Penkridge and Gailey

Too late for yesterday's blog, but there was a splendid sunset last night - with what appeared to be a red sky. Alas, this folk wisdom does not always pan out and rain returned during the night, staying with us until the middle of the afternoon. In fact, the main part of the morning was especially wet - the sort of rain that gets into everything.



Christine began the day, before we set off, trying to take a photo of the rain on the water but a swan insisted in getting into the picture. Quickly it came too close for comfort and the photo-shoot was brought to a prompt conclusion!

After a brunch from a local (Potteries) delicacy - oatcake pancakes filled with bacon - a change into even more water proof gear was called for and progress was slightly less uncomfortable! Mike steered and Chrstine popped out for the occasional lock. Most of today's stretch had single locks, spaced out with perhaps a couple of miles as the longest distance between them.

We filled up with water at Great Haywood before turning off the Trent and Mersey onto the Staffs and Worcs. Almost immediately we crossed an aqueduct over the Trent which looked well above normal levels: if it is like this here, what will it be like further down where it joins the navigation? Christine became bored with being inside and insisted on steering despite the soaking rain. (Actually, it eased - slightly - once she took over!)



We crossed Tixall Broad, a much wider section of the canal which was built this way to satisfy the local landowner whose stately home (now no longer) was having its view interrupted by this new fangled development. Only the gatehouse-style structure remains. This piece of water is supposed to be a good place to spot kingfishers and photo them but, alas, the rain must have kept them indoors - Gerry please note!



A new canal and a new architecture. The most immediate and obvious change was in the shape of the bridges but also the locks are different. Many are a bit inconvenient as they do not have a footbridge at the tail of the lock. In days past we would happily jump from one mitre bottom gate to the other but in the rain and with our conviction eroded by the passage of time, it was two extra trips right around the lock to pass over the top gate. However, Mike was reminded of the need to be extra careful in the rain - pushing at a low balance beam with no foothold, he slipped and, whilst nothing else was injured, hw now has a sore neck from the bump to the ground.

Gailey marks the point at which the historic A5 Watling Street crosses over the canal - with a distinctive toll collectors round house. Soon after we moored in order avoid being too close to the creosote factory which will instead be our first delight tomorrow!

Resupply day

As we needed to make sure we reached Stone in good time to buy some more Calor gas (we were getting rather low on the second pair of bottles) we made a good start. Before long we reached Wedgwood and moored to take a look at the Visitor Centre and Shop.

We eventually decided against the tour (self-guided and only in the factory Monday to Thursday) - even the shop did not inspire Christine to find an addition to her wall of plates collection.



Continuing down the Trent and Mersey, progress through the locks was sometimes slow as there seemed to be a number of particularly inept boats about today! (It is the weekend) We had checked that Canal Cruising Co in Stone stocked the gas bottles but it was rather later than expected that we came alongside. It was their main changeover day for hire boats but they were still willing to help replenish our gas supplies.



Dear reader, you may wonder why such interest in Canal Cruising Company. It was from here that we first hired a canal boat forty years ago for our honeymoon. Back then, canal boats were rather more primitive by comparison with present day standards - not sure that the boatyard has changed much, however!

Unlike yesterday, it was a day without any rain and, by the afternoon it became quite warm and sunny - that is one of the reasons for including the photo of Canal Cruising - just to prove that w did have some blue skies!

Stone was also an important target - to replenish our larder! In fact we had run so low that we really did not have much for lunch, so, after cheese on rice biscuits, we headed into town. Stone is a pleasant, bustling small town with shops mostly along the short high street.



Another task was to update ourselves on wi-fi, knowing that the Post of Stone pub was a Wetherspoons. We also took the opportunity to upload a few more picture to the web album - but we have som many in the backlog that we are far from up-to-date!

Shopping over, we set off once more - the wonderful evening was too good to miss so we reheated the left-over from last night's corned beef hash for a late lunch (at 5 o'clock!) When we found a suitable mooring near Weston-on-Trent, we were quickly inspected by a sizeable herd of cows. Fortunately (as they were accompanied by rather too many flies) they soon lost interest in humans who brought them no food!

Wet Stoke

A THOROUGHLY wet day! (Did we make that clear? It rained heavily overnight and the only change during the day was whether it was large drops or fine ones!)

