Hello and welcome back to my blog 😊.

This morning myself and Angela decided to take a walk along a section of the Grantham canal ( a canal under restoration after years of neglect) that Angela had not walked before. The forecast was rain towards late morning but we decided to get out early and chance it – turned out to be a good decision.

Parking in a layby by Dove Cottage Tea Rooms near Harby we headed west along the towpath.

The towpath was quite muddy to begin with and gradually got worse as we made our way towards Harby. After roughly a mile we reached Harby and the towpath was much improved. It is just as well because we were quite deflated by the condition of the towpath.

We passed an old warehouse that would have been used in the canals heyday. The remnants of a windmill were also visible.

There was some interestingly coloured algae on the waters surface – normally green this variety was reddish in colour.

It was the usual people- free walk along the canal. The water level in the canal was high after months of rain- there were plenty of waterlogged fields to see and we wondered how they will recover.

The swans were friendly and paddled across to visit us.

Along the section past the village of Hose and on our way to Hickling, there were a number of nice swingbridges to explore.

Close to Hickling we passed under a bridge that had been restored in 2006. I do appreciate a nice canal bridge.

A little further we passed a restored lengthmans hut – a lengthman was an employee of the canal company who maintained a particular length of canal and its towpath, cutting back vegetation and watching for potential breaches.

The Canal and River Trust have done a good job on this hut. A little further on we reached the canal basin at Hickling – it was bustling with people.

Myself and Angela found a bench, enjoyed a cuppa and watched the world go by. Heading back on our return leg now the rain clouds were gathering.

We were lucky to only encounter light rain. At the end of our Valentines Day walk we were planning to visit the tea rooms close to where we parked, but predictably, when we got there the car park was full – maybe next time.

It was certainly a good stretch of the legs.

Happy Walking! 😊🚶‍♂️