Norbury Junction to Gnosall (Shropshire Union Canal)

It was another dry day and quite sunny as we set off along the canal.  We stopped at the water point and filled up and then we went on our way.

Old Buildings at Norbury Junction

Passing Moored Boats at Norbury

There are quite a few moored boats at Norbury so we chugged past them and then came to Shelmore Enbankment which is a mile long and there are flood gates at each end in case of a breach.  These gates were closed each night during World War II as a precaution against bombing.

Shelmore Enbankment

We went under the old Railway Bridge and came to the moorings at Gnosall where there were fishermen.  One of them said to me are you coming in for water and I said no, we are going to moor and he said get under the bridge where there are more moorings, I said no we want to moor this side, well he went off on one saying to Kev we were here first and if we are first, you can’t moor, Kev said well you can share the space with us like we have to with you.  The other two fisherman a bit further up were fine and we went in between them.  One of them said to me don’t worry about him, just punch him and he will run off and then laughed, he said he is always grumpy, then we had a nice chat with him, good job some of the fisherman are nice and friendly.

Going under Railway Bridge

We moored up then went up onto the bridge and got the bus to Stafford which is a short bus ride away.  We had a walk around the shops and got a few things and then went to The Soup Kitchen for lunch, it is a really nice café and they make all their own pies, bread, cakes and scones.

Now that's a Pie Crust!

Kev had the pie and it was really nice, then we finished with scones with jam and cream and they were so nice.  We then had another walk around the shops, then got the bus back to Gnosall and back to the boat.

The Soup Kitchen

We are now staying around here as on Monday I start work in Bristol and will be staying with Davina again in the week and coming back at the weekends.  We have decided to have a change this year and not go back to the Gloucester & Sharpness canal but stay up around here and see what a Winter on the narrow canals is like.  There are a few villages on this stretch and also on the Staffordshire & Worcestershire canal which this one joins where I can get a bus to Stafford to get the train to Bristol or a bus to Wolverhampton and a train from there.

Kev will chug around up here in the week or sometimes stay put for a few days.  We have had a great trip this year and now it’s back to work for me and jobs on the boat for Kev.  This will be our last post for a while but we will post from time to time so you can all see how we are getting on.

Thanks again for following us, it makes doing this worth while when we know our friends and family enjoy seeing what we are up to, we will be back travelling the canals and rivers next year and hope you follow us then.

Sheila & Kev

Moored at Gnosall

High Offley to Norbury Junction (Shropshire Union Canal)

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I couldn't post yesterday as we had no signal, one of the few places we have moored, so here is yesterday's post.

Friday 27th October

Very  Foggy this Morning

The Anchor |Pub

Going through Grub Street Cutting

Off we go into the Fog

We are on the move today but when we woke up, it was really foggy so we decided to wait until it had burned away a bit until we moved on.  I went outside to take a picture of the foggy canal and I saw what I thought was fog coming out of the hedge, then I saw some small flames so I shouted to Kev and we went out and the hedge just along us was on fire, some idiot had come along and put hot ashes all along the hedge, Kev put it  out with water from the canal but some of the bushes were burnt, we couldn’t really understand who did this as we were the only boat moored there, there was a boat under the bridge but it seemed too much ash for one fire from a boat, it looked like a wheel barrow full at least, there is a house on the other side and Kev asked them if they had seen anything, but the gardener said she heard crackling but thought it was in the farmer’s field.  

Sun Peeking Through

High Bridge

We saw the lady from that house in the field walking here dogs before we noticed the fire, and you would have thought she would have seen it, but if she did, she didn’t do anything about it,  it was all a bit of a mystery and to think they did it while we were moored there, really irresponsible.  We did report it to Canal & River Trust so it would be on record.

The fog lifted a bit so we set off on our way past the Anchor pub which is an old pub, more like a house, really quite quaint, we only have a couple of miles to do today to get to Norbury Junction.

We chugged through Grub Street Cutting and under High Bridge, which has a masonry strut carrying a short telegraph pole built across its tall arch.

The Junction Inn

Cafe at Norbury Junction

We went on and soon came to Norbury Junction where we moored up.  There is a nice pub on the Junction so we went there for lunch and sat outside in the sun as it turned out to be a glorious sunny day once the fog went.  We then had a walk along the towpath and then had a coffee in the café which is opposite the pub.

We are staying here tonight, then off tomorrow to Gnosall which is a couple of miles away.

Moored at Norbury Junction

Goldstone Wharf to High Offley (Shropshire Union Canal)

Lunch with Sheila & Tony

My Scampi Lunch

Huge Ploughmans

Shebdon Enbankment

Yesterday (Wednesday), we stayed put and at lunch time we met Sheila & Tony in the Wharf Tavern, the pub we were moored opposite.  They are our friends from Audlem.  We had a lovely lunch as the food is always really good there, Kev and Tony had the Ploughmans which is enormous and I had the home-made Scampi and Sheila had the Lasagne.  After lunch, they came back to our boat for a coffee with their dog Brock who was in the car.  We had a great time with them, lots of laughs and fun, it was so lovely they came to meet us and we will look forward to meeting up with them again.

