A stroll down the towpath

Hands up how many have made a Golden Ginger cake?  The title of this post came about when Jaq started her Christmas baking and rather than risk severe intoxication I decided a walk was needed. So leaving the strong smells of Grand Marnier soaking into cakes I took off along the towpath.

Having been out a few times recently and feeling no ill effects I just kept walking and ended up in Northchurch about two miles down the canal.
The beauty of this part of the Grand Union is that the bus and train routes are never too far away so not wishing to over stretch myself I went out to the main road and caught the bus back to the boat.

Spring is on it`s way. No frozen canals so far  but the good old UK weather could change at anytime so perhaps the buds should slow down a bit. Tomorrow is Winter Solstice the longest night of the year. From then on the daylight hours increase leading us brightly through spring into summer. So with the weather a bit mild, think back to frozen mid November canals, and longer days ahead things are not so bad.

Just down from Cow Roast  this scene caught my eye. I couldn`t just walk by so in the interests of  you.......ok I was being nosey. Just to the left is a former lockeepers cottage that has for sometime had problems with water seeping into the cellar through the lock chamber wall. Boaters have  for quite a long time been instructed to leave the lock empty of water after use to ease the problem. The water did drain away from the cellar via a gully but of course damp was a big problem. They are using a type of expanding foam that is pumped under pressure to varying depths where it comes in contact with water in the earth and blocks the route to the cellar. Looking at the markers they had put in the ground this would be a barrier stretching past the lock gates in either direction.

Just next to the lock is a field owned I believe by the lock cottage residents that contains two very well looked after Donkeys. They are very clean and have good weather proof accommodation

Notices on the fence ask people not to feed them but they always wander over if you put a hand through the fence. I suppose we all live in hope of a treat but all they got from me was a stroke and a smell of my hand.

Just a bit further on some fallen trees on the opposite bank had me salivating. I was in no condition to wield a chainsaw so all I could do was look. Funny thing was the picture I took has somehow disappeared from the album on the laptop. Perhaps someone is watching over me with a sympathetic eye and doesn`t want me to suffer the indignity of not being able to show you a pile of cut logs.

A bit further on I had the pleasure of a Kingfisher flying past and landing canal side and flying on after I passed. This it repeated three times till it flew over a lock and out of site.
Just by coincidence I came across a nature photography exhibition and amongst the exhibits were these amazing pictures of a kingfisher. The second Kingfisher referred to in the text can be seen perched on the right halfway down. The nest hole is top left.