Moored up close to Whitehouse Tunnel and took a walk towards Froncysyllte. When I got to Irish Bridge I got chatting to a marine engineer and asked him if he did welding and fabrication, which he admitted that he could. Took his card for future reference.

Went into Froncysyllte with the boats, turned around and came back to our mooring. There is a sort of road that goes along the tow path that is actually access for two cottages. The owner of one of them got chatting and they said that they did not mind us mooring there as we were quiet and no trouble.

Stopped overnight just below the New Marton locks after filling up with water.

Arrived in Ellesmere in time to do a little shopping, as is my wont. Just on the off chance I popped in to the carpet shop in Ellesmere and was surprised to find an off cut that would fit my lounge perfectly. Made the purchase and the proprietor delivered it to the boat for me.
Now I am not a particularly superstitious person but I do believe in serendipity. First the underlay for free than the carpet for next to nothing, I am sure that now is the time to complete that task.

Of course it is never as easy as it is meant to be.
First of all I had to clear the lounge, no mean feat when space is as limited as it is on a narrow boat. Fortunately the weather is sufficiently dry that the table, the sofa the stools the chests of drawers and many other sundry items can repose on the tow path for an hour or two. Then comes the manoeuvring of a big chunk of carpet in a very limited space so as to actually make it fit. First decide which is going to be the straight edge and which wall to place it on. Carefully cut out the bit of the carpet that needs to be removed to fit around the fire surround. So far so good. Now I can trim for width.
I don't know if you have ever tried to fold a carpet in half while keeping one edge available for trimming in a space that is narrower than the piece of carpet you are dealing with, but it is not easy. Oh, I forgot to mention, I had to totally demolish the tool cupboard with the bi-fold doors and store that, on the tow path with all the other stuff. I was not going to have all my power tools on the tow path so they had to reside on my bed for the duration.
Several hours later, the carpet fitted, the tool cupboard re-instated, the table, stools sofa and chests of drawers replaced I slumped into the soaf for a well deserved rest. Well I think it was well deserved. Now all I have to do is get dinner.

On our way to investigate mooring at Chirk in preparation for our holiday.

In an endeavour to make our forthcoming holiday trip as painless as possible we decided that we would moor close to Chirk railway station as we could to minimise the carrying of heavy rucksacks. Not wanting to go any further than necessary we stopped at Froncysyllte where there is a winding hole, turned round and moored up for a couple of days.

Try as we did, we could not find anywhere to moor up close to Chirk train station so we eventually plumped for St Martins, where we know we can catch busses to a variety of destinations. Only two days to go before our big adventure, so lots of preparation to do, packing and checking that we have everything we need and, hopefully nothing we don't need.

Today's the day. Both heavily laden with large rucksacks full of a weeks necessities we set off along the tow path to the bus stop, fortunately only a couple of hundred yards, where we caught the bus to Gobowen. From there we boarded the train which took us a comparatively short distance (19 minutes) to Shrewsbury where we changed for the Criccieth train. Mostly a cross country journey but once we got to Aberdyfi (just past Machynlleth) the route is mostly along the coast passing through Barmouth, Talybon, Llandanwg, Harlech, Minffordd and Porthmadog before arriving at Criccieth at shortly after three o'clock, conveniently in time to check in to our holiday let. The owners also run the chippy almost opposite so guess what we had for our evening meal.

Day out in Barmouth. Jammed between the mountains and the sea Barmouth makes the most of it's limited availability of land by stacking the cottages one on top of another up the steep hillside. Wandered in and out of the old town which is peppered with slate-roofed cottages built into the side of the mountain, linked by narrow pedestrian steps and paths. Although it was quite a struggle for me I did appreciate the views and the architecture on the way up and again on the way down.
I took a picnic with me (a day out without a picnic just isn't the same) but there is always room for Fish and Chips when visiting the seaside.
One of the attractions of Barmouth (and a great many other places to visit) according to the tourist information about the place, is the availability of shopping. Somehow I cannot relate to people going on holiday just to go shopping. However much I like shopping it is not my main concern when on holiday.
Barmouth bay is spectacular and a walk along the Barmouth Bridge is a must for any visitor as it takes you out across the bay over the water with views back to Barmouth.

Took the bus into Portmadog for a look around, spotted the train station and decided that tomorrow we would have a trip on the Ffestiniog train. We then stumbled across the Maritime Museum. They have some wonderful models of various ships (I particularly liked the lifeboat E Breeze) and a wide range of artefacts, including many relating to the railway as it was (and still is) an integral part of the history of Porthmadog.
There were details of many of the ships built at Porthmadog as it was at one time a serious shipbuilding centre.

Couldn't not do the Ffestiniog train trip, especially as our previous attempt a few years ago went slightly awry.
Porthmadog to Blaenau Ffestiniog is about an hour and a quarter but seems a lot less, probably because of the excitement. Had just under an hour to look around and drink in all the history of the slate mines and then another hour and a quarter back. I, of course, took a picnic with me so refreshments were not a problem.

The day my No2 took her customary dip in the sea, which she has to do every time we visit the seaside. I am not a confident swimmer and someone has to look after the clothing and towels so I am quite happy to sit on the beach partaking of my picnic and watching my No2 get further and further away, ready to call the coastguard if she looks as if she is getting in to trouble, or, completely disappears.

Took the bus from Criccieth to Aberdaron today. One and a half hours along the coast with wonderful views most of the way calling at Afon Wen and Aberech before stopping off at Pwllheli to change busses for the second part of the journey.
From Pwllheli to Aberdaron the bus hugs the coast to Llanbedrog and then cuts inland over the hills through scenic countryside passing through Mynytho, Nanhoron, Sarn Meyllteyrn and Pengroeslon before arriving at Aberdaron, where we took a walk along the beach in the very sheltered bay.

Back the way we came with bulging rucksacks and many happy memories. Train journeys are always fun especially when the scenery is as good as today's. Arrived back at the boat(s) in plenty of time to settle in and get the washing out of the way, ready for a new adventure.

Back to the usual routine, I say routine but I like food shopping, perhaps it satisfies the primeval hunter urge to provide for your tribe. Had the usual contretemps with one of the No2 bus drivers. I don't think the message has drifted down the hierarchy yet.