Grand Western Canal

I walked at the canal again today, starting from the Jubilee bridge this time. It does a horseshoe loop that is quiet disorientating, you feel as if you’ve turned around on yourself. It started cold but once the sun broke through it became a gorgeous day for a stroll, towards Halberton. 2013 Mar 17_3573

The tow path winds its way through the Devon countryside for eleven miles.

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With lovely views of farmland.

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Under some very old bridges, the Devon section of the canal opened in 1814 so the bridges must be roughly the same age.

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It was a muddy day and welly boots were called for – sadly I wasn’t wearing mine! Never mind, it was worth it to see this stunning tree.

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There is lots of wildlife, but I took the wrong lens. When I was there a few weeks ago I had the zoom lens and needed the the standard, this time if I had the zoom I could have got a decent shot of . . . I’m hoping the Hobbit will tell me?

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If you live in the UK you will have heard about the damage to the canal bank in November last year when many parts of the country suffered severe floods. This gallery shows some of the damage, and the temporary dams that are in place to prevent further problems until the repairs begin. Thankfully Devon County Council have budgeted three million pounds to rebuild the thirty metre breach in the embankment. The work begins in June and will take nearly a year to complete.

Now I’ll leave you with a photo from the end of today’s walk, hope you enjoyed it.

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