Crew - Graham, Brenda & Matt

Queen Elizabeths Golden Jubilee. The day started with a celebration of the Queen's rain (sic). We hoped to celebrate her sun later........ and Graham spent a couple hours fiddling with 'jubilee clips' whilst mending the 'throne'

We did the 5 locks to Wrenbury with the rain being on and off (mostly on) Spent most of the journey following another ex Black Prince Duchess class boat named "Dog Gone Two" It would appear that the owners ,the Groves' had originally bought an ex BP semitrad (like Anita) but had traded up to a Duchess. Theirs was a 1997 Sirius Yachts hull and they'd managed to get her re-painted before taking delivery. We stopped at Wrenbury because the loo had blocked and I had to dismantle it. I didn't want to go past Wrenbury just in case we needed spare parts, which could be obtained from the Alvechurch yard there. I managed remove the loo pan and dismantle it in the bath to remove the lump of tissue paper and all the loose limescale from inside the macerator and sort it. I am proud to say that macerator toilets are no longer a mystery to me. We then continued on to Grindley Brook for an overnight stay below the locks, away from the road.

Crew - Graham, Brenda & Matt.

The weather was much better than we were forecast today, with a beautiful evening. The highlight of the day was watching a Spitfire playing in the clear sky above us as we passed the mere before Ellesmere tunnel. Discovery of the day was roasted salted Broad beans sold in the internet cafe/shop '@ 29' which is located alongside Grindley Brook staircase locks. We filled with water at the new waterpoints there and then lent our long hose to the crew on a BP Chirk hireboat. It meant that they didn't have to reverse to the waterpoint. As we approached Ellesmere we met Frodsham, a beautiful looking steam tug. The rhododendrons around the meres at Ellesmere were wonderful.

Crew - Graham, Brenda, Simon & Matt.

Yay! I've finished all my uni exams and I'm taking a break from working at the 'trose' to help shift the boat on towards Trevor (cue Matt's silly welsh accent - Oooooooh Trevor!!!!) Driving to the boat, after we passed Shrewsbury we passed a hotel named "the Albright Hussey Hotel" - mum wonders whether it's a high class brothel with high intelligence facilitators? We arrived at the boat after 11:00 PM to find a "Mooring Period Expired - Please continue your journey" BW sticker on the rear window - Ooops! Over three weeks since we moored Jannock on this 14 day mooring. Hot chocolate and bed, early start tomorrow.    

Crew - Graham, Brenda, Simon, Matt plus Barry & Mel (guest crew).

Brenda and Simon went and watched Tony Llewery painting on the Ellesmere arm while I fetched the day's guest crew.

(Barry) What an experience! Brotherly love personified ...... What could be better than leaving England and travelling at speed (?) into Gods country. The weather improved dramatically the moment we crossed the border .... the blue skies and intense sun made the day perfect.     Seriously, we enjoyed a great day with great company and saw countryside from a completely new perspective. Many thanks for your kind hospitality from both of us.

(Mel) Ignore the above - England was great (P.S. Still is) So was the company - many thanks Mel & Barry

Who cares about individual nationalities? I'm a citizen of the United Kingdom! So, what's all this English/Welsh thing about anyway?

We cruised with a dual nationality crew (and didn't we know it) - Barry and Mel - and stopped for a great lunch at the Poachers Pocket, a pub on Chirk bank (bridge 19) and an argument ensued as to whether it was an English or Welsh pub! Crossing the border (but we're not sure where!) we navigated Chirk aqueduct and tunnels and then the BIG bridge (the Ponty-whatsit one) Not content with doing it once, we turned around at the Trevor windy point and crossed it again! We finally moored on the offside of the aquaduct approach near Joe Jones. Once Mel and Barry left, crew rest period began with Simon spending a good 12 hours asleep. The rest of the crew enjoyed a beer and chat with Joe and Jackie Jones at their evening BBQ.

Crew - Graham, Brenda, Simon & Matt.

Today was a painting day. Final touches were applied to the lozenges and name on the starboard bows and then we cruised to the winding point to get the port side bows close to the bank. Now the other side could get a lick of paint; lozenges, propeller and name. All 3 fellas were working on it!

Last evening, those of us who could stay awake spent a couple of towpath hours in good company. As a result Joe brought me a horseshoe to decorate for (my brother) Gary and Emma's wedding. It's been a decorating weekend all round - Simon and I met Tony Lewery at Ellesmere yesterday. He was happy to work while we watched and was very encouraging. Joe admired my practice pieces - mini castles - and was impressed with Terry's cabin stool, and he's a man that knows! We left mid afternoon and travelled home ready to pack for Cyprus .... and more sunshine..

Crew - Graham, Brenda, Simon & Matt.

Everyone started fairly early today, myself excluded. We sailed galantly to the end of the canal at Llangollen, winded, watered and sailed back again. On the return trip, Dad leaped off at bridge 31, Trevor, with his camera and bike and took photo's of Jannock croosing the aqueduct from the entrance to the rugby field. He was knackered by the time he'd cycled back up to the top at the Froncysyllte end.

Points to remember :

           . Tunnel so full of diesel smoke that the other end could not be viewed.
           . Mother buying an "indian" welsh love spoon in Llangollen.
           . Mum's curry (bloody hell) (it was very nice really) (hang onto your duvets)
           . You travel back down the canal a lot faster than you came up it.

Finally ended up moored at Chirk bank.

Crew - Graham, Brenda, Simon & Matt.

Quick shifting of the boat to avoid annoying the BW mooring warden (again). Cruised back to Ellesmere to moor for another week. We'll see whether we get another "Move on Please" sticker this time

Crew - Graham, Brenda, Simon, Pete and Pat.

No "Move on Please" sticker this time! Pete has taken up where he left of 25 plus years ago and come cruising with us on a narrowboat. The last time was on the Grand Union when we hired from HiLine at Iver. Neil Arlidge passed Jannock whilst we were doing the car shuffle and made tentative arrangements to meet at Grindley that night.

(Pete) Started our day at 13:10. It's Pat's first experience on a narrowboat. She started as she intends to continue by installing herself on the bow seat with a bottle of Fitou. After 3/4 of the bottle, decided that she'd had enough when she discovered that the dog on a neighbouring boat that she was admiring was 'stuffed'. She then proceded to sit on the taff rail at the back of the boat and fall asleep ( see photo above). No locks today, travelled 14 miles with 5 lift bridges and 1 tunnel, stopped for the night at Grindley Brook (but no sign of Neil). Pat noticed the tiniest narrowboat with the largest pair of knickers hanging out to dry in the bow. She wondered why they were pegged out across the door and I (Pete) pointed out that should they have been pegged out any other way, they would probably act as a spinaker.

Crew - Graham, Brenda, Simon, Pete and Pat.

A full but very pleasant day. Hazy sunshine. Started the morning by visiting the Internet Cafe at Grindley Brook to purchase roasted salted broadbeans and postcards. Alchohol consumption was controlled and so everyone stayed awake until bedtime.

It should be noted that we had to enlist the help of some burly Vikings ("Do you think we were being followed?") to help us break the vacuum of water holding Jannock against the overflow wier at the lock near Marbury. To complete an international day, once we had turned onto the Shropshire Union canal again, we moored for the night with an ex-Canadian Embassy bloke with a dodgy engine. He was on a long term cruise (6 months) in a boat that he and a friend had hired for a whole year.

Back to Trip Page

Birmingham to Autherley page

Shropshire Union page