Passing Bethsaida Covers

Lots of Moored Boats

Today, we are on the move,

Church at High Offley

Great Views

no Sun, but at least it was dry as we set off along the canal and soon we were going along Shebdon Enbankment which is a very straight bit of the canal and past Tony at Bethsaida Covers, where we stopped last time to get some repairs done on our covers.

We chugged on along the canal and on this stretch there are many moored boats, as far as the eye can see.

The Wrekin in the Distance

Now that is big!

We moored at High Offley just before the Anchor pub.  Just before we got here, we picked up a log on the front of the boat, I tried to move it off as we were going along but I couldn't, so when we moored up, Kev got it out of the water and my goodness it was huge, no wonder I couldn't shift it and Kev said he could feel at the back when we were going along, we are always picking up small branches and reeds on the front as we go along, but this is the biggest!

View from the Bridge

We had lunch, then went out for a walk as there are a few caches in this area.  We walked up the lane and came to the Church which is really nice and it was open so we went inside and had a look around.  The views from the Church Yard are lovely you can see for miles as it is up on a hill.  We then walked on down the road and then on a footpath through a field and back down some more lanes and eventually came back to the canal and along the towpath back to the boat, it was a about a 3 mile circular walk.

We are staying here tonight then off to Norbury Junction tomorrow.

Moored at High Offley

Tyrley Wharf to Goldstone Wharf (Shropshire Union Canal)

Coming to Woodeaves Cutting

Into the Cutting we go

We are moving a couple of miles today to Goldstone Wharf where there is a really nice pub called the Wharf Tavern and we are meeting our friends from Audlem Sheila and Tony there for lunch on Wednesday, so looking forward to that.

It was really dull and overcast as we set off and spitting with rain.  We chugged on along the canal and soon came to Woodeaves Cutting.

Woodseaves Cutting which is about 70ft deep and a mile long and was cut out from the rock entirely by men without powered machines.  

Breathe In!

Tall Bridges here

Solid Rock Sides

Coming to the end of the cutting

It is lovely and really impressive but is very narrow in places and the sides are very rocky so not ideal to meet another boat coming the other way.  There are also a couple of really high bridges.  We saw a kingfisher while we were chugging through but he was too quick for a photo!

Milestone Marker

We met one boat coming the other way, but fortunately we had room to pass so we went on our way and soon we were out of the cutting and then came to Goldstone Wharf where we moored up opposite the pub.

Community Shop

We had lunch then went out for a walk along the towpath as there were a few caches along there and then we walked up over the bridge and up into the village of Cheswardine.    There is a mile stone in the village and also a Community Shop and a nice Church.

Church in Cheswardine

Wharf Tavern

We walked up by the Church and into the nearby woods to find our last cache of the day and we were lucky with this one, we found it after a bit of a search.  We then walked  back down the road and unfortunately for us it started raining, the spitty stuff but it did ease off and then we were back at Goldstone Wharf and the boat, it was a nice circular walk about 3 miles.

We are staying here tonight and also tomorrow to meet Sheila and Tony in the pub for our lunch and then we will move on Thursday.

Moored at Goldstone Wharf

Market Drayton to Tyrley Wharf (Shropshire Union Canal)

We had a nice weekend in Market Drayton just chilling out and having a walk around the shops but today we are moving on.

And off we go

Coming to Tyrley Locks

Coming into Tyrley Bottom Lock

Passing a Boat in the locks

We left our mooring and headed under the bridge leaving Market Drayton behind us.  There are quite a few boats still around and most of them are hire boats but I suppose that is because it is half term.  We headed along a very wooded bit with lots of leaves in the water and on the towpath and after about a mile, we came to Tyrley locks which is a set of five.

Coming into Tyrley Top Lock

The first one was set for us, so I went up and opened the gates and Kev brought the boat in, these locks have quite fierce by washes so Kev gave it a bit of welly and came into the lock okay.

And on up the locks we go

We worked our way up the locks, they are in a lovely setting and there were a few boats coming down so that made our life easy.

We got to the top lock and there were three boats waiting to come down, they all seem to be going the opposite way to us today.  At the top of the locks is Tyrley Wharf and we moored in the visitor moorings there.

Tyrley Top Lock and Wharf

Sign on House at Tyrley Wharf

We had our lunch then went out for a walk as there are a few caches on the locks so we walked down and managed to find all three. One of them was actually in the lock beam and there was a boat coming through, so we helped in open the gates and I quickly found it, signed the log and replaced it while Kev kept the man talking.

Church in the Woods

Cute Little Boat

We then walked back up the locks and out onto the lane as there was a cache up there by the very small church in the woods which is apparently only used on the fourth Sunday of the month, it looked a bit run down so not sure it is used at all now. 

Heron under the Bridge

The cache was in a wood by the church and apparently the new owner doesn’t want people on his property so he has put up barbed wire and private property notices, there is a public footpath going through his property but doesn’t go the way of the cache so we didn’t want to risk being shouted at or even shot, so we gave that one a miss and walked up to the main road where there is a pub, but unfortunately we didn’t take any money with us, so we will save that one for another day.

We walked back to the boat and did another cache the other way along the towpath but couldn’t find that one.  There is a cute little narrowboat in the long term moorings, compact and bijou!

We are staying here tonight then off again in the morning unless the forecast is correct with the heavy rain and then we shall stay put and move on Wednesday, we shall see! 

Moored at Tyrley Wharf