Time flies

Its amazing to think its only 5 weeks now and we will be back home and its 2 weeks since I last posted so here's a potted summary of the last 14 days or so.

As I mentioned in the last post we went as planned down the other arm of the Caldon towards Froghall. We spent the first night at Cheddleton where there is an old flint works, in fact two together, both water powered although unfortunately they only open at the weekends but some good picture opportunities. The following day we moved on to see if we could go down to Froghall but the weather was so atrocious and the pub we had wanted to stop at for lunch had no available moorings so in disgust we turned round and went back to Cheddleton. Its a shame because the pub at Consall Forge is supposed to be very rustic - spit and sawdust and the steam railway station there is very well preserved - a point of interest being the waiting room which is cantilevered over the canal.  We had thought also about taking the train to Froghall but the day we were there was a special "Pepper Pig" day and we didn't really fancy sharing the train with loads of screaming kids - and I don't think T & T would have appreciated it either. One way and another the Caldon was proving a real pain!

We then retraced our steps back to Stoke and the Trent and Mersey without too much of significance happening and made our way towards Stone through yet another drenching. Not only was it wet but cold too and I ended up in anorak, woolly hat and gloves and we put the heating on in the boat for the evening. This was after hearing that the following day was promising temperatures in the 30's for East Anglia. Huh! Hope you all enjoyed roasting!

Stone is a pleasant town and we set off the next day for a few days R & R on Tixall Wide, an area at the start of the Staff and Worcestershire canal which we passed through earlier in our journey but didn't stop. We were lucky to find a mooring there and spent 3 nights with what we regarded as good weather. I managed to get the chair out and sit on the towpath on one day and we only had the occasional thunderstorm to contend with.

From there we continued our journey down the Trent and Mersey and on to Fradley Junction and down the Coventry canal. Friday night we stopped at Whittington and then on a couple of miles on Saturday to meet friends John and Louise (nb Bluemoon) for lunch and a couple of jars. The day had not been forcast to be good weather wise but as we spent a good part of it in the pub it wasn't a problem but we did actually miss the worst of the weather anyway.

Sunday saw us come on to Alvecote where there is an historic narrowboat gathering and we moored there at lunchtime for a look around. Its great to see so many old boats in such good condition. Its just a shame that the owners don't bother to dress the part. We were going to spend the night there but when the band started we decided it might be a good idea to move on so came another mile or so and will spend a couple of nights here whilst the bank holiday traffic goes by.

Bank holiday Monday and the skies are overcast and the odd drop of rain falling. We went this morning to look around the Pooley Field Centre but there was very little of interest there, not really sure what it was meant to be displaying although we had thought it was going to be about the mining history of the area.

Cheddleston Mill

Joules brewery building Stone (no longer a brewery unfortunately)

Stern lookouts!

Sunset on Tixall Wide

The old gatehouse Tixall

Historic Narrowboats Alvecote

A relaxing time?

As I mentioned in the last post we moved on to the mooring where we had walked up to Mow Cop and were really lucky with the weather as it was glorious and we had a couple of days there doing very little.

We then moved on to go onto the Caldon which meant a long day as we had no wish to moor up in Stoke and also we had to go through the Harecastle tunnel. This tunnel has controlled traffic so at least one is not faced with something coming the other way but never the less I find tunnels very stressful. You are in complete darkness except for the headlight and have very little room for manuvour so have to concentrate the whole time and not let the boat go off the straight line. Headroom is limited and its very wet with water dripping from the roof. I think the tunnel is nearly 3000 yards long and takes about 45 minutes to get through. A very welcome relief to get out into the sunshine at the other end.

We then headed down through Stoke and up the Caldon not a journey I'd want to make on a dull wet day - it was depressing enough in the sun. We had planned to visit the Industrial museum at Etruria (always sounds like an African third world country to me rather than an area of Stoke) but found that it was permanently closed so we headed up to spend the night at Milton. Not a bad mooring but for some reason I couldn't get our mooring hooks to fit and had to end up tying up on some old rope we had, just kept my fingers crossed that it would not fray overnight and to add to that concern whilst I was walking the dogs Sarah had a strange teenager stick his head in through the duck hatch and ask for a conducted tour of the boat! We made sure everything was securely locked that night! We woke up safe and secure so no harm done. We went and did the shopping in town but found it to be a rather depressing place and hoped that things would look up as we continued on.

The next night was fine and then we moved on to the Leek arm. Although only a short arm and supposedly very underused we had probably the most fraught couple of hours cruising of the whole summer. We had just turned on to the arm when a day boat pulled out from the bank right in front of using making me apply reverse quite severely and then they continued at a snails pace. Then at one point they found themselves in a narrow part of the canal opposite a moored boat with another coming towards them and panicked and pulled into the side giving the approaching boat very little room to get through and me to apply reverse again. Then about a mile further on rounding a bend at little more than tick over I found another boat approaching me on my side. I pulled over as far as possible and we missed each other by inches but it left me grounded and it took a fair few minutes to extricate ourselves. So much for a quiet peaceful arm!

 We eventually and moored at what one of the guidebooks describes as "one of the most charming moorings on the  system" Well, it was pleasant enough but I think that was a bit over the top. The following day, Monday, we carried on to the end of the arm at Leek and went in to this charming town although its a bit of a hike and through a large industrial area at first.

 Tomorrow we start to retrace our steps and then try the other arm and head towards Froghall. There is a very low tunnel at the end of that arm to get into the basin and given our experience of this canal so far I don't think I'm going to attempt it.

The "Snake" bridge I mentioned in the last post

  

A sunset at last!

Entrance to Harecastle tunnel

A rather unexpected sight in the middle of the canal

Moored at "the most idylic site on the system"

The neighbours pop round for an evening drink

There and back again

We are now back on the Maccesfield working our way down to the Trent and Mersey and then to go on to the Caldon.

The weather on the Monday I mentioned in the last post was good and I took the dogs for a walk into the hills and had some great views across into the Peak district.

The rest of the week has been mixed to say the least although we have been luckier than some with our timing and were usually moored before the deluges began.

We stopped near Lymes Marina for a couple of nights and on arrival had a great meal at a little cafe just by the canal and can highly recommend it. The following day we walked to Lyme Hall about 2 miles or so from the canal. A bit of a barn of a place but if it looks familiar think of Mr Darcy and a wet shirt as this is where they filmed "that scene" for Pride and Prejudice.

The following Day we stopped off at Clarence Mill at Bollington as we had thought it housed a selection of shops etc but on getting there found it was only a cafe that was open but a latte and a gooey cake was most welcome. In its heyday there were something like 30 similar mills around the town, the mind boggles as to the noise and pollution they caused.

We carried on in the sunshine and moored at Gurnett just before the heavens opened. Luckily it didn't last too long and we were able to walk to the pub for a meal and a glass (or two) without getting soaked. The snake bridge pictured below (sometimes called turnover bridges) are designed so that the horses could change to the towpath on the other side of the canal with having to be unhitched. There is a super example near where we are moored at the moment and if I remember I'll get a shot tomorrow before we leave.

On the next day and through the 12 locks on this canal and we moored at the bottom for a couple of nights. I had intended to polish the other side of the boat but only got a couple of sections done due to the rain.

On today to Congleton a fair sized town, a bit larger than Diss I should think and some interesting architecture and tomorrow we plan to revisit the mooring we stopped at on our way up when we climbed to the top of Mow Cop but don't think we will repeat that excursion!

Views to the Peaks from above Bugsworth Basin

Lyme Hall

Clarence Mill Bollington

Snake bridge approaching Gurnett

Not so lucky with his timing

No polishing today!