Canal Cruise Parbold to Scarisbrick 6.5 miles

Today I was press-ganged into the crew of the Albatross to help with the swing bridges. We were moving the boat from Parbold to Scarisbrick. In a couple of weeks the Albatross will be going to Liverpool and down to Albert Dock via the new canal.

There were plenty of boats on the move, the new canal linking the docks in Liverpool seems to be bringing boats to this quiet stretch of canal.


The swing bridges are easy as long as you read the instructions! We did have to wait while I slowly remembered to hold the button down rather than just press it. The worst bridge is the one by the Slipway. It really should be replaced with an electric one. The best bridge is Glovers Swing Bridge which even puts the barriers down for you and has traffic lights!

The weather wasnt so great, windy and a bit chilly but by the time we got to Scarisbrick the sun had come out and it was warm enough to take a couple of layers off.

Its been 10 years since I sailed on this stretch of canal and 20 years since Albatross was last in these waters. It was nice to be back on the water and great to see so many boats on the move.

Canal Walk: Llangollen

It was a sunny Sunday when we went to Llangollen. We paid a cheap £1 for 3 hours and had a walk around town, visiting the huge second hand book shop. We then went up to the canal for lunch before walking towards Horseshoe Falls. We didnt quite have time to get to the end of the canal before we had to turn around and head back to the car.

The Llangollen Canal near its terminus is similar to the Tavistock Canal. It is shallow and clear, you can see the fish swimming against the current.

We then drove up to the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct which has just been given World Heritage status.

The aqueduct was very popular with walkers and photographers. We had a short walk then back for an ice cream.

more photos on the site at http://www.towpathtreks.co.uk/other/more_canals.html#llan