Woodseaves and Tyrley.

On Tuesday we moved up to Goldstone Wharf, yesterday we sat out the usual rain and wind and this morning we set off for Market Drayton.

Heading north we came to the mighty Woodseaves Cutting. When they built this canal they seemed to have had a sense of drama, the entrance to the cutting is through a bridge, set like the proscenium arch of a theatre.

Act 1. A waterfall where there shouldn't be one.

It's difficult to comprehend the effort that went into digging this out with nothing but muscle power, no JCBs in those days.

Ever since it was dug there have been problems with unstable sides.

This lot has been brought down by the recent weather. Minor compared to some of the land slips that have occurred but a warning of what can happen.

The ducks had given up on the canal and were swimming up the towpath.
Once clear of the cutting we approached Tyrley Wharf.

There was a surprise waiting for us,

Another Armadillo.

It's been a month or so since we worked through any locks, Tyrley is normally a pleasant flight of locks but with all the rain we've had

the by-washes were a bit frisky and made bringing the boat through quite interesting.

Through the locks and we passed these chaps fishing, they didn't seem to be having much luck.
So here we are at Market Drayton, rain still falling and the forecast for more dire weather.

Watch this space.............