November so far

We have been lucky to have had some great weather this month, the first few days weather was good enough to enable me to get some more of the paintwork repaired although there is still an awful lot to do!
We decided to have a few days out of the marina and took the boat out to cruise down to Burton U Trent. We had a glorious trip with beautiful clear skies and no wind, the remaining leaves on the trees were in all their autumnal magnificence against the blue skies.

We moored at Shobnall Fields, a really pleasant spot adjacent to the open fields of the parkland, this is a great mooring with a well maintained bank side and sensibly spaced mooring rings.
This mooring gives easy access into the centre of town (approx. 20 mins walk).
We awoke to overcast skies the following morning and the rain soon began to pour culminating in a torrential downpour. I sat outside a coffee bar under a veranda watching the rain whilst Lucia went for a look around the shops,

The entrance to Barton Marina

The Barton Turns formerly The Vine Inn
One of our favourite pubs

We decided to find a bus to get back to our mooring and soon located the required bus stop, only to find that Midland Busses do not allow dogs. We had no alternative but to walk back and thankfully the rain had eased so we didn't get too wet.
The next morning saw a return to blue skies so we set off retracing our steps back to the marina, fuelling up with diesel and coal on our way in.











Saturday 11th November
Today we drove up to Duffield to meet Keith (a friend from rugby) and his wife Cheryl, Keith had organised a trip to Cromford to visit the canal, railways and mills that form part of the Derwent valley world heritage site.
This is an incredible place, a mecca for industrial archaeology, the mill complex built over a number of years by Richard Arkwright who developed the process of cotton spinning on a truly industrial scale. His first mill was driven by a waterwheel fed by the water draining from the local leadmines, a shrewd move as the water flow remained the same all year round unaffected by the seasonal variations that occur in rivers and streams. The mill complex has been rescued from dereliction and is now a pleasant complex of shops and information points describing the history, the locations of several of the water wheels can also be seen.
We had a walk along the Cromford canal, this is no longer connected to the network, however it used to join the Erewash Canal at Langley Mills giving access to the river Trent. A lot of work has been done to restore the basin at Cromford and a short walk down the towpath brings you to the visitor centre at the junction with the High Peak railway, here the railway descended down to the canal via a steep incline, this is one of a number of inclines that took the railway right over the hills of the lower Peak district linking to the Peak Forrest canal at Whaley Bridge close to the point we reached at Marple back in September. This is a rare occasion where  the railway enhanced the canal network rather than destroying it through competition.
The inclines were served by steam winding engines located at the top of each of them, one of these still survives today at  Middleton with special "steaming days" held throughout the year.
We went for a walk up into the village and had lunch at the Boat Inn, a lovely old pub with good beer and even better food, I opted for the Chicken, mushroom and stilton pie, absolutely crammed full with chicken, this is a must stop if you decided to visit the area.

Lunch was followed by a visit to the incredible Scarthin bookshop and its vast array of volumes spread across  three floors, the building has suffered from a lot of movement over the years with twisted floors and staircases and is another "must see".

A warped window frame evidence of
 the movement of the bookshop building

We were grateful to Keith and Cheryl for the introduction to such a fascinating area and will return again to see all the things we missed. We returned to Duffield  before driving back to the boat after a thoroughly enjoyable day.

Barton

We are into our fourth week at Barton and have had a busy time since we got here. Firstly I had a trip back up to Leeds to get the car, nice easy trip with a direct train into Leeds from Burton upon Tent, Burton is only four miles from our mooring so is nice and handy.
Our first weekend was spent getting to know the village and surrounding area, this included a trip into Lichfield which is only a few miles down the A38.

Lichfield Cathedral

This was my second time in Lichfield and I love the fact that is has retained its individual shops and market alongside the usual chains.
The cathedral (dedicated to St Chad who became the first bishop of Lichfield in 669) is worth a visit with its impressive facade adorned with statues of the saints as well as the kings of England up to Richard II. The cathedral suffered more than any other during the civil war as the walls around the cathedral close made an ideal garrison, it being occupied by the Royalists then the Parliamentarians then once again by the royalists, obviously this caused a lot of damage by cannon fire and the central spire along with most of the roof were destroyed, fortunately the damage was repaired over the following century.
Notable  names from Lichfield include Erasmus Darwin (gandfather of Charles), Samue Johnson and Elias Ashmole (founder of the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford).

