The Stroudwater canal at Ebley Mill lock

I went to buy some clothes in Cheltenham this morning and was not amused that the projected dry day as forecast yesterday turned into hours of torrential rain.  The cross country route across the Cotswold hills was awash and even foggy in places despite the rain.

I managed to get what I needed and decided to head back to Stroud to check on some issues at Stroud District Council's headquarters at Ebley Mill.  Once I'd finished my meeting I walked the few yards to the canal which Ebley Mill was built beside.  The rain had finally stopped so I tried out my new camera with some architectural shots of the high chimneys, the large stone building and the warehouses beside the canal which are all made of Cotswold stone. 

I stood on a new footbridge over the rebuilt lock and took this view westwards along the canal.  A couple of years ago this stretch of water was a car park having been filled in when the canal was formerly abandoned early in the twentieth century.  Now the area is thriving and shows how investment in regeneration leads to revival in  the local community and completely new housing which has become enormously popular.