Friday, there’s a service point along with shops and pubs. I was steering and came under the bridge needing to turn left, I saw a boat coming the other way who nicely drifted across to the far side of the bank out of my way (I later learned this was due to the gusty winds!), five boats in total on the move and I didn’t hit one of them! Phew….hands up, I did manage to nudge the next two bridges though.

We missed our preferred mooring, so we’ve ended up on a bendy visitor mooring, still lovely and out in the sticks with enough privacy for Toby to pee in the bushes (well done on taking one for the team Toby, the tank comes first!).

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We set off this morning to clear blue skies and sunshine – with just a little chill in the breeze. It was a lovely summer morning in beautiful countryside, just perfect for the soul.

We timed our departure well – just after we’d left, a single-hander cast off behind us. Even the wait for the staircase at Grindley Brook couldn’t put a dent in our spirits. We were 4th in line, waiting for 3 boats coming through the other way, and told it was 3 boats up, 3 down, but luck was with us as the lock keeper let all 4 of us go up so we didn’t have to wait half as long as we might have done. We hadn’t even bribed the lockies with cookies at that point!

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After the staircase it’s lock-free for quite a stretch, though there are a few lift bridges to negotiate. We were planning to carry on for another hour or so, but then the skies darkened and before we knew it, the rain was sheeting down! We decided to moor up for the day when we reached a nice quiet mooring in the country, before we could get any wetter.

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I was a little intrigued by what the farmer in the field opposite was up to when I saw him laying this giant hose across the field. We found out later when he started spraying rather smelly stuff all over the field.

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Phone reception wasn’t great; our 3-based wifi wasn’t getting a signal at all, and my EE phone was only getting a weak intermittent signal. Meantime, Sarah’s phone on Giff Gaff (using O2 network) was going great guns with a 4-bar signal and 4G – so we propped it up in the roof hatch to do wifi sharing on it. Otherwise it’d be no blog tonight 🙁

Whilst waiting for the locks before the staircase, Sarah spotted some blackberries. We picked a good load of them, and then Sarah turned them in to a crumble for pudding. There was a bit of improvisation, using bread flour instead of plain flour, but the results were great anyway 🙂

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We do like an enforced lie in with tea and coffee in bed, this time due to Swanley Marina not opening until 9am. A self service pump out at £19.50 so not cheap, but we’ve come to love our self service pump outs, and have quite a well oiled routine. A hire boat arrived for a pump out, when I said it was self service, they screwed up their face and said they’s go somewhere that was manned!

Lots of boats on the move today, and lovely single locks, I even had time for a bit of sunbathing while we waited.

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Some of the paddles were a bit stiff and took a bit of elbow grease to open. I just hope it’s doing wonders for the old bingo wings!

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We saw this rather innocuous black box by the side of the canal, it looks quite new and with two padlocks, there must be something special inside – any ideas?

We stopped at Wrenbury and enjoyed a lunch alongside for once. We then did a circular walk to the local shop, this involved a footpath full of cows, I was very close to turning round and going the other way! We purchased our supplies (milk, bananas and toms…..no ice cream or cake, oh how times have changed) and walked back through the church grounds.

We motored for another hour or so, and found a lovely mooring overlooking the fields. Toby polished off the last flapjack, so we were in need of new supplies ready for tomorrow and potential vlockies at the staircase. Toby offered to make the cookies, it was a packet mix, how hard can it be – just add butter and water. Toby had a sloppy mess from adding too much water, we’ve got cookies, we’ll update you tomorrow as to how edible they are.

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The forecast for today was dry until 10am, with showers coming in from then onwards – so it was pins out and off we went to make the most of the dry weather whilst it lasted.

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First stop for the day was at the nearby Claveley services. It had been pretty busy here on the way up to Chester, but at 9am on a Sunday morning it was very quiet. The water tap filled nice and fast so it wasn’t long before we were back under way.

Mario looks a little lost. Had a few too many beers on Saturday night perhaps?

We reached Hurleston Junction, and the forecast rain was now scheduled for 3pm. Good job too, as there was a long queue of boats for the lock – 9 in front of us when we arrived (a few boats from the other direction, in addition to those in shot). It was all very British, with everyone self-organising who’s turn it was next! Ellesmere Festival is on next weekend so it’s extra-busy at the moment – plus it’s the weekend and school holidays now.

The first lock is a bit of a squeeze due to the lock walls caving inwards, so it’s all manned with CRT personnel doing the paddles, open from 8am to 5pm. Apparently, they get about one boat a day that can’t get through; mostly it’s the older boats that have problems so we were fine.

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1 hour 45 minutes later, and it was finally our turn! Sarah had made the most of the waiting time by doing some washing. Keeping with tradition, we gave the lockies a flapjack each in thanks. The rain was now scheduled to start from 5pm.

We moored up not long after the locks, and chilled out for the rest of the afternoon.

Sarah’s Mum and Dad video-called us for a catch up in the evening. They’re still in training on how to point the phone so we can see them both fully at the same time!

The rain never did arrive, bar an extremely brief and light shower that wouldn’t have even warranted a rain jacket.