We started the day slowly (despite waking just before 7!) and first walked up to the village shop a short distance away.
The route took us first through the small Welford Pocket Park. We first discovered this some years ago and it is especially pleasing to see that it is still well maintained by a band of volunteers, meeting every first Sunday in the spring and summer months. Too often such projects are well funded to create them but little thought is given to the long term maintenance.
Several features are aimed at encouraging small wildlife - a couple of small ponds are just the place for some!
There is a Beetle Retreatle also meant to be a hotel for bees, moths and butterflies.
"I'm a dead hedge" is a refuge for small mammals, tiny birds and many insects.
Just after leaving the park we came across Postman pat again - we last reported on him in 2015 as well as in 2010. He has had an even more recent face life and a change of colour for his uniform and a splendid base on which to stand! But he does seem to have taken on a much less rugged appearance . . .
The small village shop is well stocked and we were able to find most of the things on our list - mainly a top up as the larders are still well packed! Opposite the shop is this splendid Salford House. As yet we have not been able to track down its origins but it seems now to be a large 8 bedroom Airbnb holiday let.
On the way back to the boat we took a look at the former lime kilns that were one of the important trade users of the canal in its early days. Christine was especially struck by the short history of found on the information boards nearby. See here for some detail.
We then turned the boat around in the winding hole opposite our mooring so that we could fill up from the water point almost at the very end of the arm.
It was well after midday before we finally left Welford for a short 2 mile run back to the junction where we hoped to find a better mobile signal (we should have read our blog from the last time we moored there as the signal was poor then!) At least it was long enough to fully charge our battery.
Welford Marina has two separate sets of moorings, one either side of the canal, The first is are are of pontoons open to the edge of the canal (along with the dry dock in the previous photo)
The second is a much more enclosed area with a narrow exit.
After dropping down the single lock - which was empty as we could see a boat just leaving - we continued to the junction where we reversed several boat lengths to a mooring. The convenient moorings with rings were all but occupied. We were able to tie the bow rope to the end ring but, for the first time in a long while, we had to get out a lump hammer and pin for the other end.
2.0 Miles - 1 Lock
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