Audlem

Christine has a plan which involves us getting to Audlem by the end of today - so that we can go to church in the village tomorrow morning. Our trip plan suggested that we would have allowed at least an extra half day if not more but, hey ho, let's give it a try. As a result we set the alarm for 7 and Mike set off rather earlier than is our normal schedule!

The day started cold, overcast and, when not sheltered by trees or cuttings, rather windy as well. But at least it was dry - for now.

Soon after getting underway we came up to a heron standing on the towpath edge. As we reached it, it took off, flew down the canal for about 100m and then landed back on the towpath. This was repeated three times after which it flew high above the trees and back behind us. Presumably it had come to the end of its 'patch'. We saw a number of herons during the morning all doing the same thing. Mike made many attempts to take a photo as one of them lifted off and this is about the best of the bunch! Although we have seen this behaviour before, what we had not noticed is that as the heron flaps its wings in flight, its body goes up and down as well as the wings. (Newton's Laws of Motion?)

In one of many deep cuttings we approached a high bridge - this one is the much photographed one with a telegraph pole still preserved in the middle.

Shebdon Embankment

We crossed the enormous Shebdon Embankment - although the thickness of the trees meant that we could not really see how high we really were above the surrounding countryside. bearing in mind the problems with the embankment at Dutton over the winter, it was comforting to see the substantial piling here. An large investment some time in the past but no doubt worth it.

Knighton Factory Wharf

At the end of the embankment is the Knighton Dairy Factory - the wharf is no longer used but the factory is still operational. It was founded in 1911 and details can be found here.

At either end of most of the embankments is a stop gate which can be used in the event of a breach to restrict the amount of water that is lost.

For a short while we could see some of the Wrekin in the distance. (Originally called them Welsh, but Adam from nb Briar Rose corrected me)

We now entered Woodseaves Cutting - one of the more notorious for rock and earth falls. Here is where one more recent extensive fall has been stabilised. Further along there were many places where recent falls have taken place, fortunately not causing any injury or blocking the towpath or navigation.

The height of the bridges indicates the extent of the problems - it is clear that the original construction was very optimistic about soil mechanics - unlikely that modern calculations would support the design! However, given the amount of sheer manpower involved in this work it is no wonder that some corners were cut in order to contain costs.

Tyrley Top Lock

As we arrived at the first locks for some distance - Tyrley Locks - rain arrived! The bottom two of the five are also cut out of a rock cutting, making them very dark and mysterious!

Tyrley Bottom Lock

We stopped at the water point in Market Drayton. Whilst Mike filled up the tank, Christine went into town for a newspaper and a few other items. It is a bit further than she had remembered and less attractive! Nevertheless, she returned successful but rather wet as a heavy shower arrived just in time to make sure she was soaked!

We have heard about this chap on one of the canal online forums - he is raising money for the Macmillan charity.

Another flight of five locks came next - as can be seen, there were some bright spells and we anticipated a pleasant time through these. But, alas, some very heavy rain changed all that before we reached the bottom and Mike glimpsed a flash of lightning in the distance.

Audlem Top Lock

The final flight of the day was that at Audlem - we would not do all of the fifteen, hopefully, as we planned on mooring after the first 11. The cottage at the top lock had a cake stall and we bought a couple of small packs - the Bakewell tart went down well with our tea as soon as we moored.

There was now some sunshine and it was warm enough at Lock 4 for Christine to do a bit sunbathing as we waited for a boat to come through the next lock.

Almost as soon as started to feel the warmth a very sudden shower arrived which quickly turned into rather sharp hail for a few minutes. Quite unpleasant.

 

Equally remarkable is this scene just a couple of locks later when sunshine once more returned and most of the rest of the afternoon was quite pleasant.

As we hoped, there was room on the visitor moorings just above the main bridge in the centre of Audlem.

16.0 miles - 21 locks