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CANAL BOATING – TREVOR to CHESTER and ELLESMERE PORT (UPDATED w/VIDEOS)

Our faithful canal boat, the Golden Meadow

took us safely across the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, and we began our run towards Hurleston Junction, where we COULD turn off for the Midlands and hundreds of miles of canals. From Trevor, it’s 44.5 miles to the Junction, and we went through 21 locks to get down to there – perhaps 150 feet or so in lost elevation. Here’s our boat ready to leave a typical narrow lock

that has dropped us about 7 feet in elevation. It’s a complex process – when descending, the lock must be full of water when the boat enters…whereupon, the upstream gate is shut behind it, and the “paddles” (these open and close to let water into the lock from above, or to exclude it) MUST be closed so that no more water can enter the lock. One of the “passengers” takes care of this normally, although boats with only a driver go through the locks, as well…...

The paddles are moved by gears, and these are moved by use of a special tool that fits a bar and is rotated clockwise or anti-clockwise depending on whether the paddles are being lifted or dropped – you can see the winding key in Thor’s hand.

Once the boat is in the lock, the downstream paddles are opened to let the water OUT, and the boat sinks to the new and lower level…after which the lower gates are opened (remember that the upper gate is holding back the water from the upper level of the canal) and the boat chugs out. Many locks are single, but when a bigger drop in elevation is needed, they may come in a series….

Here we are looking over the downstream gates (the “point” of the gates always indicates the upstream direction), over the “passing pool” and on to the next lock in the series - you can see it (the narrow part) beyond the two boats in the passing pool. Notice that the lock we are in is almost full - we’re heading upstream and looking downstream. Here is an example of what happens in the pool between locks

There is time to socialize a bit, admire the other boat, and get ready for the next lift (or drop). We like the sort you see above MUCH better than the one shown below - the fearsome “stairstep locks”

where the boat moves out of the first lock directly into the second and (in the case of these stairsteps) out of the second directly into the third.

These are the “Northgate Stairs”, the highest on our trip. This gives a limited idea (see the top of the boat coming up? It’s in the next lock down) of the precipitous drop of these stairsteps – 33 feet total in three locks. When you’re inside one, it’s a bit daunting!

Each of these three locks dropped the boat eleven feet…..whew!

To a novice canal-boat driver

the locks aren’t the only daunting prospect. There are the bridges

and there are the “traffic jams”

When one has a grand total of two days of experience maneuvering a 65-foot long canal boat, figuring out exactly what to do in situations like this requires quickness of mind and good hand-eye coordination!

But not all is excitement and tension – a fair amount of time is spent holding the boat against the bank, as Thor is doing here (check out that sky - we’ve had miraculously lovely weather on this trip!)

Usually we’re waiting for someone to get out of the lock we’d like to get into, and this can take a couple of hours on a busy day. We’ve been fortunate – the most boats we’ve waited for has been three, and on the narrow canal this means about 15 or 20 minutes maximum. Still, it’s a lonely job just holding the boat against the bank

It’s 44.5 miles to Hurleston Junction from Trevor, and there are 21 locks along the way. Beyond that the canal is wider and the locks will all accommodate two boats side by side. While this means faster movement of craft both up and down through the locks, it also means longer waits because the lock takes more time to fill and to empty. Furthermore, the gates are larger and heavier, and some are simply beasts to get moving, even when the lock is empty (or full). From Hurleston Junction to Chester is 15.5 miles, and there are 14 locks in that distance. Finally, from Chester to Ellesmere Port is 8 miles, with only 3 locks, because the terrain is much flatter there. It’s not ALL stress over traffic, bridges and locks – the beauty of our surroundings is often stunning

We can stop at canal-side pubs for something to drink – and from this one even observe a bit of history, in this case Beeston Castle, a 13th century keep built by the Earl of Chester.

We feed the ducks and swans – almost all of whom are consummate beggars

And they are often accommodated, which only reinforces their tendencies…...

