Kelly's Capers: Harecastle Tunnel and Caldon Canal

Thursday 21st September

The forecast for today was appalling with heavy rain due all day. It turned out to be heavy for an hour or two but slowly eased so we began to discuss the possibility of moving on.
We finally decided, so set off just after lunch.

The Macclesfield Aqueduct

There are two locks to negotiate before arriving at the junction of the Macclesfield Canal at Hardings Wood.
The junction is one of those marvels of the waterways, we passed under an aqueduct that carried the Mac over the T&M, this ran parallel to us as we moved through the locks and then joined our canal at the summit.
Had our original plans, to go down the Peak Forrest and Mac canals, come to fruition, then this is the point we would have joined the T&M.
A couple of hundred yards further on brought us to the northern portal of Harecastle Tunnel.
The tunnel is notorious for a number of reasons, rumour has it that it is very low, dark and inhabited by a number of ghosts, the most famous being the Harecastle Boggart, the supposed ghost of a canal boat women murdered by her husband in the tunnel. There was a tragedy just last year as a boater was travelling through, his wife was inside the boat. The boat started banging the sides of the tunnel, she went to investigate and realised he was no longer at the helm. It took a day to recover his body from the darkness.
All of this just adds to the tension as one arrives st the portal.

Entering Harecastle the tunnel on right is
Brindleys original tunnel now dissused

As we approached, a hire boat was just entering giving us the hope that we should be straight in behind and not have to wait.
This tunnel is manned by a keeper at each end, we were flagged down and were given the obligatory safety briefing and leaflet before we entered. This stated, amongst other things, that if we had nor emerged at the other end after an hour and a quarter then the emergency services would be alerted.
One wonders why all this is necessary for a tunnel just over a mile long but once in I guess we would find out.
The tunnel used to have a towpath through, this has now been removed so there should be plenty of room. We slowly entered the gloom and very soon the entrance became a low light behind. The tunnel is straight but due to it having forced air ventilation, the doors are shut at the southern end so it is total darkness ahead except for the dim lights of the boat, by now, a long way in front of us.

We progressed well; aided by the new led lamp bought at the chandlers a few days before.
As we progressed we noticed that the tunnel gradually reduced in height and width, a bit like a telescope, it seemed to take forever to get to the midway point, indicated by markers on the tunnel sides.
As we finally reached midway we noticed a skeleton painted in one of the recesses. This made us jump as our heads were full off the horror stories that circulate amongst the boating fraternity.

tunnel exit

Eventually a glimmer appeared in the gloom indicating that the doors had been opened and the boat in front was reaching the other end, we finally arrived, blinking in the daylight, at the other end. The passage was fairly uneventful however, we were relieved to complete the passage. A note to other boaters; do not be put off by the stories, it was (for us) no where near as bad as expected.

We carried on for another mile or two arriving at Westport Lake moorings.

This is a lovely place to stop right alongside the lake, there are full facilities here but for any other boaters stopping here note that they are difficult to find as they are not signed. They are beneath the visitor centre on the canal side behind an anonymous grey door.

Friday 22nd September

Early morning at Westport

A lovely morning, so, following a quick walk around the lake, we set off down the short distance to Etruria Junction, this is where the Caldon Canal heads off north from the T&M, we were truly in the Potteries now with plenty of evidence of this once vast industry.

We moored at the junction for the night utilising the CRT facilities before walking up into Hanley, this seems to be the main shopping area for the region, Stoke is made up of six individual towns and the locals seem to cling onto the traditional names so it can be confusing.

The centre in Hanley is a thriving place and during our visit there was a food market underway with just about every type of street food imaginable available from colourful, vibrant stalls. On the downside if you need the loo don't go looking for the toilets in the potteries shopping mall, I hurried round following signs but ran into dead ends with no toilets to be found anywhere so we had to make a quick dash down to Tesco's.

