We have plenty of time to get back to our rental marina, so the next few days will be on the leisurely side. We set off just after 9am, which is a late start for us.

Our journey today had 6 locks, all of which we shared with a couple on a very sweet restored 1935 tug boat. They don’t live full time on the boat, but are spending a lot of time now traveling between historic boating events. We chatted with them at each lock, and have some ideas for our next trip! Having a bit of company helps you forget that it’s raining and a little miserable while you’re working the locks.

Almost anywhere along the tow-path side of the canal is open for mooring, with a few exceptions for permitted moorings and areas near locks, lift bridges and water points (spots along the canal with free water stations to fill your fresh water tank). There are also 48 hour mooring sites near towns. The non-towpath side of the canal is privately owned. Houses right along the canal may have a mooring for their own boat, and some farms will develop their canal frontage into permanent private moorings. Some people may live full-time at these moorings, while others may treat it like a second home. Here are some photos of one section where people have made improvements to their mooring site with sheds, patios, and all sorts of “stuff”.

The rain stopped and we continued along the Shropshire Union Canal, back to the Llangollen Canal. We have moored for the night at the junction of those canals – and just in time, because the rain started up as soon as we were tucked up in the boat. None of the rain showers this week have lasted long, and the birds are back to their chirping now.