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Jon

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  5. September on the Mon and Brec

    in Cruise Diaries & Reports

    Posted

    Arrived Saturday about 3pm.The boat was a typical hire boat in that it was very 'lived in' and bore the marks of many an encounter with the awkward bridges and tunnels of this canal. In fact one of the hand rails on the front was smitten down until the first few inches were touching the deck! After a brief handover, during which I heard the words I never thought to hear from any hire company: quote "don't bother checking the oil and water it never uses any!" (a thornycroft in case you are interested)we were off.Interestingly for me, since I had never seen this before, it had a water lubricated stern gland ie.no greaser. All in all this made the boat very easy to look after. One consequence of the water lubrication was a constant and deliberate flow of water into the bilge. This was compensated for by a fairly sophisticated bilge pump system - two pumps automatically controlled (with a manual override) and an excess water alarm consisting of a float switch wired into the horn system. Despite this precaution, and many warnings to not knock the auto/manual pump control switch out of the auto position, the whole thing performed faultlessly and apart from the weed hatch,we never touched anything below the deck boards for the whole week. Anyway after departure we cruised until about 6.45pm mooring between bridges 85 and 86. 5miles 0locks. Weather lovely.

     

    Sunday morning we awoke to find ourselves in the middle of a fishing match, with anglers at each end of the boat. I expected to find the boat full of maggots, but no, in fact as we moved off the cheerful chap in front asked us to go a bit faster to "stir them up". This certainly was not the usual canal! We cruised on through the Govilon obstacle course (narrow bridges, moored boats, awkward bends) up to Gilwern and moored there to undertake a walk up to the remains of the old Clydach Ironworks. Returning from the walk we cruised on to bridge 109 for a lovely evening mooring in the country and a meal on deck.6miles 0locks. Weather superb!

     

    Breakfast on deck Monday morning followed by a short cruise up to Llangattock wharf and another walk up the old inclined plane to Llangattock escarpment and the old limestone mines. Returned for lunch on deck followed by a cruise up to bridge 131 then a walk up the towpath to the Coach and Horses for an evening meal. 6miles 0locks. Weather brilliant!!

     

    Tuesday, through the locks and Ashford tunnel (which has my vote for the lowest navigable structure I have ever seen!) and on to Talybont on Usk, which surprisingly was the only place on the whole canal that I recognised from my previous 2 visits! We winded here, went to the local shop and then back to the boat for lunch after which we returned to a lovely mooring above the top lock and another meal on deck. 5miles 5locks 2 tunnels. Weather Stupendous!!!

     

    Wednesday, breakfast on deck again then down through the locks (1hr 10mins with 3 against us and 2 in favour) and back to Llangattock for yet another lunch on deck followed by a walk into Crickhowell to buy Mrs. Viking's birthday present from the outdoor shop there.In the afternoon we cruised on to Gilwern for a birthday dinner in the Lion Hotel. 9miles 5locks. Weather, run out of adjectives!!!!!!

     

    Thursday, aimed to cruise down towards the southern end of the canal (Monmouth section) but the gods of the canals were against us. Rounded the bend at Llanfoist wharf to be hailed by a fellow boater on the towpath who imparted the news that a tree was down across the cut and it would be closed for about an hour (BW were already in attendance). We instantly formulated our alternative plan which was a walk up the Llanfoist inclined plane onto the tramroad along the Blorenge (a local hill). We returned about 3.15 to find the way clear again and so continued to a marvelous mooring between bridges 85 and 86, which we had spotted on the way out and coveted then! In choosing to moor here we realised that the southern end of the canal was now out of reach - but it was worth it. 6miles 0locks. weather, cloudy am, bright sun by noon.

     

    Friday, Rain!! After the inexplicably wonderful weather we had been enjoying so far, to wake to torrential rain was a bit of a surprise though not entirely unexpected given it was Wales in September. We chose to have a leisurely breakfast in the hope that it would ease and indeed it did so. We left at 10.45. It started raining again at 10.50!! We cruised to bridge 63 where, according to the canal guide provided by the boatyard, mooring would be possible. It wasn't. At least not anywhere near the towpath so we tied to trees on the offside which proved a very satisfactory stop for lunch (inside this time!). After lunch it was down to the winding hole and back to base. We did have until 9am Saturday morning but we can't be bothered getting up that early on holiday. After packing the car with most of our belongings we went to the Waterside restaurant at Goytre wharf (which I wholly recommend) for a last meal.9miles 0locks.

     

    So what of the canal? It is relatively lock free and so might be thought of as a good 'starter' canal for newcomers to canal boats. On balance I don't think it is. It is narrow,shallow, overgrown,with numerous blind bends in many places and the bridge holes have a unerring knack of never being anywhere near in line with the cut! This makes for some tricky navigation.

     

    Would I recommend it? Assuredly. It is in my opinion the best canal in the United Kingdom. It is beautiful,has masses of industrial archeology, is a wonder of canal engineering and has limitless walking opportunities. I could easily spend a month on it.

     

    Was it busy? Judge for yourself. On Sunday and Monday we moored at 5pm and moved off at 10am.During this time we were passed by 1 boat on each day. The stoppage caused by the fallen tree, which lasted somewhere between 2 and 3 hours in all, generated a queue of 5 boats. Try that on the Llangollen!

     

    Of course this is not to everyones taste. The fellow boater moored in front of us awaiting tree clearance opined that it is "too quiet". Pity it was his first canal holiday and he had chosen the M+B - almost anywhere else would have suited him better. But not me. "Quiet" is what I want from canals.

     

    Some of you might be surprised at our lack of progress. 2mph is a good speed on which to plan for this canal, the usual 3mph is not attainable in a narrow boat, it is simply too shallow and narrow.Also we made the most of the other attractions the area has to offer namely the Brecon Beacons and all its industrial archeology. Relax and enjoy! We did.

     

    I am no photographer, neither do I have the time or skill to 'touch up' digital photos, but if anyone is interested I have placed the photos we took on display here - warts and all!!

     

    http://www.grahamuff.f2s.com/Mon and Brec

     

    I said that this would be my last ever hire boat holiday due to my own boat being ready next summer. I am already planning a winter cruise in November! Next year is too long to wait!

     

    FOR ORIGINAL THREAD, SEE HERE

  17. How to use this section

    in Cruise Diaries & Reports

    Posted

    Welcome to Cruse Diarys. This section of the forum is for you to add a log of your journeys so that other users can find out information about where you've been etc.

    A few rules:

    - Please post each separate trip as a new thread
    - Please only add new threads for specific trips - any general questions about routes eg "has anyone been on the ....." should be posted in general boating
    - Any user may reply to the log entry, but please keep on topic.
    - Please include where possible, the date, location (both geographical and by canal name, bridge number if you know it) and other other relevant information.
    - You can add images to the thread to make it interesting, if you have photos.
    - Please do not post personal information unless you are willing to be identified, particularly where the information relates to a third party.

    Some suggestions would be where you moored, any pubs, how many locks, scenery etc.

    Many thanks,

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