Recently I was offered a narrowboat for free and I was genuinely tempted by the offer. I have often thought how nice it would be to travel England's waterways on a barge, I imagine it to be such a relaxing thing to do, cruising along at such a leisurely pace enjoying the countryside as well as connecting with England's industrial heritage. I only went off the idea when the question of mooring fees, insurance and restoration costs came up and I realised that for now at least this is not an option I could take up.
But as I thought about, albeit briefly, I recalled this scene from the Llangollen canal between Christmas and New Year. Along the canal there were lots of moorings on the towpath which offered a place to stop for 48 hours before you would have to move on. Then there was the large marina at Chirk and a smaller marina at Trevor where obviously there would be mooring fees. But on the opposite bank I spotted this isolated little camp where the bargee had obviously set up a more permanent camp next to a little clearing with their washing strung between the trees and a bicycle on hand for trips to the nearest town/village. I think this is an idyllic scene and looking at these pictures I can feel myself drawn to this type of life.
I have chosen these three shots to share for my end of year post because they are such peaceful scenes and after a hectic and trying year this peacefulness is what I wish for myself and everyone.
To all who have followed my blog or looked at my pictures and even shared them in 2017 thank you. I hope you will stay with me through 2018 wherever it takes me.
Happy New Year!!!
This time a year ago I was in Amsterdam at the start of my European road trip with my eldest son, it seems so long ago and so much has happened since then. Anyway I thought it would be fitting to commemorate the anniversary with a few more canal side images, today as with yesterday they are from the Shropshire Union Canal.
The first of the pictures shows a day boat crossing the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct. We had first seen them about half a mile before the aqueduct as they crashed into the side of the canal, the opposite bank of the canal, a lifting bridge and just about everything else along the way. The driver of the boat was so uncoordinated it was scary so I was more than a little anxious about being on the aqueduct at the same time. Fortunately they got across without incident, before crashing into the bank at the marina. At one point they were being waved on by the driver of a boat coming in the opposite direction, sensibly they hung back, the driver kept waving them on and I had to warn him that this was a bad idea and in the end he gave up.
I like the shot of the boats in the marina and the other one as it is about to pass beneath the bridge, it has really low headroom so obviously care was needed. There is something appealing about life afloat, but I am not sure I could cope with the lack of space and the the slow pace.
Today's shots were taken using my smart phone during a walk along the Llangollen branch of the Shropshire Union Canal between Chirk and Trevor.
I was walking with my daughter and we covered 8 miles taking in two aqueducts and two tunnels. The first shot is of a Narrowboat entering the Middleton Tunnel and I like the way the brickwork reflects the light and shines in different colours. As we walked back through this tunnel towards the end of our walk I pointed out the mass of cobwebs hanging from the arched roof and as both my daughter and I dislike spiders we decided that it was better to not direct my light towards the roof so we could pretend that they weren't there.
The other two pictures are of the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct built by Thomas Telford and which opened in 1805. It is 12' wide including the towpath, 336 yards long and 126' high as it passes over the River Dee. It is a stunning piece of architecture and engineering, it was also quite fun walking across it although many people clearly had some difficulty and more than one person walked across with eyes closed and holding tight to their partners.
