From owner-canals@blacksheep.org Thu May 29 11:43:59 1997
	id AA10992; Thu, 29 May 97 11:43:15 EDT
	id AA1326 ; Thu, 29 May 97 13:05:37 GMT
	id AA03512; Thu, 29 May 97 13:06:34 BST
    29 May 97 13:07:31 GMT+0000
From: "David H. Crowe" <17038@elm.cossor.com>
To: canals@blacksheep.org
Date: Thu, 29 May 1997 13:07:06 GMT+0100
Subject: Trip report, Mon & Brec, part 1
Priority: normal

            My trip on the Monmouth and Brecon Canal

Saturday

The holiday started with the journey from Harlow to Abergavenny. We took
the pretty route using the A40 for the most part. This passes through
some very nice countryside. We stopped off for lunch at a very nice pub
just passed Burford called The Fox. The food was good and there was some
real ale to be had. The pub was in a typical Cotwolds type village with
stone built houses and walls. Very picturesque, though not quite up to
chocolate box standard.

During the journey onwards the rain started with a vengeance, but
stopped after a while. We missed our turning near Gloucester and ended up
in the city centre, which delayed us a bit. We then entered the Forest of
Dean heading for Monmouth. The overcast weather took the edge off the
prettiness of this route. We quickly shopped in Monmouth. (We usually
shop near the hire base rather than carry lots of food on the journey.)
As we were running slightly late we 'phoned the base to let them know we
were on our way. 

We found the base at Llanfoist and it seemed that we were not that late
after all, since people were still "transhipping" their luggage. There is
a house at the base which has a tunnel running underneath which is a
public right of way. The tunnel passes beneath the canal and joins the
road down to the village. The footpath in the other direction passes
along the line of an old tramway, although we didn't realize this at the
time. We did come back to explore later in the week.

We were shown our boat and after transferring our luggage we were given a
"guided tour" to show us were everything was and how it worked. I have
to say that the boat was more basic than others we have used in the
passed, but still adequate. For instance, this was the first boat I had
been on which had a manual shower pump-out, rather than the electric
variety. The shower had to be the smallest I had ever been in which for
someone who is 6ft tall is a trifle inconvenient. 

The chap from the boatyard (I cannot remember his name) then accompanied
us for a short distance to ensure we were OK, and to advise us about the
restricted channel a few yards from the base. There is a problem with
leakage here and a "tunnel" of girders has been erected which retains a
pair of temporary walls. When he was satisfied, we dropped him off to
walk back to the boat yard.

For those who do not know, the canal passes through the Brecon Beacons
National Park. The scenery in these parts is marvellous. A big change
from the Essex countryside I have grown to accept. I have memories of
this region from my childhood when I used to travel with my parents from
Welshpool to visit relatives who lived in Treorchy. 

The first thing that strikes you about this canal (apart from the
scenery) is the number of low bridges. We had been advised at the boat
yard to top up the water tank every day to make sure we had enough
ballast, even though we were hardly likely to use the full tank in a day.
I think this was a wise caution, since the clearances are very small at
times. At some bridges, I found that you lost sight of the way ahead as
you had to duck down below the cabin top to ensure your head cleared the
bridge. Luckily this is not true of most of the bridges.

We arrived a Gilwern and decided that we would moor up for the night
here. We went to the Bridgend Inn which had a Welsh beer on tap (again
the name escapes me). This was sampled but found to be not to our taste,
so the Adnams Broadside was tried next.

After a meal, we retired to the boat and did the crossword in the paper
before retiring to bed. It was a chilly night and I found the sleeping
bag was not quite sufficient to keep me warm with a window open as well.
This was the first boat I had been on which did not have central heating,
and my cabin had not received much heat from the gas heater in the
"dinette" area.

Sunday

Woke up to more rain. Heavy enough to require waterproofs. Took on
water. We found ourselves quite remote from any pub at lunch time, so we
just stopped and had soup.  Other years we would have probably had this
on the move to save time, but there is no need to resort to time saving
techniques on this canal. In fact, the canal is very shallow most places,
necessitating a slow speed. There are a few sections which are concrete
lined and have a reasonable depth, thus allowing a slight increase in
speed. 

