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Llangollen and maybe Montgomery advice please


libali

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In a possibly foolhardy move, we have a hire boat booked from Trevor on the Llangollen for 7 nights from next week(!). We've done quite a few canal trips in the past (Warwickshire, Stourport & Worcester rings, plus the odd bit of L&L, Grand Union etc) so we're not completely clueless, but the likely busy-ness and one-way sections are raising lots of questions in our planning. We've read up on the Llangollen narrows, know that Grindley is likely to be busy etc. We've entered various scenarios into the canal planner, but still have some questions, if anyone would be willing to share their real-life wisdom:

 

- We know there's a fee for mooring at Llangollen, but nowhere seems to mention booking in advance?

 

- We were loosely hoping to go down the Montgomery, purely as respite from the predicted busy-ness of the Llangollen, but it seems impossible to do and still travel anywhere! If you were trying to do Trevor - Llangollen - Montgomery - onward to ? - Trevor, where would you plan to turn? Or is the Montgomery out of the question?

 

A bit more info:

 

An evening and following morning in Llangollen is non-negotiable due to partner needing to relive his childhood (;-))

 

We love locks and are a bit worried about the lack of them on this trip, so squeezing a few more out of a trip is always good... but if there are always queues that might be silly?

 

General tips, best time to cross the aquaducts, good moorings, stuff to watch out for also welcome. 

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Ali

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I've always thought starting from Trevor is a bit upside-down. You have to do either the narrow run into Llangollen, or the aqueduct, within the first hour of the holiday, which then means the rest is less spectacular. Going from eg Bunbury means there is a natural build-up and excitement to the aqueduct.

 

Its true that unless you do the whole of the Llangollen (in your case, to Hurleston and rtn), there's 'almost' no locks - basically its a day's worth of locks, then 2 days flat but with the 2 New Marston locks to break it up, then return, if coming from the other end. There's locks on the Monty though. I am pretty sure you can't actually get to Montgomery but there is still a good amount of canal you can do.

 

I'd seriously forget about trying to avoid busy periods etc, just go with the flow, keep an eye on your plan and don't get too far behind it because then it will mean a long day the next day to catch up, or risk spoiling the next hirer's holiday.

 

I guess there's no chance to change it from Trevor to Bunbury booking, with Anglo Welsh?

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Frankton Locks have to be booked and I believe are open daily 9:00 - 12:00.  You could leave Trevor and head in to Llangollen, visit what you need to do there and head out the next day. Leaving late on in the day may help with crossing the aqueduct.  Then head for Frankton junction, you can probably phone up and book the day before but you may need to check this. Then go down the Montgomery and back, rembering to book your return through the locks.  If you have time left head to Ellesmere or if not head back to Trevor.

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1 hour ago, libali said:

In a possibly foolhardy move

 

On the contrary....one of the few canals in the country to have plenty of water at the moment! 

 

I'd agree with what's already been said. Go with the flow and see the sights.....Wixhall moss is worth a look too.

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1 hour ago, booke23 said:

 

On the contrary....one of the few canals in the country to have plenty of water at the moment! 

Good point!

2 hours ago, Paul C said:

I guess there's no chance to change it from Trevor to Bunbury booking, with Anglo Welsh?

'fraid not - though I do see your point.

 

Thanks for the response. I do have a bit of a tendency to tie myself in knots with details!

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I would go straight to Llangollen basin the first night as there are lots of pontoons. If by some fluke all the pontoons are full just head back down and take the first available mooring.

 

There is water and electricity on the pontoons and also the towpath moorings have rings, water and electricity.

 

The charge was £6 per night but you can only stay for 2 nights.

 

Don't worry about the narrow bits but make sure that you send someone in front to check if the way is clear - use walkie talkies or mobile phones to communicate.

 

All the locks, tunnels and aqueducts are busy at peak times but if you sail early or late you may miss the queues.

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Assuming you are starting on Fri or Sat, then starting at Trevor is a good move, go straight up to Llangollen, is is much quieter in the basin on a weekend.  You can have 2 nights there if you want, you can’t book in advance, and you pay at the horse drawn trip boat office, all you need to know is the name of the boat.

 

If you want to go on the Montgomery then you need to book that, not sure how hire boats book it, so speak to the hire company about that.

