Stroudwater canal by Ebley Mill

Despite the overcast sky, glowering scudding clouds and sharp gusty winds, it has been a lovely to celebrate Helena's birthday. She had to go to work near the centre of Stroud, and then to the art history course in the neighbouring small town of Stonehouse, and I offered to pick her up at 4pm to bring her home.

I went looking for a new view of the canal which was built parallel to the River Frome as it flows from the Cotswold hills towards its confluence with the River Severn, about six miles away. Where the river has cut through the steep hillsides there is now a flood plain nut but there was still enough water to power the wool mills, before steam took over once coal could be supplied from the Severn by the Stroudwater canal in about 1800.

Last weekend Helena visited the Cotswold Canal Trust Visitor centre on the canal side in the centre of Stroud by Wallbridge Lock, so we could become members, as she has been inspired by the progress of the canal's restoration over the last two years. I am too, but I have been following it quite closely as I am a member of a consultative committee which joins together all the interested parties who are involved in the canal. Meetings are held in the council chambers of Stroud District council, the large local authority responsible for this part of Gloucestershire.

About twenty years ago they moved their offices from the centre of Stroud town into the large newly restored Ebley Mill about two miles to the west of town. When I visited here, I used to park just to the left of this picture, and crossed over the completely infilled canal to enter the big building that you cans see on the far right hand side of the picture. The lock gates are completely new as is this whole stretch of the canal's cut.

It is so pleasing to see the impact that the regeneration is having and we are so looking forward to boats returning to the canal, and eventually coming down from the Midlands on the River Severn through Tewkesbury to Gloucester, before joining the Gloucester to Sharpness canal which crossed the earlier Stroudwater canal just before the latter's junction with the tidal River Severn at Framilode. There is just the matter of the M5 motorway which was built in the early 1980s at ground level over the River Frome and the adjacent canal, with no expectation of the canal ever being used again. There are serious plans to sort that problem out.

I like this scene, which I snapped in the few minutes I had before I was due to meet Helena a few miles away. In the distance you can see the hillside above the town centre, beyond which is where we live. If you follow the valley of the river From towards its source you head towards the old roman centre of Cirencester, thirteen miles away to the east. We will be heading up that road tonight, as I am taking Helena out for a birthday meal. Yay!!

View of Ebley Mill from the Stroud side

Ebley Mill