We arrived at the first locks, a flight of five, by which time the
weather had improved and the sun was shining. The boat was left in charge
of my friend's wife Margaret while we set the locks etc. The rule on this
canal is to leave the locks empty and the bottom gates open after
passage, unless someone is about to come down the locks. This makes lock
working more time consuming with a lock crew of only two, but as I said,
there is no need to get ahead quickly. (Unless of course you have only
hired the boat for a few days.)

The boat was in the last of the five, when Margaret and her husband
(another David) were exchanging words. Obviously Margaret was concerned
about something but the exact nature of the problem did not become
evident until the top gates were opened and the boat stayed where it was.
In fact, the boat was stuck in reverse gear. We had to get the boat out
of the lock so the engine was shut off to stop the propeller turning and
drawing the boat backwards. Unfortunately, there was a steam boat moored
right next to the head of the lock and we had to ask the chap in charge
if he would mind pulling back to allow us to pull the boat out. Now to
make matters even worse, the elderly gentleman in charge of the steam
boat slipped backwards against the machinery in the boat and injured his
back. He said he was OK but it was obvious he was hurt, though not enough
to stop him from standing erect on the towpath afterwards. Anyway, having
ensured he needed no further help, we pulled our boat out of the lock and
tied it up.

On lifting the board over the engine compartment, we could see the lever
on the side of the gearbox stuck in the reverse position. I moved it by
hand to the neutral position. The throttle/gear control (Morse control)
lever would not pull it to the forward position, but would push it to the
reverse position. There was very little point in trying to go on by
engaging forward gear by hand, since we were not that far from the
nearest road access. So we got out our Orange 'phones but there was no
signal. The chap at the tiller of the boat coming up the lock behind us
tried his 'phone, which was on a different network. No signal. He calls
to someone else on the boat, they had a 'phone too, on yet another
network; but still no signal. There was nothing else to do but to go back
to the village and find a 'phone box.

Having 'phoned the boat yard and returned to the boat, we waited for
someone to turn up to fix the gear cable. We didn't have to wait long
before a Land Rover appeared. We occupied the time by observing the
birds in this area. These included  a heron and a pied flycatcher. There
were a couple of birds who were obviously used to boaters leaving crumbs
for them since they would come very close indeed to pick them up. (But
they didn't stay to eat them, rather flying off to a safer distance.) We
got into a conversation with the repairman (sorry, name gone again) who
apparently lived on a boat at Oxford for part of the week, and helped out
for the boatyard the rest of the week. Having stripped down the Morse
control, he discovered the inner cable had broken. He didn't have a spare
cable with him but he was gone and returned in a very short time. It was
all fixed by 6:15 pm. 

We decided to eat on the boat that night so did not bother moving on. 

To be continued.

BCNU
Dave Crowe

From owner-canals@blacksheep.org Fri May 30 19:36:44 1997
	id AA23164; Fri, 30 May 97 19:36:17 EDT
           id ax1008742; 31 May 97 0:03 BST
	id AA1960 ; Fri, 30 May 97 16:06:43 GMT
	id AA06849; Fri, 30 May 97 16:07:44 BST
    30 May 97 16:08:44 GMT+0000
From: "David H. Crowe" <17038@elm.cossor.com>
To: canals@blacksheep.org
Date: Fri, 30 May 1997 16:08:16 GMT+0100
Subject: Trip report, Mon & Brec, part 2
Priority: normal

Monday

A late start in the morning. The scenery seemed to just get better
all the time. We arrived at the Ashford tunnel which I nearly missed
to get into. Margaret, who has a keen interest in birds, pointed out
a particular bird on the approach to the tunnel and I automatically
looked. By the time I looked back, the tunnel was that much nearer
and the boat was heading for the hard bit. This tunnel is very low in
the middle and I found it difficult to steer crouching down low
enough to avoid banging my head.

We arrived at Talybont-on-Usk for water and a few supplies. We
decided to follow one of the walks mentioned in the guide and set of
up an old tramway route. This was a steady climb up a more or less
fixed incline. Close observation of the stones soon revealed those
used to tie the tram rails down. We continued until we could see the
reservoir, but decided to return to the village for lunch rather than
continue all the way up to the quarry which is at the top.

We visited The Star pub. They had Old Speckled Hen on tap, very
good. The main courses we had were good but I was disappointed with
the apple crumble for afters. The crumble was more of a sticky mass.

Talybont is the point at which a series of lift bridges start, the
first of which carries a B road over the canal, and is electric with
gates and flashing lights to warn road traffic. It amazes me, when
operating such a bridge, how quickly a queue of cars builds up on
what was previously a very quite road.

