Strolling along the lush canals ...

 Everything is glorious & green with summer lushness & hedgerow flowers bursting in to bloom. 

The fields are golden yellow & the sight of harvests is evident all about our county. 

Today, my choice of a Sunday stroll was to visit the canals which snake through our county of Shropshire & Staffordshire. I treated the Godsons to a special trip on the same canals some years back, in midwinter. In winter, the canals take on a mystical view with ice & frozen water. 

They were the highways of times gone by, carrying goods around & especially the delicate pottery from the many potteries in our counties. This pottery from Coalport & Stoke on Trent was world famous & the waterways helped to move it about. 

Our canals have many interesting trips like this afternoon tea last September.  Summer is beautiful along the canals with green leaves & light filtering through the canopy of leaves.

Today it was just the local one with a deep cutting & a long tunnel that give beautiful views on both sides. 

The tunnel is long & it gets dark towards the middle before emerging at the side with elegant strands of ivy draping over the tunnel. 

As we approached the tunnel, 3 sets of canoeists were making their way towards the tunnel, a boat going the same way, hung back for them  & then an approaching boat had to pull up for the 3 canoes to safely transverse the tunnel. 

Voices echo in the tunnel & then the throb of the approaching boat reverberated around the stone & brickwork. 

We walked back to the spot where the boats moor up & I am always impressed by the handpainting details on boats. Many have solar panels on the roof now & their plant boxes are briming over with herbs, tomatoes & more. A reminder of autumn is evident with firewood stacked on top - it can be cold on the water & most of the boats have a woodburning fire in them. 

A lovely time in nature, enjoying the feeling of space along the canals. It is the little things in life that reset us ... 

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Dee ☔️🪴🚙🚣‍♀️

Enjoying our lovely canals ...

How welcome the bright, warmer weather is after a grey winter. The oil seed rape / canola oil fields are so stunning that a drive was needed today - how can you not be uplifted at this sight? 

Our lovely county of Shropshire is a large rural one, the heart of the Industrial Revolution that propelled the world in to the new age of mechanism ...

These canals once carried barges full of merchandise from our Industries around the country, our precious potteries were safely transported by canal when the roads were too bumpy.

They hold a special place in my heart, I love the way they wind through our countryside, unseen at times but the old highways now carry tourist narrow boats along at a leisurely 4 mile per hour pace, a gently hum the only things that disturbs the peace.

The bright weather today gave us the opportunity to get out & a canal walk was my first choice - it has been a long winter & I just knew that the trees would be greening up & it would be perfect ...

I have seen photos of this unusual canal bridge so it was lovely to see it today with the double arch & the telephone wires on the top arch - it is really tall & spans a deep crossing ...

The water was a little muddy today after our recent rains but the ducks with  their sweet young ducklings did not seem to mind ...

The bridges are all different sizes & shapes which frame the views beyond ...

 The countryside is so green now & the hedgerows are filled with pretty flowers ...

We called in for drinks at a tiny little canalside pub - the bar was just this little counter with what looked like 2 front rooms for patrons,  everyone sat in the garden enjoying the canal views & the sunshine - bliss ...

As we eventually walked back, the sun was much brighter & we had walked 7.5km along the tow paths. The reflections were perfect, it was green, peaceful & the perfect way to spend an afternoon.

On the way home, we passed a lot of poly tunnels, all laid out so beautiful,  a nod to the agrarian nature of our county where farming is still very evident. 

Thank you for stopping by & taking the time to read & comment,
Dee ~💕~