Saturday 9th March 2019



It was a wild day today. Very windy and rain on and off, heavy at times. Brenda went to the caravan site cafĂ© to try and get bread as we have run out. While they couldn’t spare any, the woman has ordered some for us for tomorrow. Very good of her.

In between the rain we had a walk around Fradley Junction, a thing we have not done before despite having been here a few times now. It is an interesting place. The junction is about a mile from Fradley village itself and consists of many buildings, all associated with the canal. The Swan stands within a row of buildings that includes old stables, now converted to a summertime cafe and stores, and canal cottages. There is also a drydock, a large junction house and waterways workshops, now largely containing CRT offices and a cafe.

As well as the canal buildings, there is a large, static caravan site that goes some way to explaining the popularity of Fradley Junction and the number of people watching the comings and goings of the boats.





                                               






                                                Canal Cottages at Fradley Junction with the Swan in the background



  





                                                                        Lock closure and repairs at Fradley Middle Lock





Britain’s canal system was never built as a national system. Rather different canals built by different companies for their own ends, each jealously guarding their trade and water supplies. At Fradley, the Trent and Mersey Canal had an ingenious method of denying water to the Coventry Canal. A sluice and culvert at the top lock runs water to Fradley Pools, a reservoir beside the lower locks, thereby by-passing the lock pound where the Coventry Canal joins. Fradley Pools, still in use, is now a nature reserve. We walked around it, very peaceful and a large body of water. There are many bird boxes and areas of fallen trees and bushes for insect life throughout the reserve. The Pools themselves provides fishing and pond dipping.





                                                                         Fradley Pools



I painted some porthole bungs and more roof tools, while Brenda prepared dinner, a stew, on the stovetop. We watched the 6-Nations Rugby in the afternoon but then we lost the TV and internet signal which we have put down to the weather.



Weather: wet and windy.


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