To the end of the Shropshire Union Canal

Friday 7th October 2016
Brewood

First things first; before we could go and explore Brewood.  Monty and I went for a lovely long walk along the tow path heading south and Chris got on with some boat jobs which included fitting the new horn he purchased yesterday.  Not only does it sound better (the old one sounded like it had a frog in its throat), but it also looks better.

One of our canal guides states that Brewood is the sort of place that "makes you stay longer than you planned", and we would certainly agree with that.  It is a charming village that is large enough to have all major services without losing it's village feel.  This is the market square that is the hub of the village.

This is a must visit shop along with the butcher

Speedwell Castle is on the corner of the market square which purportedly was built with the winnings made on a bet on a horse called Speedwell - if you want to know more have a look HERE

It had always been our intention to have lunch out and we decided on The Staffordshire Grill which is part of the Lion Hotel in the Market Square.  It is classified as 'fine dining' and it certainly was.  Not the cheapest of meals, but worth every penny.

We had looked around the charming church, but it is very hard to get a good photo in the village and the interior was too dark for good photos, but from the towpath going south and looking back is the best place to take a photo of the church.

This is a village we will return to and one I think we could happily live in, but are unlikely ever to do so.

Saturday 8th October 2016
Brewood to Autherley Junction
5 miles, 1 lock

A short day for us and not the most exciting part of the Shropshire Union, but it was trouble free with very little traffic.  This one was of great interest - the first we saw was the lady on the roof removing the chimney to get under a bridge.  Then they blew their steam whistle.  Definitely a boat with a difference.

Bridge 10 is majestic - it leads to Chillington Hall and is so ornate to adorn an otherwise purely functional architecture of the new trade route to pacify powerful landowners whose land the new canal passed through.

Do here we were at Autherley Junction at the end of the Shropshire Union Canal which was a delight and one to be done again one day.

Where the signs of autumn are unmistakeable

And we came to the only lock of the day - a stop lock of a few inches with a boat coming up as we waited to go down

and as we left another boat waiting to take our place.

We moored round the corner and busied ourselves preparing for tomorrow which would be a very long day.

nb Chris's comment on seeing this picture 'who is that old chap with the white hair?'!!