Some canoeists had passed our boat previously. One of the young lads
was definitely not enjoying himself, judging by the expression on his
face. We found ourselves following the canoeists for a while but they
soon outpaced us. The next two lift bridges were raised, but the
fourth was only partially raised. I would guess that this was due to
the leader of the canoeists raising it enough to get the canoes
through and then leaving it like that for us to raise further. If
this were true, it is all very well, but the mechanism is on the off
side, and getting to it from the towpath is not easy. Thus we had to
nose up to the bridge for me to get off to open it.

We finally caught up with the canoeists near their base. They were
practising some sort of exercise requiring a person to have a foot in
one canoe and the other in another. As we gently passed, one of the
lads lost his balance and capsized both canoes. I did feel sorry for
him, but it wasn't our doing.

We reached the Brynych aqueduct by evening so we moored up there. We
walked to The Three Horseshoes. The beer was Tomas Watkins, one I
hadn't previously heard of. It tasted OK, and I had a second. The
food was OK. We got into a conversation with one of the locals who
told us his life story. (Or at least as much as he could condense
into 45 minutes.) At the back of the pub it is possible to see the
course of the railway line that was closed as a result of Beeching, I
presume. Apparently the pub was a favourite stopping off point for
locals travelling on the line.

An old map, dated 1897, on the wall of the pub shows the local area
in great detail. All the fields were shown, with some coloured in
red. A key showed that the land was 3/- or if red, 4/-. I'm not sure
what this means, the (rateable) value per acre? (For those not
familiar with pre-decimal money 3/- means 3 shillings, prices were
marked say L1/3/6 for one pound three (shillings) and six (pence), a
- meaning no pence.) A further interesting thing was that it showed
the canal as the Brecon and Newport canal, after the Brecknock and
Abergavenny Canal Co. and the Monmouthshire Canal Co. merged. This
is curious because it was also known as the Monmouthshire and Brecon
canal from about that time according to John Norris's canal guide.

Tuesday

I decided to photograph the aqueduct and nearby road bridge using
the technique defined in the guide, i.e. frame the bridge through the
arches of the aqueduct. We then set off across the aqueduct and
through the last lock before Brecon. The canal here seems even more
shallow than before. We ran aground when meeting a boat coming the
other way, though not by much. Arrived in Brecon.

Brecon itself did not hold a great deal of attraction for us, (the
jazz festival occurs later in the year) but we did find a chemist to
get a cold remedy for David. A rare thing happened in the shop. The
shop assistant offered David a glass of water so that he could take
his first dose straight away. I thought this practice had long died
out. A few supplies were bought and we stopped off for tea and tea
cakes.

Returning to the boat we found that the theatre had opened its doors
and people were sitting outside having morning coffee/tea etc. too
late for us however. So we turned the boat in the basin ready to go
to the watering point. After taking on water we set off back the way
we came. A short stop was made at the Brynich aqueduct for Stilton
and a can of Boddingtons, the day being very fine.

We made it back to Talybont for the evening stop. Since we had
enjoyed our meal at the Star Inn the previous day, we went in again
and had our evening meal there. I forgot to mention that the pub
has photgraphs showing the reults of a breach of the embankment
here. Very messy. After the meal we went for a walk again. This time
we walked along the bed of a disused railway track which had an
easier gradient than the tramway. We followed this all the way to
Talybont reservoir. While there I spotted a hare which I pointed out
to the others. It is a long time since I have seen a wild hare in the
flesh. I've seen plenty of rabbits, but no hares.

Having  set off with no torch, we had to return almost straight away
to get back to the boat before it got too dark.


To be continued.

BCNU
Dave Crowe

From owner-canals@blacksheep.org Mon Jun  2 09:31:15 1997
	id AA16744; Mon, 2 Jun 97 09:31:08 EDT
           id af1001291; 2 Jun 97 14:13 BST
	id AA2575 ; Mon, 02 Jun 97 13:52:41 GMT
	id AA10136; Mon, 2 Jun 97 13:53:29 BST
    2 Jun 97 13:54:31 GMT+0000
From: "David H. Crowe" <17038@elm.cossor.com>
To: canals@blacksheep.org
Date: Mon, 2 Jun 1997 13:53:54 GMT+0100
Subject: Trip report, Mon & Brec, part 3
Priority: normal

