Bartimaeus

Yesterday started a little dull, but that didn't put off the dozen or so canoeists setting off from the building we were moored alongside.  Fortunately we hadn't blocked their entry point to the water.  I was pleased to see that they all headed off the way we had come - we weren't going to have to dodge round them.

It wasn't far to the first of three locks spread over a mile.  I opted to work them as I was feeling a little chilly.  Clare said it was my own fault for wearing shorts, but I felt sure the weather would justify them later.

It wasn't very far to the moorings at Maesbury.  As we arrived, another boat was pulling away, by the time we'd moored up, the other narrowboat on the moorings behind us also cast off.  Are we doing something wrong?

There was a cafe a short way down the canal, so we headed there hoping for a morning snack.  We were rewarded with an enjoyable experience.  There appeared to be a light-hearted squabble going on between the folk running the place.  It seemed one of them was a MacDonald and the other a Campbell - famous for falling out!  We got excellent coffee, scones and cake despite the skirmish.

After, we carried on along the towpath.  I was intrigued by one of the two lift bridges we met.  Unlike its partner, this one was left permanently open.  It was clearly an ancient piece of equipment, but the hydraulic piston had obviously been added later.  I don't remember seeing them so prominently placed before.  I'll have to keep an eye out.

Some sections of the canal looked like they'd been there for centuries, but others were clearly recent constructions using modern materials.  One section looked quite barren, made of stone and concrete, though the bank sloped gently in to the water.  On close inspection, the black mark along the edge turned out to be tadpoles.  Whatever is growing on the stones near the edge is clearly popular.

We carried on to the limit of navigation.  We'd been warned that we couldn't go beyond Bridge 85 - there was no need to remember the details, it was clearly impassable, but there was a large winding hole just before it.

The day gradually warmed up so there was no doubt about wearing shorts by the late afternoon.  I spent some time cleaning various bits of the outside of the boat with the idea of doing some painting the following day.  By the time I'd rubbed myself over the outside of the boat my shorts needed to go in to the wash.

We were now moored near the Navigation Inn which serves evening meals only on certain days.  So if we wanted to eat there it had to be Saturday.  The food was good and the service friendly again.

This morning I thought we should move to the end of the canal to be on a better mooring for painting.  We set off pretty early by our standards, but had only gone a few boat lengths through the bridge when I remembered we were low on water, and we were now at the water point.

With the tank full, we set off again.  The sun was bright and forecast to be out a lot in the coming days, so we drove electric, but slowly.  By the time we reached the canal terminus most of the morning had gone.

We decided to set about the painting anyway.  The main part of the job is sanding off the rust.  We had a sanding tool each, and set off to different bits of the boat. We put undercoat on the worst parts of the lock and bridge bashed scuffs at the end of last year. We've now started to get rust appearing on some of the upper bits of the boat we bash when we use it.  The mooring chains clang on the iron work, or the boat hook bounces off the gutter.  We are also getting some rust in the roof gutters, partly from rope rub.

When we eventually opened the paint tin, there wasn't very much actual painting to do.  We had a light lunch before tidying up and going for a further explore.

Although the canal is not navigable after the bridge, the towpath is walkable for the entire length of the canal - another 30 miles or so.  The first obstruction we found wasn't far along.  A farmer's field is connected via a path which is at the height of the canal bed. I was told later that the farmer wants a bridge suitable for taking a combine harvester across here - but he doesn't have a combine harvester!

The sections "in water" were relatively short but it was clear that work was continuing to line the canal with blocks holding down a waterproof lining.  The path continued past sections where trees and bushes had taken over much of the canal bed.  It remained easy to identify the line of the canal however.  Apparently the entire bed will need to be lined, as the original canal was always leaky.

A new bridge has been built over the dry bed of the canal, and a number of other bridges remain intact over the alignment.

At one point it was difficult to work out if the towpath had slumped in to the canal or had been encroached on by the vegetation.  The sheep grazing in the adjoining field were taking advantage of the canal bed extending their range.  The plants at the bottom suggest that this section may often be wet.

After about two miles we reached the limit of the navigation for the remainder of the canal.  From here it is possible to take a narrowboat to Newtown, 30 miles away.  The first half mile or so of this part is still in England, the rest is in Wales.

It seems likely that these sections of the canal will eventually be joined.  If we are still boating, we will have to return to enjoy the Full Monty.