Had a late start this morning whilst we waited for the washing to be dried. There were no facilities for washing at the marina despite the canal companion indicating that there were but the nice staff at Norbury Junction offer a service wash which was great. We used all the facilities to top up water and empty toilets. Then we headed toward Tyrley Wharf. The weather was lovely and sunny and we didn't even need our coats today. A very pleasant start to the cruise but then we encountered loads of private moorings which you can only pass on tick over so that delayed our journey. Then we came to a cutting called Woodseaves which was very narrow, oppressing and a bit scary so the end of the journey was not pleasant. The whole canal is very dark and isolated with very little option to view the surrounding countryside. We did get a glimpse at The Wrekin, Clee and Breidden hills but only between gaps in the hedge. Again the Shropshire Union is not the most pleasant canal that we have cruised but most people we have spoken to love it. We must be missing something! We eventually came to Turley Wharf locks and decided to stop for the night. We walked to the local pub called the Four Alls. A little bit of a walk into the village but when we got there we had a very nice welcome at a very nice pub. There was a very interesting bridge at on the canal, number 39, very tall and had a telegraph pole in it. It is also meant to be haunted by a black monkey type creature following the death of a boatman in the 19th Century. We didn't see any monkeys but lots of swans, geese, ducks and even managed to get some good photos of the heron. There were quite a few tall bridges along the route today which usually signaled one of the dark cuttings.
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