Canal Capers

I am delighted to announce that Kirkoswald achieved Silver Gilt in the Britain in Bloom Awards.The Artful Garden was described in the report as 'very innovative and interesting' I feel very honoured by this accolade.

These last two weeks I have been on a narrowboat on the Four Counties Ring covering the counties of Cheshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire and the West Midlands. 109 miles and 99 locks. It was a wonderful holiday being so close to nature and the slow pace of travel allows you to see the countryside in detail.

Narrowboats come in different lengths and some are personalised.

A motorway of canal boats

I love the toadstool storage containers, why be functional when you can be creative?

Pause for Jaws and look at the reflection in the water

 An example of an old puffer boat.

This old steam engine has been restored

Steam power replaced horse power on the working canals

Here is an example entering an empty lock with one set of the lock gates open. 

Locks vary in depth some are as deep as 12 foot. 

The towpath has it's own bridge alongside the lock

Harecastle Tunnel is dog leg shaped and the water is tinted orange by the ironstone in the rock. Boats are timetable as the tunnel is so narrow boats can only travel in one direction.

Entrance to the tunnel with the barrier which is only raised as a boat appears

Exit from the tunnel 

Bridges come in all shapes and sizes and they are often very narrow in width and quite challenging when trying to navigate as the towpath moves from side to side and they are only a couple of feet wider than a narrowboat. All the bridges have a number. On some bridges you can see the rope marks left from when horses were used to tow the narrowboats.

What's my number? The first bridge on the Shroppie' the Shropshire Union Canal

A bridge leading directly into a lock. You can just see the rope grooves on the right handside of the bridge. 

Wonderful contours on the bridge at Autherley Junction

This beautiful bridge is on the Shugborough Estate

Not many bridges have railings

A tunnel through the rock

This is one of the highest bridges on the Shroppie and the bridge was made high as it was built on the Chillingham Estate

Milestones appear at intervals to help you calculate your distances. 

The are not nautical miles

We travelled over several aqueducts.

A damp misty morning

It is fascinating to look at the gardens that border the canal. Many people seem to have a different idea about a waterside residence.

Let's party or at least chillax

We saw herons pausing on the canal bank that took flight as the boat got near.

Grey heron

Nature is often replicated.

Like a bird on a wire

Mute swans with cygnets just changing their feathers from dirty brown to brilliant white would come gliding near the boat when you moored. They appeared at the kitchen window hoping for some food. They are beautiful graceful birds with large orange feet and powerful orange/yellow beaks.

Do you think I am just swanning around?

We also saw some Canada geese.

Goosy goosy gander wither shall I wander

Elephant grass is grown along the Trent and Mersey canal.  It is dried then cut for fuel.

Ginormous grass with no elephant in sight

This wagon is decorated by a Winnie the Pooh fan.

Is the driver's name Christopher Robin?

This horse was made from redundant canal gates and beams, what a powerful sculpture.

Stunning and original

These horses are made from driftwood I would love to have a garden big enough to have one grazing on my lawn. 

No horsing around here these are thoroughbreds