Nantwich then the Golli

Seem to have got a bit behind. We left Hack Green on Tuesday and chugged the few miles on to Nantwich, through the Hack Green two locks and moored at pretty much the first spot on the huge embankment. Off shopping, trolley bag in tow plus dog. Clewlows for bacon, cheese (Nantwich Blue!) and pies. Then a stop in the Gin shop and a final pause at the BeerDock for a pint and a chance to eat the pies.

Perfectly clear night at the Coole Pilate moorings, near Hack Green – note the picnic tables & BBQ spots – all moored on rings too.
Gorgeous day and gorgeous sunset
2nd of the two Hack Green locks and some help arrives
Sorry, no pictures of Nantwich, too busy, er, shopping – we sampled No 9 – very good.
RDW had some amazing gins – we’ve tried the Adnam’s First Rate before but it was on offer here and good stuff (48%!). The Henstone was a local gin and was new to us – excellent – unfiltered and very tasty (44.9%).
One of the boat traders from Market Drayton was Wendy B’s floating art gallery and Viv bought one of her hand painted gin glasses (see http://wendybsfloatingartgallery.co.uk/
Friday morning – spots of rain but off by 0830 to the wharf for a pump out – need to be a lighter boat for the shallow Llangollen canal. Excellent service here – no tokens or timers – must have been there for 30 minutes! Elsan green at £10 too.
Viv drives the wee ship for a bit
And then we were there – Hurleston junction and Welcome to the Llangollen Canal or croeso i gamlas Llangollen!
Bit of a problem with the bottom lock – there’s always been a bit of a narrowing of this lock and CRT were going to work on it but have kept it open for this cruising season but only opening it for 0800-1700 and working craft through. The CRT chap on the right is the resident keeper at Saltersford on the Weaver – he told us of the sorry news that this lock is bust. That will limit our foray down the Weaver in July. Shame.See https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/notices/14822-lock-4-hurleston-locks-llangollen-canal
Meanwhile, Viv snaps this colourful chap – a grey wagtail?
A bit of an ordeal getting through the first 4 locks but we stop to take off rubbish and take on water. That’s our three hours done – let’s find a quiet place to moor up. It does look very serene.
Stopped between bridges 3 & 4 (Burland) – time for lunch and a rest
Dog’s happy too.
We seem to have come a long way, well it is Day 43, I think. There’s plenty of resources about this canal – see
https://www.ukwaterwaysguide.co.uk/map/llangollen-canal/main-canal