Out of Stoke

Waiting to enter the second lock in the staircase

Two isolated bottle ovens - all the other pottery buildings have been demolished

A first stop after leaving Etruria was near Hanley. This trip on only just over a mile included a staircase lock, where the top gate of one lock forms the bottom gate of the next, a normal lock and a electrically operated lift bridge. These lift bridges are always enjoyable as they enable us to stop the traffic which has to wait whilst the boat passes through.

We walked into the centre of Hanley, which is regarded as the shopping centre for the whole of Stoke on Trent. We found it rather disappointing with one large mall surrounded by a few small streets. After returning to the boat for lunch we continued up the canal passing through the outskirts of, and finally leaving, Stoke on Trent.

The view of Stoke we get from the canal suggests it to be an unlovely place seriously blighted by old run-down industry. However there are signs of regeneration with modern and attractive housing estates replacing the industry. At several places we saw such an estate on one side of the canal directly facing a view of complete dereliction on the other.

Beyond Stoke, travel is slow because the canal is shallow, narrow, and winding. Fortunately there are few other boats on the move and so we had no problems with the sharp bends.

We moored at 15:00 out in the country with views across the Trent valley to the hills beyond.