Llangollen Trip day#20

Thursday 1st June 2023

Firstly, I missed an important bit from yesterday’s blog – after Brenda had crossed the canal and walked up the road to visit the Wedgewood seconds centre, she found that it had closed and the car park was full of travellers. Not a lot of money spent there then.

Last night was a rare ‘two pub’ evening, not happened since last May when we stopped in Etruria. We like to eat at the Toby Carvery as we enjoy a roast dinner and we always try to visit the Holy Inadequate pub & brewery just down the road. The beer selection in the former was poor and in the latter was superb.

Graham set us off just before 9am and took us under bridge 117 to stop at Capital Gas services to get two 13kg refills, unfortunately they only had one in stock so we had that and will have to source the second from an alternative source.

Then into Stoke top lock where one ground paddle was out of action and the bottom gates leaked so much that it took ages to fill. Graham had time to set the second whilst the first (referred to as ‘The Beast’ by Rob, the local un-official lockie) was still filling.

 

We met Rob at the 3rd lock working a boat up the flight. He gave us a business card that showed that he now has a partner working with him and they now do things like shopping, washing, fetching water as well as working locks between Wheelock and Stone by arrangement. 

 

There was a graffiti artist working on the wall here creating what looked like an excellent canal scene. Might have to visit again to see the finished painting. Out of the bottom lock and on, past the waste incinerator and football stadium, towards Trentham.

At Trentham lock a traditional working boat, obviously heading for the Etruria boat festival this weekend, had just left the lock and another boat crew had started turning it before we could get there. Once through we continued on through Barlaston, not stopping at the Plume of Feathers, to Meaford locks.

 

Brenda spotted a large Terrapin basking on the reeds between the top lock and Meaford road lock. No delays at all here and onto Stone. As we approached the top lock we were warned that the level in the next pound was very low. Newcastle road lock had CaRT signs explaining that the bottom gates leak badly and they should be closed in a specific order. Shame the last boat up before we arrived, who had given us the low level warning, had left the top gate open. After Wigan last summer this was no contest.

 

We gave a little girl and her mum a lift down through Yard lock as they were happily watching what was going on in the locks. They got off at Star lock, where we were advised by a pedestrian that mooring places below the lock were scarce, and we continued down to find a suitable mooring spot immediately after the winding hole. Got an important date in the Star pub tonight.

G&B