Wednesday

This was the first day I didn't lie in. I was up at 6.30 and in the
shower, then outside to enjoy the early morning sunshine. When the
others stirred, we had breakfast and set off. Did the locks and then
stopped off at Castle Narrowboats to get water. I went into the shop
to see if I could get a copy of the Mon. & Brec. guide and a
Lockmaster map. I got the guide, but the maps were sold out. We had
been slightly disappointed to find that Castle Narrowboats hired out
electric boats after we had booked our boat. We had seen a few of
these on the canal and they really are quiet, even more so when
stopped in a lock. Diesel engines are quite noisy and are not worth
stopping in locks (in my view). Having had a holiday once on a steam
powered boat, the difference is very marked. The tillerman can
actually hear people on the lockside or towpath. I  asked if they had
a leaflet/brochure and was given one. Then the lady in the shop gave
me the keys to the boat we had breasted up against. I was struck by
the difference between our boat and this one. A "full size" fridge
for a start, and a much bigger shower. The price was similar to what
we were paying. It pays to shop around!

Leaving the boatyard, we pressed on, stopping for lunch nowhere in
particular. The day was very sunny and with no engine, very
peaceful. Idyllic is the word I guess. This canal is so scenic, and
has lots of wildlife to observe. Buzzards soaring against the
not-very-distant horizon, the odd kingfisher with its bright blue
markings flitting from one tree to another, patches of bluebells
amongst the trees next to the canal. Not that other canals don't have
good scenery and interesting wildlife, it's just that this one seems
to be just that bit better somehow.

Time to move on. Arrived back at Llanfoist, where we disposed off
the two bikes we had carried with us. (They had been useful when
finding the 'phone box, but were not really suited to going site
seeing on. Besides, there were only two.) We then set off for a walk
up the tramway here. This tramway had a much steeper gradient than
the one at Talybont. Not quite 45 degrees but getting close! On this
track the sleeper stones are much more distinctive, and help in
getting a footing. This path was so steep that when we crossed
another track, we elected to follow that instead to a nature
reserve. The place is called "The Punch Bowl" which is not surprising
when you get there. A lake (seemingly man made, judging by the earth
dam) in a hollow. Some fishermen were trying their luck. A dog with
them got bored with things and started attacking the lid of a
Tupperware box. The lid must have been putting up quite a fight since
the dog pounced on it, tossed it, shook it, and generally did its
best to destroy it for several minutes.

On the walk up to this point, I had a mild shock when crossing a
field with two horses in it. (Strickly following the public path.)
One of them had walked up behing me very quitely and then nuzzled my
shoulder from behind. It was obviously expecting to be given some
sort of treat. 

Hunger made us leave the nature reserve at last, so we returned to
Llanfoist. After collecting a torch, we went through the rather damp
tunnel under the canal down to the village to the Llanfoist Inn for
our evening meal. The beer selection was not wonderful so it was
Murphy's stout with our meal. (Margaret does not drink beer, she
prefers Vodka and Lime.) The food was adequate for the price, but not
outstanding. (I've had much worse.) 

On returning to the boat we were visited by a cat who made itself at
home very quickly. She didn't stay the night however.

To be continued.

BCNU
Dave Crowe

From owner-canals@blacksheep.org Mon Jun  2 10:00:03 1997
	id AA16904; Mon, 2 Jun 97 09:59:43 EDT
           id ai1001291; 2 Jun 97 14:13 BST
	id AA2581 ; Mon, 02 Jun 97 13:58:07 GMT
	id AA10175; Mon, 2 Jun 97 13:58:56 BST
    2 Jun 97 13:59:58 GMT+0000
From: "David H. Crowe" <17038@elm.cossor.com>
To: canals@blacksheep.org
Date: Mon, 2 Jun 1997 13:59:49 GMT+0100
Subject: Trip report, Mon & Brec, part 4
Priority: normal

Thursday

We had another visit from the cat this morning. But she didn't stay.

The bridge at Llanfoist is very tricky to negotiate, it says so in the
guide. I was at the tiller and had started the engine. I asked
Margaret if she would like to take the tiller instead, thinking that
she would say no. (She hadn't been canalling for a few years, and she
claimed to be a bit rusty.) To my surprise she said yes and off we
went, with the boatyard people watching from the window. Now this is a
deceptively  tricky bridge, the canal keeps bending round all the way
through it, and there isn't much room. Maragaret soon discovered just
how tricky it is. It was only a minor bump, honestly. I have to say, I
may have used a bit more of the space before the bridge to prepare for
it had I been steering, but I think even I would have been caught out.
In fact, the guide suggests using a rope from the towpath to help, if
you are not sure of yourself.

