Stafford District

We split up this morning, with Ben and I departing the boat at 8am for an hour's walk to the Shugborough National Trust estate. Mum and Kev stayed behind with the boat to visit the antique shops in Wolseley and buy a rabbit of their own.

The walk up the canalside in the early morning sunshine was lovely, and we visited the Essex Bridge at Greater Haywood, the oldest surviving packhorse bridge in the UK apparently. We took some time to play with our cameras taking photos at the bridge before walking through to the estate itself. COVID regulations meant an annoying myriad of one way or locked routes (annoying only as it seemed to serve little purpose to the prevention of spreading the disease), but we walked through and up to Hadrian's Arch under a threatening sky. Here we played some more with the cameras and then walked back down to the walled garden. The Head Gardener's house is stunning, if sadly disused, but the produce here was extensive and we took some deliciously fresh blackberries.

A call from mum informed us not only that they had moored up near us, but also that Kev had managed to fall in to the canal (although understanding why took work given her hysterical laughter!).

We wandered up the canal to the Canalside Farm Shop and Cafe where we had a well-deserved breakfast. The farm shop sells the most lovely looking food so I bought a few cakes for the final day before we went back to the boat to head for Stone.Læs mere