Travelled: 87 kilometres from Welshpool to Nercwy in Wales
Visited: Montgomery Canal and Chirk Castle (National Trust) ยฃ11 pp
Stayed: The Butchers Arms, Nercwy (BritStop) just use the pub and its free parking with water and power. N53.13543 W3.13947
We wake to the sounds of something like an emu walking about on the roof of the Hymer. It was just a big fat Welsh pigeon but it sounded like something much bigger. Anyway we are up, sort of in any case. The sun is well and truely up and its only 5 am. Pam stays awake in sympathy for almost 30 seconds, but the blog calls and I get up to start rambling on about whatever.
With the inverter now repaired and working properly making coffee is much less stressful event. We have 3kgs of our favourite blend with us, thanks to the 30kg limit given by Singapore Airlines. However Pam found we had .5kg of Oreo left from last year’s emergency supply, so she insisted we use that first. It’s surprisingly good at 6 am.
We both slept well after our little sangria party with the neigbours last night and Pam wants to go for a walk. So we head south away from Welshpool towards Belan on the walking path running adjacent the canal.
Its a beautiful walk past a series of locks and stone bridges. The pathway is well maintained and we can recommend the walk.
The section of the canal we follow winds its way around a large hill. At some points the canal is 10 or 15 metres above the valley floor, providing some great views.
Back in the Hymer, we say goodbye to our neigbours as they roll out. The carpark is now empty and I have the urge to do a little maintenance. With the inverter working properly again I decide to run a power wire under the floor to the off-side near the fridge where the coffee machine lives. The task takes about an hour, thankfully the Hymers double floor and under floor storage makes it relatively easy. After making the next coffee, I cannot work out why I didn’t do that 3 years ago.
Packed up we hit the road again into northern Wales. Its Sunday afternoon by the time we reach our first stop, Chirk Castle. The Welsh like the English enjoy their Sunday drive and the traffic is heavy on the A483. But it’s moving along steadily enough. As we near the Castle we find the famous Chirk half marathon is on today and the Castle is the finishing point. The carparks are all full, but luckily enough a parking marshall sends us to the bus carpark just below the castle’s entrance and we park next to an ambulance.
Chirk LL14 5AF, UK
We only get to see the aqueduct from a distance. The carpark is isolated and a long walk from the aqeduct. There are some likely lads hanging around in cars at either end of a carpark, just looking for a motorhome to break into. I let my insticts do my thinking and we continue on…no aqueduct today.
Mold CH7, UK
Its time to think about somewhere to stay and Pam find the Butchers Arms in the BritStop book. Half an hour later we find this little pub on a hill. I go and have a chat with the Licensee, Richard. He is a lovely old fellow and he gives us the run down. There’s even power available. So we settle in for the evening. Pam has a quick nap but after my success this morning I’m in the mood for maintenance. So I replace the carbon water filter (even though we buy the water we drink, we installed a carbon filter on the main tank 2 years ago for showering and washing up etc). I purchased new window locking mechanism for 2 of the windows in the off-season. So I installed those as well. Lastly one of the adjustment clamps on the Thule bike rack we purchased last year was faulty. I sent a photo and complaint to the agent and they sent two as replacements, so I fitted that as well.
Feeling very pleased with myself I woke Pam up and said Beertime.
Michael and Pam
