Boats galore as we wait outside Braunston

Moored Bridge 103 Grand Union Canal

The BBQ is on the go, so a moment to write the blog.. what a glorious day!

But yesterday I got a soaking as I chose the wrong moment to take Lucy and Meg for a walk, and came back looking like a drowned rat! 

It was nice to see Adam and Adrian who have a part ownership in Debdale who’s blog is one that I like to follow.  It always brings a smile to my face when I catch my eye on Debdale as we cruise the system because we never know where it is going to be during the time that Adam is not blogging.. I dive below to grab the camera! 

This was interesting…

I have yet to find out what it is, but Vic thinks it is some sort of wasp.  When it is flying it seems bright red, an insect for sure, not a butterfly, completely black except for some swept back wings with red blodges on them.. I have never ever seen one of these before.  They are in the meadow opposite our mooring along the footpath that leads to Flecknoe.

This stretch of canal over the weekend has been end to end with boats, all hovering to pass through Braunston once the Historical Boat Show is over, and not long after 10am, this was the scene…

Not a boat in sight, only ours occupied the towpath between bridges 102 and 103.  There are one or two narrowboats arrived now, and I notice Nesta is moored behind us.. must go and say hi to Graham and Hazel, they were not about when I passed just now.. not seen them since December 2007 when Graham kindly gave us, as well as the girls, a lift to Stafford Station on our way to spending Christmas with our family that year.

Well the BBQ is done, yummy, and later I am off for a nice long stroll.. hope I don’t get wet this evening!  On the move again tomorrow..

Night out at Blue Lias and it's happy boaters all the way to Flecknoe

Yesterday and Today, Bascote (Grand Union) to Flecknoe (Oxford Canal), 7 miles 13 locks

We have had a fabulous couple of days cruising meeting many boaters as we climbed the locks towards Braunston.  Everyone seems to be in a great mood, and nobody rushing about.. super stuff.  Yesterday we arrived early at the Blue Lias in Stockton so we could get a good mooring, and of course an excuse for a pint and pie at lunch time.. then we were treated to President and Kildare on their way to the Braunston Historical Boatshow this weekend, the smoke in the lock behind gave them away..

I knew that they had left Dudley in Birmingham on Thursday afternoon, and this was Friday around 2pm.. didnt they do well!  They have travelled all night, but still the crew were just about enjoying!..

It’s always nice to see this pair on the move like this.. I remember the last time I saw them was on the River Ouse a couple of years ago when they attended the IWA Festival at St Ives.

Oh yes I must tell you about last night when I went walking.. I couldn’t avoid a load of what I thought was mud and had to trudge through it (as you do ).  It was only when I got back I realised that this was no ordinary mud, but Blue Lias clay…

It took some getting off I’ll tell you!

We had a lovely meal in the Blue Lias with some friends who had caught up with us, and this morning we waited and waited for another boat before deciding to pull the pins and do the flight ourselves alone.. but hey ho, there were a load of boats coming down including a pair of ‘camping boats’ and the scouts were keen to lend a hand.. it took just one hour and five minutes to climb the 8 locks!

Lucy and Meg were wondering what on earth I was doing on the bridge instead of being on the tiller!

I couldn’t believe the size of Ventnor Farm Marina, it had grown two fold since I past last and so had the Calcutt Marina just across the cut from it.. and with the huge Marina at Wigrams Turn where the Grand Union meets the Oxford Canal it was no wonder there were suddenly an awful lot of boats about.. but what cheery crews!  All day long we have met lots of lovely people, no hassles no problems, I wish everyday was like that!

We just kept going today waiting for a nice mooring to appear, and it was very shortly after the bridge that carries the footpath to Flecknoe that the perfect place was found for the rest of the weekend..

Hope those of you that went to the show at Braunston had a good time!  For sure there are an awful lot of boat coming away and past us here this evening.

Fosse and Bascote Locks and we find more locking buddies

Fosse to Cape, Grand Union Canal, 3 miles 6 locks

We have had a quiet couple of days enjoying this lovely weather.  Yesterday we moored for the day and caught up with the post that had arrived from the south, and with that done off I went with Lucy and Meg.

These locks are interesting, in fact from the bottom of this set of locks, well Radford Bottom Lock all the way up through the Fosse Locks which are in the picture above they have used the now redundant narrow lock as a pump device which takes the water back up to the pound (a stretch of water between two locks) above.  Each of these locks take 56,000 gallons of water each time they are filled, and the pump takes 20 minutes to put it back in the pound above after the boat has left!

