Retirement with No Problem

Moored Norbury Junction, Shropshire Union Canal

A lazy morning this morning and first thing was a welcomed phone call from daughter Wendie telling me her plane had safely landed back in the UK from the States.  We all just get on with our lives with all the terrorism and crime in the world, and it doesn’t stop us worrying about our loved ones aboard planes and out of the country and things.  I remember well the day of 9/11, Wendie and the family were in Florida.. it was impossible to find out if they were OK no phones etc.. My mind ran riot all day wondering if they had taken a trip to NY..

But they are back safe and sound today after having a wonderful holiday.

Picked out a nice walk based here at Norton Junction, starting firstly along the towpath and alongside Shelmore Woods, once again a very rural area.. here the dogs enjoying a bit of freedom..

And for once, no narrowboats in view! And no rain!

Got told off by a farmer today for going in a field via a gate instead of walking a further 20 yards along the road to a stile!  He really gave me some stick.. I will forgive him, for sure he has had a bad summer with his crops, not that I was going to interfere with them but comments like “You should not walk across countryside that you do not know” left me thinking.. Ummmmmmm.. Well having walked it today, I suppose I now have a right to walk across it because NOW I know it! Teehee!

“Put those dogs on a lead.. you should not be walking dogs on a public footpath off the lead”.. OK OK.. Dogs went on leads.  Wide open fields by the way and not a farm animal in sight.. I always put them on a lead when there is a farm animal in sight.. with Lucy on her own she stays to heel.. “Don’t you know there are young pheasants running about in the fields”.. Errrrrrr no I didn’t know, there were no signs to say keep dogs on leads nor any signs to say that there were young pheasants running around.  “You have to follow the footpath signs”.. but there are none, in fact on today’s walk the farmer had changed the course of the footpaths to suit himself!

Umph he didn’t need to be so nasty.. I did ask him nicely not to talk to me like that, but he just was so rude.. Ah well..

But… further on during the walk we crossed a stone bridge, and I had a feeling that this didn’t look like an ordinary bridge, and when I looked over the parapet, sure enough it looked just like a canal bridge.. so I looked at the map, and noticed it was on a black dotted line on the OS map.. it was a bridge on the old Shrewsbury & Newport Canal.. even better, it was Oulton Bridge. 

When I scrambled down the bank to have a look I also found an old lock..

This is where the lock gates would have been, now trees grow out of the brick work.  This canal was abandoned in the 1940’s, and although there has been efforts to restore it, there has not been much enthusiasm to do so, but all the structures and bridges are officially listed, so those that are left will remain.. maybe one day.. but it was a wonderful find today.

The winter stoppages from British Waterways are out, here it is on pdf (2MB). It looks favourable for us.  We might stay to the north of Birmingham in the first part of the winter maybe returning slowly to Braunston some time in March probably making our way to our favourite haunt over in East Anglia next summer…

England got beat tonight at Wembley.. we could do with a win at our new stadium, a win always cheers us all up too!.. It is going to be a nice bank holiday weekend so they say.. I am just wondering where to hide No Problem!!