Woodseaves Cutting and Market Drayton.

Tuesday 16th July, 2013 in Market Drayton.
Just a few miles to go to Market Drayton, where we will leave MM in the marina to go home tomorrow and then up to the Lakes for a week to celebrate Christine's 70th birthday.
Thomas Telford was the engineer who designed the Shropshire Union Canal, and its embankments and cuttings are legendary. The most famous cutting is Woodseaves, which is over a mile long and  70ft deep through very solid rock. You can get an idea of the depth of the cutting from the height of the bridges across it.

Unlike most of the Shroppie, it is very narrow. In places it is not even possible for two boats to pass. Memories of "The African Queen"!  Luckily we met only one boat coming the other way (and for anyone familiar with the film of the same name, it wasn't a WW2 German patrol boat!).

The sides of the cutting are solid rock, but trees still manage to find a purchase somehow; some of their roots are twisted like serpants, trying to grip the rock.

In other places the rock is still exposed, just as the navvies left it all those years ago.

After the cutting come the five locks of the Tyrley flight. These were the first locks that we ever did with Terry Robertson on our Helmsman's Course five years ago. We have done 660 locks on MM since then!

Next to the locks, we saw a field of "Elephant Grass" or "Miscanthus". A lot of this seems to be grown around here, mainly used as biomass for fuel production. Later in the summer it will be up to eight feet high.

On the way into Market Drayton, we passed nb "Firefly" that we last saw at the Black Country Museum and on the Dudley Canal. She was moored up but Ray and family were not on board.

Finally, we moored up just outside Market Drayton and walked into the town to check on the marina, where we will leave MM tomorrow, and also to check on the buses to Stoke-on-Trent. We also looked at the house that we once considered buying - but the Estate Agent was so useless that we never even got to view it! It was a lovely town house, light and airy, and best of all - it had its own mooring!

Tomorrow we will leave very early, so our next post will be when we get back in two weeks' time. So please watch this space!!
Today: 7 miles, 5 locks and 4.8 hours.
Trip: 235 miles, 185 locks anf 195.0 hours.

A Sad Farewell to Gnosall.

Monday 15th July, 2013 near Knighton, Shropshire.
We said a reluctant farewell to lovely Gnosall; it holds many happy memories for us. It has the distinction of being the only place name in the country with a silent "G" (unlike a "G-nother G-nu"!).
At Norbury Junction, we found a space in the ever present line of moored boats and walked up to the chandlery at the wharf.

On the way, we stopped to watch four young swallows sitting on the telephone lines being fed by their parents. M waited for ages with the camera at the ready, but the parents came and went with such astonishing agility and speed that she never quite manaaged to snap them!

The chandlery is a veritable Aladdin's Cave brimming with boating bits and touristy bric-a-brac. Today, however, we were after a present for MM. One of her centre ropes got caught on a lock-side a while back and what started as a litttle bit frayed has now become worse, so we bought a new rope and retired the old one as a spare.

After tea, coffee and a pair of bacon sandwiches in the Wharf Cafe, we walked back to MM. It was a very hot day and one of the boaters was cooling off his dog on the towpath with a hose. The dog seemed to be loving it and immediately shook himself and sprayed everyone with water!

North of Norbury Junction, the canal goes over a series of embankments and then through the Grub Street Cutting with its famous "double" bridge and the shortest telegraph pole in the country.

At Knighton, we passed the wharf that once belonged to Cadbury's. In 1911, when Cadbury's began to make Dairy Milk, they discovered that it was easier to bring the cocoa to the milk than vice-versa, so canal boats brought the cocoa to Knighton and another fleet of boats collected milk from dozens of local farms twice a day. The factory at Knighton processed the two into "chocolate crumb" which was then shipped to Bournville on the Worcester and Birmingham canal.  This continued until 1961. The factory now belongs to Premier Foods; Bournville Cocoa and Birds Custard (two good names!) are still made there.

A little further on we moored up for the night and soon after were joined by another narrowboat called "Sabbath Rest" with Dave and his lovely old cat "Poppy" still looking very good for her 20 years. It was a delightful spot to moor for the night, rural and peaceful.

Today: 8 miles, 0 locks and 6.7 hours (lots of battery charging).
Trip: 228 miles, 180 locks and 190.2 hours.

Adrian and Sandra visit.

Sunday 14th July, 2013 still at Gnosall.
We were hoping that Adrian and Sandra might visit us tomorrow on their way back from a family gathering in Blackpool. To our delight, they called and asked if they could come this afternoon. Hooray!
Last night in the Boat Inn, we had sat next to Ken and Ann from nb "Marguarita" and had a lovely chat with them. Early this morning, they went past us going south and we had a chance to say cheerio. We keep meeting the most delightful people on our travels.