 

If you do the Montgomery and have a week hire, will you actually need to go down Grindley Brook?

 

Anytime is fine to cross the aqueducts, just take your turn.

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Go to Llangollen first, stop at sun Trevor pub, send someone ahead to first passing point, if no boats coming move on up and stop at passing point, your walker should nearly be at second stopping point, move accordingly using phone.Get ready for a sharp bend.Never had a problem so far. Sun Trevor pub is ok to stop overnight as well.

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The Montgomery is lovely and IMHO worth the trip. Llangollen to Frankton is about a short-ish day. You must book Frankton locks, hire base will tell you how - you might need to do this online rather than on the phone, so take a mobile/tablet. You must book not later than the day before you go down, you book both down and back up at the same time, and you must spend at least one night on the Montgomery, but unless you want to race to the end and back two is better. You don’t need to book the other locks on the Montgomery, or New Marton locks.

 

Having come back up, Ellesmere is only a couple hours, a nice town with the most convenient Tesco you could ask for. Go on a bit further and the moorings alongside Blakemere are very good. 

 

If you like pottering that would probably be enough, if you like boating dawn to dusk you could go further, but although Whixall Moss is ecologically interesting, there’s not a lot between Ellesmere and Grindley Brook. Going down and up Grindley Brook could take you all day if it’s busy and there are queues; I can’t remember where the next winding hole is below Grindley Brook, I’ve a feeling it could be Wrenbury.

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Thanks to everyone for your really helpful replies, it's all feeling much more possible now. Yes, we were aware of the need to book the Frankton Locks - I'm pretty sure it's an online booking but need to check.

 

2 hours ago, john6767 said:

Assuming you are starting on Fri or Sat, then starting at Trevor is a good move, go straight up to Llangollen, is is much quieter in the basin on a weekend.  You can have 2 nights there if you want, you can’t book in advance, and you pay at the horse drawn trip boat office, all you need to know is the name of the boat.

 

No, we start on Tuesday and we'll probably only set off at about 4pm (boat pick up is 2-4pm and we can't get there until about 3-3.30). Slightly nervous about not being able to book in advance, but good to know for sure.

 

16 minutes ago, AndrewIC said:

The Montgomery is lovely and IMHO worth the trip. 

 

Going down and up Grindley Brook could take you all day if it’s busy and there are queues; 

 

Glad to hear that it's worth it 👍🏼

 

I confess that we were hoping to get to Grindley primarily because of liking locks... but the Monty might scratch that itch enough!

 

Lots of good info in everyone's replies, thanks so much. 

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2 hours ago, john6767 said:

If you do the Montgomery and have a week hire, will you actually need to go down Grindley Brook?

 

No, Frankton is way before Grindley so no need to actually go down.

 

Personally I wouldn't go down Grindley unless you happen to be very ahead of schedule.....you can get tied up there for hours and hours.  

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We did the Monty back in June.  We phoned up the day before to book both our passage down and the return trip back up. 

 

The hours are 9am to noon as stated earlier.  Apparently, on the day we went down we were the only boat transiting the locks that day and I got a text from the lockie asking if we still intended to go through.  

 

There are several locks on the Monty, so probably no need to go to Grindley Brook.

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13 hours ago, booke23 said:

 

No, Frankton is way before Grindley so no need to actually go down.

 

Personally I wouldn't go down Grindley unless you happen to be very ahead of schedule.....you can get tied up there for hours and hours.  

I actually meant from an available time point of view, with a week if you go down the Montgomery you will probably use up the time west of Grindley Brook, you can in you want turn directly above the locks or a mile short at Whitchurch.  To go down Grindley Brook and back up with not much in between could take the best part of a day.

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13 hours ago, libali said:

Thanks to everyone for your really helpful replies, it's all feeling much more possible now. Yes, we were aware of the need to book the Frankton Locks - I'm pretty sure it's an online booking but need to check.

 

 

No, we start on Tuesday and we'll probably only set off at about 4pm (boat pick up is 2-4pm and we can't get there until about 3-3.30). Slightly nervous about not being able to book in advance, but good to know for sure.

 

 

Glad to hear that it's worth it 👍🏼

 

I confess that we were hoping to get to Grindley primarily because of liking locks... but the Monty might scratch that itch enough!

 

Lots of good info in everyone's replies, thanks so much. 

