A beautiful morning.

I took Meg for a walk back up to Saltersford Tunnel this morning. It was wonderful walking through the wooded section, the birds singing and the hawthorn blossom blowing about in drifts in the breeze. I wanted to take a picture of a sign I’d not noticed before.

Beware Jellyfish?

Or maybe Space Invaders?

No, on closer inspection it’s an instruction to portage (carry) canoes around the tunnel, rather than paddling through.

I took some more pictures besides….

Bridge 206 at the end of the trees.

North portal of Saltersford Tunnel.

Rape seed alongside the river, glowing in the sun.

A clearer view looking across the Weaver Valley.

A fine morning.

Over the last 2 or 3 days there have been several ex-working boats heading south. When meeting one of these deep-draughted craft I always give way, pulling over to give them the benefit of the deeper channel. My gripe is they always seem to pass too fast. Even empty (as they invariably are) they shift quite a bit of water. The final straw was when the motor JOEL passed our mooring this afternoon, ripping our pins out and leaving us drifting across the canal. Don’t the normal rules of consideration apply to these boaters? After all, they have no more right to the water than our modern tubs, apart from the very view still actually commercially trading, they are a throwback to an earlier canal age. Yes, they are good to see still on the water, but along with the pride an owner of one of these craft must feel, there must be a sense of responsibility to other waterway users.

Rant over. What’s for tea?

Locks 0, miles 0. (just a few feet sideways….)