In the morning, we decided to walk up to Annie and Paddy's house and so we walked up through the village. The house looked as beautiful and immaculate as ever.

Luckily the side gate was open, so we went into the back garden. M called Annie to see if we could help by watering her plants - and we admitted having scrumped some of her rasberries! While they chatted, R watered all Annie's pots, her polyanthas and her solitary courgette - one lonely plant in the middle of a huge, empty raised bed! Despite the hot weather, the garden still looked lovely, especially the roses.

There was an exquisite water lilly in the pond that just demanded to be photographed.

There was supposed to be a local farmers' market in Gnosall and we called in, but sadly found that the only cakes there were being judged for a "bake-off" and were not for sale. So we consoled ourselves with a toasted tea-cake, a scone and coffee in the local tea shop.
Not long after we got back to MM, Adrian and Sandra arrived, hot from their journey from Blackpool. It was really lovely to see them. They remarked on the contrast between the manic activity of Blackpool and the peace and quiet of the canals, and how much they loved the Staffordshire countryside.
We decided to go for a walk and started by retracing our steps into the village to see Annie and Paddy's house. Predictably they fell in love with the house and said that we should sell the Reigate house and buy it! Tempting!

We walked back along the old railway track and then the canal towpath, finally getting back to MM in the very early evening. We had booked into the Boat Inn again for dinner and the food was as good as it was last night. After eating our main course indoors, we adjourned to the terrace where it was cooler.

The dessert board was irresistible and we all had pudding. R opted for a Baileys Chocolate Mousse for the second night in a row!!

At seven pm, we waved them off on their way home. How lovely it was to have seen them.
Today: We stayed in Gnosall, just 2.0 hours to charge the batteries.

Maureen and Rob's visit.

Saturday 13th July, 2013, still in Gnosall.
Maureen and Rob, who happened to be in the area, came for the day. It was a trip down memory lane for all four of us; for us, because we had done our Helmsman's course here with Terry, but especially for Maureen and Rob because they used to live here.
They arrived mid-morning with Maureen looking super glam (as ever!).  As this is such a special place for them, we opened a bottle of the "pink-un"; even more appropriate because tomorrow is Maureen's birthday.

After a brief catch-up, we set off for Norbury Junction just a few miles north.
On the way, we came across a narrowboat that had broken down and the skipper asked us if we could give him a tow into Norbury. Both R& M immediately recognised him as Adrian Palmer, who for five years acted with the Mikron Theatre group which tours the canal network on nb "Tyseley" and  performs on the canalside. It was wonderful to see him again and we happily took him, and his son and daughter, in tow. At least, we tried! His boat was right on the edge of the canal and had run fast aground and, in trying to pull him off, we had run aground too! No problem though. We waited until two other boats had gone past and then pushed both boats back out into the middle of the canal and towed him slowly in to Norbury.

Happily, they were able to fix the problem and by late afternoon were on their way again.

Norbury is one of the waterways' "picture postcard" spots with its old wharf and lines of moored boats. It used to be the junction with the Shrewsbury canal, which has long since gone.  Now only the very beginning section of it still exists and is used for mooring. There is a restoration trust, so who knows, one day it may be possible to return to Shrewsbury by canal starting here:           

Norbury held a very special meaning for Maureen and Rob, as it is where they did their "courting" forty-three years ago. They say that they are still on their honeymoon!

They used to meet in the Junction Inn and we had lunch there to re-kindle old memories. However, they declared that the inside seems to have shrunk since their youth!

At the large chandlery, R bought M just a very small tin of Brasso - there is a lot of brass on MM! (note from M - could she say she felt a trifle brassed off at the prospect?!!)

Contented and well fed, we cruised in a lazy fashion back to Gnosall. In the early evening, we had dinner at the Boat Inn, which turned out to be excellent. At first we thought that we wouldn't get a table, but a large party that had booked didn't arrive - so we quickly got a table and had a lovely evening before Maureen and Rob set off home. What a super day!
Today: 5 miles, 0 locks and 3.1 hours.
Trip: 220 miles, 180 locks and 181.5 hours.

From Brewood to Gnosall

Friday 12th July, 2013 at Gnosall.
Another beautiful day - could this actually be summer? This is wonderful!
After breakfast, we walked into Brewood to buy a "few bits".  We're so glad we took the trouble because we discovered all sorts of little gems of shops: Maiden's the Butchers, Cooper's the Grocers and delicatessen, a bakery and a rose covered haidresser's shop.

But best of all, we found "Lazy Days" the lovely tea room.  Everywhere we went, we were warmly welcomed.  How nice!

Speedwell Castle (below) is a curiosity on the Market Square, supposedly built with the winnings on a horse of the same name! He must have got very good odds!

At Wheaton Aston, R washed down the starboard side (we did the port side and roof yesterday), then we topped up with water and diesel at Turner's, renowned for his good diesel prices.