We check out canal-side dwellers’ back yards – some with wildlife

and others with proof that even in England SOME daddies truly love their daughters!

There are bridges to admire

Livestock to enjoy

And today these puffball clouds that looked like a child’s idea of what clouds are really like, using cotton glued to blue construction paper.

Looking at other people’s boats is wonderful

This tiny steamboat and its eccentric-looking owner were a fascinating look into the past of canal-boating

Whitchurch cathedral was beautiful (I suspect that my terminology is off on this one – was it really big enough to be a cathedral?)
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One day we picked nettles to steam for greens, but they were NOT a hit. I ate them twice (on consecutive days), but threw the rest away – no one else had more than a bite.

One morning we had real excitement, as a narrow boat ran under a tree and knocked its pilot house clean OFF…..and into the water in many pieces. Thor ran down the bank and rescued a couple of them, and when all was over, they chugged on upstream with the various parts spread out over the roof of their boat

We never did get a clear assessment of the state of their sobriety – they could easily have steered AROUND the offending branch – but Thor said there was nothing noticeable that would make one suspicious…..except maybe the fact that they drove under a low-hanging branch and knocked their pilot house off….or maybe that they BACKED UP and went under the same branch again, this time knocking off their TV antenna, which fell into the canal and sank!

By adjusting the speed of the boat and the distance to the bank, one can build up quite a wave – we call this one “Surfing the Shropshire Union Canal”!

Every night we had a four-way card game (Oh Help!) - that was fun. Emily and Gail are practicing – and it must have paid off, as Emily thrashed us all the last night.

And there is wildlife to see – the baby European coots are darling (local experts tell me that these are actually moorhens - which is the trouble with common names, as this same critter was identified as a European coot in a video I used at SAU….I suspect that the correct name is moorhen, however as the feet are not those of coots, and in the video, no feet were visible)

We spent a bit of time in Chester – here’s the wall, parts of which date back to Roman times

And here is one of the gates – all of them fairly recent, in English terms

Just wandering around town and goggling at the architecture is fun, as well

We didn’t get a chance to do much “touristy stuff”, but there’s a lot to see in Chester

The steam mill, the tower where they made lead shot, the cathedral, and lots more

Down by Chester’s main mooring area, there was a “hopping” pub, the Frog and Nightingale

Passing the city on the canal, one sees things missed when traveling in a car – here’s what we call the “Chester Canyon”

South of Chester is a private mooring place – the edge of a farmer’s field, where he’s growing hay.

I cannot imagine that his farm makes more money than the moorings, though. We asked one fellow what it cost him to moor there annually, and he’s paying 547.50 each year. In the two miles of moorings (yes, there really are that many), we figured conservatively that there are 200 sites – if the farmer gets 500 pounds for each site, that’s 100,000 pounds yearly for ground that he doesn’t use for his farming operation at all! I can’t think of any expenses (insurance is unlikely to be an issue, as the tort system in England is far saner than in the U.S.), so it seems to be all profit! Very nice.

We passed the lineup the other way just at sundown – it was beautiful

And that wasn’t the only good sunset….it was almost time to moor when Gail approached this lock

This isn’t even close to everything, of course….and perhaps I’ll get more of it into another post. And Africa still awaits my further attention! But Internet access is sketchy, at best…we paid three pounds for an hour, yesterday – that’s about US$5.00.

Today, we’re in Ellesmere - back to Newdell Compute Solutions where the charge is a pound an hour, his computer or mine….lovely man, and awful chairs!! It’s almost time to get going - up the canal a mile or two in order to be close to the opening of the Montgomery Canal, which is open only from noon to 2:00 p.m. We made an appointment, and will go up it as far as it’s currently open (they’re working on getting the entire length rehabbed), then hike to St. Winifred’s Well (read A Morbid Taste for Bones by Ellis Peters to find out why this is important) and cruise back out to be ready to exit the Montgomery branch the next day at noon. I’ll post again later—maybe this week, but maybe not until next.
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