Ocean journey

 Monday August 16 Stroudwater walk

This morning we motored to St Cyr Church, Stonehouse, near Stroud, and walked from the church to within sight of the M5 motorway, following the largely newly surfaced towpath.

Once past the scenic churchyard, we crossed the modern Ocean swing bridge to walk beside the wide Ocean stretch of canal. An audio information point goes on at length about it. We walked on, under the railway. What a pity they culverted the canal. 

We passed a CCT volunteer vegetation cutting. 

Bonds Mill has a swing bridge with a weird bridge house, complete with WW2 pillbox on top! The mill was a shadow factory in WW2.

 Newtown Lock, now gated and being finished. 

Blunder Lock is also complete, but Pike lock is ungated, at the moment.  

We crossed the road next to Pike Lock, passing the CCT western depot. We chatted to CCT volunteers here, just outside their western depot, and followed them to the derelict Dock Lock.

We carried on past Dock Lock to a bridge from which we could see the M5. 

One day soon the canal will pass under the M5, using the River Frome under bridge

We had lunch at the CCT lock side cafe in Stroud, visited the shops and bought small nails and quadrant beading to secure the cratch window. Later, John fixed the beading to the triangular cratch window.