Blog
Blog history
June/2016 - October/2016
touching upon:
Grand Union Canal
Stratford Canal
BCN
nb Wild Rose
Wandering the Watery Ways…
Saturday 3rd June 2017-Etruria
Junction
Reached Etruria which is the junction with the Trent and
Mersey Canal
and, whaddiya
know, there’s a
canal festival
going on!
Classic boats
everywhere,
boats selling stuff, loads of
info about abandoned canals
being brought back to life, and
food. We are intrigued by the
stand of an Owl Sanctuary and
Alison makes a small friend
whereas I get the evil eye. Another flint and bone mill
although, this time, driven by an impressive 1820 steam
engine. We were lucky enough to see it working. On a
wall were samples of the type of bone used in the process
including the hipbone of an elephant which died whilst
in a circus group. The skin was preserved and the animal
reconstructed by a taxidermist. It now resides in
Edinburgh!
Monday 29th May 2017-Caldon
Canal
We have arrived at Froghall which is the end of the
Caldon although, strictly speaking, we should have
passed through the low and narrow Froghall Tunnel to
reach the very end, but as we would have had to remove
everything from the roof to pass through, for the sake of
200 yards it didn’t seem worth it. Once this was the start
of the Uttoxeter Canal, long abandoned but not forgotten.
Now we return and retrace our passage through this
isolated wooded countryside which was once full of coal
mines and industry. There remains the heritage Churnet
Valley Railway and the steam trains pass us on our way
as we pass old lime kilns and other industrial
archaeology.
Sunday 28th May 2017-Caldon Canal
Left Leek and travelled back down the Arm, turning onto
the Caldon to continue on to Flint Mill at Cheddleton.
Here we are deep in pottery country and the water mill
produced ground calcined flint which is an ingredient in
the making of fine
china. Flint stone in its
original state is too
hard to grind and so it
was fired in kilns to
over 1000 C which
turned it into a white
rock that can be ground to a soft fine powder. A similar
process was used with animal bones for, of course, bone
china.
Tuesday 23rd May 2017-Leek Arm
Turned off Caldon Canal onto Leek Arm. This is a
charming little canal with a short tunnel (130 yards) and,
passing fields drenched in buttercups, we ended up at
good countrified moorings about a mile from the town
centre. Leek is a nice, small, market Town with good
shopping, a Whetherspoon Pub, and very pleasant
surroundings.
Thursday 18th May 2017-Caldon
Canal
Have arrived in Milton which has a first class
Butcher/Baker, yum yum. We will thoroughly explore
this charming little canal which is only an arm of the
Trent and Mersey and is 18 miles long. It has, however,
its own arm, the Leek Arm, which no longer reaches Leek
but is hugely enjoyable to cruise.
Wednesday 17th May 2017-Trent and
Mersey Canal
We pass through the Harecastle Tunnel. Actually there
are two tunnels, the “Telford” and the “Brindley”, named
after the engineers who built them although James
Brindley died during the eleven years that it took to
construct his tunnel that opened in 1777 and it is this
tunnel that has been blamed for much of the prominent
iron ore (responsible for the orange colour of the water)
in the canal. The “Brindley” suffered from the difficult
ground conditions along the 1.5 mile route giving rise to
subsidence and leakage and so Thomas Telford was
commissioned to build a second tunnel which, due to
improved methods, was completed in three years and
opened in 1827. Today only the “Telford” remains open
but the entrance of the “Brindley” can be seen in the
photo. The average passage time is reckoned to be 45
minutes but we managed it in 35…
Saturday 6th May 2017-Macclesfield
Canal
We have seen the first Swifts and Swallows of summer!
Sunday 26th April 2017-Macclesfield
Canal
After an enjoyable stay at “Buggie” Basins including a
few beers at the conveniently sited Navigation Inn, which
was once owned by Coronation Street actress Pat
Phoenix, we retrace our route down the Peak Forest
Canal, delayed only by the need for a new alternator to
charge the domestic batteries. We have visited Buxton
and Stockport and will now return via the “Maccie” to
our old friend the Trent and Mersey Canal. We are
heading for the Caldon Canal and beyond that the
Cotswolds and the home of the Bard for some much
needed culture.
Friday 15th April 2017-Bugbrook
Basins
We have arrived at this very significant remnant of the
canal system at the head of the Peak Forest Canal, one
might almost say a symphony in stone that provides a
safe harbour with a Pub attached. There is more in
“Canal Places”. To get some exercise and work up an
appetite for lunch we walk part of the tramway (which is
explained in the link piece) and admire the scenery of the
Peaks.
