As I said yesterday, we wandered down to the Navigation pub to see the menu for the evening but it wasn’t available, so at 7 pm we wandered down again to eat what ever was available, only to be greeted by a notice on the saying food only being served to pre booked tables, pity that wasn’t mentioned during the afternoon. This could well have been a blessing because we then walked up to the Royal Oak and had two superb chicken pies, not a pot with a lid but full lovely pastry, the filling was solid chicken, you couldn’t have got another piece in there. A very good portion of hand cut, plump chips without a trace of fat all on some nice vegetables with thick gravy. The staff were very welcoming and the waiter knew what was on or not on and what pies, soup etc. How often you ask and they have to go to check. Definitely a place to visit next time we stop in Gnosall.
Yesterday I saw my first goslings of the season, not wild ones but in a run by the canal at Gnosall. Today I saw my first pair of swallows at Shebdon, summer is on its way, listen out for the cuckoo.
As we are talking Birds I thought you may also like to see this one.
A normal 10am start with quite a few boats about, it wasn’t long before we met 3 day boats from Norbury Junction, we had already had lots of private boats going by and met some still returning from Ellesmere Port it busier now than it was over Easter.
Just before Norbury Wharf to the Eastern side of the canal is the BIFoR Face Experiment exposing woodland to high levels of CO2
There must be a story behind this boat moored outside the Anchor pub, its been in this spot on the 48 hr moorings for years and looks in a very poor unloved state.
We pushed on having a quick word with Ann and Oli who had the paintbrush out on Wandering Snail and then called in to see Jerry and Muriel, while we were there I gave Jerry a hand with fault finding on his water pump.
I gave the old Cadbury's loading wharf at Knighton a good dose of looking at as we passed. The piece on the extreme left furthest from the camera in the cement board and concrete construction.
You can see how the reinforced concrete has blown away from the steel reinforcing rods in places, just like lots of the cast bridges on the systemA little further on I spotted this little chap, sat on to of one of the bridge iron, I hope its not some child's favourite toy they have dropped.
At Goldstone this group of ramblers were making their way along the canal, I don’t think they were heading for the pub but went the other way at the bridge.
The next encounter was Sue on nb Thea who we met just prior to Woodseaves Cutting with just time to exchange pleasantries as we passed, once in the cutting we could see the stern of a boat in the distance which didn’t look to be moving, when we caught him up we could see he was moored up, on checking he was OK, as its not an obvious place to moor it transpired he had broken down so I offered him a tow, which he accepted to the top of Tyrley Locks. I looks as if his engine was over heating, needless to say once I had him in tow we would meet two boats coming the other way, the first right at the narrows and for the final quarter of the journey we had a poor chap stuck behind following us. All in all this made it a longer day than usual.
Today’s Journey
12 miles, no locks in 5½ hours
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