We’ve moored the boat in a marina, jumped into the motorhome and headed south towards Cornwall. We planned to stop off in the Shropshire Hills on the way down. Our first choice of camp location was waterlogged, so we found ourselves parked up at a campsite on Ebury Hill, previously an iron age fort. It…
Heather’s ancestral home
We made it to Liverpool. There must be a popular sport associated with this place, as we passed 20 footballs floating in the canal! We also had to go down the weed hatch a few times (I say we, I do mean Ian!). Stuff that has fallen into the water can get wrapped around the…
It’s so big!
When we were young (that is BC – Before Children), we hired our first narrowboat from Burton upon Trent and cruised the Trent and Mersey Canal to Great Haywood before turning around and heading straight back. Since then, we have travelled most of the canals in the midlands and the south, but we’ve never headed…
Heading north
We’re on the move again and heading for higher ground! This stretch of the Trent and Mersey has taken us through three tunnels in two days delivering us onto the Bridgewater Canal – the first and oldest canal on the system. It was built by the young Duke of Bridgewater following his Grand Tour. He…
We’ve jumped ship!
Last week we abandoned our narrowboat in a marina and headed for a bigger boat and more turbulent waters. We sailed on this ship 4 years ago, P & O’s Aurora, doing a return cruise from Southampton up the Norwegian coast to Alta, in search of the Northern Lights (and Trolls 😀). We’re repeating the…
The Mammoth Tower
The canals often form long green corridors which are screened from the surrounding countryside by hedges and trees, so you don’t always realise what you’re going past. As we headed up the Llangollen a few weeks ago, we spotted a sign for the Mammoth Tower and decided to stop on our way back. We had…
Going back in time
We have turned around and headed to Chirk Castle where we have finally decided to join the National Trust! (There’s a slight ulterior motive, it means we won’t have to pay to use their car parks with the motorhome when we head to Cornwall in May!) But it’s made me feel very grown up and…
Heading for the heights!
I honestly thought we’d never make it to Llangollen, what with the winter stoppages and my knee operation. It’s taken a long time, but we made it! This blog is rather full of photos, it’s the only way to do it justice, after all, some of it is designated as a UNESCO World Heritage…
Just a pretty picture?
Bit of a colourful one this week. Ian keeps buying me flowers and I don’t have a vase, so I decided to get crafty and upcycle a large instant coffee jar by painting it in a traditional canal style called “Roses & Castles” (Yes, I know I’ve missed off the castle!).This got me thinking about…
Shush – It’s a secret!
If you thought nuclear bunkers are supposed to be secret, don’t visit south west Cheshire. There are signs to one all over the place, even next to the canal. If you want to know, it’s about 5 minutes walk west from bridge 85 of the Shropshire Union Canal. It’s on Google Maps too. Growing up…