D and I had a walk along the canal from the village of Lowsonford last Saturday afternoon.
The sign on the window of this boat made me giggle!
Its a lovely stretch of canal and there were fewer people about the further you got from Lowsonford and the Fleur de Lys pub! If we had continued much further we would have reached the stretch we visited last year before we walked to Yarningale Common.
There's rather a lot of locks on this section!
This cast-iron sculpture is by Sir Antony Gormley and is one of a series of 5 commissioned by the Landmark Trust to celebrate the Charity's 50th Birthday. Apparently it weighs 700kg!
This Barrel-roofed Lock-keeper's House, built in 1812, is now a holiday cottage (Landmark Trust).
Whenever I see apple trees growing in the middle of nowhere I wonder who or what deposited the pip.
Unfortunately D didn't take the Canon Bridge so this photo of a damselfly is heavily cropped. I think its a female Banded Demoiselle but please correct me if I am wrong.
There were several groups of Mallard along the towpath and we also saw a juvenile Grey Wagtail - again could have done with the Canon camera.
A reminder that it will soon be time to go blackberrying!
We passed a stretch of canal that was used as a Permanent Mooring Base - felt really sorry for this little Christmas Tree and hope some-one returns to claim it.
A few photos of the various boats - some had tubs and pots of flowers all over the roof and round the door.
A few more pictures of the canal before we returned to Lowsonford
Lowsonford is a small, pretty village. A lovely area to live but you pay an awful lot over the odds for the privilege.
Loved your walkalong the canal and thanks for showing us all the shots you took. I love how people decoate theur homes on the water.
ReplyDeleteMargaret Adamson - Thanks so much Margaret - the boats were very colourful :)
ReplyDeleteLovely views...it is indeed a female Banded..
ReplyDeleteI did enjoy that canal walk with you. Such beautiful places and it's so nice to see many of them being reclaimed and used for recreation.
ReplyDeleteA deliciously calm walk along the canal, thank you so much. I live near the Grand Union, but, now that I can't walk very far, I can't get to it. I think that being near a canal is one of the most relaxing things to do.
ReplyDeleteI love the decorations on the narrow-boats, it is traditional and innovative in equal measures.
It's a lovely stretch of water! You are right you do have a female banded demoiselle, with the characteristic metallic green colouring.
ReplyDeleteKevin and Seri - Thanks so much for comment and confirmation of id! I used to see loads Of Banded Demoiselles on the stretch of path at Brandon Marsh just before you reach the Carlton Hide. Nearly made it to BM the other day but had to give daughter a lift so ended up going somewhere more local but make it to BM we will :)
ReplyDeleteSeagullSuzie - Thanks very much - they are lovely places to walk:)
Toffeeapple - Thanks so much. So very sorry to hear you are no longer able to access the Grand Union Canal - you must miss walks there a lot :( You are right they are relaxing places (although some of the ones round Solihull can be a bit busy in the Summer).
I was really pleased to find several of the narrow-boats traditionally decorated :)
Simon Douglas Thompson - Thanks Simon for the comment and id confirmation :) The two canals round that particular part of Warwickshire are great for walking along.
Canals are such peaceful places to stroll along, especially on a lazy summer's day, though sadly we don't have many around here :-( However this made me enjoy this post all the more and it was lovely to see all the well cared for narrow-boats, beautiful countryside scenes, and of course the Demoiselles :-)
ReplyDeleteKindest regards & best wishes to all :-)
David - Thanks so much for your lovely comment. We are quite lucky round here as there are quite a few canals. You do have some other rather lovely areas to walk in which we don't get round here!! :)Thinking coasts and moorland :)
ReplyDeleteWith very best wishes and kindest regards to you and your family. Caroline
I love the canal boats they're so pretty. Thanks for sharing a lovely walk.:-)
ReplyDeleteDeb - Thanks so much - would love a holiday on a canal boat one day :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely walk. And green apples:) I like those little surprises along the trail. Looks pretty healthy. As for the blackberries, well those are treat if you have them in the area:) I have found that picking blackberries can be scary. Rodents like to eat the berries. Snakes like to eat the rodents and humans like the berries. Therefore human vs snake=scream:) OR human vs bear in many of our northern areas:) Good times growing up while blackberrying:)
ReplyDeleteChris Rohrer -Thanks so much Chris. Oh heck I see what you mean about blackberrying where you are!! I did have to smile at your comment even though I know its not a funny matter having seen photos of some of your venomous snakes!! Luckily for me only have one venomous snake over here(the Adder) which is believed extinct in Warwickshire! So I can blackberry hopefully in safety - although they do attract wasps!!! :)
ReplyDeleteMaking a lot of apple and blackberry crumbles at the minute to use up last year's frozen fruit!!
I really enjoyed seeing these beautifully decorated narrow boats, especially the gardens on them. Watering could be challenging, although not far to go to fetch the water! :-)
ReplyDeleteMillymollmandy - Thanks so much. lol re: the watering and not having to go far!! Some of the containers did look as though the plants were a trifle thirsty!
ReplyDeleteHere's the clincher. Here not only do the snakes love to wait for the rodents to eat the berries....but so do some of our Black Bears:) One time I pulled a branch down as a kid and got a face full of bear staring back at me! I screamed running away from the bush. I learned my lesson about casually eating berries off of any bush...in that there is nothing casual about eating berries:)
ReplyDeleteChris Rohrer - lol Chris :) I can just imagine your reaction when you saw the bear. Although I appreciate that in reality it was not a laughing matter! Have come to appreciate from your blog posts some of the threats you could face from wildlife when out in the country. Its very tame over here compared! The only venomous snake is the adder and that is believed extinct in Warwickshire where I live and roam in the main!
ReplyDelete