A lovely gentle cruise to Gnosall followed. Just before Gnosall is a narrow cutting the sides of which are about 70 ft high.

At the end is a short tunnel, cut straight from the rock. Incredible to think that both the cutting and the tunnel were cut out with just picks, shovels, wheelbarrows and the occasional stick of dynamite.

Thomas Telford was the engineer on the Shroppie and is renowned for the massive alternating cuttings and embankments needed to maintain a 20 mile stretch of canal with no locks.
There were many boats moored all through Gnosall, but we found a pretty mooring opposite the Boat Inn and across the water from Terry Robertson's house.

Terry was our instructor on our Helmsman's Course in 2009 and R had already called him in the hopes that we could get together.  Unfortunately he is away on the Grand Union on his boat "Shropshire Lass", but we hope to get together at the Huddlesford Hertitage Gathering in September as we should be able to get there in time.
 Our good friends Annie and Paddy also live here in Gnosall but unfortunately they are also away at the moment, but we hope to see them early next month.
Today: 8 miles, 1 lock and 3.5 hours.
Trip: 215 miles, 180 locks and 178.4 hours.

RAF Museum at Cosford

Thursday 11th July, 2013 at Brewood.
Only about 15 minutes from Brewood is the RAF Museum at Cosford, so today we decided to go and visit it. We had organised a taxi to pick us up at the Bridge Inn, just a few hundred yards from where MM is moored. The Museum is free, and we did not quite know what to expect. We were completely overwhelmed by the reality! It was as good, if not better, than RAF Hendon.
There are a number of aircraft parked outside, there is a reception building including a restaurant (called "Refuel"!), three large hangars and a huge purpose built exhibition hall.
After a cup of coffee in "Refuel", we went into the first hangar, which contains an incredible collection of research aeroplanes built by the British when the British Aviation industry lead the world. They included one of two surviving TSR2s, rescued and hidden from the Government when all the aircraft and jigs were destroyed in 1965.

Others include the Short S.5 used in the development of the Lightning, the English Electric P.1A pre-production version of the Lightning, the Fairey Delta 2, that R remembers seeing at the Farborough Air Display, and the Bristol 188, stainless steel research aircraft that was incredibly advanced for its time.

After wandering around the Test Flight hangar, we walked across to the "National Cold War Exhibition" housed in a huge purpose built exhibition hall.

The exhibition displays aircraft from both sides of the Cold War and a great deal of background information about the differences between the East and the West and the tensions of the time, including the Berlin Airlift and the Space Race, as well as information about the cultural differences between the two sides. The exhibition was opened by the Queen and apparently when she walked in and saw all the aircraft, many of which are hanging from the roof, she asked "Are they models?" The Museum Director is reported to have replied "Yes, Ma'am and you should have seen the size of the boxes that they came in!"

One particular example that caught our eye was the Victor Bomber that had a very naughty "Maid Marion" painted on its nose!

Another was the English Electric Lightning that was, appropriately, hanging from its nose - it is one of the few aircraft ever developed that could go supersonic going straight up vertically.

As we were walking around, an announcement was made that the Dornier 17 area was now open to the public. R had heard that a Dornier 17 had been discovered on Goodwin Sands and there were plans to lift it. Sonar images showed it to be remarkably complete.

About four weeks ago, it was lifted from the bottom of the sea and brought to RAF Cosford for conservation, where it is stored in two polytunnels.

It will be sprayed with a mildly acidic solution for two years to stabilise it. The wings have been removed and they are still upside down as they were under the sea.

The fuselage is in a number of bits, but they reckon that they have about 70% of the aircraft. When they started to spray it with the solution, it seems to have upset the local wildlife as apparently the polytunnels was full of crabs trying to get out!

The aircraft will not be restored but will be re-assembled as far as possible and put on display at RAF Hendon. The plan is to put it alongside a replica to show what the aircraft originally looked like.

We were so lucky to be here to see this so soon after it was recovered!
Then we went into Hangar 1, which houses transport and training aircraft as well as a collection of engines from small piston engines right through to a huge RB211 jet used to power jet airliners. Also in this hangar is the James May Spitfire, that was built for his television program as a full scale plastic kit. The pilot is even modelled on May himself!

Nearby was one of R's favourite aeroplanes, the diminutive Folland/Hawker Siddeley Gnat T.1 as used by the original Red Arrows.

Finally we visited the Warplanes Hangar, which included one of M's favourites, the Tornado. R thinks that M wanted to lead this one home!

There was also another of R's favourites, the de Haviland Mosquito, being given some maintenance and TLC.

It is getting to be a habit with us that we are the last to leave!! The taxi took us home after an absolutely fantastic day out.
Today: MM stayed moored in the sunshine.