Saturday 23rd September

Preserved Kilns

We decided to set off up the Caldon, intending to get to the end of the Leek branch before mooring up for the night, the first obstacle to overcome was a rare narrow two lock staircase, following which we progressed steadily due to the canal being narrow and quite shallow in places, we had also removed the chimney having been warned of low bridges.
The canal, originally built by Brindley to carry lime and limestone from Froghall, passes through the outskirts of the town with plenty of Bottle Kilns in evidence, before arriving into the open countryside of the upper Trent valley. Passing through a few villages we arrived at the five locks flight at Stockton, we soon got through arriving at the summit pound taking us to the junction where the arm to Leek leaves the main line. The junction here is impressive and as is the case at Hardings Wood, the Leek arm leaves the main line at the top of a three lock flight, the arm runs parallel to the lock flight before passing over it on the impressive Hazelhurst aqueduct.

Hazelhurst Aqueduct

The run up to Leek is really pleasant with the canal clinging to the steep and wooded side of the valley winding its way to the abrupt terminus. The canal used to go into a basin in the town but this was closed when the railway was built, so now just fizzles out a mile from the town centre.
We turned the boat round at the winding hole just after the short tunnel, then reversed onto the moorings at the end of the canal.

Leek Tunnel

Delicious........Oatcakes!

Leek was a real surprise, with lots of traditional shops, pubs and restaurants, we also managed to find the Oatcake shop and noting the opening hours, open every day except Mondays from 5.45 am to 1 pm, Sundays they have a lie in and open at 6.45 closing at 12 noon!
We decided to have a return visit on Sunday morning, after a long walk through the local countryside, then calling in to the Oatcake shop for breakfast, we had to join a long queue for this.
Following a walk around the town we went to the bizarrely name Quite Woman pub for Sunday lunch, a fairly limited menu but otherwise ok. Dog owners take note that all the pubs and restaurants in Leek appear to be dog friendly.
Arriving back at the boat we decided to cruise back down to Hazelwood, mooring for the night by the aqueduct. We walked down to the Hollybush Inn, a charming and very busy canalside pub, wishing we had waited to have Sunday dinner here as the food looked plentiful and delicious.
Monday 25th September

Froghall Lime Kilns

We awoke to a typical autumnal morning with a mist clinging to the trees and bushes around us, we set off to explore the remaining length of the main line heading down the locks towards the terminus at Froghall. The canal just gets better and better from here on before joining the river Churnet down to Consal Forge. We carried on, now back on the canal, through the impossibly narrow final stretches, fortunately not meeting any other boats travelling in the opposite direction. Arriving at Froghall we had to turn round before again reversing onto the moorings. There is a tunnel just before Froghall but having passed through the tunnel gauge earlier we decided it would be too low for us, so we walked down the short distance to the terminus. This is very quite spot with a tearoom but very little else, there are good boater facilities here. There is some interesting industrial archaeology here with the huge lime kilns towering over the wharves.
We stayed over night here before retracing our steps back to Consal Forge.

The end of the Caldon at Froghall

Consal Forge

Debra's picture of our mooring at Consal Forge

This is an achingly beautiful place and we were fortunate enough to find a mooring right against the Black Lion Inn. The Churnet Valley steam railway passes between the pub and the canal here, and it is an iconic waterways scene to have narrowboats and steam trains all in the same picture. We were fortunate enough to see a steam train pass by as we negotiated the very narrow channel by the station.

We had arranged to meet Bruce and Debra for lunch and they arrived just after we had moored, we went for lunch in the Black Lion, the menu includes an incredible choice of scotch eggs! The food is reasonably priced and delicious as well as a good choice of beers. It was great to catch up with them again as we didn't think it would be possible due to our change in plan from the Peak Forrest canal.

Autumn colours

This place is well worth a visit with lots of walks in the surrounding steep valley sides, it really does feel to be as isolated a place as you could find any where. The trees are just beginning to change Great day.colour adding to the magic. - great day.

Wednesday 27th September
Another short trip back up to Cheddleton and its quaint Flint Mill museum. This is another charming spot and the the water powered flint mill is well worth a visit.