The following week found us making our way down to Bristol for the wedding of Vicky and Ian.

Proud Moment

The first few days were spent on preparations for the big day.
We had a great time and it was nice to catch up with all the family again. The weather was really kind we were blessed with sunshine and unseasonably warm temperatures. We really enjoyed the wedding day, it was a simple affair but nice all the same and it was great to meet Ian's family, we wish the happy couple all the best for their future together.
We were awoken, on our last morning in the hotel, by fireworks at 6 in the morning, these were followed by another display 25 minutes later, it was only when we watched the news that we learned what was going on. The first display was timed to coincide with the departure of the new Great Western trains to London, this was famously aborted due to a leaky air conditioning unit, the second somewhat subdued affair marked the eventual departure of the train.
Not much else to report about Bristol as we didn't spend much time exploring.

We returned to the boat on a very wet and windy Tuesday, but happily the weather improved the following morning so we decided to go for a walk to explore the area further.
I downloaded the OS maps app on my phone, it costs £23 a year to subscribe but is worth the money as it gives access to all the OS maps and contains walks,  cycle rides etc all centred around your current location, ideal for us when we are on the move. The maps can also be downloaded so you do not have to rely on having a mobile signal.

Wychnor Church

We used the app to select a circular walk starting and finishing at the marina. The route took us along the canal to Wychnor, a tiny village with an old church and the remains of a medieval village, the route then took us across fields to return to Barton under Needwood and the marina. As we entered the village we called into the Royal Oak and I was asked if I would like my beer from the pump or from the barrel, I selected the barrel and have to say it was one of the best pints I have ever had!

The following day we set off on a different route heading to the north of the village across the grounds of Dunstan Hall.
Our route took us past the old church in Barton, the building of the current church was begun in the early 16th century. The church was built by John Taylor, Master of the Rolls to HenryVIII.
John Taylor was born in the village in the 15th century and was one of a set of triplets,  this must of been a rare thing during this time. His father was a woodman in the village which in those days was surrounded by the Needwood, a popular hunting ground used by the nobility. It is said that Henry VII was out hunting in the forest when he came across the triplets, and saw in them the Holy Trinity, he took them under his wing and paid for them to be educated, John Taylor studied theology and rose through various positions in the royal court. He returned to the village to build the church, since extended by the Victorians.
We continued into the grounds of the hall with its fine display of Oak and Chestnut trees, both looking spectacular in the autumn afternoon sunshine.

Towards the end of the week we travelled back up to Leeds for the Ex-Players lunch at Aireborough RUFC followed by my Dads birthday, returning to the boat on Wednesday.As always it was a pleasure catching up with old friends.

We have spent the last week out walking and catching up with jobs on the boat and hope to take the boat out for a few days in the near future.

Our Mooring

Barton Marina Prom

Canal Map

Here is a link to a map of the canals as suggested by my sister in law Anna. Hopefully it will help you to see where we are and where  we have been.
Thanks Anna ; great idea
http://www.waterways.org.uk/boating/route_planning/canal_map

