Sunday/Monday. Marbury to Whitchurch, 6 locks & a staircase. Whitchurch to Bettisfield.

Sunday found us trying to avoid the rush of boats making their way to the top of the canal. We are lucky that we don't have to dash up and back in one week therefore we are taking our time.

There are views that go on for ever up here. Still not in Wales yet!

This boat overtook us so quickly that by the time we picked the camera up they had passed us by, they then smacked straight into that bridge ahead of them.

This canal is quite shallow and the faster you run the engine the more the water is pulled towards the boat instead of being used to push the boat forward, when you pass through narrow bridges the effect is amplified, you nearly stop and then lose steerage. Slowly through is the only way.

Up the staircase with the help of the lock keeper, he had some ripe tales of boaters getting in a stress about who has the right of way through these three locks. Apparently they move sixty to seventy boats a day through here in the season, glad we are here now.

The top lock! You can see how far up they take you by looking at the slope of the road.

Monday:

We moored overnight at Whitchurch and awoke to the rain lashing onto the boat, the Bank holiday had arrived!!!

We did get away around lunch time during a dry spell, on the way we passed these bushes in full flower.

Are they a Gorse or a Bracken? whatever they are the whole bank was covered in them for quite a distance making it very colourful.


We were waiting for the Troll to pop out of here.

This is a place named Whixall Moss, we must have crossed the border now as the signs have English and Welsh descriptions. There are supposed to be Mosquitoes living in there, that has given us the incentive to keep going although the weather is thickening up again.

Location, Location, Location, this is our view from the galley window this evening. The wind is blowing very hard across the top of this ridge at the moment forcing us to have a three point mooring for tonight to hold us steady.

Hopefully the morning view will be worth it.

So until then..................