On Wednesday morning we set off from Chirk and immediately crossed the Chirk Aqueduct with it’s railway viaduct running alongside. After the aqueduct you enter the Chirk Tunnel and on exiting the heavens opened.
The rain got heavier and heavier and then the thunder and lightning started. We were fast approaching the famous Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and I wasn’t sure if it was a good idea to be 120 feet in the air, crossing a valley whilst standing on a metal boat with lightning all around us. The captain didn’t seem to concerned and informed me that the storm was at least five miles away… a few seconds later and the biggest bang I have ever heard in my life exploded around us at the same instant as a very bright flash. We decided it would be best to pull over until the storm had passed!
The storm soon calmed down to the odd rumble and so we started across what must be the most spectactular experience on the canal network. It’s quite a sensation to be in a boat with a 120 foot drop on one side and no railings. Luckily the whole thing didn’t collapse and we made it across, only to turn at the other end and go back again. We had decided not to continue up to Llangollen as we didn’t have the time.
After the excitement of the morning we had a gentle cruise back to Ellesmere. There was a bit of a queue at New Marton locks and I passed the time moving up the queue by chatting to the proud new owner of narrowboat Star Trek. He is gearing up to give the boat a makeover. Pop in to the yard if you are passing Preston Brook and show us how you got on.
We stopped for the night at Ellesmere and after mooring we rescued a Black Prince boat next to us that had been tied up badly and was floating with it’s stern across the canal. It was quite funny to see the people come back and standing, scratching their heads…
“Well I didn’t tie the boat up like that”
“Well I certainly didn’t”
“Oh you always say you didn’t do something but you can’t have changed the knot while we were shopping”
“Well someone has”
“Why would someone change the knot while we were gone?”
“Are you having an affair???” (I added that last bit for dramatic effect).
We ate in the Asian Spices Indian restaurant. The food was fine and service good. We passed a number of boats having towpath barbecues on our return and even got offered a burger for £1.50.