Onto Barton Marina

Thursday 28th September.
A glorious morning to start our trip  down to Milton. The sun shone brightly bathing us in a summery warmth so shorts and tee shirt were the order of the day.
We made or way back to Hazelhurst junction and up the 3 locks to bring us back to the point where the Leek branch joins. It was only a short trip from there down to the services at Park Lane wharf at Endon.
We broke our journey here to take on water, get a shower and have a spot of lunch in the sunshine. It really did feel like summer again. We soon got under way to tackle the 5 locks that makes up the Stockton flight. Much easier going down as they were all in our favour, and emptying locks is always quicker than filling.
We pressed onto Milton and moored up for the next couple of nights. We had decided to eat out and went off to explore the village to see what was available. The village is another ex mining community and is quite pleasant with a good range  of shops including an inordinate number of barbers and hairdressers for its size!
There were three pubs in the village two of which didn't seem to offer much in the way of food. The third, The Foxley (named after an old branch canal that used to serve the local coal mines),  had an extensive food menu as well as an impressive range of gins much to Lucia' s delight. The gins were served with ice with fruit frozen inside it.
This pub doesn't look much from the canal as you pass by, but do not be put off because the food was great,  good homely stuff and plenty of it.
Friday 29th September
A very wet start to the day today, Lucia went off to avail herself of one of the many hairdressers to ready herself for Vickys hen party.
She returned to the boat with a bag full of the local oat cakes then got herself ready for her taxi to Stoke before getting the train to Manchester; Scuff and I went to see her off, as the taxi left, Scruff would not leave the spot, staring down the road wondering when she was coming back. Bad news old pal, it is not until Sunday.
After a bit of coxing I tried to take her for a walk but she wasn't having any of it so we went back to the boat. The rain started again so it was feet up by the fire.
It was nice to sit and relax and my thoughts drifted back to the idea of the much lauded composting toilet.
I had read somewhere that you can use the waste material as fuel for the stove,  gives a whole new meaning to throwing another log on the fire!
The weather brightened up so scruff and I managed a walk before retiring early.
I had arranged to meet brother in law, Andy with dogs Alfie and Charlie, on Saturday and he arrived leaving his car by the canal bridge.
We set of not knowing how the dogs would cope with being on the boat but, after a bit of  territorial claiming by Scruff, they soon settled down. Our run down to Stoke passed calmly enough and we soon arrived at the services at Etruria Junction.
We stopped here for a bite of lunch then set off down the five locks that make up the Stoke flight just as the rain started to pour. Andy was at the tiller and did a great job negotiating the narrow chambers.

Master

We progressed down to Barlaston just past the huge Wedgewood pottery. Barlaston seems to have close links to the pottery and once was the location for the Wedgwood colleges, now empty and up for sale.
The canal partly owes its being to Joshia Wedgewood he was instrumental in promoting the canal, engaging James Brindley to design it. His first pottery was at Burslem in Stoke he then developed the Etruria area before moving down to Barlaston, the family home, Etruria Hall, still stands and is now a hotel.

I lit the fire to try and start drying things out after our soaking, Andy went back for the car checking out the local hostelry in the process. He came back with the news that the pub was dog friendly, did food, and was happy to accept a delivery from the local Chinese, all very amenable.

Three dry dogs

We decide to go to the pub and make up our minds what to eat once we got there. The pub is the Plume of Feathers,  owned by actor Neil Morrisey of Boon and Men Behaving Badly fame, amongst others.
It's a great pub, very friendly with a good atmosphere, the food looked great to but was a tad pricey we felt.

"Boatcakes" nr Stoke

After several beers we elected to go for the Chinese, this was delivered right to our table, however,  we thought eating it there might have pushed the helpfulness a little too far so we went back to the boat to enjoy what turned out to be a very agreeable feast.
The forecast for Sunday was not good with high winds and showers so we decided not to move on,  so went for a short walk instead, every thing was soaking due to the deluge the day before so we ended up with three wet and muddy dogs. We dried them back at the boat and Andy set of to return home. Shortly after Lucia phoned to let me know she was on her way back, so Scruff and I walked down to the pub to await her arrival by taxi, Scruff was delighted to be reunited with her.
Monday 2nd October 
A much better today and the forecast winds did not really materialise so we continued our journey down the canal.
We soon arrived in Stone, a charming canal side town that seems to embrace its links with the Trent and Mersey, with lovely canal side buildings as well as the traditional industrial development usually found in such places. The Crown Pub is where the promoters of the Trent and Mersey held their meetings so the town claims to be the birthplace of the canal.
We stopped briefly at the services before calling in at the Chandlers at Stone Boat building to stock up on a few items as well as filling up with deisel.
We decided to move on as we will be travelling back up this way in the new year and this place is definitely on our list for a stopover.
We pressed on down to Weston on Trent through the pretty Trent valley, this area has always been highly regarded, and has a large number of large houses and their respective gardens. We got a glimpse of Sandon Hall up on the side of the valley surrounded by trees beginning to show their autumn colours. The park land tumbles down the valley side to come close to the canal, at this point we also shared the valley with the West Coast main line with the Virgin pendelino trains passing so close you could almost touch them!
The river Trent also runs close to the canal here and was now beginning to look like a river rather than the narrow brook we crossed in Stoke.

