Mayhem on May Day

That's it, we've had enough! Lots of boats on the move yesterday as we left Gledrid and made our way to a remote mooring at St Martin's Moor. We got grounded again during a traffic jam at a bridge hole then had the joy of numerous boats flying past us as we were tied up.
Today we've gone all the way back to Ellesmere in steadily improving weather and will probably be off this canal by this time next week. Our opinion is that it's overrated. No more scenic than many other parts of the system but shallower than many and overrun with holiday boats. God knows what it's like in August. Yes, it's got the magnificent aqueducts but we've done them now and probably won't go back.
This morning we had two locks to contend with at New Marton and they were quite busy.

1st in the queue 

Being busy isn't a bad thing. There's lots of people to work the locks and they are quick to fill and empty. The problem is too many inexperienced boaters in the same place.

This is the queue at the bottom of the second lock. Five in total, four of which are holiday boats.  As we were trying to clear the lock bollards they started to move up, but instead of taking it easy (after all, where could they go?) they ended up trying to leapfrog each other and at one stage were heading straight for us three abreast across the canal. Apologies for not getting a photo of that but we were extremely busy for a few seconds! 

So as the weather picked up we pressed on. Stuff the Jack Mytton pub (no photos as I was avoiding a line of four more holiday boats) and stuff the Montgomery Canal (the seven miles that are still navigable, that is).

Here in Ellesmere the branch arm was solid but as luck would have it someone left just in time for us to drop into their space. So it's a trip to Tesco then probably push on to Whitchurch tomorrow. Once we're off here it's a quick diversion to Nantwich to stock up the head back home for a while.

Highlight of the trip? Crossing the aqueduct in Pontcysyllte, getting our picture taken by tourists. Lowlight? Realising that the pictures taken on the return leg will show my pegged out underpants drying over the wood burner....