Life on the “Cut”, A visit to Chirk
The neat thing about doing a canal float trip in England is that you get to jump out and help with the locks. In the picture above, Jim and Jeanne are helping Dorothy with the lock mechanism. We were always excited to take the special crank handles they called “a windlass” and operate the lock gates. On this day we also came upon a low bridge that we had to crank up to pass. On some bridges, the local children would hang out near the bridges to help do the work because it was fun.
Our journey today took us through the towns of Trevor, Ruabon, Froncysyllte, Whitehouse and Chirk. Near Chirk we stopped near a bridge and contacted a taxi service to take us up to Chirk Castle. (I walked there and back because I needed the exercise and we all couldn’t fit in the taxi) The castle is owned by the National Trust and is open to the public between March and October, with limited opening dates in November and December. The property is also notable for its gardens, with clipped yew hedges, herbaceous borders, rock gardens and terraces and surrounded by 18th century parkland.
Here Jeanne and Emily are strolling through Chirk gardens, a 5 acre area created from William Emes’ designs from the 18th century. I think we liked the look of those trees.
Gloria took this picture of Roger, Jim, Jeanne and Emily but she didn’t quite frame the picture to show that Jim and Jeanne have their feet locked up in the stocks, or pillory if you prefer. That’s why we have that fake look of humiliation on our faces.