Long weekend in Cheshire: Day 1

We were up and about promptly this morning, on a unusually murky and chilly day.  We’d been joined at Westport Lake during yesterday late afternoon by two other boats, and one of them, a shared ownership boat, set off just before we did at about ten past 8.  We headed for Harecastle Tunnel, and moored behind them on the waiting area.

The tunnel keeper came over and said there was a boat coming south, and once they were through we’d be able to go in.  It was just before 9 when the southbound boat appeared and the boat in front of us could enter.  We followed a couple of minutes later.

Once we were inside, the doors clanged shut behind us and the fans roared into life — and although a bit of mist appeared, it was nothing like as much as it has been in the past.  The middle section of the tunnel is quite low, so I had to step down onto the engine board to steer.  Some concentration is needed to keep in the middle.  After quite a while, I noticed we had another boat behind us, but a long way back.  It took about 40 minutes to get through, then we emerged blinking into the light, waving at the tunnel keeper in his little office.

As we went under the railway bridge, an East Midlands Regional train was going over; the guard had his head out of the window and said hello to Adrian.  I wasn’t really fast enough with the photo.

The boat ahead was starting on the Cheshire Locks, but we made the left hand turn at Hardings Wood Junction, onto the Macclesfield Canal.  It’s closed at Bosley Locks at the moment because of a breach at the top of the locks, but we’re not going that far.  A CRT update that came out yesterday suggested the canal should reopen by 20 June, which would be ideal for us, as we’ll be back from the Crick Boat Show by then.

After the junction there’s a sharp right hand turn, then about half a mile of straight, then another sharp right, where the canal crosses the Trent and Mersey which is heading down locks below.  Over the wall, I could just see a boat in one of the locks.

It’s a long time since we were last here, 2013 in fact, so it’s perhaps not surprising that we didn’t remember much.  We soon reached Hall Green Lock, rise just 1ft.  This is where the Macc really starts, because the bit we’d just travelled was actually built by the Trent and Mersey.  Each canal had a lock here, which is why there’s a long narrow leading up to the lock, and each had a lock cottage.  The Macc one is currently for sale, £260,000 and in need of restoration.

We passed Heritage Marina and then Ramsdell Hall.  When the canal was built, the owners wanted a view so railings were put along the canal instead of a hedge.

We pulled up on the moorings by the railings, just before Bridge 86, much to the apparent annoyance of a couple of ducks.  There was a boat in the middle, but we’re right on the end, with the best view through the railings.

Lunch was Staffordshire oatcakes with mushrooms and cheese, then we went for a walk.  We went along to the next bridge, then up the road and under the West Coast Mainline, up the hill a bit more and through a bluebell wood.

We came out onto a road which took us down to the gates of Ramsdell Hall, then walked past the road entrance of the marina where we called in for an ice cream, before returning along the canal.  Other achievements today include using a needle to get a small mountain of fluff out of the charging port of my phone; the cable now clicks into place again instead of falling out all the time.

6 miles, 1 lock.

Caldon Cruise: Day 9

Yet another bright sunny morning.  We were away about 9am, and made our way through Milton and towards Stoke-on-Trent.  Many of the bridges are on bends, making them tricky to approach and impossible to see if anything is coming.  This is heading for Bridge 14.

I went and pressed the buttons at Ivy House Lift Bridge, holding up three cars and a pick-up truck in the process.  We waved at a group of school children out for a walk in Hanley Park.  When we got to Planet Lock, Adrian set the lock and then went to the shop across the road to see if he could buy a bottle of milk.  However, the only option they had was four pints of full fat — so he left it.  Meanwhile, a cyclist had offered to close the gate while I went and did the paddles, but then found there was such a big collection of branches in the water he couldn’t actually get the gate closed.  I fished them out with the boat hook, by which time Adrian was bc, empty handed.  The final locks on the canal were the Bedford Street staircase pair.

At the junction, we rejoined the Trent and Mersey, and headed north.  At the Steelite factory, they normally seem to be chucking away loads of rejects when we pass.  Today, all was quiet, even the car park — so maybe they don’t work on a Friday.  Anyway, the skip was already full.

We moored up at Westport Lake, on our own.  After lunch, we walked to the next bridge, crossed it, and went up the hill to the main road, where there’s an Aldi, which had semi-skimmed in reasonable sizes.  There’s also a Screwfix up there and a variety of other shops.  It’s only a short walk, so well worth knowing about.  Later we walked round the lake again, and found ourselves in front of the ice cream van, so it would have been rude not to.

