Yeah, it really was - well worth a visit, and the birds I saw were all quite confiding, too (probably used to all the dog walkers!). There's also a car park on site.

There's plenty of roadside parking at Tyrley Locks, by the bridge 👍

On the towpath of the Shropshire Union Canal between Tyrley Locks and Market Drayton. There's also a smiling tree trunk with googly eyes and a hat - but the zoom on my phone wasn't good enough to do it justice from the other side of the canal!

A carving of a swan in a top hat, nailed to the trunk of an oak tree on the towpath of the Shropshire Union Canal near Market Drayton.

For anyone who needs to see a carving of a swan in a top hat 🦢🎩

#Shropshire 🌤️

Hart's-tongue fern on the towpath of the Shropshire Union Canal near Market Drayton.

The undivided fronds of Hart's-tongue fern gradually unfolding on the towpath of the Shropshire Union Canal this afternoon in a damp and shady cutting between Tyrley Locks and Market Drayton:

#Shropshire 🌤️

Reed beds are a priority habitat in Shropshire, and here's one in Walkmill Meadows, a wildlife site in the Tern Valley on the eastern edge of Market Drayton.

And look at this @jannerbirder.bsky.social... an actual reed bed... in #Shropshire! 😮 PS. heard my first Whitethroat today, too, alongside the canalside between Tyrley and Market Drayton.

The River Tern meandering through Walkmill Meadows on the eastern edge of Market Drayton in north Shropshire.

An information board detailing just some of the delights to be found in Walkmill Meadows.

A footpath and bench in the middle Walkmill Meadows, Market Drayton.

A first ever trip to the serene Walkmill Meadows in Market Drayton today. I kept Merlin on in the background and recorded 17 species as I walked round, including Garden Warbler, many mellifluous Blackcaps, and a Lapwing calling from the nearby water meadows. A lovely place 💚

#ShropshireBirding 🌤️🏞️

My thoughts and prayers are with you, Spencer, as you cycle through north Shrewsbury! 🙏

I bet that chicken got a lot of res-pecked from his colleagues, yes? 🐔

Grandpa: One thing about living in Santa Carla I never could stomach... all the damn vampires!

Rest of cast (pointing around the room incredulously): Oh, you mean the Lost Boys, do you?

I don't think so - but I will ask!

It won't surprise you to learn I have relatives in their, too, Helen - my paternal great grandfather lived in the centre of the village!

Poor Susan! Reminds of the first time I went to Telford Ice Rink 😖

A yellow grit bin in a roadside verge on the outskirts of Grinshill village in north Shropshire.

A message affixed to said grit bin to deter locals from taking road salt for their own purposes... which would be very naughty, wouldn't it? 🤨

A weathered, green Broxap bin - all the way from Stoke-On-Trent! 🤗 Suspect the notice will be to deter the locals from taking salt to keep their drives ice-free; I've seen something similar around the villages of Clive and Grinshill, near me, so it must go on, Bob. How naughty! 🤨

Here we go again, Helen! 😂 The only Hopley I really remember growing up was my "Uncle" Den, who was a talented footballer in his day (he played for Wellington Town and Salop in the '30s) but he was living in the former by then.

The mysterious world of the Criftins! I found some Hopleys (my great-grandmother's maiden name) in the churchyard when I visited but nobody in the family recalls us having any relatives out that way... although I feel we must be related!

St Mary's parish churchyard, Dudleston, Shropshire.

Fear not, Helen, for the North County Church Tour will be back very, very soon for the 2026 season! In the meantime, here's a picture of St Mary's Dudleston from last July - which I'm guessing must surely be one of your ancestral churches?

#Shropshire #Churches ⛪

Acton Scott?

@philippullen.bsky.social (Il)legitimately Larkin? ☝️😉

Did you get mistaken for a doctor? 😉

Old Shrewsbury riverbed from Ellesmere Road.

I wonder if there's a culvert underneath Ellesmere Road that could enable access to the riverbed on the Winney Hill side? That could certainly benefit from their ecological engineering skills! I haven't been on the boardwalk for a while, but here's the watery view from Ellesmere Road this avo!

The view from Laura's Tower, in the grounds of Shrewsbury Castle, on a cloudy day. In the middleground, the Severn Bridge and the platforms of the railway station can be seen, along with Severn Junction signal box - the largest surviving mechanical box of its kind on the planet! 😯 Beyond the eastern suburbs of Castlefields, the outline of The Wrekin can be viewed in the distance and, to the right of it, Lord Hill's Column - the largest Doric pillar in the world!

Looking east from Laura's Tower towards The Wrekin on an overcast spring day, with the platforms of #Shrewsbury railway station in the foreground:

#Shropshire #Railways ☁️🚉 🏰

The Comsat Angels-Always Near YouTube video by MusicSybarite

It looks very much like an Excelsior bin, Bob (they have a very distinctive lid mould!). In the immortal words of the Comsat Angels, they're "always near" (except if you live in north Shrewsbury 😟) 💛

youtu.be/NrxI8dlWYRU?...

Is it just me, or does the old river bed seem more watery now the beavers have had a chance to settle-in?

I think that's Gav's favoured formation, and I totally neglected to take into account we'll need a new forward line, too! I totally agree and suspect, for that reason, the pruning won't be as brutal - although you'd imagine plenty of players will be available, given the way modern contracts work?

... strengthening the RWB and LWB roster is also crucial, as we've been very short of options in that area for far too long now. I think we need a complete break with the past three seasons and a total clearout! A busy summer ahead!

I borrowed a graphic from Salopcast! Of the out-of-contract players, I'd offer new deals to Ruffels and Hoole, then try to move on Clucas, Anderson, Stewart, Dinanga and Sang. I think vastly improving the midfield pool is critical to our chances next season (especially the #10 role) and...

Bet it was cold up there today? 🥶

So, now we've secured our FL status for next season: who stays, who goes, and where do you think we most need to strengthen?

Stenhousemuir 1 Inverness CT 1

A great advert for Scottish League One over on BBC Alba this evening, with the much anticipated top-of-the-table clash between Stenhousemuir and Inverness CT ending all square. What a couple of years Stenny are having... it's quite a story!