Tuesday 11th April 2017-Peak Forest
Canal
From Bollington we meander along this scenic canal, past
Wood Lanes, Higher Poynton, High Lane, Hawk Green,
Marple and onto the Peak Forest Canal. The signs of
Spring are ever stronger.
Tuesday 4th April 2017-Macclesfield
Canal
We stopped on the outskirts of Macclesfield at a mooring
that was handy for Homebase. We needed stuff for Wild
Rose, Storage boxes etc.
The moorings close to the centre are not great and we
found it easier to stay on the outskirts and take the bus.
I can recommend the Silk Museum which is fascinating.
But today we have
arrived at Bollington and
moored up by Clarence
Mill, originally a vast
cotton spinning mill that
accommodated 320
looms. It now
accommodates, homes,
offices, the Discovery
Centre, The Waterside Cafe and the local radio station
"Canalside The Thread".
Wednesday 29th March-Trigger
Article 50!
Hail to thee brave Brexiteer
Who treats with scorn the Project Fear
And those who think that Democratic Might
Is rerunning referenda till we “get it right”
So them that winge and cry and swear
Have two full years to go elsewhere.
Thursday 23rd March 2017-Ramsdell
Hall-Macclesfield Canal
A short distance from Scholar Green brings us to
Ramsdell Hall where the canal flows through the end of
the rather sumptuous garden. But we are not here just to
admire the Hall, our mission is to climb the hill to Mow
Cop…and it’s some hill! Mow Cop is an isolated village
which fringes the Cheshire Plain to the west and the hills
of the Staffordshire Moorlands to the east. But its main
feature is Mow Cop Castle standing at a height of 1099ft.
This represents a climb of 687ft over a distance of 1 mile.
The “castle“ is in fact a folly
built in 1754 by Randle
Wilbraham, the squire of
nearby Rode Hall. It’s not
really clear why he built it but
it stands on the skyline like
some skeletal relic of medieval
power.
Monday 6th March 2017-Tattenhall
Marina
What should have been a 2 to 3 day exercise has taken 2
weeks! A new Bow Thruster had to be obtained but the
delivery was delayed by storm Doris (yeah...right) and
the launch frame lost its hydraulics… This gave us the
opportunity to put some bitumen rust protection on the
hull. But today we float and we say goodbye to the nice
people we've met over the last three months. We are back
on the cut and cruising. We are heading for the Peak
District. There are many interesting things and places to
experience on the way. Yeee haw.
Sunday 12th February 2017
Visited Beeston Castle that is close by the Shroppie
balanced upon a huge crag of sandstone that offers
breathtaking vistas over (it is said) eight different
counties...on a clear day, and about 11 canal miles from
Chester. There's not a lot of it left, mainly because
Cromwell knocked it about a bit, having wrested it from
the hands of the
Royalists in 1645. You
can find out more in
"Canal Places" by
following this link
Beeston.
Sunday 31st January 2017
Have joined the Flickr community. Come for a visit if you
will… Richardflickaphotos
Thursday 1st December 2016
Arrived at our Chester moorings. Our cruising has
finished for the next three months. Time to explore the
local area.
Tuesday 1st November 2016 -
Shropshire Union Canal - Wheaton
Aston
Starting our “Shroppie”cruise we have passed by
Brewood (pronounced ‘Brood’),
stopping overnight and “stocking up”, and are now
moored at Wheaton Aston.
The first known reference to Wheaton Aston is in the
Domesday book in 1086. It appears that the next
significant event was in 1777 when half the village burnt
to the ground. What happened in the intervening years is
shrouded in mystery.
However, according to Albert A. Birchenough writing in
the Christian Messenger -
"At the dawn of the nineteenth century the inhabitants of
Wheaton Aston were steeped in ignorance and vice.
Drunkenness, immorality, and brutality prevailed to an
alarming degree. The village public-houses were kept
open all through the hours of the night. Drinking,
fighting, and lewdness turned the place into a noisy
pandemonium, and even the village constables were
afraid to interfere with the rioters. These vicious
pastimes, along with the general wickedness of the
villagers secured for the place a bad name, and for miles
around it was generally known as “wicked” Aston".
So it was with a sense of eager anticipation that we
moored up outside the Hartley Arms. But as so often
happens reality does not live up to the reputation. This a
quiet pleasant place although it may still have its
interesting ways. There are a pair of moles feet from 1902
on display in the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford that were
carried in the pocket of an old man from Wheaton Aston
as a cure against toothache.
.
…OK I won’t…