Kingfishers.

Day 4 of our Solace trip.   Heading towards the end of the S & W canal at Stourport on Severn.  There it is possible to leave the canal system and travel down the River Severn.  I have done that trip but years ago on a cruiser rather than a narrowboat.  However this trip we were aiming to turn round and make our wat back to the junction and then head up the "Shroppie" (Shropshire Union Canal).

One of the interesting parts of a trip on the canals is the variety of scenery you travel through.  This can be anything from beautiful countryside, industrial history through to urban decay and frankly grot. 

Fortunately more and more towns and cities are seeing the canals as an asset and making the banks clean and pleasant places for their populations.  This shot is a carving (I assume chainsaw) made from the stump of a tree on the bank.  Trees on the canal do eventually get to be a nuisance and need cut back or even removed.  This appeared to be one such tree.

The fact it was a carving of Kingfishers is what attracted my eye.  One of the joys of travelling by water is the views you get of the wildlife and I particularly like the Kingfishers.  However this trip these were the first I had seen!