Back on the Llangollen, moored at Ellesmere

 A couple of pictures from yesterday's visit to the restoration site that speak for themselves:

And now todays blog:

End of navigation on the Weston Arm

We had an excellent meal at the Queens Head last night with very good local beer - highly recommended.

This morning we left the Montgomery and started our journey back down the Llangollen.  After leaving Queens Head soon after 9am we arrived back at the Weston Arm at 10:30 and met three other boats also planning to leave the Montgomery via the Frankton locks at lunchtime.  As there is little room for mooring at the locks we stayed put until close to the time we were due there.  This gave us the opportunity to fill up with water, have an early lunch and pay a quick visit to the end of the Arm.  The Arm formed part of a grand scheme around 1800 to create a canal from the Dee at Chester to join the Severn at Shrewsbury. Having built the canal from Chester and what now forms main part of the Llangollen Canal the plans were abandoned at the time the canal had reached Weston. The route from Chester to the Severn was actually created some 30 years later with the construction of the Shropshire Union Canal.  The photograph shows a 100 yard section in water but without navigation access and seems to be maintained as a nature reserve for water plants.  Beyond this anything that remains is hidden beneath thick and inaccessible woodland.

Once the other boats had left the Weston Arm moorings we followed them to Frankton.  Here we had an hour or so wait at the bottom of the locks whilst the boats in front ascended the locks and the lock keeper allowed two boats down the staircase.  Once through the locks we turned right at the junction to go down the Llangollen to moor an hour later back at Ellesmere.

Our plan is to return to the Shropshire Union Canal and then cut across country to the Trent & Mersey Canal at Middlewich.  We dont believe there will be any further easy opportunity for major shopping until we get to Middlewich and so we need all provisions required for about 5 days.  The long life stuff we bought today, we will go back to the supermarket tomorrow morning to buy fresh veg and meat.