Dog proof stiles are a problem near Wheaton Aston

Last couple of days – Moored Lapley Wood

It is very quiet here.  But narrowboats are going by one after the other during the day, I am amazed that there are so many boats on the waterways now.  There are an awful lot more than there was three years ago when we were on the canal system in the summer.  The last two summers we have spent over in East Anglia, and for sure, next summer will more than likely see us over there again.

There were some days last summer that we never saw one boat all day, and I remember we didn’t see a boat for three days when we were moored on the River Lark!

Still we are here now, and to be honest I suppose I have got used to narrowboats passing continually, but we are moored in a very remote place.. it’s great for the dogs, Lucy and her friends Tilly and Buddy are spending the day out on the very wide and grassy towpath.. although going for walks is the highlight of their days at the moment.

Yesterday I spent the day in Stafford, catching the bus from the lovely village of Lapley straight to Stafford along the extremely narrow lanes.. full of pot holes too, and I had to hang on to the seats in front.. The bus drivers both ways scared me to death.. I don’t think I ever went that fast down single track country lanes at those speeds!

I managed a couple of hours out walking with the dogs when I got back last night, and today went on a five mile hike across the countryside testing out my troublesome legs.. things seem to be getting slowly better.  For sure, I still think it was a virus that I caught last Christmas that has made my legs struggle trying to get rid of lactic acid.. Anyway, we met this lot…

A gaggle of geese no less!.. and there were more, this is about half of them!  Lucy is pinging the stiles now after her terrible accident in May 2006, and Buddy has learned how to scramble over, but Tilly.. nope, and she weighs a ton.. a big choc lab she is.  Could she jump stiles, nope.. she couldn’t even think how to get over them.  Most today were stock proof stiles with no way for dogs to get through.  I do wish the farmers would make provisions like some do with a little lift up bit of wood to poke your dog through. So I had to lift her up and over.  To be honest I don’t know how I managed to do it, but I think it was a matter of having to!.. The result of these non-friendly dog stiles is that the footpaths are not well walked in this area, here you can see the path that I need to take across this corn field.. the path is towards that white speck (a dove cote) at the end of the hedge to the left of the house.  No path in fact, just a virgin walk through the corn..

Farmers are suppose to leave a one metre path through corn or other planted fields for public footpaths, but seemingly because no-one walks them, or people are deterred from walking them (dog proof stiles) then they don’t bother. 

We are going to have to move soon I suppose because we need water.. pity, I like it here..