A quiet day

Bugsworth basin

We decided not to travel any too far today, we really needed a change after 8 days on the move.

In the morning we took the local train up the Goyt valley to Buxton. This is a worthwhile journey as the scenery is magnificent as the train travels uphill over the summit and down to Buxton. We spent a couple of hours in Buxton; to be truthful there is not a lot to see there but Mike was able to buy some new walking boots and enjoy a couple of pints of rather good Hardy & Hansons.

After returning to the boat we turned around, filled up with water, and moved the mile or so to Bugsworth Basin. Bugsworth was constructed in the late 18th century as a major transshipment wharf for the limestone quarried higher up the valley and is now a fascinating industrial archaeological site.

Into the Peak District

Set off at 9:00am with clear blue skies and a bit of a breeze, had a quick stop at High Lane to buy a paper and cruised to Marple where the Macclesfield Canal meets the Peak Forest Canal. We had hoped to moor at Marple to look around the town before going on, but yet again shallow moorings prevented this.

So we continued up the Peak Forest Canal into the Peak District. The scenery on this canal is some of the best we have seen anywhere on the waterways as the canal goes up the Goyt valley cut into the hillside. There are views of old mills and and the high moors above the valley when the canal isn't shaded by trees.

BUT, the canal is very shallow. Progress was slow - on a shallow canal if you try to rev the engine the prop sucks water from beneath the boat which lowers the boat towards the canal bed which slows you down further. Passing boats was difficult as there is a risk of grounding, and we saw one boat with a rather deeper draught than ours repeatedly grounding in the main canal channel. As today is a summer Saturday there was a reasonable amount of traffic so the journey was hard work.

Nevertheless the beauty of the coutryside made it worthwhile.

We moored at the end of the canal at Whaley Bridge, a typical stone built Peak District mining and Victorian industrial village with a useful Tesco where we stocked up for the next 4 days.

We didn't go to Macclesfield

Moored at Higher Poynton

Having moored for the night just before Macclesfield we decided to spend a while looking around the town. We passed through attractive scenery in the southern outskirts of Macclesfield and stopped for 150 litres of diesel which will keep us going for the next month or so and a loo pump-out. Arriving at the "Macclesfield Visitor Moorings", as identified by a large sign, we found the small length of canalside fully occupied by 2 boats.

Fortunately there were further Visitor moorings just the other side of a bridge - again space for perhaps 2 boats at the most. We tried to get in but couldn't because the canal edge was too shallow. So we decided to move on. Surely a town like Macclesfield should realise the amount of custom its shops could gain from passing boaters and provide proper moorings.

Anyway, we moved on the Bollington, a small stone-built town with a couple of impressive ex-mills, now offices. Here there were excellent moorings so we stopped and walked to the small set of shops to buy some provisions for the weekend.

After lunch at Bollington we motored on through beautiful countyside to Higher Poynton, where we are now moored in an area of the canal which has been turned into an attractive lake by mining subsidence.

Bosley locks and forward to Macclesfield (nearly)

Bosley Locks

Weather much improved - cloudy but dry. We left the mooring at 8:45 and reached the 12 lock Bosley flight, the only real locks on the Macclesfield canal.

The trip up the flight was easy, aided by the number of boats coming down ensuring that almost every lock was empty, ready for us to enter. We moored at the top of the flight for lunch and set off again at 13:30, mooring again just outside Macclesfield at 16:00. This section of the canal through the foothills of the Pennines was very attractive with wooded cuttings, high embankments, pasture with sheep and cows, rounded off with the views of the high hills.

The Macclesfield canal is certainly now in our list of favourites.

Onto the Macclesfield canal

Little Moreton Hall

2 days combined in this post - reason for this anon...

Set off from Etruria at 9:00am on Tuesday and after travelling through a mixed but interesting area of trees, urban regeneration, semi derelict factories and a working pottery or two we reached Harecastle tunnel.

This tunnel at 2926 yards is one of the longest ones on the system. Its 9 foot width is insufficient for two boats to pass and so flow in alternate directions is controlled by British Waterways. We were lucky to arrive just before BW closed the entrance and reached the northern end in about 45 minutes.

After a quarter mile we reached Hardings Wood junction and turned onto the Macclesfield where we moored for lunch and a visit to the local Tesco. During the afternoon we motored on through this beautiful canal to moor near Ramsdell Hall. Unfortunately, this was only place we have visited with no internet connectivity - and hence no posting yesterday.

Today we awoke late to heavy rain so we stayed at the mooring and read - if at all possible we never travel in the rain. The rain cleared by lunchtime and so we walked the mile footpath to Little Moreton Hall. This is a pretty tudor manor house, owned by the National Trust, in as near original condition as you can find. We took advantage of the free guided tour which added much to our enjoyment of the visit.

After returning to the boat we carried on up the Macclesfield, mooring outside Congleton on a high embankment across a small wooded valley. As I write I can see up the valley to the south and looking down the valley there is a an impressive railway viaduct. This must be one of the best moorings we have used for a long time.

Pottering

After the 2 previous glorious days, today we went to Stoke on Trent.

We left Barlaston at 9:00. Weather still fairly sunny, though it clouded over towards lunchtime. We arrived at Etruria, the old pottery centre, at 13:00 after going through the industrial outskirts of Stoke. Little remains of the pottery industry, though the immediate vicinity of Etruria is interesting. There is an industrial museum and an old flint mill still in working order. Unfortunately these are only open Wednesday-Sunday.

We have decided to stay at Etruria for the rest of the day as rain is forecast and there is little desirable mooring this side of Harecastle tunnel.

Yet another glorious day

This is getting too much! We set off from Burston with blue skies and bright sunshine at 9am and travelled directly to Stone.

Stone is a pleasant and interesting small town with a surprising number of pubs and restaurants, and more importantly for us on a Sunday lunchtime, a large Morrison's supermarket where we stocked up on provisions for the next few days.

After lunch on the boat we filled up with water - we could probably last the best part of a week before refilling, but we normally do it every 2 days, otherwise it takes too long. We then had a short journey to Barlaston, south of Stoke on Trent. It may have been short in distance but did involve two flights of 4 locks.

Our mooring at Barlaston happens to be 50 yards from a pub overlooking the canal serving excellent Wadworths 6X and Everards Tiger - a satisfying end to an enjoyable day.

A glorious day

We could hardly have asked for anything better. - the best weather so far this year, a beautiful canal, and an interesting journey.

Yesterday we mentioned the sheep. We had noticed last night that there was one on its back with its legs in the air, very dead we thought. This morning we saw that its legs were moving. Fortunately there were some men nearby working on a hedge. Denise went off to talk to them. They knew the farmer and promised to phone him. It seems that once sheep get stuck on their backs they can't get up again unaided.

We then moved on to Great Haywood to buy a paper and stock up at the canal-side farm shop where we bought a chicken pie, some veg, and strawberries & cream and a delicious cheese loaf (as recommended to us by Dot & Derek on Gypsy Rover), all local produce.

After eating lunch at Great Haywood we travelled on up the Trent & Mersey through delightful scenary and are now moored near Burston, a very attractive small village just south of Stone.

Start of our 2009 Summer Journey

Arrived at the boat at 10:30. After unpacking and having a quick lunch we set off just after midday, turning North towards Great Haywood. Despite the Met. Office forecast showing sunny weather it rained on and off, but not too hard, throughout our journey. Having got through Rugeley we decided to stop out in the countryside across the Trent valley from Cannock Chase. We can see Rugeley power station in the distance and are fairly close to the West coast mainline, but there are sheep in the field next to us. Looking forward to a couple of months on the canal.