Yesterday had been very windy with blustery heavy showers. I had gone to Caernarfon to do a railway inspection and actually had a dry, even sunny from time to time, day. Here is a photo taken just outside Caernarfon as the powerful ex South African Garratt locomotive starts the train up a steep 1:40 incline on its way to Porthmadog.
Today we had been promised good weather, but the TV weather showed showers likely just where we are and the overnight strong winds had not abated. So we set off at our usual time. The wind made everything a struggle. The locks were all against us which meant formally mooring up every time to keep the boat under control. These double locks are heavy and the architecture such that the upper paddle action is not standard in any way requiring ropes to keep the boat from crashing about. Perhaps we are just doing it all wrong, I just don't know. Anyway it took us 2 1/2 hours to do 5 locks. Needing a pumpout we stopped at Tattenhall Marina (£14.50) and quickly done but the wind in this rather exposed situation was challenging. Beeston Stone lock, where we had received a bashing last time went more or less satisfactorily this time. The ground paddle culverts appear to discharge from the lock cills. A useful strategy might be just to use a centre rope to a rearward bollard and use the engine to keep it tight. Our last lock was the Bunbury two chamber staircase. Below the lock is the Anglo Welsh Hire base and the mass of moored boats there make access a little difficult especially at busy times, however there was some space of the wharf to allow us to wait for an opposite boat to exit.
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