Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal - A Holiday Tale

[LizG]

Part 1 - introduction

The Brecknock and Abergavenny Canal as it was originally known was built following the contours lines of the mountainside above the River Usk between Brecon and the junction with the Monmouthshire Canal  which continued on to Newport.  Cargos comprised agricultural products and the produce of the Welsh industries including coal, limestone, iron ore as well as finished products.  The canal also interconnected with nearly two hundred miles of horse drawn tram roads that helped move the products from village to village or up or down the hillsides.

 

The canal was built by the early 1800s but by the 1920s commercial traffic was almost non-existent and the canal simply wasn’t being used although it was saved from total dereliction by its use as a water feeder.  However, plans to build culverts to replace bridges were abandoned and slowly restoration to Pontymoile was completed during the latter part of the last century.

 

The idea of going on a canal boat trip was that of our long standing friends.  We had (until 2020) always once a year gone on a European city break but with this type of adventure being off limits at the moment they wanted to come up with a different plan?

 

Despite spending most of my life on the Broads, my alternative waterway holidays consisted of a Fenland holiday when I was about seven and the River Shannon when I was eleven – neither was that enjoyable although quite memorable for a variety of reasons!  My husband had always objected to the idea of a canal boat holiday so when our friends suggested the idea, I was very surprised when he was quite enthusiastic! 

 

Our friends live near Llandovery and the Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal (as it is now called) was only about 30 miles away – we had walked a stretch of towpath a few years ago with them and they had also walked several other sections.  They were also aware of several eating and drinking establishments alongside the canal (which I think was a factor in my husband agreeing it would be fun!).  What they hadn’t appreciated was that the pubs weren’t doing food every night, and if they were - booking was essential!  By the end of the week, we had sussed this out and my husband ensured bookings were made.  The food and beer was pretty good in all establishments! We were also lucky that the week selected included a Bank Holiday Monday and most pubs were open that day.  A recce a few weeks previous on a Monday nearly left us very hungry with only one of four pubs we passed open and doing food!

[LizG]

Part 2

The boat they selected was Catrin from Cambrian Cruisers, near Pencelli and close to Brecon, the week selected was simply the only week it was available!  Catrin is 55 feet long with a beam of 6’ 10”.  It is classed at a six berth but ideal for four adults from two different families.  It comes with two double beds and two washrooms separated by the galley and dining area which is ideal.  It has two holding tanks which meant we didn’t have to have a pump out during the entire week although it was necessary to fill up water on a daily basis.  The flow at some of the canal side watering points was quite slow!  The engine was a diesel Beta Marine but there was also a quiet water heater which we fired up each morning for an hour which also heated the radiators.  Absolute luxury compared to Water Rail!  We were assured there would be no need to top up the diesel and there was also an automatic gas bottle transfer.

This link tells you everything you need to know!  https://www.cambriancruisers.co.uk/our-boats/six-berth/catrin

Cambrian Cruisers is a family run business with high standards although I think all the canal side boat yards fall into that category.  Seeing an employee of Brecon Park Boats standing in the water in waders touching up the black paint on one of their boats was something I’ve never seen before!  We had a thorough handover, and then trial run.  We were given advice on locks, the tunnel, where to go, where not to bother to go, where was the best place to turn, where not to turn etc.  Plus some good suggestions for pubs that served good food.  So we decided to go as far as Goytre Wharf (which wasn’t as far as our friends had initially planned) and as long as we had got back to Cambrian Cruisers by midday on the Friday, we would also have time to go up to Brecon and back before handing back the boat.  We were told that the maximum speed was 2mph but in truth even that wasn’t possible.  The canal is narrow and at times very narrow!  It is also very shallow and the edges even shallower!  The use of a long pole would be essential and that the best way to get through the bridges was to keep to the tow path side.  However, I worked out that whereas you couldn’t use the centre of the boat to line up with the centre of the bridge, the pole sitting on the deck on the starboard side worked when the tow path was on the port side ensured a perfect line up with the centre of the bridge.

 

Steering a 55 feet boat with a tiller rather than a 27 feet Broads Cruiser with a central steering wheel was a completely new experience for me.  It was quite common to hit either the bridge or the towpath edge, or run aground.  Yes I could reverse out of trouble but only in a straight line and then quite often the wind pushed the boat back into the bank – so this was when the pole became an essential part of boat maneuvering!

