Llangollen trip day#12

Wednesday 24th May 2023

A stop and start sort of a day today. Graham had planned to meet up with his ex-work colleague Paul at the Fron’ end of the aqueduct. He is a skilled drone pilot & photographer who offered to come and get some footage of Jannock crossing from the vantage point of the boat.

 

As we approached Chirk bank we found ourselves behind an annoyingly slow ABC hire boat. When all was OK he set a good speed but as soon and he came to a bridge, on-coming boat or tunnel he slowed right down to an almost stop.

 

Once across Chirk aqueduct and through the tunnel (very slowly) we then caught up with two more boats that were travelling equally slowly. At the two bridges after Whitehouse tunnel we all ground to a halt to allow flotillas of southbound boats to come through. We finally arrived at Fron’ at 11:45 and moored up on the aqueduct approach alongside two Roving Traders.

 

 

Paul arrived at 12:30 as promised and we had lunch on Jannock before he set up his drone on the roof ready for the crossing. His skills controlling it were apparent as there was quite a strong wind to contend with coming down the Dee valley. The walkers on the aqueduct were quite impressed and several were filming the drone as it went about it’s business.

 

 

At the Trevor end a long trip boat was emerging from the canal bridge and so we went straight into the entrance to Trevor basin and sat waiting while it went onto the aqueduct and the two boats following us got themselves sorted, one winding and the other turning up towards Llangollen. Jannock then reversed out of the basin, dropped Paul off to walk back to his car, and we went through the bridge and continued upstream.

 

On along the valley edge above the river Dee in sunshine. All of the moorings on the Llangollen side of the second narrows are now pay mooring unless you are staying less than 4 hours. We winded in the basin and then returned to a bankside mooring back towards Trevor.

Once tied up, Graham went and purchased an overnight ticket so that we could go out for a meal at the Old Corn Mill this evening and go for a train trip tomorrow.

G&B