Hello and welcome back to my blog 😊.

Yesterday, myself and Angela took a walk along the Grantham Canal on a section that Angela had not walked before. She is gradually walking the full length of the canal (33 miles) in stages. After all the muddy walks this week, I was keen to do a walk where I knew we would have decent paths.

The previous day we managed a short 5 mile walk as the weather threatened rain. The clouds were very moody looking but it was surprisingly mild.

A bonus at the end of our walk was a magnificent double rainbow – one of natures wonders.

There was no rain forecast for our new walk 😊. We parked the car near the A46 and walked along the towpath through Cotgrave Country Park to reach Tollerton bridge. We then returned taking a different path through the park to reach a high point with a view towards Nottingham.

On our way to the Country Park we passed a couple of derelict locks that are awaiting restoration.

Some parts of the canal were dry and reedy. Others held water. The path was dry 😊.

Entering the Country Park we passed a new lock then crossed over a bridge to visit a coffee vendor that we had spotted.

The coffee vendor whose business is named ‘Ginger and Blue’ (she has ginger hair) was selling from a blue van with a steady stream of customer arriving. https://www.gingerandbluecoffee.co.uk/

The coffee served was excellent and we will definitely visit again.

On our way out of the park now, we passed another derelict lock and a nice lock-keepers cottage.

There were quite a few water fowl living on the canal- mallards and coots as well as swans. Some mallards looked as though they were nesting.

The tranquillity beside the canal was broken as we continued along the path. We were passing by Tollerton Airfield which had helicopters and small planes continually taking off and landing. The helicopters were particularly grating – they seemed to be buzzing around like flies. We stood for a while watching the small aircraft coming in to land.

Further along the canal we saw a spot where some reinforcing had been put in place to protect the bank from breaching.

At this stage Angela was looking for a bench to sit on whilst having some lunch – alas, there were none. We reached Tollerton bridge and turned around. It is interesting how things look different when you come from a different direction.

At the Country Park we left the towpath and followed signs up through the Park to a high point hoping for a good view. We got a view across Nottingham but it wasn’t clear because the sky was dull/cloudy. There were, however, four benches so Angela was happy!

We came off the hill and re-joined the towpath and eventually were back at the car. We were a step closer to Angela’s goal.

Happy Walking 😊🚶‍♂️