The Suns back out

We leave Hopwas to a beautiful morning we pass Whittington firing range although no firing this morning,so we leave the woods and it open farmland again we pass the villages of Whittington and Huddlesford before we approach the famous Fradley junction, prior to joining  the Trent and Mersey canal we take on water then it's through the swing bridge and on to T&M and our first lock where we are helped by a Vlockie ( a volunteer lock keeper ) then another 2 locks before another clear run on the canal.

At Armitage the canal becomes industrialised with factories producing the product which most of us have used at one time or another ."......the toilet.

We pass Hawkesyard house which was once known a Spode house home to,the famous pottery family

 

and then on to the market town of Rugeley with its Hughes power station, its was also  home of  William Palmer or as he was known the Rugeley poisoner https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Palmer_(murderer)

The area of outstanding beauty Canock Chase is on our left with its exceptional flora and fauna, also home of fallow deer whose ancestors have grazed in this area for centuries.The site of Deutscher Soldatenfriedhof is also here, and contains graves of 2134 German servicemen from WW 1 and 2786 from WW2.

A little bit further on we moor up for the night, in a lovely spot over looking the chase. See you tomorrow.......