Today on the move, and just as we pulled the pins NB India approached from behind.. great stuff, some lock buddies for our 6 locks today.  These wide locks are so much easier if there are two boats, and the skipper of India was well experienced so both boats lined up and entered the lock together.. no ropes needed to hold one boat over while the other is brought in afterwards..

This is a recent looking lock cottage, not the normal type you see covered in flowers and ivy at this time of year..

Nonetheless, very nice right by Welsh Road Lock..

We were soon up the first two Bascote Locks and quickly through the staircase thanking the crew of India as they made their way onward to Braunston to the Historical Boat Show being held there this weekend..

Wonder if they will find a mooring anywhere near..   But not for us, and we put the pins in just short of Cuttle out in the country with lovely views over towards the Southam area.

And a fantastic walk this afternoon with the girls, it was a bit hot though, but we found some ‘cooling facilities for dogs’ as we wandered over towards the village of Long Itchington..

The little River Itchen provided some fun for both of them for 10 minutes or so.. Walking took us through the village and it was good to see the village shop and post office still thriving as well as the pub, although those down on the canal at Cuttle bridge were really busy, I was tempted to stop for a cool pint.. ho hum how did I not succumb!

It’s cooler now, I think I will go find a geocache or two and enjoy some late evening sunshine..

Warwick and Leamington Spa surprise me

Budbrook Junction Warwick to Fosse, Grand Union Canal, 7 miles 6 locks

We weren’t in a rush to get away this morning, so I took the girls out to find a geocache nearby and also a post box was needed, and with both of that done we pulled the pins and made our way out of Warwick…

The pub by the locks looks inviting.. There was a guy making fenders in the little hut building at the far side of the pub.. it amazes me how they can twist and turn the rope to make wonderful patterns for fenders..

We did those two locks on our own, and were fortunate that boats were coming up as we left, those huge lock gates are heavy.. was nice to leave them open!

Almost tickover speed today in the warm weather while we enjoyed the surroundings of Warwick then Leamington Spa, almost one town as both seem to have no fields between them.. but lots of really nice areas canalside..

Yes very much better than when I was here last.. that was well over 10 years ago.  We passed NB March Mole who had stopped briefly while a nip to a shop was done, the skipper called over asking if we were going through the next locks.. With the speed we were cruising today I told him it wouldn’t be a problem catching us up!!

So we shared the next 5 locks with this super little narrowboat.  It was the first ever hire boat built for the Fox Boatyard in March on the Middle Levels, I know Kevin will be interested in that!.. There is a super article by Jim Shead about this boatyard.. linky

It’s very quiet where we have moored this evening.. just the birds singing no other noise.. I have taken out all the glass from the window frames.. fabulous..

Lapworth, Hatton and a family weekend aboard No Problem

Today – Hatton Station to Warwick, Grand Union Canal, 3.25 miles, 21 locks
Weekend – Lapworth to Hatton Station. Stratford and Grand Union Canals 5.75 miles, 15 locks

On Saturday we dropped down the rest of the Lapworth Flight to just below the lock by The Boot Pub.  We had arranged to meet the family there on Saturday evening, having found a safe place to keep the car for a couple of nights.

We were a bit worried at one of the lift bridges as it took all of our combined strength to lift it.  The hydraulics seemed to be a bit stiff, maybe it was running out of oil or something.. but we managed it and on the other side a British Waterways barge just moored on the mooring for the bridge..

It wouldn’t have taken much to move it down a bit!  Anyway a short time afterwards I saw some BW guys and reported the lift bridge difficulty, and they went to it straight away..

The family arrived and we had a great evening aboard catching up on all the news together and draining a lot of the recourses from the bar of No Problem!

Kiera and Niamh particularly enjoyed themselves this time, and really enjoyed the few locks down to the Grand Union Canal, although the weather could have been kinder..

Once we turned onto the wide canal at Kingswood Junction it started to rain, but we all enjoyed the trip to Hatton Station, about half a mile from the top of the big lock flight.  A Sunday afternoon walk to the top of the flight then, and of course ice creams, tea and cakes all round at the little cafe..

Feeling guilty at my indulgence I suggested a walk down a few of the locks before returning..