 

The bit that I never managed to sort out during the entire trip was passing an oncoming boat.  Despite the usual rules of the river, we were told to travel down the middle of the canal so it would be necessary to move over to the right hand bank which was either the tow path or the undergrowth.  Also immediately part of the boat would go aground and either the bow or stern start to stick out - not just into the middle of the canal but across the entire width of the canal.  The other boat would invariably do the same so the entire procedure could take several minutes!  Once everyone was lined up then one of the boats would proceed cautiously past you – usually leaving the other boat stuck!!!  For some reason, you never met a boat on a long wide straight section but immediately you were rounding a bend or just as you approached a narrow bridge on a blind bend of which there were several.  There were also canoes, paddle boarders and the occasional electric day boat which seemed to have no steerage!

[LizG]

Part 3

Following the trial run, we set off and our first night was spent at Talybont on Usk with a planned early start to get through Ashford Tunnel and the five Llangynidr locks.  We were lucky as we timed it right with a couple of boats going down and a lot of boats coming up.  As had been advised, the Beacon Park Boats would be coming up to Brecon and they were.  Instructions are that if going upstream, after travelling through the lock, the pound has to be emptied (unless a boat is coming down immediately) and the lower gates opened – this is because of the flow of water coming from the River Usk.  We managed to complete the locks in about 2 hours but coming back we spoke to other hirers who had had to wait a long time as four boats were going down and nothing coming back up!

 

The plan the second night was to get to Gilwern but this was too ambitious and we stopped at Llangattock.  This was where we encountered the first pubs either not doing food that night or fully booked so we ate onboard.  The next morning we set off to Gilwern and stopped at the first water point opposite the lime kilns.  Word of advice, the water pressure is non-existent and we gave up after 30 minutes!  There is another water point just before Bridge 103.  Bridge 103 is probably one of the scariest bridges I encountered as it is on the slope (even more than Wayford Bridge) and at the southern end has a water pipe going across even lower than the actual bridge!

 

 

 

 

[LizG]

Part 4

So we started our return back, stopping at Gilwern that night, with a walk up to the old Iron Works about the town in the morning.  We stopped again at Llangattock and had a very enjoyable meal at the Vine Tree on the outskirts of Crickhowell.  We made it through the Llangynidr locks on Thursday afternoon.  I was doing the steering for this section and the voluntary lockkeeper commented that he had seen I had done this before – to which I replied no this was my first time!! What I did understand was keeping the boat in control by gently reversing, and then going forward and then back!  We stopped overnight just above the locks and walked back down the canal to another local pubs for supper!

 

Again the Ashford Tunnel was quiet, we opened the electric bridge at Talybont and another of the lifting bridges which is manually operated and we made Cambrian Cruisers by the required time to go up to Brecon.  We first crossed the Brynich Aquaduct over the Usk and through the only other lock.  It was just as we were about to go over the Aquaduct we met the Brecon Trip boat about to turn in the winding hole just below the bridge.  We let the trip boat pass ahead of us and met it again in the Brecon Basin.  We agreed we would wait on our return at the lock to let them through which they appreciated.  Mooring just below the Aquaduct for our final night included a 1km walk into Groesfforrdd for a very enjoyable meal at the village pub which had the most amazing view of the Brecon Mountains!  Luckily it was still light when we walked back

(Picture 7 shows the marks of the tow ropes used to pull the boats along)

 

[LizG]

Part 5

Our final morning was the short stretch back to Cambrian Cruisers where we handed back the boat in glorious sunshine.  We had started in sunshine, but midweek it was quite cloudy, not terribly warm with the occasional late afternoon period of sunshine – the main thing was it NEVER RAINED.

 

We managed to break one glass, put a hole in the dustpan and pull the pole off the shower wall – the chip board was very soft!  We had two occasions when the toilets managed to ‘malfunction’ which involved a degree of manual clearance!  My only issue was that the beds (because the holding tanks are underneath) were for those of short stature very high.  It was a mammoth operation clambering up on the bed especially in the middle of the night and because this was a canal boat the double beds WERE NARROW!  I’m sure it would be possible to construct some kind of retractable step to help people climb up – I am used to Water Rail having high front cabin bunks but used to use a stool or a cold box but there wasn’t space to leave a permanent fitting in the walkway!

