Market Drayton and Tyrley Locks.

 Friday 22nd September 2023 at Goldstone Bridge.

Awoke to a pretty morning and a rainbow in the sky. Lovely!

Market Drayton is only a mile down the canal, so we set off after breakfast intending to have lunch there before tackling Tyrley locks.

This is the famous "Butter Cross" in the middle of Market Drayton; we walked in and we had lunch in the "Buttercross" café overlooking it.

After going to Morrison's for a "few bts", we walked back to MM and set off the mile or so to Tyrley Locks. Just below the lock flight is the colourful character known as "Sid's Nook". He appears to be more and more dressed up each time we pass but goodness knows how, as there is no access from the bank on his side!

The five Tyrley locks are cut through solid rock.  It always amazes us how the trees manage to root into the rock so tenaciously in a way that is positively serpentine.

Our luck still held through the locks as all but one were for us; for that lock there was a single handed boat coming down so M helped the chap through. 

The top lock has a most attractive group of buildings beside it; they have been used for all sorts purposes since the early 19th century - schoolrooms, reading rooms, courtrooms, warehouses etc. Now they are private residences.

The "Shroppie" is a Thomas Telford canal; unlike Mr Brindley, he didn't worry about contours but drove his canals in straight lines through cuttings or over embankments as necessary. Just south of Tyrley is the first major cutting called Woodseaves. The depth of the cuttings can be judged by the height of the bridges that cross them. Tremendous achievements, given that this was all done by hand in the days before mechanical means.

We saw two kingfishers in the cutting. This one stayed on ts branch without moving as we passed. Its head is actually there if you look closely - it is partially obscured by a leaf.

The cutting, being very deep and steep, is quite unstable and there are frequent landslips. This one brought a huge rock down to the dge of the canal.

At Goldstone Bridge, just south of the cuttng, we moored up where we knew there were 48 hour moorings with rings.

Today: 7 miles, 5 locks and 3.1 hours.

Trip: 248 mies, 116 locks and 138.0 hours.