Today they were all off home after a fantastic weekend, and Dan caught the train at Hatton for the quick hop to Lapworth to collect the car.. Shall we or shant we.. ho hum…

Yep lets do it, so this afternoon we moored on the top lock landing.  I was waiting for a hire boat to come with 12 strapping 20 year old good looking lads going our way in a hurry!  

We waited just under an hour, and we could see a boat approaching.. yep.. well not quite what I had in mind.. a crew of four who I guess were a little older than me!!  So we set off around 3pm..

On past the British Waterways Buildings.. they are looking good now.. and it was a very pleasant trip down with this crew, their boat was built by them.. a couple of brothers and their wives.  The build, shell and all, was started 30 years ago, and they just about finished it now.  “We built a shell before this one, but me and my bro fell out so we cut it in half”  I had to go inside No Problem because I started to giggle at the thought of that.. just he said it so seriously!  But him and his bro were best of mates today I felt!

Amazing stuff.. there are always tales on the waterways!

It took about 2 hours and 20 minutes so the OAP crews did OK I think.. Bottom lock..

Those paddles are tough on that flight and the bottom gates are heavy too, but plenty of people lockside for our trip down.  Our locking buddies were going on to the pub at The Cape, but I didn’t fancy a pub meal this evening so we put the pins in just before hand and when I looked at the map I could see we were very close to Warwick Racecourse.. I took the girls to explore after tea…

Gosh this took me back, I remember when I was a teenager I used to ride over the sticks when I worked for a racing trainer.. they looked bigger today.. WOW I must have been brave!

A taste of Birmingham as we tour the city by boat

Today – Hockley Heath to Lapworth, Stratford-on-Avon Canal, 2 miles 2 locks

We have just come down a couple of locks today to find ourselves a nicer mooring to enjoy the sunshine in.  All along this stretch of canal there are trees, and with the sun out for sure I wasn’t going to miss that!

But it is the story of the last few days that has me buzzing about Birmingham and the canals around it.

We left Dudley on Wednesday in the company of Paul Balmer again who joined us for the trip to Gas Street Basin in the centre of Birmingham.. I showed a picture on yesterday’s blog of us going under the massive structure that holds up the motorway, well here is another..

The old and the new, look at the little canal bridge leading to what is seemingly the countryside!  In fact under the motorway we could see that the huge concrete pillars are beginning to fail, some have metal braces and heavy scaffolding supporting them.. yet the little canal bridge was built to last it seems..

Our cruise soon brought us to the three locks that would drop us down to the New Main Line… The Birmingham Level as it is called.. at the moment we are on the old line known as The Wolverhampton Level..

Such a shame that this building has been torched and the hexagon octagonal roof has gone (“The Smethwick toll house is Octagonal, not Hexagonal.  It’s bad enough having vandals removing the roof, without bloggers removing 2 walls as well!” says Paul in an email this evening!) ... gosh why do people do this.. such a shame.. anyway, I have edited the roof structure.. so here we are then joining the Main Line on our way to the city centre..

We have just come from under the bridge.. Paul is happy enough to be captain for the day in the rain giving me a chance to totally relax and enjoy..  We put the pins in opposite Sherborne Wharf just as one of the rubbish boats came along.. Paul says they travel the canals almost daily picking up rubbish.. tis no wonder the place is so clean..

But with pins in we were treated to another cruise..

Aboard Waterway Routes.  Paul has his mooring here in the centre of Birmingham at Sherborne Wharf.. and around the loops we went.. there are loads of loops off the main canals that used to serve the industry of the city..

Now we could see some of the bygone buildings that lined the canals, I remember when I was here in the seventies the whole of the city of Birmingham was like this..

But this will be pulled down and turned into flats soon too, just like the rest of the centre.. and on round the corner we get to the British Waterways yard, a hive of activity with the rubbish boats arriving to unload, and on the right these are narrowboats that have been repossessed by BW for non payment of licence fees.. when there are about 10 of them they are auctioned off, and after their expenses the owners get the residue of the sale price..

Gosh it was raining hard, it was difficult trying to keep the lens free of drips!   After seeing some of the back door of Birmingham it was back to the centre.. here comes a water bus!..

That is one of the many trip boats on the right, the road over the bridge there leads to the city centre just a five minute walk away.  We toured all the routes with Paul, even to the top of the Farmers Bridge Locks which lead the canal eventually to the Coventry Canal..