As a result, we did not get as far as we might otherwise have done and very few photos were taken! The morning was taken up with navigating the remaining part of the Caldon Canal and we moored for lunch in Hanley Park. There was little debate about taking over an hour break - a complete change of clothes was first necessary!



After filling with water at Etruria Junction we set off down the Stoke flight of five locks, most of which were particularly deep. There is now little evidence of the former role of the area as the world's leader in pottery production, although the road signs opn the main road alongside the canal has visitor signs to several factories. Almost all of the remains of bottle kilns and other historic production facilities have been removed, except that one or two are preserved and incorporated into new office or housing developments.



The canal passed close to a large old cemetery, now set out as a park before dropping underneath the railway. There was little point in continuing to cruise in the driving rain so we opted for a mooring site outside the towns - it would be a long way before we would lose the railway line but at least the main road is out of earshot.

Froghall and Leek

The Caldon Canal continued to be particularly rural but especially narrow and slow in places. Eventually we arrived at the terminus - or atleast as far as we could go since Poppy was just too large to pass through the tunnel.

Instead, we walked to Froghall Basin which has been remarkably well restored. Stimulated by a charitable donation, European and other public resources enabled the re-creation of the first lock on the Uttoxeter Canal - which originally continued the canal from here. (As a result, the mileposts give distance from Uttoxter as well as Etruria) Below the lock there were several mooring pontoons.



What puzzles us is: why? Very few boats will currently be able to pass through the tunnel - the boat in the lower basin looked larger that Poppy but is probably local and knows that the official profile guage is somewhat conservative. Nervertheless, spending such a large sum of money on a project which is currently effectively unusable seems bizarre.

After an ice cream, we re-traced our steps along the canal back to the junction with the Leek Branch. The builders of the Caldon Canal originally intended this branch to be simply a feeder, bringing vital water supplies to the main canal. However, the dignataries of Leek demanded that it be made navigable so that the silk trade based in the town could have better access to wider markets.



Close to the end of the branch is a short tunnel which was re-opened in 1985 - it has a rather unusual profile. We moored at the last winding point and walked to the very end which is where there was an aqueduct over the River Chrurnet. The last half mile has long been filled in and now an indistrial estate occupies the position.



Once again we turned around to track back the way we came, continuing until we were close to Endon (of the non-farm shop) for a night mooring - actually, the call of a chilli on the cooker was a persuasive factor!

Caldon Canal

Yesterday's blog had to be uploaded this morning as there was not sufficient reception for the mobile phone to operate the packet data service from our overnight mooring location. The same will happen with this blog as there is no reception at all this evening! In addition, the day was almost photo-less as a result of flat batteries in the main camera - tried to use the spare camera but found it a bit unfamiliar! Still there were enough for the blog.

We continued along the Caldon Canal which, soon after we set off, became very pretty in rural countryside. On the other hand, it also beacme narrow and shallow which meant that progress was often slow and quite challenging around tight bends and when passing boats coming the other way.

At Endon we were promised - both by the Nicholsons and Canal Mate guides - an interesting and well-stocked farm shop. Alas, it is no longer very successful and had barely any stock at all, certainly not the promised bakery products. On the other hand, it was only a short walk into the village where there was a good Spar shop - we also needed to go there to buy cards for the British Waterways facility block at the next bridge.

Christine was rather keen to make use of the launderette and processed two loads through both washer and dryer. This meant we had quite a break - rather longer than just a lunch stop. We were eventually on our way again by 4 o'clock.



We reached the junction where the Leek branch goes off, running parallel for a short distance before passing over on an aqueduct. Since leaving Stoke the canal had followed a disused railway track although, at Endon, we could see that the rails still existed. At Cheddleton, the line has been taken over by the Churnet Valley Railway which runs various steam trains at weekends.



We were aiming to stop for the night at Consall Forge where the guidebooks recommended - as did a passing boater earlier in the day - the pub for its food. On the other had, we were apprehensive as we approached the lock before the stop where the canal joins the River Churnet at this stage for about a mile. We were hoping to avoid rivers for a while! With relief we saw that the flood gauge showed plenty of 'green' so we were able to continue!



At Consall Forge, the river leaves, passing over a weir, and our plan had been to look for a mooring just after the junction where the pub is located. Official moorings were placed just above the junction but we looked further. This was a mistake: not only was there no suitable mooring but the place we thought was wide enough to 'wind' (turn around) proved just a few inches less than needed and we ended up stuck for a while across the channel! Helped by a very kindly passing dog walker, we eventually pushed and pulled ourselves around in order to return to the proper moorings for the night!

