haggis

Some dogs do show signs of mourning. One of our dogs did after his mother died. His head and tail went down and nothing seemed to help him. He was getting a bit better when we went boating and when I jumped off at the first lock he followed ( as he did unless he was told to stay on board ) and you could almost see the point where he realised his mother wasn't there and his head and tail went down again. It was the first time I had seen signs of a dog mourning.

Day 6. An earlier start today as we had a booking to go down Frankton locks. Having sort of mastered driving through locks going up, this was my first attempt of going down . It is many years since we have been on the Monty but we both enjoyed cruising slowly along between big trees on both sides. That must be fun when they drop their leaves into the canal 😄. We both remembered the speed restriction signs with white poles to help you monitor your speed. No sign of them now. We moored at Queens head although it is not as we remembered. Maybe we are thinking of somewhere else ... Mooring wild on the Monty is definitely not an option with the overgrown bankings. Looking forward to having a leisurely few days down here.

After all the helpful advice we ended up having a nice meal in the Red Lion. I remembered finding a good pub the last time we were here and after some head scratching we remembered that it was the Red Lion . Apparently it is the only pub with a kitchen now. Even on a mid week night it was busy.

Day 5. The Gods were with us today! The sun shone and although we were soon in a slow convoy of 4 boats they fell by the wayside ( stopped to walk dogs etc) and we could travel at our own speed. We stopped briefly at the marina and this proved to be providential as the mooring in the Ellesmere arm were full but we met a boat ( fortunately the same size as KELPIE) coming out and we shoe horned into their space just one boat away from the end. Stocking up the cupboards then a lazy afternoon.

Thank you. That's where we are heading

The last time we were there I had a beef pie ( not something I often choose in a pub) and it was scrumptious 😄.

Great to hear about pubs with food you are all recommending. We will be in Ellesmere tomorrow night and as well as stocking up at Tesco's and that super delicatessen, we will be eating out. Perhaps Thai or Indian. Where is recommended?

The Dusty was fine. I had fish and chips and it was a lovely bit of fish. Very tasty and not the frozen several times stuff you get in some pubs. Eating on board tonight and even if I have a whisky it won't change my mind as there's nowhere here. The Willeymoor was open when we past but we don't usually do lunch so will make a point of catching it on our way back. It was " interesting "passing the hire base at Whitchurch as their boats were moored two or three abreast leaving room for just one boat. Of course we met a boat but fortunately it was short enough to squeeze into about the only space in the long line of boats.

Day 4. It happened again ! Just as we got to the bottom of a flight of locks it started to rain but unlike yesterday it didn't last long. We got another hour or so boating before it rained in earnest and we moored up ( wild) at that point. Canal was quite busy today with mostly private boats and we had to wait a few times for boats coming down a lock. Good practice for me as an apprentice lock driver 😄. I wonder why so many boaters take so long to come out of a lock. Some were even slower than " brick counters ". We complain down here about canal stoppages but I have just read that Scottish Canals will close the Crinan canal from early October to mid May to replace lock gates on the sea lock at Crinan. Seems unbelievable.

Thanks for your suggestions folks but we ( I ) have had a change of plan and we have booked a table in the Dusty Miller. It's amazing what a whisky can do😄

I find the Leigh Arms consistently good and the Red Lion not so consistent although we did have a very merry evening there a few months ago with some locals when there was a group on 😀

I know there is a choice of the Dusty Miller or the Cotton Arms but decided to eat in tonight . Probably around Grindley brook locks tomorrow night. Any good eating pubs there? I can't remember us mooring there although we have been up the Llangollen several times over the years.

Day 3. Two things happened when we got to Hurleston - it started to rain and a boat came from the Nantwich direction and turned in just before us. We followed them up the locks in torrential rain although it wasn't cold. Very few moving boats about - not surprisingly in view of the weather - and all the locks to Wrenbury were for us. Decided Willmoore lock was a bit far today so moored up in Wrenbury and will eat on board - and I'll get to see the Strictly results show 😀

You'll just have to go the other way to the Leigh Arms.

We had a lovely meal so obviously caught them on one othe good nights 😀

I agree ,Mike, and I think if everyone moored properly there would be little need for all the complaints . You often see boats tied with loose ropes at right angles so small wonder they move. Looking forward to eating out tonight and the Barbridge is usually pretty good but we have had poor meals there too. Hope this is one of their good nights !

Not so nice today. Started with light showers then got heavier so we didn't manage to get past Barbridge 😀. Meal booked for tonight. Moorings outside the pub full ,( some of the same boats we saw here in January) but one moved out so we moved across the canal. Interestingly after all the moans on FB about boats going past moored boats too fast I paid particulate attention last night. The only boat which slowed down was a hire boat (thank you ladies) but we never moved an inch as we were on rings with springs. Our change of duties worked ok and I just have to master sitting just outside the lock to pick Iain up 😀. He makes it look so easy !

Oh, Tony, I feel for you ! I have an unnatural fear of rats and would pro have left the boat never to return.

Day 1 - after being on shore power over night to charge the batteries we set off. At big lock I had to admit defeat and get a couple of guys to help close that bottom gate. Don't know why it is so difficult but is has been like that for years. Our timing up the narrow locks wasn't good as the volunteers arrived back from lunch when we were in the top lock. Chaos at Wardle with a big queue of boats and a volunteer who was a half paddle guy. At stanthorne we swapped duties which I think is going to be the way we do locks this trip. Moored after bridge 22 and enjoyed the evening sunshine. We didn't expect this much sun at this time of year !

After several months of no boating due to my indifferent health we set off again today , enjoying beautiful sunshine ! Normally I do the locks with Iain doing bits and pieces but we need to change that and I'll need to learn how to take the boat into locks 😀 The plan is a leisurely trip up the Llangollen and Monty . It is SO good to be back on board again.

As long as you don't moor on the towpath side on the lock landing. When we went up last year, there was a boat right in the middle of the lock approach and he proudly said he had been there for a couple of days. It was a bit tricky for me getting off to work the lock

Sorry, I obviously wrongly, got the impression that you were buying the stuff and doing it yourself. If you are getting someone to do it, you don't need to concern yourself about whether the wood supplier will cut holes in the worktop for you.

This is sounding more and more like a job for someone who has the right tools and is experienced in fitting kitchens in boats. Having watched an expert fitting a new kitchen in our house, I have a lot of respect for them with all the measuring and lining things up with drain pipes and taps etc. On a boat it would be even harder as you have to cope with sloping sides and the boat sloping from bow to stern. Find a boatyard who can do the job, make your way there and be prepared to do without kitchen facilities for as long as it takes. Which is unlikely to be days 🙂

Is there all that much wrong with your kitchen? I think we need to see photos 😀 I don't think a kitchen fitter who works in houses is what you want. Better a boat fitter. But you probably know that.

If a worktop needs cutting, make sure you buy something to cover the exposed edge. I doubt very much if a timber supplier will cut out holes for sinks etc. That's something which is quite precise and the holes need to be in exactly the right places.