The Post Office Tower and after winding (turning) we went the other way to the Mailbox..

On the way back.. I spy!!..

It’s David and Brenda’s narrowboat Mr David!

Phew anyway there are tons of pictures, I will put them into a special album later so you can see them all.. We said a fond farewell to Paul, who gave us a wonderful time in Birmingham.. If it wasn’t for his Waterway Routes DVD of the Birmingham Canal Navigations we would never have brought No Problem here at all.. but all on the DVD is true, it is fantastic..

An evening out for us too.. I had been to take a look around at all the eating places earlier..

Deciding on the Pitcher and Piano right in Gas Street Basin.. there is a picture of that in yesterdays blog, but it was a disaster.  Our meal came and I looked at Vic and he at me.. It looked horrid!  Both meals looked horrid.. I had loin of lamb with rice and he chicken with potatoes in some sauce or other.. but the chicken was cold and the potatoes were also cold.. my rice was lumpy and well overcooked.. the lamb looked very old indeed it was wrinkled!

We declined the food and finished our bottle of wine before going to Cafe Royal just across the walkway.. Yummy yum yum.. duck done in a beautiful sauce and a fabulous braised meat dish for Vic cheered us somewhat.. and with a couple of beers we joyfully made our way back to No Problem!!

We were going to stay another day, but decided we would make our way out of the city on Thursday, so we moved from the BCN to the Worcester and Birmingham canal at Worcester Bar..

There used to be no passage between these two canals at one time. Just the ‘Worcester Bar’  This was to stop one canal company pinching water from the other and goods had to be man handled across the concrete into boats on the other side.. sense prevailed in the end and a lock was built so tolls could be collected.. but that has now been removed and there is just this 7ft gap to get through now!

I missed the corner at the Mailbox clanging into a BW barge that was moored there.. No Problem did not want to turn, and a little further along the reason was made clear when Vic brought up a number of plastic bags and packets from around the prop, enough to fill two carrier bags would you believe.. that made for better steering!

The canal out of Birmingham was just as quiet as anywhere else, and we travelled through the outskirts of the city on what seemed a green corridor, hardly seeing any houses.. just tree lined all the way.  The left turn at Kings Norton was tight, and I was careful not to go aground on the far side after being warned from Paul..

On through the eclectic lift bridge and with the pins put in at Hockley Heath we reflected on what a surprising and wonderful few days we have just had.. gosh, I hope this blog is not too long and boring!

Oh and welcome to new bloggers Graham and Jill with NB Armadillo who we have been playing ‘leapfrog moorings’ with during the last week or so..

Graham decided to try out the clear waters at Dudley slipping off the gunnel.. hope those shoes are dry now Graham.. hey good luck with the blog..

This weekend we are meeting with daughter Wendie, Danny and granddaughters Kiera and Niamh, can’t wait!!

No Problem visits the centre of Birmingham for the first time

Yesterday – Dudley Tunnel to Birmingham, BCN, 9 miles 3 locks
Today – Birmingham to Hockley Heath, BCN, Worcs & Birmingham and Northern Stratford Canals, 14.5 miles 0 locks

I felt like a country bumpkin yesterday evening as I wandered around the canal system in the centre of Birmingham, finding branches going here there and everywhere trying not to get lost.. It was raining but I didn’t care, just wished I had my towny clothes on instead of my country attire!

But before that we had the most fantastic cruise through to the centre from Dudley Tunnel where we have been moored for a couple of nights.  I have been too busy tonight to do a blog properly so I will do that tomorrow as we have a bit of a pause here at Hockley Heath.. but I will put a few photos on from yesterday..

Under the motorway we went..

Under the bridges and tunnels…

And through the streets we went…. today we cruised to the Northern Stratford-on-Avon Canal, more tomorrow..

Black Country Museum and Dudley Tunnel

Moored Dudley Tunnel, BCN

There was time to move this morning a little nearer the tunnel before we went to explore the museum.  We winded No Problem (turned) before mooring at the services to do a pump out of our loo grey tank.  We failed to do that a few days ago at Wheaton Aston as the machine was broken there.

