Another one:

[A.W.U.K.]

A hike around the parish of Lapworth. The route takes in part of the towpath of the Stratford-Upon-Avon canal. The weather has turned much milder but it was a grey and overcast day.

there was a smell of wood- and coal smoke in the air, some of these boats are inhabited all the year round.

"King's Norton 11 miles". The nondescript piece of iron standing up in the hedge next to the sign is in fact a section of Great Western Railway wrought iron bridge rail, as designed by Isembard Kingdom Brunel. This had mostly been replaced by more conventional bull head rail by the 1880's.

We pass a couple of locks and cross over bridge 30 for the next stage. This canal was opened in about 1800.

This is Lapworth Cricket Ground.

View over the fields.

eventually we reach the unsurfaced Tapster Lane.

Going down the hill, Tapster Lane becomes a holloway, where hundreds of years of traffic have worn the surface several feet below the fields on either side.

At the bottom of the hill we reach a surfaced lane, which is also in places a holloway.

After a while we turn again into the unsurfaced Tinker's Lane. The snowdrops were coming out along here!

We turn off Tinker's Lane and take to the fields.

 

[A.W.U.K.]

Lapworth church ahead.

A nice old cottage

Lapworth church is an absolute gem. Mostly late medieval in outward appearance, it has work of several earlier periods inside. There is a very early window which may be Anglo-Saxon. In the picture, between and below the 2 large windows in the chancel, you can see a blocked early priests door.

This is the tomb of Robert Catesby, the mastermind behind the 1605 Gunpowder Plot, for which Guy Fawkes is more famous. Catesby was killed resisting arrest and thereby avoided being burned at the stake.

We leave the church over this stile:

The spire of Lapworth church in the distance.

This little grey Fergie still seems to be in regular use! The public footpath passes through this farm.

Journey's end: The Boot Inn, Lapworth. Built around 1700.

A lovely pint of Hobgoblin by a blazing fire:

 

[shotgunner11]

Looks like a blast. Beautiful area.

 

[Wandering_About]

Nice pictures. That tractor looks a lot like an old Ford.

 

[PB Wilson]

I would love to do a walking tour like that. I think I could coax my wife into doing something like that, at least it would be easier than convincing her to do a two week mosquito infested death march through the mountains (her words, not mine).

Those locks are cool too. I live just a few minutes from the Erie Canal and it's been modernized over the years. Those canals and locks look unchanged from what I imagine the originals looked like.

Also, thanks for posting the pics. Great stuff.

 

[North]

Thanks for posting the nice tour and pictures.

Bill

 

[Gramps]

Thanks for sharing your outing with us !

- regards

 

[mtnfolk mike]

great pics man...:thumbup: what a beautiful area.. i love the english country sides...

 

[Mountainman38]

That was great! Thanks for the walking tour of some country I may never get to. All the tidbits of local lore and history were especially nice. That church was amazing! I don't think we even have trees around here that are that old.

 

[MattM_Gilbert]

Awesome photo series!

I had the opportunity to explore London and Centerbury in 1992. My wife lived at RAF Alconbury from 1988 - 1991. We have both agreed that a walk across the English country side is a trip we will take. The other two European adventures include a Rhine or Danube river cruise and a stroll across the Swiss pasture lands.

 

[Rockywolf]

These threads are fun. I am a history buff and appreciate you giving us the commentary.

 

[HikingMano]

Great pics, Lapworth Church is beautiful!

 

[TheGame]

Great post and even better pics! Thanks for the history lesson!

 

[A.W.U.K.]

Harry Ferguson and Henry Ford collaborated on the design of the Ford 9N, the first Ford Tractor to use the Ferguson 3-point linkage.
When Ferguson came back to Britain to build Tractors, he designed the TE20 "Little Grey Fergie" and naturally it has a lot in common with the Ford he worked on before. There is more info on Harry Ferguson
here

Thanks for all the positive comments!

If you want to know what GWR bridge rail looked like laid, there is a reassembled section at the Didcot Railway Centre. There are 3 rails here as the section is both standard gauge (4' 8.5") and GWR broad gauge (7' 0.25")

P B Wilson: There are lots of long-distance footpaths with plenty of pubs and no mosquitos!

http://www.walkingenglishman.com/ldp/ldpindexdetail.htm

The canal has been modernised to some extent, especially the piling along the banks to prevent erosion from motorised canal boats. That was unnecessary when the boats were horse-drawn. This canal still has it's original locks, which are only wide enough for one boat. Many canals had their locks rebuilt wide enough to pass two boats at once to speed up traffic. Other than that and some general tidying up, I guess the general appearance is much as it was in the old days.

 

[Bet That Hurt]

That was great, thanks!

 

[tknife]

Great post and pics. Looks like an awesome area to walk through (and of course ending it with a pint by the fire doesn';t look too bad either!)

 

[pitdog]

Damn you ! Why did ya have to show the pint of Hobgoblin, Wychwood's were one of my favourite brewing companies and now you've got me thinking about their Circlemaster and Goliath brews etc !!!!! At least I can still get bottles of Hobgoblin and Fiddlers elbow over here ! LOL !!!!
Stratfords a beautiful place eh, we only went once but if we still lived in England I would have gone back many times by now !
Thanks for the great pics as always !!!!!!

 

[dipbait]

That old brick arch bridge is cool.

 

[A.W.U.K.]

Damn you ! Why did ya have to show the pint of Hobgoblin, Wychwood's were one of my favourite brewing companies and now you've got me thinking about their Circlemaster and Goliath brews etc !!!!! At least I can still get bottles of Hobgoblin and Fiddlers elbow over here ! LOL !!!!
Stratfords a beautiful place eh, we only went once but if we still lived in England I would have gone back many times by now !
Thanks for the great pics as always !!!!!!

Out of sympathy I will refrain from mentioning that a pint of hand-pulled cask conditioned Wychwood Hobgoblin tastes far better than the bottled stuff! It was a lovely pint, so much chewy malt flavour it was like eating a meal!

Incidentally, in case you think I am travelling far and wide for these walks, Tanworth, Lapworth, Baddesley Clinton, Temple Balsall and Berkswell form a contiguous row of adjacent parishes, all about 20-25 minutes from my house

 

[Zaner01]

There's nothing like a walk in the English countryside....

It all looks familiar. I used to live in Kidderminster.