8 miles, 3 locks.  (41 miles, 34 locks)

Caldon Cruise: Day 8

We really liked the mooring at Hazlehurst Aqueduct; last night as we were going to bed we could hear a tawny owl calling repeatedly.  This morning was sunny and bright again, and we set off at 9.15.  After a few minutes we were turning from the Leek Branch back onto the main line of the Caldon, with the Hazlehurst locks to our right.  I really like the Leek Branch — it’s only three miles long but is very pretty, has plenty of interest, and some lovely moorings.  We turned left, which is almost straight on from this direction.

We stopped at the Park Lane services for water, and to get rid of quite a bit of rubbish and recycling that’s built up since we were last here.  Apart from those back at Etruria Junction, these are the only bins on this canal.  While we were there a boat went past us.  When we set off again we negotiated the obstruction at Endon, and then there’s a long straight section with views up to the hills.  It seems odd that the locks at the end of this straight go down; by the lay of the land, up would seem more likely!

When we got to the Stockton Brook locks, the boat that had past us was going down, and said CRT had been there when he arrived, running some water down.  The lock landing is before the bridge ahead of the first lock, and from there you can only see the end of the balance beam.  It’s a nice setting though.

The boat ahead kindly lifted a paddle to refill the locks for us as we went down.  In the second lock, forward and reverse of the engine seemed to have very little effect on the boat so I feared there was something round the prop.  Then as I engaged forward to leave, there was quite a loud banging.  I crept forward, and we decided that the easiest place to check the prop was the next lock.  Once in there, I went down the weedhatch and found a large piece of clear plastic that was all round the blades of the prop.  It took a bit of effort to get it off; it also looked so new that it’s unlikely to have been in the water very long.  After that it was plain sailing down the remaining locks.  The bottom one is accompanied by a huge pumping station that would make a superb Grand Design for someone.  In fact it looks as though some work is being done on it.

Two boats were arriving at the bottom of the locks as we went down, so we could leave the gates open.  Adrian then walked on to the windlass-operated lift bridge.  He found, as I did last week, that it’s easy to wind up but surprisingly much more difficult to wind down again.

I was only thinking the other day that the Canada geese we’ve seen don’t appear to be sitting on eggs, which seems odd given the number of goslings that usually emerge.  Of course today we’ve seen half a dozen nesting.

We went through the next lift bridge, which is electric, and decided to drop down Engine Lock.  A single hander was about to come up so was grateful when Adrian worked him through.  When we came the other way last week we stopped above the lock, but there are also nice moorings below, with piling and a nice view.

After lunch we walked into Milton as Adrian wanted to get a hair cut.  I’ve spent the rest of the afternoon finishing writing a boat test, and Adrian is working on the accounts of the charity he’s treasurer of.

5 miles, 6 locks.  (33 miles, 31 locks)

Caldon Cruise: Day 7

There was heavy rain in the night, drumming on the roof so hard that it woke us both us.  By this morning, though, the sun was back out again.  We’re getting very familiar with the industrial estate on the way into Leek, although this time we were only going as far as Morrisons for a food top up.  One of the firms en route is Ornua Foods, who it turns out employ 700 people there to pack cheese and butter, including Pilgrim’s Choice and Kerrygold, along with a load of own brands.

Having done the shopping and got back to the boat, we got ready to set off.  The entrance to Leek Tunnel doesn’t look quite as tiny from this direction.  You can see all the way through, and if there’s anything coming there are some railings on the offside to wait against.

Emerging into the big pool at the other end is lovely.

There are soon glimpses of the spooky-looking tower of the former hospital at Leekbrook.  I’m sure it’s easier to see now than it was last time we came this way, and I see from Google maps that there appear to have been lots of houses built in the grounds.

The wooded section looked lovely in the sunshine, and parts are full of bluebells.

At one point, we saw a couple on the towpath, with the woman holding out her hand.  A robin flew from the hedgerow landed on her hand and and took some seed.  She was delighted, and we were lucky to have seen it.  We moored immediately before the aqueduct.  There were two boats here, but there was space for us on the end.  The bridge ahead, which goes over the end of the aqueduct, turns out to be very steep, with some helpful bricks to help walkers.

One reason for stopping here was because we have a lunch appointment with Rachel and Nev from Percy, at the Hollybush Inn, down on the lower level of the canal.  There are steps down from the aqueduct.  We had a nice lunch and plenty of conversation, then retired to Briar Rose for coffee and tea.  Before we knew it, it was almost 4pm.  It was lovely to catch up with Rachel and Nev, who live not too far away from here.