Paul Balmer fetched me a ‘two for one’ entrance voucher yesterday which he found on the English Heritage site, so that was really handy and saved us £10.50 on the entrance fees.. thanks Paul it worked! xx

I had spied the steam narrowboat President through the railings last night, and after stepping through the doors of the museum and also stepping back in time we made our way over there to have a look at both President and it’s butty Kildare..

This is the home mooring for this pair, and we were lucky that they were in town today to go have a quiet look and a chat to the chap you see in the pic.  These two are due in Braunston in about 10 days time for the Historic Boat Show that is being held there, but they won’t be leaving till very late in the day, doing what they call a ‘Fly Boat run’.

In days gone past some working boats were registered to travel all night and some were not.  Fly Boat runs were undertaken a lot from Birmingham to London, of course it was much better to have goods travel that way..  That’s the pure basics anyway.. if you want to know more you will need to google it!

Here we go then, more pictures for you of our day back in time.. I know a lot of you enjoyed yesterdays pictures so this blog has a load more.. later I will put even more in an album..

The only think I see wrong here is the price.. £1.00 was certainly not bygone prices!  All the funfare rides took me back a long way and gave me great memories of my childhood..

This whole place is fantastic, we actually went inside a coal mine, very authentic, even having to duck down along the tunnels with just a candle light to show the way.. extremely well done.  In fact this is a real must for boaters.. even the pub only sold drinks that were available at the time… no lagers or wine to be had.. I was happy with a pint of bitter!

Dragging ourselves away, being disappointed that there were no volunteers manning the trolly bus shed which I was really looking forward to seeing, it was getting late, and we managed to grab a seat on the trip boat which went into Dudley Tunnel itself.. cor doesn’t he look sexy good in his hard hat!! ..

It definitely suits him!  In the tunnel mine kept falling off everytime I looked up.. at one point it nearly fell in the canal much to everyone’s amusement.. …

Gosh it was a small entrance, for sure we would have to knock a good nine inches off the top of No Problem if we wanted to leg it through the tunnel.  You are allowed to take your boat through the tunnel if it fits under the measuring gauge if you want to.. but no engines are allowed and you would have to leg it through by laying on the roof sideways and with your feet on the wall, you would need to ‘walk the wall’.. 4 hours worth of walking!

Trip boat will do!!

This is inside the tunnel.. yep more tunnels and further on inside there are massive caverns where limestone was mined.. there is more about this on their website if you are interested, but it is mind boggling.  This tunnel is like no other I have been in.. look at the rough cut..

The board you can see is where later in the trip a couple of people laid head to head and legged us through a very short way.. they gave up after about 20 yards, they were knacked!  Can you imagine doing that for 4 hours to get through this tunnel!

Anyway, we had a fantastic day around here, and tonight Lucy and Meg got their turn, and I took them for a long jaunt along the towpaths all the way to Bradshall Junction on the Old Main Line..

Here there is a staircase lock of two, with another lock not far way which drops the canal down to the New Main Line.  The difference between old and new is not only the two different levels, but the New Line was built later and in an almost straight line for quite some way through Birmingham because what they now call the Old Main Line was full of bends and took working boats much longer to get through the city..

The other crossing that I saw tonight was Tividale Aqueduct..

This also runs to the Main Line, you can see at the lower level.  I am standing on the aqueduct of the Old Line.. back behind me this runs under the Old Line to Netherton Tunnel which leads to the Stourbridge Canal and River Severn…. Gosh Old Line, New Line.. and all the levels are confusing.. hope I don’t leave you too confused, if I have, just enjoy the pictures then! 

Meeting blog readers and we join the Birmingham Canal Navigations

Today – Autherely Junction to Black Country Museum, Dudley, Staffs & Worcs and BCN
Weekend – Wheaton Aston to Autherely Junction, Shropshire Union Canal, 8.25 miles 1 lock

Before leaving Wheaton Aston we said hello to blog readers Nick and Caroline who were out on their first few days of their narrowboat holiday.. and onward they went after a chat and walk through..

We then moved up to the services with the intention of doing a pump out which is due for us, and there we met Mick and Jenny with their narrowboat Trundle.  We met Mick and Jenny at Elton on the Nene last year and we caught up on all the news before a wave goodbye for now from them..

Then on with the business of pump out.. well that didn’t work after putting in my BW ‘credit card’ nothing!  It was pumping OK but nothing was pumping out!  I searched round for some instructions in case I had got it wrong, and when I reached up onto the top of the box I found a sign.. “Out of Order do not use”… gawd.. a tenner up the drain, or not as it happened!!

