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)