Sunday, July 24, 2022

Waterways

There is nothing nicer when the weather is warm than to get out early in the morning and to walk beside a  local waterway.  We've done this twice over the last few days. Having spent Sunday, Monday and Tuesday at home because of the heat it was good to get out and about again.

On Wednesday we went to the nearby town of Stone and after shopping and a quick coffee at the canal side M&S Food we took a short walk along the towpath.
 
The Trent and Mersey Canal passes through the town.

It starts at Shardlow in Derbyshire and ends at Preston Brook in Cheshire passing through Staffordshire on its way.  It joins with the River Mersey via the Bridgewater canal.
 
Built originally to link the Rivers Trent and Mersey it reaches  the River Trent at Derwent Mouth just six miles from Shardlow.
 
The locks were busy with vessels waiting their turn on either side.  People were heading to the shops to buy supplies whilst waiting, others walking their dogs along the towpath.  Most boats seemed to have a dog on board either sitting patiently or walking backwards and forwards along the top of the boats.
 
We walked along the towpath and past a couple of locks.

I loved all the vegetation growing in and around these lock gates.
The same lock from the other side.

The footbridge over the canal which takes you into the town centre.
 
The view from the footbridge.  We returned to our car which was parked in the M&S car park this way.  It was a fairly short but interesting and lively walk.

Yesterday we visited the local farm shop to buy birdfood.  It is being consumed quite rapidly at the moment, mostly into the tummies of squirrels rather than birds. I was pleased to see this week that the long tailed tits had returned to the garden to feed on the fat balls.  We also had a very hungry badger in the garden on Wednesday,  I suspect it couldn't get worms from the soil in the very hot weather.
 
We moved on from there just a couple of miles to walk along the riverside on the Wedgwood Estate at Barlaston.

This walk was completely opposite to the first one as it was peaceful and quiet with hardly a soul in sight.  A place of tranquility rather than a hive of activity.

The River Trent meanders its way through the area.  It starts as a small trickle from its source just north of the Potteries on Biddulph Moor.  It is quite small as it passes through Stoke-on-Trent.
 
As it grows wider it passes through Burton-on-Trent, Nottingham, Newark-on-Trent and then up to Gainsborough. From here it joins the River Ouse and the River Humber estuary and thence into the North Sea.
 
Imagine all those boats and all that industry over the centuries, but here the river is tranquil although not far from the Wedgwood factory and close to the Trent and Mersey Canal as well as the main railway line between Manchester and London.
 

The walk was delightful under the over hanging branches of the willow trees.  Butterflies and bees hovered above Rosebay willow herb flowers and other vegetation.  I hoped that we may see dragonflies by the river as well but they were absent this time.

This little Skipper was the only insect that would stay still long enough for me to take a photograph.

Two lovely walks in places of leisure that would formerly have been areas of hard work and industry.

All for now.
 

18 comments:

  1. Two lovely walks Rosie - its always good to walk by water be it a canal, river or lake. Pleased to read the river walk was particularly quiet and tranquil. Thank goodness it is cooler that it was! Love your photos and always good to spot a Skipper :)

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    1. Thank you RR. I enjoyed both walks. The river walk was idyllic, a lovely summer morning, it was about 9.30a.m. and hardly a soul about:)

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  2. What lovely walks & some wonderful photos. With all the heat you've experienced, I'm surprised it's still green. Wouldn't be here! I've loved meandering along canals when we've been across & would love to be able to walk them again. Thanks for sharing, take care & hugs.

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    1. Thank you Susan, some places are still vey green and verdant - excecpt our front lawn:) We've had lots of rain over the last few days so things are getting better. I was thinking about all the Yorkshire canals you could walk along, pehaps one day. Take care:)

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  3. Wonderful shots. The graceful arch of that bridge really catches my eye.

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    1. Thank you William, there is something about bridges isn't there?:)

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  4. You can't beat a walk by the water, there is always so much to see and it's so good for the soul. Have a great week 😊

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    1. Thank you CK, I really enjoyed both walks, they did lift the spirits:)

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  5. It’s hard to believe how busy those canals would have been a couple of hundred years ago. You are certainly blessed with lots of watery walks in your corner. B x

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    1. Thank you B yes we do have lots of green areas in the city and lakes as well as the river and canals. I wonder what the folk who manned those barges and narrow boats full of coal and pottery would think if they could see the canal now?:)

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  6. You have some lovely places of interest where you live. There must be so much to see along by a canal with a lot of waterway activity, but tranquil areas along the towpath too.

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    1. Thank you Linda, lots of lovely areas along the canals, lots of signs of past industries and a couple of industrial museums too:)

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  7. What a lovely walk along the canal.. so pretty and I guess cool. Your photos are so good.

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    1. Thank you Chris, glad you enjoyed the photos:)

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  8. Walks by water are always so interesting. And ever changing too. There aren't many Butterflies that I have managed to photo this year, but I have got one of a skipper too. :)

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    1. Thank you Shazza. Yes the waterways change as the year progresses. Non of the smaller butterflies stayed still but I was pleased to catch the skipper before it moved on:)

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  9. I think England's canals are very romantic, you are blessed to walk along them. It is good to see canal boats still using the canals, I have watched a couple of TV series about people and their narrow boats.

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  10. Thank you Terra, canals are fascinating and there have been quite a few TV programmes about them recently:)

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