The Llangollen continued . . .

Slowly getting towards the top of the Llangollen canal now and some impressive sights to be had. First was the Chirk aqueduct and next to it a viaduct for the trains. Here’s us crossing in the first picture and you can see a train that just happened to cross as we were. At the end of the waterway you can see the Chirk tunnel that's 459m long. Nicky suggested that I strip off and do a streak in the tunnel, lucky for me (and for you come to think of it) that the flash on the camera didn't work :-)

About three miles after this has to come the Pièce de Résistance of the Llangollen canal in the shape of the Pontcysylite Aqeduct that is 1007 feet long and stands 126 feet high. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There’s a nice safe walkway with railings on one side, but the other is a sheer drop save for the six inch edge of the trough edge and I don’t think that’ll do much to save you.

 

Now I’m not scared of heights, but I did take this photo on my knees in case her in doors (aka the misses, aka Nicky) decided that she was in need of a younger model and oops, end of blogging. . . . .

Now it’s not all plain sailing this liveaboard lark, as I’ve found I don’t have the excuse of going to work and thus getting away with having to do the shopping or such likes. And the shopping, now there’s another story, no nipping off in the car to do the weekly shop, you have to carry what you buy and that can be a bit of a bugger when you need heavy stuff like water and milk. So far the best (for want of another word) shopping expedition was at a place called Ellesmere where there’s a Tesco right next to the canal, the worst being at a place called Trevor that’s twenty minutes from the canal and we were a further twenty-five minutes up the canal, so yes for those of you who are good at maths, that’s forty-five minutes there and forty-five minutes back plus shopping time. Now every cloud has a silver lining they say and I suppose mine is that in not having the excuse of going to work, I don’t have to give Nicky a kiss when I go to work and another when I get back, bonus. . . . . . (but I never said that)
 

I’m probably not allowed a second Pièce de Résistance on the Llangollen, but what has to come a very close second is the remains of the Dinas Bran castle that overlooks the town of Llangollen itself. Now it’s half a mile away, 1100 feet up and a little over a hours walk away, but does come very recommended. To really get the best for the effort though, you’ve got to do it on a clear day so you can get the benefit of the views.

 

 

And yes, the Boys came on tour with us.

 

If you should be in the area sometime, another worthwhile walk is a mile and a half up the un-navigable part of the Llangollen canal to a weir called Horseshoe Falls. Did this right at the end of the day so got some nice dusky type shots and when I say right at the end of the day I mean right at the end of the day as it was dark by the time we got back to the boat.

 Whilst the weather has been great, it has still been a bit chilly, so our stove deciding to pack up and us having to resort to the central heating wasn’t the best (or cheapest) way to keep us warm inside, but anything is of course better than nothing. All back up and running now though and living in far better kind of heat.

 
Anybody know how to fix holes in socks, if yes, let Nicky know for me. . . . . . .

On our way back to Audlem now and then dropping Nicky’s parents off at Liverpool airport. Been a busy few weeks, so looking forward to not doing much in the coming days and with various winter stoppages on the network in our area, we’re just planning to stay fairly local for the next month and focus on getting the boat completely fitted out and ready for life aboard. At the time of writing, we’ve got a list of 66 things (no make that 65 as I did one yesterday) to do that range from the large to the small and from the necessary to the not really necessary, but might do if we’ve got a mind to.

And so in signing off,

Day 55 in the Badger Sett Narrowboat - 158 miles and 61 locks further on from when we started.