From Norbury Bridge No 38 to Ladybird Moorings, a distance of 11 miles, 2 flg and 5 locks.
Mintball has done this trip so many times now that she could probably navigate it without us actually doing anything. In some ways this part of the canal is the most scenic and when the weather is good there are some good views out to the West with the Wrekin and the Welsh Hills beyond especially on the section near Fox Bridge No 52
Start : Norbury Bridge No 38
Finish : Ladybird Moorings
It’s along this section that you realise that the Shroppie has a lot of bridges – there is, on average, a bridge every half mile along this section, with there being an average of 2.4 per mile between Autherley Junction and Nantwich.
There is, however, a bit of a downside to this section and that’s the number of moored boats. There’s a long set between Anchor Bridge No 42 and Wharf Inn (Shebdon) Winding Hole and when the wind is strong it can be a bit of pain to navigate as you balance a sensible speed to pass the boats with the necessary speed to avoid being blown sideways onto either the bank or the boats themselves.
But when there aren’t any moored boats you can make pretty good time even through the long and narrow Woodseaves Cutting.
The locks at Tyrley were even more autumnal than they had been a week earlier but we made pretty good time back to the moorings.