So pins pulled from Wheaton Aston making for the last quiet mooring before the noisy motorway and Autherely Junction at Hunting Bridge 7.  Over the A5 aqueduct…

And on through Brewood where we passed hotel boats Duke and Duchess..

We hovered close to the bridge at Brewood as there were no moorings so that I could nip into the village to get some milk.. then onward to Bridge 7.

A popular mooring this, and when we arrived there was just about room to slot No Problem in between two narrowboats.. I was pleased about that, I didn’t want to go any further.. walking was on the cards around here, there are new permissive walks that I wanted to explore..

“Beep beep” alerted me to look out the window and another blog reader Alan and his family on NB Andante passed on their way to their home mooring close to Autherely Junction.  It has been great this weekend to meet so many people that read the blog.. none said they got bored with it either!!

So Sunday saw us have a very relaxing day out on the towpath soaking up the gorgeous sunshine before moving close to Autherely Junction very late in the evening.. it wasn’t far, about an hour, but we were meeting Paul Balmer at the bottom of the Wolverhampton 21 locks the next morning fairly early, so thought I would have an extra hour in bed!

As we rounded the turn to the BCN sure enough Paul was just opening the gates.. he must have heard No Problem approaching, or hoped that the narrowboat he could hear was No Problem.. lovely to see Paul, and guess what, I managed to persuade Vic to let me work the locks today..

Well there is a few done!  Lots of pictures today, loads in fact, I’ll put a few up..

I was amazed how rural this stretch is beings it is going right into the centre of Wolverhampton, the wild flowers are as good as out on the remotest sections of canals, totally unspoilt and so very little rubbish..

I noted at lock number 5 that the top paddle would not go down properly, and made a note to report that once we stopped tonight, but I saw a British Waterways Lengthsman walking down the canal.. “Ah I have noted a problem at lock 5” “Yep” says he as he walked on.. “Yeah, the offside top paddle won’t close properly” “Yep” he says and walks on a bit more “Just thought I would tell you, do you want me to report it to BW” “Nope.. that is why I am carrying this lot, I am just on my way there!”….

This area has been beautifully done with stone picnic tables…

Then before three hours was up we reached the top lock..

On through Coseley tunnel..

Paul took the helm today once we had cleared the locks.  It was pure delight to be chauffeured along, Paul's knowledge of the Birmingham Canal Navigations is immense and he gave us a fantastic running commentary all the way to Dudley.. at one point he made me get aboard and ride into the next lock, pointing out a little tunnel for me to be able to get off just at the lock jaw so that I could get to the top of the lock.. just for little people you see.. it was so dinky … great stuff!!

I thoroughly enjoyed today, I was surprised how pleasant the journey was, there was no way surely that I was in the centre of Wolverhampton and Birmingham, but I was, and hey look at this….

Could it be a wild orchid on the BCN?…

A day out at the Black Country Museum for us tomorrow with a ride through the tunnel… but I won’t be legging No Problem through!..

A day in Wheaton Aston

Moored Wheaton Aston, Shropshire Union Canal

An enjoyable day today at Wheaton Aston, where Carol from NB Calypso came aboard to paint the front panels.. I like the way she paints, and all the rest of No Problem’s roses and castles have been painted by her.

I love the first coat of the roses, they always seem to me to look like a load of dogs..

Maybe I should have told her to stop!  But she returned this afternoon to put the final touches to the design..

And tomorrow I will take some pics of the finished panels as well as some other interesting art she did today.  I played Mrs Mop for a while in the warm weather before taking Lucy and Meg for a stroll ..around another of my favourite walks on this canal, once again not walked during the summer before, and I it was lovely, thoroughly enjoyed.

I spied these two working boats in the cutting just to the south of Wheaton Aston Lock..

It was from Salmon that we got the majority of our winter wood at the beginning of the year when the crew were felling beech trees just south of Cowley, so I stopped to have a chat, and they were telling me that they had a hell of a lot of work on.. the early summer weather had made growth much more than normal, but they were having to be careful leaving some trees and bushes alone because there was still some nests with chicks in.. They actually take photographs of those they leave.. dunno why.. heh maybe they have to justify not cutting something down!!

Tomorrow we pull the pins from here passing through Brewood before deciding where to stop over the weekend.