One Way to Llangollen - Egg Bridge to Wrenbury

4th April 2007
Egg Bridge to Wrenbury
Shropshire Union Canal (Chester Canal) and Llangollen Canal (Welsh Canal)

14 Miles
15 Locks
8 Hours

Another fine and sunny day as we passed through the flat and rather featureless area south of Egg Bridge. As you approach Hargrave you pass long lines of moored, mostly older and shorter than those found in the south. The whole stretch down to Chester has an "out of the way" feel to it and attracts a different kind of boater, ones more interested in tinkering with humble craft than owning an expensive recreation of a traditional working boat. In truth I have more interest in this eclectic huddle of craft that the formulaic 55ft trads which are the staples of most marinas.

We made steady progress till we reached the Bunbury staircase where a collection of workboats blocked all the conventional lock mooring bays. After some confusion about who was mooring and who was waiting, three boats approached the bottom staircase with the initial plan that a plastic craft would ascend with a steel narrowboat. It then turned out that they were afraid to share a lock which such a heavy craft so they started up alone. Next we entered the bottom chamber with the other narrowboat whose skipper freaked when he saw a boat entering the recently vacated top lock. I assured him that it would all work out via the infamous Bunbury shuffle but even as we exited he still seemed bemused that we had managed passed another boat in the flight! It's the four boat shuffle that can get really interesting.

From Bunbury its a short trip to Barbridge Junction and the entrance to Middlewich Branch, quickly followed by Hurleston Junction and the initial 4 lock flight onto the Llangollen Canal. I like Hurleston, it is spacious but remote and it heralds the prospect of a trip up this lovely waterway, a destination never fails to excite me. I think I have travelled this route at least six times but still I look forward to our return.
With evening upon us we pressed on through the Swanley and Baddiley Locks arriving at Wrenbury in the last glimmer of twilight. We passed under the electrically operated lift bridge and the ABC hire base, mooring up on the left and setting a good fire in the grate as we pad a visit to the Dusty Miller and enjoyed an excellent evening meal.

One Way to Llangollen - Egg Bridge to Chester

3rd April 2007
Egg Bridge to Chester, and back to Egg Bridge again!
Shropshire Union Canal (Chester Canal)

10 Miles
16 Locks
6 Hours

A day of effort and toil, only to moor up again in the exact same spot the next night!

Egg Bridge is only a hop skip and jump to Christleton Lock, which marks the final descent into Chester. As with so many towns, the entrance to the ancient town of Chester by canal is an underwhelming experience. The waterway slinks down through post industrial wastelands and gas works, with high factory walls obscuring the view.

Whilst the southern approaches are dull, the final encounter with the town is impressive by any standard. As you finally emerge from bridge 123E you are faced with the walled fortifications rising up from a sheer cliff, through which the canal channel has been cut like a slot. Fern covered rocks and walls hem you in and bridges soar above, drawing you on and on to the top of the Northgate staircase. If you don't fancy the staircase there is a good public mooring bridges 123D and E, but if you do progress there is no winding hole - so you are committed.

The Northgate staircase of three appears to have side sluices capable of absorbing a full lock of water let down from above, without emptying the lower chambers first. Sadly, this is a false assumption and the accumulated debris impedes the flow of water and resulting in an overtopping of water which flowed down the cobbled towpath. This sudden cascade was quickly remedied by the partial closure of the gate paddle, but not before I attracted some baleful glares from pedestrians who had been obliged to take some lively steps to avoid wet feet! I will know next time!

We turned at Taylors Boatyard, which is located in the lagoon which also serves as an entry to the little used Dee Branch with its three locks to the river. We stopped at the public moorings opposite Telfords Warehouse and wandered up onto the Walls and then into the town for a look see.

Chester is a fabulous town which we have visited before. We therefore didn't hang around and instead sought out a Millets for two warmer sleeping bags for Tilly and Jeff, a pizza for lunch and finally a visit to the nearby supermarket for supplies.

With nothing else to do, and no films on at the cinema that we wanted to watch, we decided to set off back in mid afternoon. We passed a working boat in the Northgate flight which was making its annual pilgrimage to the Easter boat gathering at Ellesmere Port. With a shuffle past completed in the middle chamber we pushed on into the late afternoon, finally returning to Egg Bridge as the sun was setting.

Like I said, a whole days effort to go absolutely nowhere! An excellent days boating which left the 8 miles to Ellesmere Port unexplored, and also a potential descent to the River Dee. I can feel a one week return trip coming on sometime in the future to fill in these gaps.

One way to Llangollen - Audlem to Egg Bridge

2nd April 2007
Audlem to Egg Bridge
Shropshire Union Canal

22 Miles
12 Locks
9 Hours

Belle had noticed that the old mill at Audlem contained a canal craft shop and insisted on a delayed departure to review its wares. Sadly, the Mill was closed for renovations and out delayed start was in vain.

Whilst there was very little boat traffic on the Shroppie, things hotted up around the Hurleston / Barbridge section. Lots of boats were moving between the Middlewich Arm and The Welsh Canal.

After Nantwich the canal widens out to broad guage, marking the transition to the old Chester Canal. Its not just the locks and bridgeholes that get bigger, the whole waterway takes on a more substantial feel, being deeper and wider facilitating faster progress. As the canal follows the river Gowy down the valley it meanders to and fro , with river like qualities and very pretty to boot. A highlight for me was the section through Beeston Locks with Beeston Castle glowering down at us from its hilltop location. When we have more time we will stop here and explore.

We ended the day at Egg Bridge, not an ideal mooring as it was a bit shallow and called for the use of a gangplank. Having said that, it was quiet and secure.

One way to Llangollen - Gnosall to Audlem

1st April 2007
Gnosall Heath to Audlem
Shropshire Union Canal

20 Miles
21 Locks
10 Hours

We made steady progress in good weather, passing through Norbury Junction where we topped up with Diesel and pumped out (£14). It goes against the grain not to fill at Wheaton Aston, but they were closed yesterday.

The plan was to reach Market Drayton and stop, but the weather was splendid, so we pressed on to the top of the Audlem flight and reviewed the situation. It had turned into a perfect spring evening and the Audlem locks were beckoning to us - so we started down. This is a very quick flight of locks and before we knew it we had reached the pound after lock 11, just above the old mill. This is a lovely quiet mooring with the sound of Audlem parish clock just audible in the background.

One way to Llangollen - Calf Heath to Gnosall Heath

31st Match 2007
Calf Heath to Gnosall Heath
Staffs & Worcester and Shropshire Union Canals



18 Miles
2 Locks
7 Hours


Index of posts in this series:
1. - Calf Heath to Gnosall - this post
2. - Gnosall to Audlem
3. - Audlem to Egg Bridge
4. - Egg Bridge to Chester
5. - Egg Bridge to Wrenbury
6. - Wrenbury to Prees Arm
7. - Prees to Chirk
8. - Chirk to Llangolen

This was the first long trip in Wand'ring Bark and we decided to do a one way journey to Llangollen, taking in Chester along the way, 108 miles and 59 Locks. The Whateley boys were lined up to do the return leg.

A fine spring day on a familiar route. The trip got off to a good start with an overnight mooring next to the Navigation Inn. Whilst we had a drink in the pub during the evening, we elected for fish and chips to eat, checking out the shop marked on the map.

One downside of Pearsons Guides is their lack of precision when you get away from the cut. It turned out to be a good mile to the chip shop, at the far end of the village. Whilst the fish and chips were good, they cooled during the return walk. Next time I will use the bike!