Through Market Drayton and Tyrley to Knighton

Mon and Tues – Adderley to Knighton, Shropshire Union Canal, 10 miles 10 locks

Two glorious October days when the sun shines, the days are warm and autumn is put on hold.  The trees stopped turning brown for a while and my flowers on the roof refuse to give up even though they have had two frosts to tell them their time is over. 

I have seen some fabulous birds this last couple of days too, the birds are scurrying around like the squirrels, getting the last of the food from the trees while they can.. A yellowhammer, green woodpecker and a buzzard as we went through one of the big Shropshire Union cuttings, Woodseaves today.  I thought I would have the most perfect pic to show you today, but just as I picked up the camera for a close up of the buzzard, the batteries ran out!!

Anyway I got a quickie which I will put in the album later, but by then we had gone by him and he was facing the other way.

The Woodseaves cutting is notorious for these buzzards…

The cutting is awesome.  Cut out of pure rock by men without any machines.. the stone and earth taken from this made up the huge embankments on this canal.

Well anyway.. Meg had her jabs yesterday along with her microchip.  I was pleased that the vet checked that she didn’t already have one first.. at least they are checking dogs to make sure they have not been stolen, too much of that going on at the moment.  He gave her a once over as well and pronounced her fit and well. 

She is enjoying canal life very much, there is so much to learn.. she learned about top lock gates yesterday, and is now proficient at getting from one side of a lock to another, and today she learned about chain saws and gangplanks.. she was more scared of the gangplank.. but after a couple of goes very slowly and carefully up and down she was soon running the plank!

Today too was her first day on the towpath without me.. Just a couple of bridges.. tentative at first looking at me on No Problem wondering why I wasn’t around, then away, like she had been doing it all her life.. soon be time for her to earn her red spotted neckerchief!

For sure Lucy has a soft spot for her, and Meg copies everything Lucy does.. she is enjoying life very much.

We managed to get some more wood today from the offside of the canal.  We have found this fire excellent, and it is not using as much coal as we thought beings it is a larger fire than in our other boat.  Sometimes it is too warm!

The market in Market Drayton is fantastic.. I visited this morning and got some fresh vegetables before we set off.. probably one of the best markets I have ever been to.. I was surprised though to see one market trader selling golliwogs!  I was very tempted! I used to love those when I was small.

Talking about tempted.. I am very tempted to stay here for a couple of days it is so very, very quiet, and the walks are superb .. but we are due at Norbury Junction Boat Yard on Friday for some work to be done and Gnosall at the weekend so I can visit the dentist in Stafford directly from there by bus .. I just might put that boatyard off, then all I have to do is to find some transport to the dentist at Stafford on Monday from here… Ho Hum wishful thinking.