Immy and the ducks at The Ocean

This morning Helena suggested we go to Stonehouse Court Hotel to have coffee on their large patio overlooking the big lawn and views towards Cam Long Down in the south of the Cotswold hills. The weather had improved and we sat very happily outside.

After we'd finished our coffee we walked across the lawn and out of the big gate through the wall of the garden out onto the towpath of the canal, beside St Cyr's church. It was only a few yards to the swing bridge over the canal where I stood looking towards the west across what is called The Ocean. 

No-one knows exactly why it has that name, but it may have been the remnants of an old fish pond belonging to the ancient manor house, of which Stonehouse Court was the latest building, built in the 1600s. A nearby sign says that it may have evolved from a local nickname and been the largest body of water that local people would ever see. It became a basin of the canal where long narrow boats and Severn trows could turn and manoeuvre. 

Now it marks the end of the canal as the replacement railway bridge from the 1960s has blocked the line of the canal. We are all hoping that this will be replaced to allow the canal to be reopened all the way to the west and to join up once again with the Sharpness to Gloucester canal at Saul Junction. Immy went down to the towpath and had a chat to the ducks which encouraged one of the swans to approach on the off chance of a feed. 

Soon after we went back through Stroud and on to Brimscombe where we dropped Helena at her regular Monday afternoon teaching post. Now I have to go back to Brimscombe to fetch her so we can enjoy another afternoon with Tanya and Immy before they leave tomorrow for their further adventures.