Newport and Gnosall

Last time around I pondered my lack of exploration activity thus far in May, and lamented the lack of a feature trip for the month. Those concerns have now been laid to rest thanks to a nice little outing yesterday, making the most of a bit of sunshine by exploring Newport and Gnosall.

Newport provided a cracking morning's exploring, renewing my acquaintance with this charming Shropshire market town and recalling memories of a visit with Rog and Woody last year. After a brief call at Stafford I hopped onto the 481 bus for a ride through Haughton and Gnosall before alighting at the bus interchange. After a couple of bus stop photos, I made my way along the main street attempting photos of the impressive Guild Hall building, along with pubs such as the Shakespeare, the Railway Tavern and the Pheasant. I had a quick look in the local library before heading up past the church to discover more pubs, the Swan and the Bridge. My favourite discovery though was the remains of the old Newport Branch of the Shropshire Union Canal - the branch had long been abandoned but a section on the edge of the town centre was restored some years back to create the present day walkway, and I certainly enjoyed getting a variety of views of the resulting oasis of green. Soon it was back into town and a dash to the interchange for a photo of the 350 D&G route to Eccleshall and Hanley, a nice little bonus whilst waiting for the 481 back towards Stafford.

I spent the afternoon investigating Gnosall, a rather large Staffordshire village near the Shropshire border. First off I explored the village centre, and the camera was again in action capturing notable features including the Horns pub and the traditional old post office building. Heading down Station Road I was able to add the Royal Oak pub to my haul, and after a spot of lunch, I proceeded to the Navigation pub on the side of the Shropshire Union Canal. One pub photo later, I joined the canal and explored the sections either side of Bridge 35, beginning with a walk up to Bridge 36 before retracing my steps and discovering Bridges 34 and 33 (Cowley Tunnel). Save for a small section at Chester, this is the furthest north I've been on the canal thus far and it built very nicely on my experiences of the canal at Autherley, Brewood and Wheaton Aston. I left the canal at bridge 34 to get photos of my final Gnosall pub (the Boat Inn) before making my way along Wharf Road back to the bus stop.

The ride home gave me plenty of time to reflect on a fine day's exploration, with those canal investigations having whetted my appetite for returning to the area and venturing further afield, perhaps to Norbury Junction. The 76 wasn't due when I got back to Stafford, so I caught the 75 instead and enjoyed the added bonus of half an hour mooching around Penkridge - just enough time to investigate the Festival Garden, the railway station and St Michael and All Angels Church. All in all it was an encouraging return to form and I look forward to seeing what June has to offer...