Lucy loves Over The Bridge at Betton Coppice

Bottom of Tryley Locks to Bottom of Adderley Locks, Shropshire Union Canal, 4.5 miles 5 locks

Pins pulled and onward through Market Drayton this morning stopping just past the visitor moorings for water.  Here is the main base for the Challengers..

Here they all are.  These are share boats where there are probably 12 owners who have set weeks of the year cruising.. I think it works out cheaper in the long run than hiring a narrowboat, but they wouldn’t get their choice of weeks aboard very often over the years.

We stopped at Victoria Wharf Boatyard at bridge 65 and filled with diesel at 43.9p a litre, and bought a couple of bags of coal, welsh nuts, at £6.25 a bag.. that didn’t sound too bad.  We do hope to pick up some wood soon, and while we were at Market Drayton we took the chainsaw into the garden machine centre for its yearly service just behind Wilkinsons and Woolies where they checked it out while we waited.

Normally we get “Yeah we can look at it for you in about 2 weeks time”.. these people were very understanding that we lived on a canal narrowboat and needed it doing NOW.. “Yeah bring it in and we will service it while you wait”.. great stuff!

So now we are on the lookout for wood!

Mind you there isn’t any room on the roof at the moment, the flowers are still going strong, I am very loathed to plant them out on, or near the towpath as I normally do come late August ready for the winter pansies.. they are still going strong as you can see from some of the pics.

Lucy enjoyed trotting along the towpath today, and the one command she loves the most is “Over the Bridge Lucy”..

Whoosh, so fast she goes, she is too fast for the camera to focus even!  This is a turnover bridge where the towpath swaps from one side of the canal to the other.. she loves to beat us through the bridge hole.. giving us a “Nah nah beat ya”  look as she emerges on the other side of the canal..

Once Lucy has done a turnover bridge just the one time she will always remember it next time she visits even if it is years ahead.  There are a few turnover bridges that now have main roads where she cannot get over, and she knows to get on the boat at the bridge before them even if I forget to call her!

The Adderley flight of five locks was very very quiet today, I guess we got there about 12.30, and we only met one boat on the way down.. funnily enough it was Inheritance skippered by one of my blog readers.. we passed in one of the short pounds, and unfortunately I did not get a name.. but it is always nice to meet one of my readers..

The more and more I am doing of this canal the more I like it.. I have not been on this canal since the 70’s.. and then I was doing the ring so not really taking as much time to enjoy as I am now.. The Adderley locks is a lovely, lovely flight of locks, and down at the bottom are some moorings with rings no less..

Of course not only do I skipper No Problem but I also do some chores too..

Well wash day is wash day whether you live in a house or live on a narrowboat!