Reporting in. The American newbies ended up as a party of three boats carrying 12 people from Wrenbury to Llangollen and back. All your advice was really helpful and reassuring, but I will confess to have bumped into more than a few bridges and one or two other boats. Others were definitely more skilled on the tiller. We had the most wonderful relaxed time, mooring up in unbelievably beautiful places and loved the whole "out of touch" experience. Thinking that we didn't want to trigger any discussions about politics I asked my fellow boaters to bring state flags rather than the Stars and Stripes. These were a big hit since they are colorful and no-one had a clue what they represented. The Arizona flag got pulled off and is in the bushes somewhere near Ellesmere...
We really appreciated the canal ethos, with everyone at the lock wielding a windlass and offering help. I did get barked at by a man complaining that I was present on a lock and wasn't carrying a windlass, but he calmed down after I explained that having delivered two sons into this world, both of whom were now present as windlass-wielding adults, I felt I had already done my part, especially since there were no more windlasses left on our boat. But that was just a moment of grumpiness. Much more to the point was the time I pulled off to the side to let a boat through a narrow spot, and got stuck on a mudbank. The passing boater asked so gently, "Would you like some advice?" and of course I readily accepted. He calmly coached me off the mud bank and stuck around until my thrashing about had produced the right result, and I was afloat again. Such a gentleman.
The aqueduct was nothing less than spectacular. My husband lost his hat to the stiff breeze - it's 126 feet down in the valley somewhere. And the meres and the mosses, the goose eggs we bought and turned into dinner; the Elvis impersonator festival at the Cotton Arms; we have so many great memories, but somehow, it's not enough and we are already planning/dreaming of another trip.
So here we are, back in the US, still blissed out by the beauty of the Llangollen canal, and dreaming of more.