Man with dog in boat on canal

I went to Bristol this morning and did spend rather too much money on a new lens even though it was quite a bargain price. Normally I would expect to walk away with the object for immediate gratification but sadly this was not to be. Apparently it will be mailed to me tomorrow. I did manage to pop in to some friends who lived near the shop and had coffee with them before they headed for London and their holiday in sicily which will start tomorrow.

I then drove to Gloucester to buy some tofu and other shopping and then decided to go to the nearby Sharpness to Gloucester canal where it is bridged just to the south of the city. I had spotted kingfishers there several years ago so thought a short wander along its banks might let me some them again. I had my new monopod to try out as well so set off along the towpath from the swingbridge opposite to the Pilot Inn.

I had a very enjoyable time in the warm sunshine with occasional clouds scudding overhead. I talked to walkers on the towpath, filmed bees avidly feeding off various flowers on the steep and rather high canal bank, and watched ducks, coots, seagulls and small birds dashing about. The canal is wide enough to allow seagoing boats to gain access to the Gloucester by leaving the river Severn estuary at Sharpness docks. Even boats such as the Tall Ships can use this wide canal although there appears to be no industrial or commercial traffic any more.

I heard a swan taking off and it soon passed me at high speed, then a sculler appeared going in the opposite direction. Ducks flew past as did countless swallows which looked beautiful when the sun caught their iridescent feathers. A boat with four rowers and a cox silently passed by heading downstream followed by a canal narrowboat. this was called Conway and it had firewood stored on its roof for its wood-burning stove, a bank of solar cells on the roof, rhubarb growing in a pot behind its bow and had an air of great serenity as it pottered along with a quiet engine looking very spruce indeed.

I walked back to the bridge to photograph the swallows and soon after the man who controlled the bridge shouted to me that there was a Dutch barge approaching and he would be opening the swing-bridge. I was pleased that he had bothered to tell me and after it had passed I went up to him and we had a long chat. He told me of all the birds that were living by the canal, particularly at the next bridge along which was quieter and where he had worked for the last two years. He was delightfully friendly and I will go back and talk to him again. I may even ask him for a portrait shot as he had an interesting and jovial face.

On my way home I drove to the next bridge down stream and watched the same Dutch barge arrive there and go through another swing-bridge. The two workmen there were equally friendly and also gave me good information about the canal life. One of them pointed to the swallows which were nesting beneath the swing-bridge itself and were flying into their nests even as the bridge was moving. It will be a good place to get some close -ups shots of them in future and the man said i would be welcome back to stand by his hut. He also said a kingfisher sometimes used to sit outside his window on a fence post whilst waiting to dive into the canal in search of fish!

But my picture is of a small boat the puttered into sight close to the first bridge. I started to take pictures and when the man in the boat saw me he smiled and he then tried to get the attention of his dog standing in the bow, telling it to look at the camera for me. Sadly the dog didn't understand, unsurprisingly, although once they had passed he did look at me with beautiful eyes. The mans shouted out at me, but i couldn't hear what he said above the noise of his outboard engine. But I liked the interaction and the way he smiled at me and I rather envied them their journey down the canal in the beautiful summer sunshine.

I have added some pictures off these other scenes in this Flickr gallery.