Through Harecastle Tunnel

Site of Shelton Steel Works

Old Pottery at Middleport

Having completed the Caldon, we could get back home in 4 days, but we dont need to until Sunday next week. So having a few days spare we have decided to continue travelling north and spend 2-3 days on the Macclesfield canal, one we did last year and enjoyed.

We left Etruria at 9:40 after filling our tank with water. The canal passes through the old industrial area to the north of Stoke past the vast cleared area that was Shelton Steel Works and further on past the old potteries with their iconic bottle ovens of Newport, Middleport and Longport.

We then reached Harecastle tunnel, at 3000 yards one of the longest on the whole canal system. This magnificent tunnel was constructed by Thomas Telford in 1827 in only 3 years. It supplemented the original one built by Brindley in 1777 which became a major bottleneck as its absence of a towpath meant that boats had to be propelled through the tunnel by leggers - men who lay on the cabin roof and "walked" along the tunnel side.

Telford's tunnel is straight so that one can see the pinprick of light signifying the north end of the tunnel from the other end which is very useful as it assists the boat driver in steering a straight course. The tunnel has no lighting, the only illumination being the single spotlight on the front of the boat.

The original towpath has been removed to provide more space, but the tunnel is still too narrow to allow two vessels to pass. British Waterways therefore manage the alternate passage of convoys of boats. We were lucky as we only had to wait for the compulsory safety briefing before starting our passage. As can be imagined it could present a problem if a boat broke down a mile into the tunnel in complete darkness, without a well defined procedure.

After passing through the tunnel in 30mins we turned off the Trent & Mersey at Kidsgrove and moored on an embankment at the start of the Macclesfield. This is about half a mile to a Tescos where we have stocked up with groceries for the next 4 days.