Moored at Weston on Trent

Weston on Trent was a mile or two further on and provided a very peaceful stopover point, We had a walk around the village, the pub closest to the canal is currently closed for a major refurbishment and is due to reopen in November. The village green is overlooked by the what appears to be the thriving Woolpack Inn. The village itself is mainly housing with very little else, we walked through the church yard and followed a surprisingly dry field path back across the canal, we took a short detour to look at the river passing under a lovely stone bridge by Weston Hall.
Tuesday 3rd October 
A cool start this morning, very autumnal but at least dry and the wind had eased a little too. We cast off and continued our way down the Trent Valley, our target today was Fradley Junction, a very popular spot so we were hoping there would be space available when we arrived.
We set of meandering through the fields, the light at this time of year can be so variable, as I look forward along the boat the milky sun shone through a thin veil of cloud and the view ahead was almost monochrome. When I turned around and looked astern all colour returned with the darkening greens contrasted against the bright red of the Rosehip and Hawthorn berries.
We soon arrived at another mecca of the canals, Great Haywood Junction, this is where the Staffordshire and Worcestershire canal leads down to the junction and the start of the Shropshire Union canal at Autherley near Wolverhampton. This is part of Brindleys great cross as it links the Severn to the Mersey and Trent, the other leg being the Coventry canal leading eventually down to the Thames.
We again made a mental note to stop here to explore on our return trip up the canal in the New Year, but for now we had to press on down to Rugeley.

Trent Aqueduct

Below Great Haywood the scenery is wonderful particularly with the autumn colours beginning to show, we passed through the grounds of Shrugborough Hall with its gardens spreading across the valley floor before rising up to the imposing bulk of Cannock Chase, a beautiful wooded hillside rising up over the Trent.
Just before entering Rugeley we crossed the river on an aqueduct designed by Brindley. This is another impressive structure, and involves a sharp bend at either end, due to the fact that in the 18th century they did not have the knowledge of how to build a crossing at an angle as this required skewed arches, something that only came later, so it was built at right angles to the river bank, hence the bends.
We moored up at Rugeley and Lucia went for supplies while scruff and I took a stroll round the town. I was pleasantly surprised by this small, ex-mining market town, it seems to have a friendly character and retains many of its own local shops.
We were reunited at the boat and had a spot of lunch before pressing on to Fradley.

Armitage tunnel

The trip from here was interesting with plenty of interest along the way. To the south of the town stands the second of the huge Trent valley power stations, this whilst still standing did not appear to be in use and I am sure that very soon it will disappear from the landscape as had the first on below Barlaston. The coal from this power station was mined from a pit almost located in the grounds of generators, but again all trace have been removed. A little further along we came to the remains of an old canal tunnel at Armitage, due to mining subsidence this had been turned into a very narrow cutting through the rock and dead slow was the order of the day.

A load of  loos

Bog factory

Armitage is the location for the famous Armitage Shanks sanitary wear factory, still in operation on a huge site alongside the canal, the factory has now become Ideal Standard.

