Friday 21 August 2015

Lock training

 

IMG_4125After pulling pins from Shebdon Wharf at 07.45 we soon arrived at the old Cadbury wharf which is also known as Knighton Wharf on the Shropshire Union Canal. The wharf was used by Cadbury's from 1911 to 1961. Chocolate "crumb" was produced in the adjoining factory, using local milk, and was taken by narrow boat to Bourneville in Birmingham. The factory is still here and is now run by Premier foods , one of the products they still produce here is Birds Custard.  My favourite….

IMG_4138Traveling along this stretch of The Shropie and there is always a good view of The Wrekin, a hill Rising to a height of 1,335 feet (407 metres) above the Shropshire Plain, it is a prominent and well-known landmark.

IMG_4145That sounds like a good idea. Spend Spend Spend !!!!

IMG_4156This has to be one of my favourite parts of this canal .Woodseaves Cutting is about 2.7km long and up to about 21.3m deep. It has steep sides, almost vertical in places. In the deepest part of the cutting, the waterway narrows to about half its normal width for a distance of 1.6km which Carolyn successfully steered through without any mishaps.

The cutting is crossed by four bridges. Two of these are of the type normally encountered on canals but the other two, High Bridge and Hollings Bridge, are unusual. They are constructed using relatively small-span semi-circular arches situated at the top of very high vertical abutment walls. In the case of Hollings Bridge, the top of the bridge is 12.2m above water level. High Bridge is even higher

IMG_4164Waiting for the locks at Tyrley Wharf

IMG_4165A small bit of History

IMG_4170Under the watchful eye of Carolyn its time for Curly to start learning how to lift paddles. She has been asking if she can do it for a while and its amazing how strong she is for her age. Dropping them is not as simple , so we will leave that until she is a bit older.

IMG_4181After completing the 5 locks and passing this fishing tree we picked up a mooring at Market Drayton. Unfortunately its Curly’s last day with us and with Chloe coming to pick her up in the morning from Devon we needed a handy mooring to load her 10 bags of clothes and toys into the car. Every time she comes I tell her to travel light ,but you know what girls are like.

                                                                                             Happy Days

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