 

If you're staring on a Tuesday I'd definitely suggest going away from Llangollen first, Tuesday/Wednesday nights are the busiest especially at this time of year.

 

I'd go the other way first, over the aqueduct and stop at Chirk Bank the first night (walk down to the Bridge Inn), then carry on east. Wherever you then go, maybe aim to get back to Llangollen on Sunday afternoon when it's quiet. That will then give you Monday in Llangollen to do things (walk up to Horseshoe Falls? Railway? Museum?), then moor at Trevor Basin (under the bridge past the hire base) on Monday night and walk over the aqueduct and up to the Aqueduct Inn for the last evening.

Edited by IanD
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I've done the Llangollen a few times at different times of year, including Easter smd summer, and touchwood don't seem to have had the problems you often hear about. Slight wait once at New Marton locks and Grindley Brook, but not more than half an hour. The narrows to Llangollen you have go slowly for and require a bit of concentration but done them 4 times each way and not really had any problems. Also done Montgomery twice and think it's lovely,  plus you get a few locks and the Navigation Inn at Maesbury was quite nice. There's also a pub at Queens Head of you want to break the return/outward journey. 

 

I'd go for what you want to do. Within the space of a week I think it's easily achievable. I've met other boaters who would do much more. As others have said you need to book Frankton Locks onto and off the Montgomery, pretty easy to do online.

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20 hours ago, Pie Eater said:

Don't worry about the narrow bits but make sure that you send someone in front to check if the way is clear - use walkie talkies or mobile phones to communicate.

A query directed to the technical nerds on this forum:  What would be required to provide advisory traffic lights for the narrows?  Obviously a power supply but what else and what would be the logic of the system? As a former single-hander I was always put off by the advice to send out a forward party.

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24 minutes ago, system 4-50 said:

A query directed to the technical nerds on this forum:  What would be required to provide advisory traffic lights for the narrows?  Obviously a power supply but what else and what would be the logic of the system? As a former single-hander I was always put off by the advice to send out a forward party.

You could wait for the trip boat and tuck in behind.

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58 minutes ago, system 4-50 said:

A query directed to the technical nerds on this forum:  What would be required to provide advisory traffic lights for the narrows?  Obviously a power supply but what else and what would be the logic of the system? As a former single-hander I was always put off by the advice to send out a forward party.

 

I am not sure traffic lights would help, they would merely place an arbitrary stop and go on each direction. The "traffic flow" isn't as predictable or consistent to make them work, IMHO. A single hander can simply wait for a crewed boat and follow them through, or just go anyway and see what happens, its not the big issue you might think it is. We didn't bother sending crew ahead and it didn't make much difference, despite meeting the trip boat (who never bother to send crew ahead either!!)

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You could have traffic lights like the ones in Reading where the boater pushes a button to request a green GO.  One of the narrows has passing places but I think the other one doesn't.  Yes, a single hander can of course wait for a crewed boat or go early or late in the day. 

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Ellesmere is well worth a stop.Tesco next to the canal,plus Coop & Premier in town.Great butcher with  bakery almost next door plus a café which sells home made cake & sossy rolls etc almost next door to that ! Great pubs,some good charity shops &...The Mere at Ellesmere.Plus,the best Cypriot restaurant ever-Meze.Ellesmere is a great,friendly little town where we actually live when not afloat.

 

Edited by The Bearwood Boster
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4 hours ago, Jonkx said:

PS last time I did this nobody was charging anything for the visitor moorings along the canal approaching Llangollen, and the Vistor Marina had places, we stopped there for breakfast,  May 2021.

No indication the excellent armco moorings just outside Llangollen aren't free when I went through this spring (the paid moorings have signs and electric hookup). Whether they're available at this time of year is another question...

 

 

4 hours ago, system 4-50 said:

A query directed to the technical nerds on this forum:  What would be required to provide advisory traffic lights for the narrows?  Obviously a power supply but what else and what would be the logic of the system? As a former single-hander I was always put off by the advice to send out a forward party.

As a single hander I found the next best solution was shouting "can you see anything coming" at the people walking past!

 

 

If you're doing the Montgomery, it's worth taking a walk beyond the head of navigation to see the bits they're working on, and the bit beyond that that's still dry and full of bushes. If you ever come back, it'll have all changed a lot...

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