Valentine's Day Canal Walk

Hope you all had a lovely Valentine's Day on Tuesday.

Chris has had a few days off work this week so when we woke up on Tuesday and the sun was shining, he suggested we go for a walk to see what had been happening down at the canal where there has been lots of restoration going on.

We started by walking down the lane where we said hello to the sweet little pony that lives in the corner field. I always worry about this pony as it always looks a little lonely in the field on its own and doesn't have a pal.

In the field behind, we spotted two deer...

We then took the path down to the canal and enjoyed walking along the old tow path where there are signs that clearance work has been taking place but there is still much work to be done.

Look at this lovely old lock...

These ducks were enjoying the tranquility..

In the other direction, you can see how much nature has taken over....

Further along, the water was still frozen....

There was another lovely old bridge....

And this little moorhen having to peck through the ice to find food.....

The next lock was very overgrown.....

Closer to the town, this area is being carefully cleared as the old canal has been covered by landfill....

We then reached the restored lock that Princess Anne opened last week..

We decided to have lunch nearby at the Lockkeeper's Cafe.

After a delicious panini and a cup of tea, we went to the Visitor Centre where we spent an hour chatting to Jill who gave us loads of fantastic information about the canal history and restoration. We also joined the Cotswold Canals Trust and I had visions of us volunteering, wearing wellies and waterproofs, spades in hand, helping to clear the vegetation we had seen earlier :)

We then climbed the hill back home, passing these cows and calves on the way...

Home for a cup of tea, to browse the booklets we had been given and reflect on our lovely Valentine's Day walk :)

Maggie xx