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August 14, 2015

IT'S FRIDAY, MY FAVORITE DAY!!

Well, I think it's Friday. Being on vacation can sure make the days run together! Come to think of it, it's probably Saturday.

When I last wrote to you, we were in Dublin getting ready to catch the ferry to Wales. We made it across the Irish Sea and arrived in Holyhead where we headed for Chirk in Wales. The drive to Chirk took us through the beautiful Snowdonia and Cumbrian Mountains. The roads were extremely narrow and there was no place to pull over to take photos so you will have to go there someday and see what it is like. The traffic was heavy because all of UK is on holiday for the month of August so we had that to contend with as well. We met up with my sister, Jeanne and her husband, Bob at the Marina where we boarded our canal Narrowboat for our one week adventure on the Llangollen Canal. After we were instructed on all the ins and outs of running the boat, we were on our way.

Since there is quite a learning curve to running a Narrowboat, we got a late start on our first day. We made it through a tunnel and then decided to tie up for the night before we tackled the Chirk Aqueduct. We walked into the town of Chirk and had a nice dinner at a small restaurant. The next morning, after trying to get some sleep on the very narrow bed, we started out again. Dave handled most of the navigating, Bob read the map to make sure we were headed in the right direction, Jeanne was recovering from the surgery she had a few weeks ago and we wouldn't let her do anything but take photos and I handled the ropes when it was time to tie up to let other boats go by. The canal is only wide enough for two boats and when another boat has moored on the side, we have to hug the shore and wait for the oncoming boat to pass. When this happens, we sometimes got stuck in the mud along the bank - it happened a lot! We were a little anxious about going through the locks, but there were plenty of people around to help us. I think some people go on holiday and spend their time just helping people through the locks!

We made it as far as Ellesmere the next night where there was a grocery store to get some provisions for our trip. We got yelled at by some lady who thought we were going to fast (which we weren't). You can't go fast in these boats and you hardly make a wake! We drifted by many lakes before our final destination on this leg of our journey which was Whitchurch. We ended up turning down a dead end canal and had to back our way out of that predicament.

After leaving Whitchurch, we retraced our trip back to Chirk which was a lot easier. I don't know if it was because we finally got the hang of the boat or because there were fewer boats on the canal, but it made for a more enjoyable trip back. We saw some beautiful countryside with sheep and cattle grazing in the meadows. It was all very peaceful - just slowly drifting by.

We arrived back at the marina a day early but we hadn't been the other direction up to the Pontcysylite Aqueduct, so we continued on to take that in. The aqueduct is over 1,000 feet long and 127 feet over the River Dee at its deepest point and consists of an iron trough supported by 18 stone piers. This was the final part of the canal and we planned to cross it and then turn around and return to the Chirk Marina. We crossed with no problem (only one boat at a time) and we made it on the other side! Turning around and coming back over the aqueduct, we had to wait for five boats to cross before it was clear for us to go. After returning to the Marina we all congratulated ourselves for such a "once in a lifetime" experience and for the fact that we were all still speaking to each other! It was a harder job than we realized but we are glad we did it.

We left Chirk and headed for Lake Windermere in the Lake District. Again, this is the busiest time of year because of all the tourists on holiday. We arrived and started looking for a B&B for the night. I think we got the last room in town! Our plan was to go to Hill Top (the home of Beatrix Potter) the next day. Of course, it was raining! But, I was going to go see Peter Rabbit, rain or shine. As it turns out, Hill Top wasn't very crowded (because of the rain and they are usually closed on Fridays). But our luck was with us and they happened to be open that week on a Friday. I would have been very disappointed if we had made it all this way and was unable to see this.

After leaving Hill Top, we headed for Dumfries to visit with Dave's cousin, Raymond Finnie. Once again, we were on a narrow road through the Pennines Mountains. That was a white knuckle ride and when we arrived in Dumfries, Dave checked the car for dents and scrapes because we had to hug the stone wall on the side of the road when we were passing other cars! Raymond was so glad to see us, even if we were a couple of days early, and welcomed us in. I washed laundry and hung them outside to dry (he doesn't own a clothes dryer - no one here does) and we are spending a couple of days here to recuperate before all of us drive up north to Applecross to visit with Raymond's daughter, Alison.

We have been gone a month now but it seems longer. We have experienced and seen so much. I do miss everyone and think of you often.