Eycott, George, VF UK wrote: > Anyone got any advice? Do we need to book to do any bits of it? Anything > that we "mustn't miss"?
You need to book to do the Montgomery, and it will take up at least two half days of your schedule because the passage window is only short (12-2) and in the middle of the day, but it's well worth it. Call BW Northwich 01606 723800 before 10am on the day of passage. Out of season you have to call them 2 days ahead, but I don't recall the date when the system changes. I'm writing this sat on board at Maesbury actually. Having the luxury of plenty of time and access to a car, I've just explored the route down to Newtown, which is fabulous. Carreghofa Locks and the almost adjacent Vyrnwy aqueduct immediately made it into my top 5 waterway locations; stunningly beautiful. Very conscientious of BW to put cill warnings onto a closed lock! Also all the bridges have been numbered with those little wooden signs that appeared last year. Sad to see the lack of use of the open section though - I can see parts of it needing a second lot of restoration at this rate :-( As for the Llangollen, I'd not actually done it before and it doesn't disappoint. Apart from the obvious locations, I really liked Whixall Moss and will be spending time there on my way back. I found Ellesmere to be a lovely town, and it has the best shops. Llangollen itself is very pleasant and the walk up to Horseshoe Falls is worth the effort. The marina moorings have water and power at no extra charge (I should hope so at £6 a night!) and are a nice place to use as a base for a day or two. If you need a larger town or want a break from the water, all bus routes lead to Oswestry which is a pleasant town and much larger than any places closer to the cut. Make sure you get your hands on a copy of the free SUCS guide to moorings on the canal, available from the lock keeper at Hurleston (and no doubt elsewhere.) I'm in the process of uploading pictures at the moment, so take a look at my gallery pages later today or tomorrow: <http://www.bream.org/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=228> Steve NB Bream
