Another reasonably warm day but thin cloud stayed with us most of the day so that the camera struggled to take decent photos.
The Lyneal Wharf is a holiday centre for disabled people and they have two or three boats with special adaptations.
The first part of our journey today passed beside two of the Meres. The first, Cole Mere, is the one Christine took a look at last night.
The second is Blake Mere. It seemed popular to walk along the towpath to look lover this mere but signs indicated that it is not open to the public for recreational use, unlike Cole Mere.
As we approached Ellesmere there were several sculptures beside the canal. Most were airy wire shapes and not easy to photo as we cruised along. This one worked OK as it is a bit more solid!
We have never before taken the arm into Ellesmere itself - this time we were looking to do some shopping. We knew that there is a Tesco alongside the arm but we also wanted to look at the town itself. Although it is a popular place there were several spaces and we managed to fit snugly in fourth from the end.
We first walked into town, only a short distance from the wharf. There are quite a few small shops including a good bakery shop where we bought a couple of loaves, some pastries and a hand raised pork pie. There was also a small butcher but we did not need that today - we are still stocked up from Duttons in Wadebridge! Mike took the first load back to the boat whilst Christine made a start on the supermarket list.
By the time we returned to the boat, heavily laden, it was time for lunch. However, Christine called Windsor to check on arrangements for Alice's visit starting tomorrow and discovered that there were a few more items needed. She later thought about pud for tomorrow and went back a third time!
As we left the mooring we could see a game of cricket about to begin as the teams gathered into position.
We joined the main line but only a few metres from the junction is the old maintenance yard where there is the full ranges of services which we needed use. Much of the base is still in use, including the dry dock which had a boat in it being worked on. (well, not actually today!)
The canal is rightly famed for the pleasant scenery.
This gnarled stump caught our attention.
Talking of swans - well, we were a couple of days ago - how did this one get there?
Two of the bridges are called Paddock No1 Bridge and No2. Perhaps this is the paddock as they are at either end of this field alongside a farm.
This, we think, is the same disused railway line that we passed under yesterday - still have to find out something about it!
On the run towards the two New Martin locks we were treated to an aerobatic display overhead. Loop-the-loop and barrel rolls. We tried to convince ourselves that it was a private display for us but perhaps it was just a practice. Taking photos is not easy, especially as we were still on the move, and only one of several actually caught the plane - at some distance. Use your imagination!
At the locks several boats were coming down. In some cases they were very new to locks - some of the short break hires only do these two as they go up to Llangollen and back.
We stopped close to the village of St Martin in case we could find an early service in the morning. Mike walked up the footpath - it took just over quarter of an hour but it is a good path through the fields. On arrival, the first noticeboard listed an 8 am service but Mike walked around to the other side, probably the more used entrance, only to discover that that timing had been taped over.
He took the opportunity to look at the village. There is a lot of new housing, much under construction, but it is a rather sprawled out sort of place with little apparent sense of centre. A fairly busy road runs through where there is a new-ish set of assorted shops including a Nisa-extra.
Alongside the main road is Ifton Miners Welfare. Outside is a bench in a design that recalls pithead winding gear.
According to click Ifton once had one of Shropshire's largest collieries. It closed in 1968.
A further call to Windsor re-arranged the meeting place so that the car will come to the next bridge from where we are - this means we can manage to go to the 9.30 service.
Now discovered that the railway line was the Oswestry, Ellesmere and Whitchurch, part of Cambrian Railways. It seems that one of the principal reasons for constructing this railway was the regeneration of Ellesmere. Not sure whether it ever achieved much of that goal but the town is certainly very quiet today.
10.6 Miles - 2 Locks
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