The Brecon and Monmouth Canal

We have had the Brecon and Monmouth canal on our "to do" list for some while.  The canal is 36 miles long and isolated from the rest of the canal network.  It is supposed to be very beautiful, lets hope so.

Weather permitting we had  intended to cruise the whole length of the current canal (it used to go to the docks Newport, it might do again when some restoration work is completed) but currently it ends in Cwmbran.  72 miles return so 18 hours cruising at 4mph.  That was the plan but when we picked up the boat this afternoon we discovered this is a slow canal, 2mph max so we might reduce our ambitions. We have seven days but no point in rushing, that is not what boating holidays are about.

If you look at the map carefully you may notice that Monmouth does not get a mention, originally there was another canal from Newport to Monmouth and the two canal companies merged.  There are plans to restore the Monmouth section so one day it might be possible to sail from Brecon to Monmouth over a period of 9 or 10 days, a journey you could drive in an hour or walk in a day.  

Off to the pub in a minute to hopefully watch Ollie Morgan from Bishop's Castle win a medal in the final of the men's 100m backstroke. Yesterday there was quite a party in the sunshine watching him get though the heats and semi's at the school as a fundraiser for the swimming pool where he learnt to swim and was a lifeguard.