A canal walk in Dudley and Tipton.

Another walk starting at this aqueduct, near Dudley Port Railway Station.

Turning left as soon as you climb up to the canal, you are a world away from the traffic. There's a heron here too, if you look carefully at the picture.

We turned right here, ...

...towards the entrance to the Netherton Tunnel

We retraced our steps for about 400 metres, then climbed up more steps to the Birmingham Canal's Tividale Aqueduct (Old Main Line), looking down on some old canalside houses.

As we walked, we admired these much newer canalside houses, with a narrow boat chugging past

Parts of the canal were totally green like this bit. (Heron on the bank in the distance)

The view from under the railway bridge. It was raining here (and in the previous picture).

The delightfully named Pitchfork Bridge

The blackberries were just starting to ripen

This is Tipton Junction. If we had turned left up here, we would have reached the Black Country Museum, and Dudley Tunnel, less than half a mile away.

The factory here is a chemical/pharmaceutical company, supplying waxes, gels and oil based products. 

We continued on the main canal, past some attractive new homes, a blend of old and new architecture

Tipton Green bridge. This is the old one: the new one is just behind.

In places, the canal is very wide, and it is clearly cared for.

Canalside cobbles glistening in the rain.

Under a bridge were some baby pigeons

Some beautiful wild flowers by the canal junction

I was impressed that this narrow boat was growing runner beans on board

There were quite a few narrow boats as we approached Tipton Factory Junction.

This was clearly an old canal building, now boarded up. I think it may have been the old gauging station.

Old bricks on the bridge - you can only just make out the ridges to stop the horses' hooves from slipping

At Factory Junction, we left the meandering Old Main Line and turned back along the newer Birmingham Canal Main line, built by Thomas Telford and very straight.

This unassuming little building was once the Boatman's Mission.

The Main line has a flight of three locks here.

With a pumping station nearby

A boater opening a lock, with Tipton's St Paul's Church, Owen Street, in the background.

Tipton Station Bridge

A dry dock (with water in at the moment) for working on narrow boat hulls.

The arrow straight Main Line Canal with the railway running alongside

There are still some lovely flowers alongside though - these are look like garden escapes, but they are very well established now

And finally we returned to our starting point, at Dudley Port. A 4.5 mile walk, with plenty to ponder - old and new houses and factories, winding and straight canals, plus flowers and birdlife. A good walk, even on a grey, rainy day.
Today's walk: from Dudley Port Railway station, take the steps up to the canal. Turn right, heading away from Wolverhampton. After about a third of a mile, turn right at the canal junction. Follow this to the Netherton Tunnel entrance (You can walk on either side of the canal) Then turn back to the first bridge (actually Tividale Aqueduct - climb steps and turn right - this time towards Wolverhampton. Follow this, ignoring the turn off to the Dudley Tunnel and the Black Country Museum. At the the next canal junction, turn right again. Continue until you reach Dudley Port Station. Descend to your starting point. NB For this last bit keep the canal on your left if you want to descend at Dudley Port. If you're on the other side, you have to walk to the next bridge, cross over and walk back. 

A Cornish coast walk: Helford to Maenporth, near Falmouth

On a nice Sunday, we decided to walk a bit of the South West Coast Path, from Helford to Maenporth, near Falmouth. It was a circular walk because of Sunday bus services.
We started from Helford, waiting for the ferry across the river.

It's a quick journey across to Helford Passage, on the other side 

The Helford River is full of boats

We started off along the coast path

Looking back at Helford Passage

 This is Durgan - a lovely little riverside settlement

All along the Helford there are pine trees.

A local told us they were all getting to the end of their lives, and having to be felled, which is a a real shame

The tide was out

This is looking back towards Dennis Head and Nare Point.

Ahead, the path is straightforward, towrds Falmouth and St Mawes

The rocky beaches were clearly visible at low tide. 

These colours are how I always think of Cornwall

The little sandy beach at Maenporth comes into view

The beach cafe is great - especially if you've just walked six miles on a hot day!

Lots of activities were on offer

We walked back across the top of the peninsula, through the delightfully named village of Mawnan Smith, passing this lovely old farmhouse on the way.

The outbuildings were interesting too.

Back at Durgan, the weather had gone a bit greyer

Many of the stiles along the way were made of  huge chunks of rock (That's not me climbing it)

We took the ferry back across, stopping at some yachts moored in the estuary. (The ferry doubles as a water taxi)

Then the ferry disappeared with new customers. If you're walking this, note that the ferry doesn't run 2 hours either side of low tide, as the notice says

Today's walk: around 8.5 miles in total. Along the South West Coast Path from Helford Passage to Maenporth, and then back along minor roads and paths to Durgan, and finally back to the ferry. Not too strenuous, but you'll know you've walked it, as there are some small ups and downs.