Thursday 2 August 2012

The Big One (17-1)


Thursday 2nd of August 2012

Wheaton Aston to Norbury Junction.

It was overcast first thing in the morning as we prepared to move on. However, later we had the odd break for the sunshine to warm our backs. Quite a few boats on the move, however few of them were hire boats. 

The Shroppie has lived up to its reputation and we had some stunning views from the top of the Shelmore embankment. The Shelmore Embankment gave Telford more headaches than anything he'd ever built before. Many times it slipped while being built and even after it was finished a slide occurred and a number of years passed before it was fully rebuilt. By then the great engineer had died of old age.



We met up with a boat in the narrows just before Cowley tunnel. It was a tight squeeze and we lost a boat fender on the cutting wall. The 81-yard Cowley Tunnel was planned to be 690 yards long. However, after the rocky first 81 yards the ground was unstable, and the remaining length was opened out to form the present narrow and steep-sided Cowley Cutting.

Some of the bridges over the shroppie are very ornate. The canal-side woods are full of very mature trees. We stopped at Norbury Junction for our lunch break. The sky turned quite dark and the torrents of rain soon began to fall. We decided to call a halt for the day and sit out the rain. 

We paid a visit to the Norbury Boatyard Chandlers and purchased a couple of LED lights. They were priced quite competitive. However, everything else was we thought very expensive. So we passed on a new chimney and cowl. Being able to purchase similar items on the Internet at much affordable price. making a good saving even when including the postage and packaging. The diesel was also 5p a litre more expensive than we purchased at Wheaton Aston. 


The Memsahib also felt she was being taken for a ride when pricing milk at £1.25 a litre! Unlike the two Toff's residing in Downing Street we do know what the price of a litre of milk should be. At this rate the price paid to farmers should be making them a fortune as well.


Wildlife: A large female buzzard was seen eating a small rabbit. Later a second buzzard was seen perched up in a canal side tree. We also spotted a few damselfly's and dragonfly's the best being a Brown Hawker.


This Weeks Solar Data.
Average 25.0 Ah per day High 39ah Low 03ah


Daily Total
Miles: 7.3
Locks: 0
Swing / Lift Bridges: 0

Tunnels: 1
Pump Outs: 0
Engine Hours: 4.0



Accumulated Totals
Miles: 1027.5
Locks: 748
Swing / Lift Bridges: 119
Tunnels. 19
Pump Outs: 12
Engine Hours: 2307.3


Later......









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