Rugeley

We carried on through open fields and alternating wooded sections of canal before passing through Handsacre, the home of our friends from our trip to Sheffield, passing their boat at its home mooring.
 We soon arrived at Fradley Junction, the junction itself is situated between several locks with moorings above and below. The junction is where the Coventry canal heads of south linking to the Birmingham canal network and the Oxford and Grand Union canals, indeed this is the turning we took last year having arrived from the opposite direction.
There were no spaces left at the top of the locks so we had no choice to go through the three locks leading to the pound below the junction, fortunately there was space available so we quickly tied up and settled in for the night.
There is a pub right on the junction, The Swan, a favourite haunt of boaters passing through, we had heard bad reports about it last year but the following morning we were informed that it had new owners and had improved significantly, so this will be one for another day.
The next morning we set off having used the services, and just as we were leaving we were told by another boater that the lock above Alrewas was to be closed due to a problem with a balance beam. We asked the lock keeper at the bottom lock but he said he hadn't heard anything so we pressed on.
After a mile or so and having passed through one more lock we arrived at the problem lock, there was no evidence of anyone around so we carried on through, we didn't notice anything wrong other that I had to get off the boat and hold the bottom gates closed whilst Lucia filled the lock, once full we entered the lock and all seemed to operate as normal.
Alrewas is another charming village, we stopped here last year and will certainly go back whilst we are in the area.
The lock at the other end of the village drops the canal down to join the river Trent for a short distance, and on this occasion we were going with the flow so passage was straight forward, last year the river was on the point of being closed as it had gone it to flood and was a lot more difficult to negotiate.
A mile or two further on brought us to the Barton marina and the end of this phase of our journey.
We made the turn into the marina, and found our way to our allocated mooring, the wind was blowing hard as we tried to make our turn into the berth and we were blown into the  boats of our new neighbours! oops! I gave up trying and moored  on the visitor mooring before heading off the the marina office.
We were allocated a different mooring with plenty of room and no other boats on either side so we were soon securely tied up. That night the wind was howling and I had to get up in the early hours to secure the things on the roof.
Discussions with other boaters confirmed that this is a windy marina and that it is best to wait until dusk or early morning before trying to berth as the wind usually drops at these times.
The marina is unlike any we have ever stayed in before, there are plenty of facilities including a laundry and boat yard, there are shops, a pub, restaurants and even a cinema on site!
Looking forward to our time here.

Kelly in her berth the lights behind are the bars, shops etc

Cannock Chase

Shrugborough Hall

River Trent at Weston

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.

Consal Station and the first of the 'narrows'

Tunnel Gauge for Froghall

James Brindley at Etruria Junction

Trent and Mersey Canal

Friday 15th September 2017
A rest day today and following catching up with a bit of work we had a walk around the village, we also took the opportunity to take our washing to the laundry, about 5 mins walk from the boat.
We walked up through the village to Lymm Dam, there are lots of walks through the woods that surround the lake with lots of squirrels to keep Scruff entertained,
We walked back around the village calling in to collect the washing as we approached the boat.
We noted the large and luxurious houses as we passed through the village and I wondered, given its closeness to Manchester, which of the great and famous enjoyed the=is lovely place, a quick look on Google produced a long list including Sir Bobby Charlton, Terry Waite, John Stalker to name but few.

Saturday 16th September 2017

Fiddlers Ferry Power station

We awoke to a beautiful morning and were on our way by 8 a.m, the morning was absolutely still and the cruise down the canal was as good as it gets with the peace only being momentarily interrupted as we passed under the M6, we had a quick stop at Thorne Marine to take on water etc before heading on towards Preston Brook. The views from here are incredible on a day as clear as it was today, we passed to the south of Fiddlers Ferry power station beyond which the view extends all the way across the plain towards Wigan, indeed we could see the same power station from the bottom of Wigan locks the week before.
After passing under the M56 we arrived at Midland Chandlers, this is a boaters paradise with just about everything you could ever want (and more), we had a shopping list and managed to stick to this resisting the temptation to spend a lot more.
Just arount the corner, we came to the northern portal of Preston Brook tunnel, we had a 15 minute wait as, in this direction, the tunnel is only accessible on the half hour and the following 10 minutes.

Entering Preston Brook Tunnel

There was a boat in front of us and two behind and our min flotilla set off on our passage through. The tunnel is broad and high so it was an easy passage with a slight bend in the centre, emerging into sunlight we then came across the stop lock, originally designed to prevent Trent and Mersey water escaping into the Bridgewater. Strangely the Trent and Mersey starts a few yards into the northern end of the tunnel.
The lock is soon negotiated as the difference in water level is only a couple of inches. The canal from here winds it way along the contour of the valley sides with views across to the Weaver navigation below.

Inside Saltersford Tunnel

There are two  further tunnels to negotiate on the run onto Anderton, the first is Saltesford, this again is timed and once inside it is easy to see why, although short the other end of the tunnel cannot be seen due to the dogleg in the middle, as you pass through it really is like being in another world, the lights of the boats in front and behind lighting the tunnel walls but invisible due to the bends.
The last tunnel, Barnton, is a much more straight forward affair, with no time limits, as you can see if there boats coming the other way so we followed the leading boat in.
Anderton is reached very soon after and we had decided to moor here for the night, our mooring was right next to the impressive Anderton lift, more about this later as we went down the lift last year and intend to explore the Weaver next year.
The following morning we caught up on a few more jobs on the boat before heading down the short hop to the Lion Salt Works museum.

