Montgomery Canal, Weston Branch

Will had booked our entry to the Montgomery Canal between 9am-1pm but we'd had no communication about specific arrangements. A few minutes to 9am Vicky discovered Tiger had peed on the sofa. Neither of the dogs like being outdoors in the cold, wet or wind and we guess yesterday's afternoon cruise had thrown her off kilter. Still, it infused stress and grumpiness into the uncertainty over how the morning would go.

Lockie Gareth turned up as Vicky was scrubbing the sofa. Will set about untying mooring lines and Leo set about barking his head off. Poor Gareth didn't get the cheeriest of welcomes but he wasn't phased. We soon got into the first of the 4 Frankton Locks and relaxed into a friendly chat. We got the lowdown on where all the services and good pubs were. Knowing we wanted to moor up before the weather front hit, Gareth recommended the Weston Branch, shortly aftert the final lock. A local fisher welcomed us and helped pull Rainboat into the side against the strong wind. Apparently the silt stirred up by boat propellers gets the pike active and biting!

We could access only around 100m of Weston Branch but the disused part, shallow and clogged with weed, stretched out a lot further. We spent the rest of the day huddling indoors next to the fire as wind and rain blasted the tough little trees, hedges and sodden fields around us.Read more