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Todays cruise took us along the lower reaches of the canal, fewer holidaymakers seem to venture this far and we only saw one other narrow boat on the move all day. Whilst it is good to have the canal to ourselves the lack of boat traffic means the weeds encroach on the waterway making it very narrow and without regular propellers cutting a path through the mud the already shallow water becomes shallower. We grounded many times, all a bit of an adventure.
We have now started to return to base having spent lunchtime in a supposedly wonderful location called Goytre Wharf which according to the canal literature is known as "the gateway to the Brecon Beacons and a wonderful place for a family outing!" What they mean is it is close to the South Wales industrial areas whose residents need somewhere close by for the children to run around on a sunny day. There are a few lime kilns, a boat yard and a cafe whose fare is firmly aimed at the cheap, cheerful and unhealthy segment of the market, I went with the flow and had a chip butty. The statue is the only exhibit we could see, it is of a kiln worker, he seems happy enough.
We have been surprised that we have been high up throughout our journey, the canal hugs the mountainside and we were always looking down on the valley below. This creates a problem, most of the towns and villages where pubs, restaurants and shops are at the bottom of the valley where the river Usk flows. This meant that each evening we have had to walk down several hundred feet for dinner and worse, climb back again afterwards. The picture shows Gill walking down to the village of Llanellan for essential supplies only to find the shop closed some years ago so we had to walk back empty handed. This evening we took the cowards way out and ate on board. Tomorrow we carry on working our way back but stopping off at different places than on the way down.
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