This year has been a catalogue of changed plans on the cut due to all the stoppages and maintenance restrictions where we were cruising.

Issues with Bosley and Marple Locks on the Macclesfield Canal, plus Lock 57 on the Trent and Mersey Canal meant we spent a couple of weeks going around in circles, eventually retreating to the beauty of the Peak Forest Canal for a couple of months over the summer.

We wanted to head for the Skipton area on the Leeds-Liverpool Canal this winter, but with the Wigan flight out of action until the end of October, we decided to head for the delights of Nantwich for a few days.

It was only after we'd gone through Wardle Lock on the Middlewich Branch that we spotted it was due to close on November 6th which would mean a bit of a rush to get to Nantwich and onward to Blackburn because of yet more closures!

Navigating the canal system takes a lot of concentration at times.

To maintain a more relaxed approach to life, we decided to head for the Llangollen Canal; we'd been here last year in May which was very busy, so we thought the autumn/winter would show us the area from a different perspective.

As we headed towards Chirk, the trees really began to show their glorious autumn colours and there were very few boats around.

We spent a few days in Whitchurch, Ellesmere and Llangollen Basin and did an early morning yoga session at the top of the Mammoth Tower viewing platform near Whixall!

We're so pleased we decided to take a detour into Wales and are looking forward to seeing where our next adventure will take us.