I still needed some steps for the day, so I walked along the canal to the junction, down the locks, and along to the aqueduct, returning to the boat up the steps.

2 miles, 0 locks.  (28 miles, 25 locks)

Caldon Cruise: Day 6

A lovely sunny day, which was just as well as we had plans to meet family.  We set off from the boat at around 9.30 and walked along to the end of the arm.  There’s only enough room for a small boat to turn here; straight ahead is the feeder from Rudyard Lake, and to the right is the aqueduct over the River Churnet which used to take the canal into Leek itself, but which was filled in.

We took the path alongside the feeder, then crossed the A53 and picked up the path again.  It passes through lovely wooded areas, and there are country parks on one side and a golf course on the other.  Occasionally there are little bridges over the feeder.

Then the views open up as you walk along the valley, always with the feeder alongside.

About three quarters of the way there, we took some steps up next to an old railway bridge, onto the bed of the Uttoxeter to Macclesfield line.

Our initial destination was Rudyard Station, the start of the Rudyard Lake Railway, a 10 and a quarter inch gauge line which runs a mile and a half up the side of Rudyard Lake.  My sister, her husband, and one of their daughters arrived (the other is busy revising for GCSE exams which start next week) and we bought tickets for the 11am departure.  The carriages are a bit of a squeeze, and the train trundles alongside the lake, with nice views across.

We had a little stretch of the legs at Hunthouse Wood, the end of the line, where the engine changes end, then returned to Dam station, which is at the end of the lake.

The dam has a massive overspill weir at one side, and the canal feeder starts at the other end, with some control towers above.

We had lunch and an ice cream at the Rudyard Lake visitor centre, and watched some people paddle boarding and others getting their rowing boats ready.  Then we walked along the feeder back to the family’s car near Rudyard Station.

We said our goodbyes, then we continued along the feeder, completing the bit we’d missed on the way up.  When we got to the railway bridge we went up the steps again and followed the route into Leek.

Leek turns out to be a much more substantial town than we’d been expecting, with lots of shopping streets and some nice buildings.  There are also streets of terraced houses, and we liked this corner one.

The war memorial is surely one of the most impressive in the country — it’s certainly one of the tallest, at 90ft.  It was commissioned by a local businessman and his wife to commemorate their son who died at Ypres, and others from the town who died in the First World War, and no also has plaques for those who died in the Second World War.

We may not have done any boating miles today, but we have walked well over 10km.

0 miles, 0 locks.  (26 miles, 25 locks)

Caldon Cruise: Day 5

The water level in Cheddleton was a little better this morning, but still not back to normal.  I had an appointment to do a podcast interview at the Flint Mill, so while I did that Adrian walked up to get some milk from the One Stop in the village.  It turned out Easter eggs were now reduced.  It was also raining, and as we are meeting family tomorrow we set off; it was about 1030.  It was very slow going because of the lack of water — in the bridge holes we came to a virtual stop, and at one I thought I might be better getting off and pushing.  When we got to Hazlehurst Aqueduct, there was an ABC hire boat going over it as we went underneath.  At the locks, a Black Prince boat was going up ahead, but then the ABC boat was coming down, so we swapped in the first pound.

The top lock is very attractive.  In fact the whole area of the locks and junction is pretty, even in the rain.

I did a lovely turn onto the Leek Branch, which involved doubling back on yourself, but the ninety degree turn onto the aqueduct wasn’t so good.  We were now going over the main line we’d just come along.

The Leek Branch is lovely, with bluebell woods on the offside and occasional glimpses along the valley.  As it was still wet, I decided I’d leave photos until the return journey in a couple of days time.  Towards the end of the branch, the canal opens up into a big pool, with the tiny Leek Tunnel off in one corner.

Inside, the tunnel has a re-lined section, so in that sense (and in that sense alone!) it’s a bit like Blisworth.

There’s only about half a mile of canal after the tunnel, and the Black Prince boat was turning at the final full length winding hole.  We came through the bridge and turned into the winding hole so they could go back through; then we completed our turn and reversed back to the moorings.  The first space was the only one big enough, but again it turned out that depth was an issue in places.  We had lunch and lit the fire, and then in mid-afternoon the sun surprisingly came out.  We headed out to the end of the canal where the feeder comes in, and then walked through to industrial estate to locate Morrisons and the rest of town.

4 miles, 3 locks.  (26 miles, 25 locks)