Goodbye Llangollen, hello?

Thursday, 01 April 2010 20:00

Despite the weather, wind, rain, sleet and then snow!

We are going to hide for Easter. So we braved the weather (I am unashamedly English, so must mention it!) and set off from Ellesmere. We used traditional methods to turn around at the winding hole - the wind! Many of the other moored narrowboats had disappeared from the Ellesmere Arm too.

We took on water at a very slow tap at the BW services on the Main Line of the Llangollen Canal. This was not helped by the plumber turning off the supply as we were filling up - "sorry, have I turned you off?"

Leaving the old buildings of the BW yard behind

We followed the pretty and very bendy canal to Frankton Junction. If it had been better weather I would have taken some lovely photos, but I kept my camera in the dry and stood at the stern with John with 6 layers of clothing on to keep warm.

Arriving at Frankton Junction, we turned left to moor above Frankton Locks on the Montgomery Canal. This is our gateway to escaping the "madding crowd" - the Lock Keeper's words, not mine!

We were able to moor on the towpath side to await passage the next day

The Lock Keeper brought us some information for bed time reading and said goodbye after locking the flight for the rest of the day. Frankton Locks are open 12.00 to 2.00 each day and passage has to be booked by 10am of the day of passage. We rang BW Northwich (01606 723800) to book before arriving.

Welcome to the Montgomery

The sun shone briefly, so John went on a photographic expedition and here are some of the results!

The Lock Keepers office: an old toll office

The locks are beautifully maintained and have just been regated. The Lock Keeper, Colin, has been here for years and has held two 'Lock Keeper of the Year' awards. He is very helpful and full of information. We remember him well from our last trip on the "Monty".

Spring flowers decorate the moorings

Frankton Top Lock, the first of a staircase of two

The Monty is only navigable for about 7 miles, but the long term plan is restoration to Newtown, 25 miles away. Other sections are in water but it all has yet to be linked together.

The canal is an SSSI and only a limited number of boats are allowed passage each day - typically a maximum of 4. 14 days is the maximum stay allowed and we shall spend a little time exploring its beauty, whilst enjoying the peace and quiet away from Easter business on the Llangollen.

Monty mile post at Frankton Locks

The plaque at the foot of the mile post commemorates the installation of the first new top gate of the Monty restoration. Narrowboaters who explore this canal have reason to be very grateful to the "Wrgies" (Waterways Recovery Group) and those who worked, and continue to work, so hard to restore the canal.