Anderton Lift

The Salt works are quite interesting but the process basically involves pumping out the naturally occurring brine from the aquifer below and then boiling it to evaporate the water and leaving the salt behind, so the museum consists of salt pans and the fires below, it was interesting to note that different grades of salt are formed at different temperatures with the finest table salt being produce at the hottest parts and the coarser slat for fish packing etc at the coolest.
There is a lot of interesting information relating to the other forms of salt production in the area, such as mining the solid salt, here pillars were left to support the ground above but as they flooded the salt dissolved and the mines collapsed causing a lot of damage to the surrounding area as well as forming lakes known locally as flashes.
There was a lot of information on how things have now changed, there are still deep rock salt mines but a lot of the mining is now done using the solution process, this involves dissolving out the salt whilst leaving carefully shaped cavities that are designed to be less likely to collapse.
The process for extracting the salt has also come a long way from the open pan method.

Inside the Salt Museum

These days a clever bit of basic science is used, steam is generated for the process but before being used for salt production it drives turbines for generating power, the exhaust is then used to heat the brine. The clever part here is that the process is carried out in a partial vacuum therefore the water boils at a much lower temperature, the steam having cooled a bit more is passed through a second then third process, at each stage the pressure is lowered further so in the final stage the water boils at a mere 35 deg C. - Genius. Of course the salt is extracted and dried automatically before packing and distribution.
Monday - we took a stroll down to Northwich, about a mile across the flashes, its a lovely walk through here and the peaceful scenery belies its industrial past. There are still signs of the salt industry around here, for example we came across some vary large pipes with warnings of high temperature steam and indeed it was escaping in a few places so they must still be live.
The town itself is quite pretty in parts with some old timber framed buildings, these were built to counteract the effects of the subsidence as they could be bodily jacked up or in some cases even moved when required. There is a huge new complex just off the high street with a large Asda and M&S which was still under construction when we visited here last year.
We retraced our steps back to the boat and decided to move on as the weather was quite pleasant and at least dry!
We cruised along to just out side Middlewich, the moorings we chose are known as Bramble Cuttings, an old quarry for puddling clay converted by the Broken Cross Boat Club who have installed picnic tables and bbq stands. This is a lovely spot sat quietly in the Cheshire countryside alongside the river Dane.

Bramble Cuttings

Not long after mooring the rain returned and poured steadily for most of the night, the next morning it had thankfully stopped and was replaced by an early autumn mist.
We got underway soon passing a large flash at Croxton, the fash is wide but we stayed close to the towpath side of the canal as the flash is quite shallow.
We reached the outskirts of Middlewich, marked by the Big Lock, so named due to its being double width. The climb continues through the town with a series of three very deep locks in close succession , before arriving at the junction of the branch canal connecting the Trent and Mersey to the Shropshire Union canal. This junction is notorious in summer due to boats approaching in three directions, two of which require the ascent of a lock adding to the confusion, on this occasion, however, we were the only boat around and carried on our way without incident.
We had set our sights on the village of Wheelock for an overnight stop, however it was such a nice day we decided to press on up to Rode Heath, this part of the canal is nicknamed heartbreak hill due to the necessity to pass through a further 17 locks making a total of 23 for the day!.
The locks on this stretch of the canal have all been duplicated so waiting time is minimised, the original canal and locks were built by James Brindley, the additional locks were added in 1830 by Thomas Telford.

Double locks in action

Double Locks

We arrived at our moorings tired and ready for a good nights sleep.
Wednesday brought another fine day so we continued the climb to the summit mooring at Red Bull, Kidsgrove, here there are all boater services at the CRT yard,.
A quick walk round Kidsgrove was all that was required to show that if your tastes include Fried Chicken, Vaping or tattoos then it has all you require but very little else.
We will stay here until Friday as the forecast is poor for Thursday, the next stage should prove exciting with just 3 locks left to reach the summit and the notorious Hardcastle Tunnel.