The journey down from Llanfoist was very pleasant. We caught up with a
boat which appeared to be travelling in neutral every so often. They
waved us by. This is not easy on this canal unless the other boat
stops altogether. 

We were hoping to stop to dispose of the rubbish bag at Goytre
wharf. We hadn't read how we were to approach the disposal point from
the towpath before getting there, and at first sight it looked like we
couldn't get to it. There is in fact a roadway which runs under the
canal, for some strange reason we kind of assumed that the aqueduct
was over a stream, like the rest. The rubbish stayed on board for the
time being.

We stopped for lunch near the footpath which goes to Penperlleni. By
now the sun was weakening and the air was chilly. We had observed on
this part of the canal that the ducks were indifferent to being fed
breadcrumbs, unlike further north. Some even hiding themselves away if
we threw crumbs.

We set off after lunch and arrived at Pontymoile were I turned the
boat. The canal is navigable further south of here with another
winding hole. This we found out afterwards by reading the appendix to
the guide. The canal is apparantly very shallow though, and perhaps
not suitable for steel narrow boats. To turn at Pontymoile requires a
reversing operation into the basin, then the boat can be winded and
reversed out again.

With the boat pointed back towards Brecon, we moored up to go
shopping. Now Pontymoile is a very strange town (I think) with the
shops interspersed with houses. Definitely not your normal high
street. (In fact, High Street was a street which ran at right angles
to the main street.) On the way back to the boat there were a group of
children sitting on the pavement drawing pictures, a sight you
wouldn't see in many towns. I guess Pontymoile is more of a village,
with Pontypool being the main town.

Seeing no great advantage in staying here for the night we moved off
to the High Bridge near Mamhilad. The Star at the village was very
good. When we walked in we first felt a bit out of place, being
dressed for canal type leisure, the occupants being dressed a little
more formally. It is very difficult to keep ones shoes clean when
walking a muddy towpath. We ordered our drinks and food. The beer was
called Kill or Cure. It seemed OK, not half as bad as the name
suggested. The pub very soon filled up, and we began to feel much more
at home. The landlord had to 'phone for reinforcements it was that
busy. The Kill or Cure ran dry, I forget what we had next. Whatever it
was, we enjoyed the evening. 

Friday

I didn't make very many notes for today. I can't think why. Perhaps it
was the realization that the week was almost over. All I have for the
canal journey is, "Made steady progress toward Llanfoist". I do recall
that we tried to identify the location of a tower which we had seen on
the journey down from the OS map, but no luck. I subsequently read in
the back of the canal quide about an 18th C folly which has recently
been restored. I think that it must be the tower we saw.

On arriving at Llanfoist, we moored up just before the boatyard. The
sky had been threatening rain for some time so I took a waterproof
coat with me to the pub. David and Margaret took a golfing umbrella.
The Llanfoist in was not open so we strolled down to the river were
there was another pub. The meals were quite good although I was
starting to feel a little off colour. I think this was due to the
stuffiness in the pub. There was definitely thundery weather on its
way. On the way back to the boat, it started tipping down. Raining
stair- rods. If I had thought it was going to be so bad I would have
carried my waterproof leggings to the pub as well! Of course, my feet
got very wet too, so I would have had to take wellingtons as well. 

On reaching the boat we all had to change out of our wet clothes. We
sat and watched the lightning which started soon after. I decided to
have an early night and took myself off to my end of the boat, leaving
David enjoying the spectacle. I awoke at midnight, and the storm had
stopped.

Saturday

Woke up to a fine day and had breakfast and started to clean the
boat. I know the boatyard have staff for this job but every little
helps. I swept the decks and washed them down a little, and swept all
the leaves from the roof. The remaining food was shared out, and the
bags all packed. We then moved off the short distance into the
boatyard.

The parking space at this yard is quite confined and with people
bringing their cars nearer to the boats to load them it made it
difficult to get away.

Well, that's about it.

To sum up, this is a great canal. I used to think it not worth 
considering since it is only 33 miles long with just 6 locks. But you 
really get 66 miles, 12 twelve locks and two tunnels, and 
wonderful scenery.


BCNU
Dave Crowe