 

All in all a very enjoyable week, in an amazing landscape!  Would we do it again – that I can’t promise as my husband has said no!

[LizG]

Just some random photos including the Aquaduct and Brecon and the view from the pub window of the Brecon Beacons!

[RS2021]

Thank you for your account and the pictures. Its certainly whet our appetite for our trip next month. You'll have to work on your husband for a second trip!

I'd be interested in any specific pubs etc which we may need to book for or have varied opening at the moment.

[LizG]

2 hours ago, RS2021 said:

Thank you for your account and the pictures. Its certainly whet our appetite for our trip next month. You'll have to work on your husband for a second trip!

I'd be interested in any specific pubs etc which we may need to book for or have varied opening at the moment.

I'll pm tomorrow as I don't want to name and shame online

[YnysMon]

Loved the account Liz. Your complaint about the high bunks did tickle me though, having struggled slightly in Water Rail’s front cabin. 

[grendel]

I am 6'4" and still struggle to get up to the forward bunks in Water Rail, but she is lovely all the same, once in the bunk, its comfortable.

[LizG]

1 hour ago, grendel said:

I am 6'4" and still struggle to get up to the forward bunks in Water Rail, but she is lovely all the same, once in the bunk, its comfortable.

The starboard bunk in WR was originally much lower but father created a storage area underneath which is actually quite useful so I didn't get rid of the high bunk.  When I replaced/recovered the mattresses on the boat the mattress for that bunk was the original horse hair!  I tried to donate it to the Museum of the Broads but they didn't want it!   The port bunk was a 1960s addition when the 2 ring burner and grill and sink were removed and moved to the rear cabin.  I remember it took 30 minutes to boil a kettle!  Now of course it has to be high because the holding tank is underneath which was the same reason for the bunks on the canal boat being so high.

On the canal boat it also didn't help that my husband had elected to sleep on the outside so I had to climb over him as well!

[Broads01]

Thanks for sharing your take, Liz, very enjoyable. I live about an hour away from Brecon and I know a little of the area but I've not so far been boating there. I could be tempted now though.

When you were talking about going aground and using the pole, were you using it to lever yourself free? How easy was it to free yourselves?

[LizG]

1 hour ago, Broads01 said:

When you were talking about going aground and using the pole, were you using it to lever yourself free? How easy was it to free yourselves?

Yes from the bow, like a quant pole but into the bank. Usually worked well but then the stern might get stuck as the bow swung out. There was a shorter pole there. It was a question of getting the technique right to either just push off or also push forward!!! 😄

[Woodsie]

We've had a few trips along the Mon & Brec. We love it, it's beautiful and being on a hill there are some good views. We go with Beacon Park boats which are excellent.

We're trying the broads for a change thus April but I wouldn't be at all surprised if we weren't back on the M&B soon.

[Popeye]

Yep, I trailered the boat there many years ago. I had to book my holidays at the company I worked for in the previous October so I was a bit disappointed in the weather forecast when my break came. However I was much younger then and tough as old boots. I set off from home with the boat behind me and eventually crossed the Severn Bridge which was bucking like a bronco when I crossed it. It was closed soon after I crossed.

Time has erased the memory of the boatyard I used to slip the boat but it was around the middle of the canal. I was astounded by the beauty of the canal and travelled right from Brecon to Abergavenny, unfortunately it bucketed down with rain every day but being a bit philosophical I thought it was much better than being at work anyway. However, I spent the whole week dressed in waterproofs and welly boots!

I went into a pub in Tallybont and got talking to a local farmer who surprisingly was not Welsh and I remarked about the rain. Ah yes he remarked, we call it Tallybont sunshine around here. That said, the canal is well worth visiting for its beauty.

In the way back home I was delayed for a couple of hours as a lorry had been blown over on the Severn Bridge and when I went over it was still bucking like a bronco. Once again, I heard on the radio that the bridge had been closed after I went over.

Those were the days, I was young, fit and game for anything. Happy days and memories to treasure.