It had rained a little earlier in the morning but it was supposed to be all clear later, so we didn't rush this morning. Once sorted we decided to walk into the village of Gnosall Heath to get some milk before setting off.
Just near the water points at Gnosall Heath is this old steam mill that I think was built in the 1830's. I love the metal windows are pretty special and although very modernised I'm pleased that they have kept them as they certainly add character.
At the next bridge is the Boat pub that has a few different facades towards the canal. Apparently it started out as a farm workers cottage but when the canal was cut through next to it it was taken over by the canal company and it was thought that part of it was used as a stables for the fly boat horses.
The other side of bridge 34 was an industrial area that started out as a coal, lime and salt depot. It then moved more to a sawmill and timber yard and a manufacturer of furniture etc. Henry Belcher was the owner and by 1880 120 were employed. Timber was brought via the canal and a overhead crane moved it to the saw mill. There was a massive fire in the saw mill and afterwards the emphasis moved to a brick works. By 1913 it became a milk depot that was supplying milk to the Cadbury factory at Knighton. Any surplus they made cheese etc on their own account and used the whey to feed their own 600 pigs. They had their own two narrow boats that carried 2000 gals each. It later became a council depot and was then sold for housing. This boundary marker must have been by the old brick works.
The south portal of Cowley Tunnel shows that it is cut right through solid rock. The tunnel is 81 yds long but it was intended to be 690 yds. After the remaining part that was through solid rock the rest was through unstable rock and so was opened out to form the cutting that we are now travelling through in the photo. Major work was done at the cutting in the late 1980's as it had unstable sides, worse than Woodseaves Cutting and the canal was closed for several months.
Bridge 26 is a turnover bridge. It is not quite as graceful as those on the Macclesfield but is a rarity here on the Shropshire Union
Lord Talbort's Wharf is a lovely building that was erected in the 1830's as transport point for goods in and out for the local land owner Lord Talbort. Surprisingly not converted to a house.
Just the other side of the bridge is another wharf that was owned by Cadbury's, another collection point for local milk. It is now a private house with a lovely timber extension to it.
The Shropshire Union is a late canal and so has the many cuttings and embankment and the dead straight sections too. Between Low Onn and Wheaton Aston there is a straight that is about 1.75 miles long.
The trees in Lapley Wood Cutting made me think of a Tolkein story as they leaned in to almost meet above the canal.
We were soon at the Street Wharf and aqueduct over the A5, Telfords road to Holyhead and the old Roman Watling Street. It would seem that this stretch has not been adopted by a local group otherwise I would have thought that it would have been smartened up by now.
When I lived near Birmingham we came under this aqueduct many times and it looks even busier now.
By Watling Street is the Belvide Reservoir it was built to supply water to the building Birmingham and Liverpool Junction Canal. It opened in 1833, but as the canal was busy they needed more water so the reservoir was enlarged in 1842. The canal is owned by the C&RT and is also a nature reserve and the public are not allowed access. This is the feeder from the reservoir into the canal.
We stopped not too much further down, and before Brewood. It was a nice afternoon so I got started on washing the port side of the boat. Of course there were a couple of little showers but I did finish it.
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