Ducks on the Shelf

Monday 14^th September 2020

We’re not under great time pressure on this trip, so we have been trying to follow a tough day like yesterday with an easier run the day after. So this morning I cycled off to the supermarket, the same Morrisons I used two years ago when we came past on the Home Run. Meanwhile Loulie took the dogs out for a nice long walk – she was originally trying to find a way onto a nature reserve close to the canal behind us, but it turned out there was no way through. So she went along the towpath to the next bridge, then round a large circuit along country lanes and woodland paths. At one point they had to cross a stream by means of a large fallen tree, like the log where Robin Hood fought Little John. The Labradors trotted over without a thought, but Loulie and Mabel were more tentative.

Little John's Bridge

We eventually got under way not long before midday. It was a hot sunny day, and the canal level seemed low – the shelf was actually visible in places, and in several places ducks were using it to stand on. Not long after setting off we stopped briefly in Brewood (pronounced “Brood”) so I could walk into the village and buy some beer – it was looking like a day where we would appreciate a cold drink after mooring up.

Ducks on the shelf

This lower section of the Shroppie is classic Telford – long straight sections, and a minimum of locks. We only had one to do today, the isolated one at Wheaton Aston. After that we passed through Gnossall and then Norbury Junction, again each one providing memories of two years ago. In the cutting at Gnossall was the spot where we had moored for the night and Posie, then just a small puppy, had climbed off up the bank in the dark, with only a small light on her collar to tell me where she was.

A couple of miles past Norbury Junction we had our eyes on a couple of visitor moorings at Anchor Bridge. The first one we came to was full, but on the other side of the bridge there was space, no shelf and we found a very nice mooring on rings. We put our chairs on the stern deck and broke out the lager. Across the canal from us was a big house – we saw a woman looking out the window at us and decided she was the madwoman from Psycho. A little later she came out and walked around her grounds with a spaniel, not so dangerous looking after all.

Moored at Anchor Bridge

TODAY: 6:15 HOURS. 16.7 MILES. 1 LOCK.

Voyage: 66:25 HOURS. 122.9 MILES. 102 LOCKS.