Three pubs, two kingfishers and one water point!

A lovely day was in prospect, but first thing there was still quite a cool breeze.

The 'Shroppie' seems to be a series of cuttings and embankments. This is Chillington Bridge and as the road that was cut by the building of the canal led to the Hall the occupant insisted that it was a bit more than a common bridge, It looked good in the sun today.

We stopped about a mile and a half after and had a ramble into Brewood (Brood) for milk and a paper. It was a lovely day for a walk and everybody was in a good mood too. I'm sure that I read that this ornate  building just off the square was built by a resident from winnings for a bet on a horse race. I hope that there were some winners of the Grand National yesterday.

As a family we had one of our first hire boat holidays from Countrywide Cruises near Brewood and the blossom just set off their wharf. I was surprised that there were not more boats out on the cut.

A flash of colour showed that a kingfisher was in the area. This was the best I could do.

This is the aqueduct built by Thomas Telford over the London - Holyhead turnpike  mail road, also built by Thomas Telford.

Lapley Wood cutting had some statuesque trees that were not yet clothed in leaves so letting the sun filter through to keep us warm.

The one lock of the day roused us and straight after we stopped for water and to dump the rubbish. Here the passengers watch the worker get the job done before rousing them and heading off again.

Not long after Lord Talbot's Wharf  are a couple of nice bridges that glowed in the sun.

I think Cowley Tunnel is the only tunnel on the Shropshire Union and it is bare rock hewn with no brick lining. As you can see it is very short.

Not long after the tunnel we decided to moor up near to the Boat pub at Gnosall (No-zul) Heath. As we had eaten bacon sandwiches enroute we decided an hour of chilling would be a good idea before setting out and testing the three pubs in the village. Unfortunately we were back too late to hear the latest Archers, but have 'Line of Duty' to look forward to.

This was the start of our 'pub crawl' and it  all looks nice and summery. By the time we left the last it was decidedly cooler. So much so that when I got back to the boat, the fire was lit.