Montgomery Canal

Wednesday 15th July

We treated ourselves to a bit of a lie in as we had a reasonably easy run to Frankton wnere we were booked to go down onto the Montgomery Canal.

Almost immediately after setting off we arrived at the two New Marton locks. A boat ahead was going down and in difficulties as they could not fully open one of the bottom gates. Eventually Mike managed to clear several large stones which were resting on the floor of the lock No idea where they are now, but at least the gate opened! After going down the first lock, it was clear that the next hire boat did not know a lot about how to go through a lock - it was the first that they had encountered after being sent off from the hire base at Trevor. Mike stayed to show them through whilst Christine went on to the second lock. Here a group of young men were about to come up - but also had not tackled a lock before. They were given a demonstration/instruction as they helped Christine through, with Mike arriving just as she steered the boat out of the lock!

We arrived at Frankton in good time but there were five boats to go down - the other four were already there as also was the lock keeper who made an early start at penning the boats through the staircase. It was not until almost one o'clock before our turn arrived and we stopped for lunch below the four locks.

After lunch we called at the service station for water and elsan - one of the more remote services we have come across! By now the canal was just like it used to be forty years ago!

The first lock, named after the first chairman of the group which undertook the restoration, ws added to take account of changes in water levels after the closure.

Not only did we meet very few boats but the canal was quite narrow and shallow in places. At the Aston Locks, the second pound was almost a foot low - not helped by a hire boat going down and leaving all the bottom gates open. Our boat became stuck on mud at the lock landing above the third lock. Using all of our tricks for moving a stuck boat we eventually bow hauled it into the lock!

By now the rainy spells of the morning had cleared and it was a wonderful sunny afternoon - just how it should be. Like much of the Shropshire Union, this canal has some long straight stretches.
Almost at the end and we spotted Canal central - we knew that we were probably too late for the shop but Christine went to take a look whilst Mike continued on to Gronwen - only a few hundred metres further on. She found the people at the shop very friendly - albeit with no fresh food, but she did get the eggs on her list and a couple of bottles of cider, which were not on her list!

Juts before the final winding hole there is a road lift bridge - 80 turns to raise it and just far enough away from the turning that it had to be closed whilst we winded! In fact, before Christine arrived, the boat in front decided to leave the bridge up for Mike to go through. That was OK but they did not think about how Mike was to get to the winding mechanism - which, as usual, was on the non-towpath side! Fortunately he was able to tie the boat to a bollard just after the bridge - although this disturbed the keep net of a young lad who had caught four fish!

Christine returned and we continued to Gronwen, a pretty site and the canal cries out for further extension beyond this point. Mooring sites are few and far between and several were already full. We pulled in at the Canal Central - made difficult by a boat that had moored right in the middle - obviously trying to deter any others! A little later, a man from the boat added insult to injury by stating that he was about to run his engine - was that OK? Needless to say he did not wait for an answer!