Prees Branch

Tuesday June 26th.. The morning was spent recovering from yesterdays storm, clearing the roof of leaves & bits of tree.
Dee’s tomato plant which was doing so well had completely snapped off but I was able to save the roof troughs.
Around midday we moved the few miles into the Ellsmere Arm for more shopping and to meet up with Graham & Hazel from NB-Nesta who we first met when we moored at the Thames & Kennet Marina in Reading a few years ago. I should mention that we delayed pushing off from our overnight mooring by around 30 minutes due to the fact that the 3 stooges I mentioned yesterday on route from Llangollen passed us by just as we were about to push-off, enough said! In the evening we met up with NB-Nesta and enjoyed a decent meal in the local curry-house. It seems to be a tradition now that every time we meet up we have a curry.
Wednesday June 27th.. We said farewell to NB-Nesta who were moving up to Llangollen and only moved a few miles today to a nice mooring we’d spotted on our way up in-between bridges 51/50. One night in a town mooring was enough for us although we found the Ellesmere Arm, although full, pretty peaceful. If you do ever moor there try to moor away from the top end as there is a lot of building work going into the new Wharf. Around mid afternoon I rescued two lovely families on a 70ft beast of a hire boat who were trying to ‘wind’ (boaty term for turn around) and had got badly stuck. The remainder of the day was spent enjoying what turned out to be a sunny although chilly end. Later Dee made her home-made Steak, Stilton & Guinness pie which was delicious.
Thursday June 28th.. For those who have emailed to ask - Although the surrounding fields are flooded after the recent storm & the occasional brook or stream we pass is in full flood, we’ve not noticed much of a difference to the Llangollen except for a small increase in flow & around 3inch in depth. We are aware however of other canals being closed for periods & we are certainly glad we’re not on any rivers at present. Today we once again only moved around 3 miles to the Prees Branch of the canal and moored in a single mooring opposite Whixall Moss (pictured). This is a raised bog rich in flora & insect fauna, including mosquito’s! The peat surface remains inspite of the past cutting of the peat for garden use, and is now a SSSI, and an important site for rare insects & plant life which survive on the delicate habitat. In the afternoon we cycled down this pretty ½ mile branch section to Whixall Marina and then continued on further along the un-navigable section which is now a nature reserve.
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