A day in port - Fazeley Junction

Today was a shopping day.  I saw on my map that there was a large retail park a mile or so away.  We walked there with Barry and Carol and then parted ways - each to look at what interested us.  There was a Hobbycraft and I knew Mick would have no interest in that! Mick and I met up to do groceries and lug them back to the boat.  There was a Marks and Spencer so we bought a couple of ready meals which we don't usually do.  We had sushi for lunch and fish pie last night.

In the afternoon we decided we'd walk around to the Canal and River Trust office to ask about our licence.  It seems so silly to have to walk such a long way round to get to somewhere that is about 30ft from where you are.  We walked 400 metres (down the towpath to the junction, over the canal on the footbridge, down the next little bit of towpath, over the canal on the road bridge, up the road to the office) and 400 metres back - almost a kilometre - to find they only open for 4 hours a day.  With the office just across the canal from where we were.... if only you could walk on water.

Mick went for a walk down the Birmingham & Fazeley Canal in the direction of Birmingham to check out a huge building we could see in the distance.  Our canal guide also made mention of an interesting bridge.  It gave me some work time.  Along the way he was fascinated by an external stair case on a building and took some photos to remember it.  Very ornate.

Photos :
1. Signs at the junction
2. View of the junction taken from the road bridge
3. Old buildings along the canal
4. - 6. Mick's stair case
7. What an unusual bridge - spiral staircases in the little towers