Norbury

(No signal last night so uploaded on Saturday)

We were promised rain today but at least it held off until mid afternoon. However we did still have the strong, cold wind. Yesterday's wind had brought down several trees across the Shropshire Union and an overnight message from CRT reported that the canal at Bridge 29 was blocked until that tree could be removed.

Before going very far we moved across the canal to Oxley Marine to fill up with diesel. The pleasant young lad who served us last autumn was again on duty today.

Autherley Stop Lock

Once we were off we almost immediately turned left at Autherley Junction onto the Shropshire Union, famous for its long straight route with many steep cuttings and huge embankments. But first there is the stop lock designed to control the flow of water between the two canals.

The Shropshire Union canal Society is well-respected for the work which it does to enhance and maintain canal facilities especially moorings. Also there are clear distance posts every mile which are distinctive of this canal.

The tree-lined cuttings are especially good looking at this time - there is plenty of greenery but the leaves are not so thick that they obscure the light (sunlight if we ever have any!).

Avenue Bridge

Because of the deep cuttings, many of the bridges are quite high and dramatic. Avenue Bridge carries a long tree-lined drive as part of the Chillington Hall estate, home to the Giffard family - more about them in a moment. No doubt they were promised a grand bridge in return for helping the canal builders gain permission for this route.

We decided that this time we had enough time to stop off along the way - several villages are supposed to be worth visiting. Consequently, we pulled in at the good visitor moorings in Brewood and walked into the village - just a short distance.

It indeed seems a very pleasant and active village - it even has a Civic Society!

We paid a visit to the parish church. Although it dates back 800 years, it has been heavily restored over the generations and much of the present building dates back to the 19C.

Giffard Tomb

Four large tombs are memorials to some of the more famous Giffards - who came to prominence in the time of Henry VIII, serving in the Royal Household. The tombs depict both wives as well as his many children including those that did not survive, shown in shrouds. Another memorial, in the form of a wall plaque, shows two generations of another family.

We picked up a few items from the shops including a pork pie and loaf of bread from a deli. They soon became part of our lunch - delicious!

Stretton Aqueduct

Back at the boat we set off once more. We crossed then short Stretton Aqueduct which carries the canal over the former Roman road: Watling Street, now the A5. At this point this is no longer the major road that it once was, the traffic now preferring the motorways.

At one of the boatyards along the canal a rather unusual design of hull is ready to be fitted out. Definitely not traditional lines!

Old sailing ships often had figureheads to decorate the bows. Not sure what this boat owner has in mind!

We have not seen very many primroses this year but the wooded banks here had many thriving clumps well into flower.

A striking stretch of tree trunks.

Wheaton Aston Lock

The sun was still shining as we reached the solitary Wheaton Aston lock - the only change in level between the initial stop lock and the Tyrley flight just before Market Drayton, some 25 miles. This is a tribute to the surveyors of the route and the determination of the 'navigators' who created the cuttings and embankments. Although they probably cost more than building locks, the aim was to enable traffic to pass as efficiently as possible.

We saw several kingfishers - one stayed still on a branch just long enough to get a picture.

It was raining by the time we arrived at Bridge 29 and moored behind a line of other boats, some of which had been waiting for some hours whilst the tree was cut up and cleared away. We were more fortunate - arriving in time to see the last of the action but not significantly delayed. Soon after removing this final section of the trunk the navigation was re-opened.

Cowley Tunnel

The short Cowley Tunnel is carved out of solid rock which no doubt explains why the steep cutting turns into a tunnel for this 81 yards.

Tunnel Approach

By now the promised rain was rather miserable - cold with it! We might have gone further but the promise of a fire in the stove led us to decide to pull in for the night just after Norbury Junction.

Later, Christine took some shots of the sunset:

16.2 miles - 2 locks