St Maqrtin’s Moor, Llangollen – Friday 3 August 2012
Yesterday I did the tourist bit with a quick bit of shopping and a haircut, then down to the station to catch the train to Carroc.  I am not a train ‘anorak’ so do not know “alle ye korrect wordes”, I was on a nostalgia trip.  The train was pulled by a steam engine and had all different carriages, going I was in one that had seats in fours around tables.  On the return I moved into a compartment in a corridor carriage.  It was like I remember train travel with some exceptions, the country’s gone smokeless so no heavy black soot, the staff were all volunteers so the coupling of the engine to the carriages was a lot more gentle (no ramming the first one and sending a ripple down the whole train).

When I’d got back it was off on the horse drawn boat (drawn by Geordie), a totally different experience, no engine, no propeller, and able to hear the clop-clop of the horse’s hooves.  We passed another horse drawn boat, so got to see the old skills (dropping ropes) and how the ‘engine’ looked after itself.  When the rope was dropped Geordie went off and started chewing the hedgerow, and also found time for a quick pee and to leave a deposit on the towpath while pulling the boat.

Afterwards I returned to the boat and started returning bits as everything seems to be ok after the flood.

Today I decided that I would start the return journey early and was ready at 07:15 (not early enough as one left half an hour before me.  This time I was travelling with the flow on the canal so the engine was only running as fast as if I was going past moored boats and at 08:00 was approaching the first of the ‘narrow’ stretches which is on a blind corner and bridge.  I sounded the horn and was just through the bridge when another boat, ‘Pandora’s Box’, came up to the next corner We both slowed and managed to jam one another, full reverse from both did nothing so a call to the emergency line who advised that someone would be with us as soon as possible.  By 09:00 there were some boats heading down and one heading up (down is with the flow of the canal) when the C&RT man arrived.  He then took a few pictures, talked nicely to other boat crews, loaned a pair of ropes, and supervised the tugging of both boats apart.  The one that pulled Pandora’s Box then went back to a sort of layby so that passing was possible.  By 20 past I was on my way again.  That was the excitement for today – after this an uneventful run down to bridge 13 where I will stay for the weekend.