Warm and dry on the Llangollen Canal

Woke this morning and the rain is pouring down and the wind is making waves on the canal. Sitting here late morning with all plans for a move abandoned we have the stove full of logs and the talk is of Bacon sarnies (sandwich) for lunch.

The hire boats keep going by battling on with perhaps a date to return the boat or having just started their holiday a determination to get as much water behind them before the week has passed.

One has just passed with 3 men on the back all wrapped up with 2 of them with backs to the wind the driver having pulled the short straw is facing rain coming at him in the wind almost vertically. I couldn`t see through the misted windows but i guess the women were down below with the heater on drinking tea and making next years holiday plans to a warmer climate. Jaq and I recommend Washington State and the 100F+ if that is what rings your bell.

Anyway there are many hire companies operating on the Llangollen canal and I just looked up and saw a Crest holiday boat go by. The price for a 6 berth boat this week the price is £975($1465) with a reduction of about £200($300) for a smaller 4 berth boat.

A boat just went by and the lone steerer had Tesco (supermarket) plastic bags on his feet, you see how we Brits get by when no waterproof boots are available.

Diesel prices on the Llangollen have in my memory always been higher than the rest of the canal system. Perhaps the one way in/out has the marinas thinking they have a captive audience to charge as they fancy. We keep on board Nb Valerie, as do many other boaters, 2x20 litre Jerry cans mainly for winter in case of being frozen in. Not having used the fuel for a while and always being aware of diesel bug I decided to transfer the spare fuel to the main tank. Having been told of the almost canal side garage at Grindley Brook that has a red diesel pump I went and re-filled the cans with fresh fuel. The Red diesel at the garage was 81.5p per litre. The fully taxed road price was £1.45.9. Now our U.S. readers this is $2.19 per litre and I am not going down the road of conversion as our gallon is different to yours and as for litres to gallons, best of luck and feel free to work it out.

Oh while I remember the hire boat site tells hirer's;

ADDITIONAL COSTS: Diesel: The diesel used will be charged for on return from your holiday. The cost of diesel is set at slightly over supermarket prices prevailing at the time of your holiday. Your boat engine will

I am just wondering how much do they declare to the tax man having charged the hirer full duty. Plenty of hire boats moor up and have the engine charging batteries. Perhaps if they filled a declaration for each hirer on a 90/10 basis that is a lot of cash over a hire season.

Anyway for U.S. readers this link will help you understand the tax situation. Basically it is the UK being told by the EU how to run the country with none of our spineless politicians having the guts to..........sod it I`ve left all that crap on the land and can`t be bothered getting myself worked up. I will say though, I strongly believe if the British public were to vote we would not be in the EU. The diesel pump on the left is at Whixall, a marina on the Prees arm owned by BW and has the ability to accept your card and dispense fuel 24hrs per day. The price on the far right shows £0.95 @ 0% ----£1.25 @ 60% ----£1.45 @ 100%. The pump was set at £0.95 when I used it and can only assume it is changed by the marina so how can you self declare? The key pad gave no choices but as it was set at the cheapest price I did not dwell to much on it. Anyone know the full story?

Chirk marina when we stopped by for a bottle of Gas(propane) was charging a higher price but the details are sketchy in my head. I remember seeing in the office the list read £1.10 @ 20% and I think the 0% was £0.98.

Outside the rain still falls blown by the winds, we are still snug in front of the log burner, the hire boats going by out number the private boats by 20/1 and so in writing this blog not much has changed. The smell inside the boat is now of a Bacon joint boiling for dinner tonight something Jaq has taken quite a fancy to.

Oh and by the way the Bacon sarnie Jaq cooked me was toasted with Cheese and Onion.......Yum!