This is the latest installment from Jane in Oswestry, one of our members who enjoys walking along the towpath of the Montgomery Canal.
“We made time for another walk along ‘The Monty’ and fortunately this time it stayed dry, which was really fortunate bearing in mind recent weather.We set off from what would have been bridge 95, if it was still there, heading towards Llanymynech, on the border between Wales and England.
As always there is so much to see as you stroll along the canal. Today we saw swans, ducks, coots, moorhens and best of all, a kingfisher! Sadly I couldn’t get a pic of the kingfisher, its flash of blue disappeared as quickly as we saw it.
Signs of autumn are more obvious than my last walk. There are blackberries, snow berries, rose hips, and hawthorn berries – all are brighter and more in number. There are juicy damsons on a tree overhanging the tow path and the bullrushes look so majestic, proud and chimney like.
It’s obvious there is a lot of history all around. As you head towards Llanymynech you can see Llanymynech Rocks and the tall chimney of the Llanymynech lime works. When you reach Llanymynech there is the Llanymynech Heritage Centre and information boards which show you are in England on one side of bridge 92 and in Wales on the other side. This also means you are on Offa’s Dyke on the English side and then Wat’s Dyke on the Welsh side, both are clearly sign posted – see pics.
As always we met a number of people. Today there were walkers, a runner, a cyclist and a dog walker with an adorable dog.
We spotted wonderful signs, obviously made by children, asking users to close the gate to keep the swans and their cygnets safe – sadly we found one gate had been left open, we closed it behind us.
I’m glad we made time to go for a wander along the canal. Having a dose of ‘Vitamin Nature’ really is soothing for the soul.
Today’s walk count was approximately 4,500 steps and took a little under an hour.”
