Wednesday 13th
That fog this morning delayed us leaving. At one point even the boat in front disappeared into the mist and we didn't think travelling in those conditions advisable.
By mid morning it lifted sufficiently for us to get going and we said our farewells to Mal
Saw the first ducklings today although reading other blogs these are by no means the first. This one was by itself with no sign of mum.
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| But these had mum looking out for them |
Having travelled along dead straight bits where we could get a move on, there were also plenty of moored boats and fisherman to slow us right down. We eventually arrived at Woodseaves cutting I and was a bit baffled by the towpath closure and the red chute coming down from the bridge.
Never did find out what the chute was for but noticed in the distance C&RT at work. Seems some work has been done on the offside and the towpath looked decent. Far cry from the rest of the Shroppie which has more mud then grass and even the cyclists get off to walk. Hmmm, shall we coat all the towpaths in mud?
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| Stabilising the bank and adding drainage pipes. |
We crept ever closer to the man and machine and, wait....what's that in the water sporting a nice pair of fashion gloves?
"What an awful job you've got" we shouted to him. "This is the best job" shouts he back. "The water's nice and warm and I would much rather be doing this than manual labour" I should have asked him what exactly he was doing but the banter was going to and fro between him and the other men and I completely forgot. Anyway the path was being laid with gravel and the banks were being contained, much better now as everyone who has travelled this way in the past will remember the wet thick mud that coated the whole cutting.
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| This was what it was like in the past |
Tyrley locks were coming up and again we had a volunteer lock lady on duty. She got us down in no time even though I had to wait for a plastic cruiser to exit from the second lock. He very nearly got hung up by one of his huge balloon fender. The fender was ripped clean off and Ian had to rescue it and then take it on to the next lock for him. It's something we never do, travel with fenders down just in case.
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| Think I have already taken a photo of this but hey ho, here it is again. |
And on our journey,
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| No piglets yet |
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| No wind so the reflections were lovely |
And wildlife
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| Yep that is a fish in the Moorhen's beak |
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| Even the ducks love digging in the mud |
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| And another Kingfisher. There are loads on the Shroppie |
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| This mooring belt makes a good perch |
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| Cormorant |
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| Jay |
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| Gathering nesting material |
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