Beware of dragons!

Friday 7^th June; Chirk tunnel (north) to Frankton Junction

With no need to get up early, and with the porthole bungs in place to try and stop us waking up at 5.30, we had a good night’s sleep.  By the time we were up and about, 4 boats had been past.  On a cloudy day it is really gloomy in the cutting.

It wasn't quite that dark!

I walked up to the road and into Chirk for supplies, returning with some nice meat, bread, cake and veg from the independent shops.  I thought there was only one big factory in Chirk, the Kronospan factory with the belching chimney which makes particle board, MDF and laminate flooring.  But no!  Mondelez, which bought Cadbury some time ago, reckons that now Chirk is the home of chocolate!

I thought that was Bournville, but I suppose Mondelez thinks it can say what it likes as it owns the brand now.

Their website says they receive the cocoa beans from Ghana, wash and then roast them.  So they don’t make actual chocolate here at all.  Once we were ready to set off, we thought we’d follow a boat that had just left.  But by the time we sorted ourselves out, there was a headlight visible at the other end of the tunnel.  While we waited for that boat to arrive, we chatted to walkers.  One asked what the 4^th symbol on the tunnel board meant?  As a red triangle (albeit the other way up) on a road sign indicates a warning, I suspect it means …

Beware of dragons!  Or at least give way ....

Once the boat, which turned out to be two, had come through the tunnel we were off, on our own in the tunnel and across the aqueduct.

No more risk of dragons, we're in England now!

 

No trains today

The morning was cloudy and cool, with the usual cold wind.  Chirk Bank was quiet, no oncoming boats to make life difficult round the bends or at Monks Bridge.

Monks Bridge

Further on another garden has a variety of things to look at.  It is no Charity Dock, but I do like the Wheelbarrow Man.

Beehives next door

Not quite Charity Dock, but in better nick

We pulled in before New Marton locks for lunch, then when we started again the sun had come out and it was a lovely afternoon. A boat was leaving the top lock as we approached, then we were on our own.  We had hoped to moor for the night after bridge 4W, but a boat was smack in the middle of the mooring.  The towpath was also extremely narrow, and a little way further was the almost impassable stretch we had noticed on our way up.  And there were a lot of biting flies!  So we carried on towards Frankton Junction, finding a nice little patch of sun just before bridge 1W.

We had booked passage down the Frankton locks for tomorrow, but we were worried we would spend the rest of our time rushing to ‘do’ the Monty and then back to Swanley Bridge in time to get home as planned.  Perhaps we should reconsider?   We'll make our minds up in the morning.  Best-laid plans, and all that … never mind.   Then, the side hatch had been open, and a pong began to drift in – a tractor had started slurry spreading in the field over the hedge.  Poo!  The wifi signal was poor and intermittent as well.  A rather  unsatisfactory end to the day.

8½ miles, Chirk tunnel and aqueduct, 2 locks