The Wrekin
Bright sunshine AGAIN this morning! We moved off fairly early with the aim of reaching a point a few miles north of Wolverhampton by nightfall. Fairly soon we could see the Wrekin in the distance across rural Shropshire countryside.
Tradidtional narrowboats at an old wharf
Monkeys for Luis!
We passed this moored boat with its windows full of PG Tips monkeys, which should be a treat for Luis.
The beautiful Shropshire Union Canal
Rope cuts on the side of a bridge
You see these marks all over the canal network, but they are particularly clear on this canal where metal protectors have been fitted to the bridges. The ropes between a horse on the towpath and the barge it was pulling, would rub against the bridge as the horse walked around the bridge, leaving deep grooves in the stone or metal.
An intriguing bridge
A cute white duck
We meet NB Chance again
We met up with James and Doug on Chance in Market Harborough many weeks ago. Today, we saw James and friends as we passed through Gnosall on the other side of the country. After a chat, as the two boats drifted precariously between the lines of moored boats, we went off in opposite directions again.
Gnosall
We stopped in Gnosall for lunch and to get some more bread - Angela had thrown all of ours into the canal! We walked some distance to a local store where we paid an exhobitant amount for a loaf, destined to go down the throats of the various waterfowl we will meet over the next 24 hours!
A tunnel hewn from solid rock
A cutting that was once part of the tunnel above, before it collapsed!
A turnover bridge
Another brief lesson... This is a turnover bridge, which was constructed so that a horse towing a barge could cross the river when the towpatch switched sides, without having to unhitch from the barge - simple but clever eh?
Another heron
Watling Street from an aqueduct
The aqueduct over Watling Street
An elaborate bridge in the middle of nowhere
Tonights tranquil mooring
We reached Brewood, our target for the day, and headed on to find moorings in the country. The banks of this canal are frequently extremely shallow making mooring impossible in many places. After a couple of attempts resulting in grounding, we managed to get alongside the bank and moor up in this quiet spot. Tomorrow we will reach the end of the Shropshire Union Canal - a bit sad as this has been one of the most picturesque and well maintained canals we have come across.
Ahoy!Ahoy! Ahoy! Captain's Dashwood & Clark!
ReplyDeleteWell, we are loving the Shropshire Union Canal. Very picturesque! We can see why you feel sad that it has come to an end. The photos as always are superb. You are certainly making some progress as you head southwards.
I see you found some PG Tips monkeys....any chance you could find a Lizard for Andy...he loves them.
Happy travelling & keep eating the Fish Fingers..they are good for Captain's you know!
Take care,
Love Lorraine & Andy xxxx