Another quiet and peaceful night, that is until the wind picked up
and we were once more woken by the banging on the side. Free Spirit never caused us these
problems but no matter how tight we tied the ropes, Merlin refused to be still.
We only have two rubber fenders and the only way to attach them to the side is
from hanging them from the back seat on the deck and from a centre eyelet in the middle of the roof. It’s one
thing we hadn’t noticed when we bought the boat 8 years ago. No fixings for fenders! Anyway
I shouldn’t be moaning as so far we are enjoying being on the Monty. This
morning we had a spectacular sunrise. I couldn’t resist taking a photo of the
side of the boat as it gave an almost mystical picture.
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| sun rise reflection |
Once up, and after devouring a full English breakfast, we
switched on the TV and to our horror found out what the weather had in store
for us today. Deciding our best plan was to set off for Maesbury while it was
still dry, we pulled pins just after 9am and headed for our first lock of the
day, Graham Palmer lock. The wind was gusting but we didn’t have any problem in
entering the lock. It wasn’t until we got to the top of the Aston locks that
the fun started. The wind was blowing away from the lock landing and so trying
to tie up was nigh on impossible. Ian managed to jump off with the centre rope
while I drove the boat into the side. Unfortunately the front started to swing
out and so while Ian was hanging on for grim death I managed to get the stern
rope round a bollard and rushed to help Ian bring the front back in. Finally,
with me holding the centre rope, Ian managed to grab the front rope and get us
secured enough to be able to set the lock. Then I wondered how I would cope in
bringing Merlin into the lock. This time the wind helped, as once Ian and I had
released both ropes at the same time, she just drifted out and with a bit of
power, sailed neatly into the lock. Thankfully the last two locks before
Maesbury Marsh were a doddle and we got moored up by the Navigation by lunch
time. The wind was still blowing a gale and the rain was coming down in torrents
so winding the boat won’t be done today, that’s for sure!!! Tomorrow looks a
better day and as our passage is booked back up Frankton flight between 12pm
and 2pm, we shouldn’t have any worries about getting back.
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| Aston top lock where we had all the fun. |
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| Looking back at Aston middle lock showing how narrow the channel is. |
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| Aston bottom lock. |
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| I saw a movement in the distance and saw this Pheasant. |
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| Lift bridge 81 by the winding hole. |
As one of the things we wanted to do was to see how far the Shropshire Canal Society had got with the re opening of the Montgomery, we set off in squally winds to walk the mile & half to the end. I have taken loads of photos to put on the blog but have decided to wait until back on board Free Spirit to post them. We left it just a little to late to start our return to the boat because the heavens opened drenching us from head to toe. Both of us were soaked to the skin and Jade looked decidedly bedraggled. We were all very pleased to see the boat in the distance and I'm very glad that Merlin has gas central heating so at least the coats can dry before our departure tomorrow.
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| End of Navigation on the Monty. |
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| moored at the Navigation pub, Maesbury |
2 comments:
Have found your blog! Hope you didn't get caught in the rain. We moored on the Weston Branch and it arrived! We liked Anglo Welsh too - think we have seen Free Spirit, would it have been at Langley Mill?
Fiona
Hello John and Fiona,
We have been moored at Langley since August so it's quite possible that you saw us there. Shame we didn't have time to greet each other properly today. Hopefully there will be another opportunity at a later date.
Irene
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