30th May to the 5th of June. Two arms but no Gs

We set off early on Monday, arriving at the Lower Frankton lock flight at the beginning of the Montgomery Canal Arm well before they opened at noon and as second in the queue.

Waiting to go through Lower Frankton locks.

The locks are a staircase of two followed by two singles and are only operable with a CRT lock-keeper. Passage must be booked before 10am and the locks are only open between 12 and 2pm. The Montgomery arm is many miles long, but only navigable from the locks for seven miles. It was quiet, as the number of boats coming through is limited, and very rural. It felt quite other-worldly after the bustle of the main canal. There were fields of buttercups and the strong breeze made them dance in the sun. The waterside iris are out too and these, along with the cow parsley and remaining hawthorn blossom made the towpaths quite beautiful.

On Tuesday we reached bridge 81 and the end of the navigable canal, turning round and mooring with several others near the navigation Inn at Maesbury Marsh. We went for a bike ride down the canal, past the bridge to the sections they are still repairing and trying to bring back into use. There was a dry section being worked on and a completed and half filled section with lots of fish enjoying the peace before the boats are allowed in. 

Getting ready to ride

Restoration work in progress

We had a wonderful meal at the Navigation Inn which, along with the fine weather, topped a particularly lovely few days.

On Wednesday we headed back to Ellesmere, to top up with supplies and reconnect with the world. A visit to Tesco with two trollies, a rucksack and as many bags as we could carry and we were fully provisioned again. Intermittent phone and limited internet signal persisted though. Robin got his leg re-dressed at the Ellesmere health centre on Thursday afternoon, after which we set off again. It was easy cruising in fine weather and we made good progress. We decided to investigate the Prees arm and turned into this short and very isolated stretch of canal. There is a marina at the end but not much else. No phone or internet and lots of mosquitoes (12 bites in Jo's arms and legs) - a reminder to find the insect repellent. We went to the end and turned around before mooring for the night. Robin and Scooby went for a bike ride which involved stampeding bullocks (behind a hedge, thank goodness) among other adventures.

On Friday we turned back onto the main canal, getting ourselves among a convoy of 12 boats from the Nantwich Yachting and Cruising Club on an outing. We stopped at Whitchurch but decided not to stay, being surrounded  by the NTCC who hungrily eyed our mooring. Indeed one of their boats leapt into it as soon as we moved off. We continued on through the Grindley locks and moored in a nice spot just beyond them. The weather has stayed fine, and we had a BBQ for tea. Robin dropped a vital part of the BBQ kit into the canal but managed to fish it out with his keep net. No phone or internet as usual in these parts.

Saturday took us to Wrenbury where we stopped to buy more Rhubarb and Ginger jam. Some phone signal also appeared and arrangements were made to meet Carole and Sean for dinner at the Dusty Miller so we stayed where we were. Robin went paddle-boarding, which was quite challenging, so many boats were on the move on this lovely but rather narrow canal in this lovely weather. We had a very nice meal (two in one week!) and a last catch up with our friends before we travel away from their home area. On Sunday we set off late on a hot day. When we put up the lift bridge in Wrenbury to get the boat through, a gathering of tractors turned up, heading for a meeting at the Dusty Miller.

It was a beautiful day, hot and blue. The canal was busy, with queues at the locks when we waited around in the sun. The towpaths are ablaze with wild flowers. The wagtail nest in the Swanley lock gate has five chicks in it which an agitated parent was trying to kept fed between all the boats coming through. We moored along with many others in a pretty rural mooring not far from Hurleston junction and joined our fellow boaters sitting among the grasses and flowers in collapsible chairs, snoozing and reading. Robin fished and Jo did this blog - making the most of a decent connection at last. Tomorrow we leave the Llangollen canal and join the Shroppie again briefly, before turning off onto the Middlewich branch.  These will be all new, and perhaps quite different as we go through Runcorn and into the suburbs of Manchester.