I have many attempted photos of kingfishers. Most are just a blur of blue or orange; some are of nothing more than the bush or tree where the kingfisher had been just seconds before. But on Wednesday on the Shroppie, a kingfisher surprised us by staying put as we went past. By the time we'd scrabbled around for the camera we were a little way past, but Adrian still managed to get this shot (which I've heavily cropped). It's by far the best kingfisher shot we've managed so far.
We were held up for about 20 minutes at Bridge 52, where there's major work going on because of a leak in the embankment. The workmen asked us to moor up, but being unable to get into the side, we went alongside one of the boats moored on the offside. Looking at the stoppages, we were lucky not to be delayed for much longer, as starting tomorrow the navigation is closed between 8am and 1pm and 2pm and 4pm.
We arrived back at Norbury Wharf just after 1pm. Adrian had made use of the long lock-free stretch by starting the packing and cleaning. Once we'd moored up, we went to the Junction Inn for lunch, then finished up on the boat. Shortly before we left, we spotted Lazydays coming past, and had a quick chat with Alan and Frances. We've been using a roof-mounted magnetic antenna for our mobile broadband dongle, as tested and approved by Alan (although I note he's now moved onto something involving a pole!) It does seem to improve the signal strength, except where there's no signal at all. We packed the car, and were away from Norbury at about 3pm. The journey home took just under four hours, much of it in very wet weather.
I love winter boating, and this morning was one of the best. We woke to a sharp frost, and the most amazing red sky. Had I been a shepherd, I'd have been worried (although there had also been a red sky last night). The ropes were frozen solid, which made getting under way a bit of a challenge, but the canal was free from ice, presumably because there's such a flow on the Shroppie.
We set off at 8.30, and were soon up the first three locks at Audlem and on the water point at the Shroppie Fly. While I dealt with the water and rubbish, Adrian went shopping, visiting the deli, the Co-op, and Boots. We set off again at 10.15, and took just under two hours to do the remaining 12 locks. We passed a boat coming down, and almost caught up with a boat ahead of us going up. The locks with a top gate paddle fill in no time, while the ones without takes ages. We stopped at the beautiful moorings above the top lock for lunch, then set off again at 1pm. The five Adderley locks took just forty minutes. Four of them were in our favour, while one was inexplicably completely full. It was much colder after lunch, with a bit of a breeze from the south.
We moored at Market Drayton, just beyond Bridge 62, where there are rings but they're just slightly too close together. We had tea and mince pies from Audlem, warmed through on the top of the stove. The forecast is for rain overnight, with another fine day tomorrow. That will do fine.
We carried on to Barbridge Junction, which we've passed several times by road on the way to my sister's, where we winded.
Most of the locks were in our favour, so we did the first twelve locks in an hour and 45 minutes. It's a very pleasant flight, which reminded us in many ways of the Stockton Flight on the Grand Union. They're both down through cuttings, and have a similar feel. We moored up at the water point outside the Shroppie Fly, and had lunch while the tank filled.
We then walked the boat back on to the (empty) visitor moorings, had a walk round the town and visited Audlem Mill. We set off again just before 2pm, and completed the final three locks. A boat had just come up, so they were largely full. We passed a massive new marina and moored up at 3pm at Coole Pilate, a lovely spot made even better by the sunshine. Even though we have full Vodafone signal on our phones, there's no 3 internet! Roasted a chicken on board, followed by home made apple crumble.
As we'd had breakfast so early, we stopped at about 11.45 and made an early lunch of soup and bread just beyond bridge 48. We were on our way again at 12.30, and made fairly slow progress thanks to all the moored boats along this canal. We saw only a couple of moving boats, and even the towpath was quiet until we reached the locks at Tyrley. Most of the locks were partially epty, with some of them almot fully empty. Even so, we were down the 5 in around 50 minutes.
First stop last Friday was the Queen's Head at the bottom of the Tardebigge Flight, for lunch, which turned out to be very good. When the website says the canal is only a metre away, it's telling the truth. After lunch, we set off up the flight, the first lock being just round the corner.
I like the big chunky cogs on the paddle gear on this flight.
We did Tardebigge on a hire boat about ten years ago, but neither of us could remember much about it, except that we got up it much faster than expected. I have vague recollections of the reservoir, which feeds the canal about two thirds of the way up the flight. But the top lock in particular came as a bit of a surprise, as it was nothing like my memory of it. I remember it being deep, which it is, but everything else seemed new to me.
Just along from the top lock, on the offside, is the plaque to mark the meeting between
Further along is a little basin, which in the days when our Pearson's was printed was home to a hire fleet. No longer. It's a very nice spot though, and I'm sure that had the flight not been closed for winter works, the visitor moorings would have been much fuller.
The tunnel was another surprise, something else we couldn't remember at all.
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