Fine Company and more rain.

This morning was grey as usual, clouds all around and a bit damp.

The Fine Company arrived earlier than expected.
For those who don't know, we were expecting Amanda & David, bosom buddies for 38 years now, Amanda and I met at college.

Coffee was brewed, bags unloaded (Well as soon as todays monsoon stopped and they could get out of the car).

Then we offloaded the boys and set off for pastures new.  We would send them a message of where we were so they could rendezvous for supper.  This almost worked except for  the notable absence of phone signal and any sort of wifi.

Favourite cows, David refused to ever let me have one.  Love the expression on her face.

Wet weather clothing never far away.

David thought born within the hour

Mooring post. I wonder where it came from.  Have to explain what these to our children.

Peering through the gloom at the Mere alongside the canal

This was right by someones garden, nice view with the boats in the distance.

Past the two mere's (Lakes) and a tunnel, not a long one but single file and take turns.

Oops 

Now all who know Amanda already know she is a 
Locking Nut, not the wheel type either.  She was marginally put out to be told that there were no locks on this canal for this visit....  But as she was coming we had already decided to go on down onto the Montgomery Canal.  

Its a little off shoot of the main Llangollen Canal, in its day went some thirty plus miles, but today after amazing efforts it has been restored to 7-ish miles and 8 or so locks.    

Read about it here

But to get to it we had to get a wiggle on as it was about 3 hours away, with timed appointments to get on.  Access is only between 12-2pm.

Gorgeous rolling views although here.

At Ellesmere there are some beautiful grand old buildings giving some clues of just how busy this canal was at one time.

I think this was the canal company's former head office.

Plus a couple of examples of some modern art;

The Montgomery is a very beautiful canal, remote and very rural, two pubs and one was closed,  narrow in places but with mooring enough for the limited traffic allowed.  That is 12 boats a day maximum up or down or both and only 14 days maximum per visit and you must phone ahead to book.  

To get on go via the Frankton Locks.  Two staircase and maybe three ordinary locks at the start.  A lock keeper in attendance, beautiful views from the high point of the stair case locks if the low cloud would only lift for ten minutes.

Amanda on duty at the top staircase

Actually he stayed dry!

Bottom staircase towards the other two

Scrunchy pound scrapping on the bottom past this boat.

Well we landed at the attractive mooring place just down from the locks as the wind picked up and the rain began, and it stayed like that for most of the afternoon.

Supper when we reunited with the Happy Boys was Norfolk asparagus (Supplied by Fine Company) followed by mushroom and stilton risotto, lots of stilton.