Ok not a horse, but a beetle. I used to see these a lot as a child and always knew them as Devils Coachman beetles but it has other names too, including cock-tail beetle because of the way it raises its abdomen as you can see in these pictures.
This little critter crossed my path in Delamere forest, it was about 30mm long and with its tail raised you can see the white glands that release a stinky deterrent.
If you zoom in you can also clearly see its mighty mandibles that are capable of giving a painful bite.
This is a serious predator that feeds at night; moths, insects and invertebrates, slugs and other slimy things make up its diet.
Some adults will survive two winter seasons by hibernating in tiny burrows.
The first shot for today is quite deceptive because the tunnel appears shorter than it is. This is the Chirk Tunnel on the LLangollen Canal and is viewed from the small basin at the end closest to the Chirk Aqueduct. It is 421 m in length which is 460 yds if you prefer. It is just wide enough for a narrowboat to pass through with a towpath on the right as you look at it here. It is very dark as you pass through although there is always light at the end of the tunnel. On a cold and snowy day it is also several degrees warmer inside the tunnel than out. This was an interesting point to start the canal walk and we passed through another, shorter tunnel along the way.
I took the second picture to give a sense of what life afloat must be like. I have often thought that living on a boat would be fun, relaxing and a chance to get away from the pressures of everyday life. Free to move around at a leisurely pace with a new view from your window or deck every day.
Of course it is not all idyllic, you would have to seriously de-clutter, you would have to get used to very limited space and on a day like yesterday things like getting your laundry dry become a big issue. This chap had his washing hung over a clothes airer on the towpath but with little to no chance of getting anything dry. Suddenly the idea of life afloat becomes a little less appealing