The pub - one of the most isolated as the nearest track is across the river and all deliveries have to be brought across a footbridge on a trolley - was very welcoming and the food, whilst not especially exotic, was very tasty and was served as huge portions. Mike had never seen a cod fillet of such a size and Christine's shank (we never did decide whether it was the lamb or pork!) was simply mighty!

Harecastle and Stoke

Not a drop of rain! What is the weather coming to? Can we rely on nothing?

As this was the day that Andrew was to leave us, we needed to make an early start in order to reach Stoke where he could catch a train back to Worcester. We re-traced our route back to Bosley Flight where there seemed to be a continuous stream of boats in both directions. In 10 out of the twelve lcoks we passed a boat coming up. As a result, progress was a little slower but we still managed to complete the flight in two hours.

There was still another couple of hours back to Halls Green stop lock, a short distance before Hardings Wood where we re-joined the Trent and Mersey.



Our next task was to negotiate the famous Harecastle Tunnel. Keepers control access at either end and we felt fortunate that he estimated about five minutes wait for a boat in transit to emerge - actually it was a little longer but the traffic today was very light and the delay was nothing like the hour we had anticipated!

With all cabin lights blazing we set off: as the southern end has doors closed to help fans extract air from the tunnel, it was a long time before we could see even a glimmer of light. The headroom is much reduced in places but the towpath has now been removed and this made it much easier, albeit still requiring quite a bit of concentration.



South of the tunnel we started to pass through the Five (or Six) Towns of the Stoke-on-Trent conurbation. Much of the industrial past is gradually disappearing and extensive reclamation was in progress on the Shelton site which was once an immense steelworks. (When we came this way 40 years ago we could see the hot molten metal being processed.)

There are still some potteries, however, including a new Steelite factory. A number of the old bottle kilns have been preserve as a reminder of the time when most of this area was devoted to making china, earthenware and porcelain - after all, this was what gave birth to the Trent and Mersey and hence the whole canal network.



At Etruria we turned up the Caldon Canal and immediately tackled the two lock staircase and one more lock before stopping in Hanley Park to allow Andrew to disembark with his baggage mounted on the trolley which he came with - but minus the boxes of wine and beer!

Left now to ourselves, we continued for another hour until we were into a more rural setting for a night mooring.

Busgworth

A day marked with some very heavy showers or short (or short-ish) duration but otherwise pleasant sunny intervals. The temperatures rarely reached April levels, however!

We continued the Macclesfield which continued to be delightfully rural for most of its length. At Marple Junction we turned down the Peak Forest Canal towards Whalley Bridge, its terminus. Even narrower and, if possible, even prettier. In the morning we saw relatively few boats on the move but by the afternoon it seemed that a lon stream were making their way to the end basin.

The canal is quite narrow in parts, especially when there is a long line of moored boats. There were two lift bridges, each requiring 50 windlass turns to raise and lower, as well as two swing bridges.



At one swing bridge we were waved through by a boat which was itself just passing through and as we overtook it we spotted that it offered pump out and diesel so we arranged to meet a little further down the canal, beyond the marina moorings for a 'service'. As we waited, the boat came alongside - obviously unconcerned about whether any other boats might come along! One did, but he too was after a fuel top up.



At Whalley Bridge we moored at the basin to go into the small town to buy a few groceries, especially milk. The basin itself was once the transhipment yard bewteen the canal and the Cromford and High Peak Railway, which took goods further on, using a series of steep inclined planes and stationary engines.



Bugsworth (or the more delicate version: Buxworth) Basin has recently been extensively restored. This is the only surviving transhipment wharves between canal and tramway. The stone setts for the tramways were easily visible as well as the limekilns which once formed part of nthis busy industrial centre. Well-dressing season and there were two examples of this art, local to Derbyshire, one alongside the main basin.

Turn around and head back the way we came was now the only option, with the same bridges and narrow passing places as before although it did seem rather busier by now.

Mindful of our schedule for tomorrow, which involves dropping Andrew as near to Stoke-on-Trent railway station as possible, we continued cruising until 8:30 with the last part of the evening being quite pleasant.