Kidsgrove

Well its was another rough night with the wind and rain but it had cleared up when we got up this morning, so we set off at 10 in the sunshine for an uneventful trip to Kidsgrove to moor on the aqueduct for the night.
On the way we passed what must be the lightest swing bridge on the system, it pivots on 4 castors.

Passing under one of the bridges the mason marks stand out for all to see. Some of the bridges the stones are laid diagonally so the stone masons have to cut the curve in two planes. These ones are just straight.

Someone has been nailing little things on the posts along here, they are only tiny so I wonder where they come from. I think it may be an upside down man

Down at Hall Green Lock where the Macclesfield becomes the Trent and Mersey canal its interesting to note the differences between T&M buildings in brick and Macclesfield buildings in stone with the two lock cottages, its the same for the bridges.

Back on the T&M we passed this old hire boat, I wonder how long ago it last carried holiday makers

 

It wasn’t long after this that we reached the Aqueduct and we are moored on the embankment between the A50 and the T&M main line aqueducts.

Today’s Journey

5 miles, 1 lock in 2½ hours

Congleton

Yesterday evening we watched as the sun dropped below the railway viaduct hoping for a good coloured sunset, but it didn’t happen, the sun just went tobed. Later the sky was crystal clear with several planes in the sky, as expected it turned cold and at 6am this morning everywhere was white with frost.
We were away at half ten and didn’t meet any boat at all.
You would be hard pushed to miss the mile posts along this canal. They stand about a meter tall.

there are also half mile markers which are half the height and the quarter mile markers which are half the size of the half mile marker .

The sheep must lamp a lot later here than some places as we saw hardly any lambs on our way out, but now the fields are full of the tiny little things. Another good sign is the bluebells are really starting to show now along with the wild garlic.
I photographed this boat because its a boat on a boat on a boat, in addition to that it has some lovely stained glass windows.

We pulled into Congleton and moored in the wide section opposite the converted warehousing,, this looks much better than 20 years ago.

Today’s Journey

5½ miles with no locks in 1¾ hours

Bosley bottom lock

Last night was the coldest this trip with it dropping to 1.2°C on the boat roof, so possibly a bit of ground frost, this was after it had stopped raining. This morning it was bright sunshine so we were away just before ten and off to the top lock, no one had been past so hopefully we would not be following anyone.
When we arrived at the top lock there was a minibus unloading a group of young people with learning difficulties, but more importantly the top gates were ajar. As I pulled into the mouth the Volockie appeared, opened the offside gate and informed me he had just walked the flight and no one was waiting to come up, also a couple of ponds near the bottom were well down, so we set off on our way with every lock full ahead of us, About half way down the Volockie caught us up, he was heading down to 9/10 to add a bit more water, With all the locks full we pushed an extra lock full down each time we worked a lock,  he also opened the top gates as he went which was really useful. All the offside landing stages below the locks are unusable, so I was unable to stop in the lock mouth and close up behind me which is our normal mode of locking down, with Diana walking ahead to open the next lock.

When we got to lock 9 the next pound was very low and emptying the lock I was lightly grounded, I was going to close up the lock and let a bit more water down, but the Volockie suggested flushing me out and see if I could cross the low pound which worked. It was here that we met up again with the group of young people oiling the paddle gear with biodegradable oil in case a drop went in the canal. That’s OK but with the first good rain it biodegrades away. They were accompanied by a CRT employee who I thing was the volunteer supervisor/coordinator.
Our plan was to moor at the bottom of the locks, but we didn’t expect to do them in under 2 hours, so we moored at the south end of the visitor moorings overlooking the railway viaduct with the sun still shining.

Today’s Journey

1½ miles, 12 locks in 1¾ hours

Bosley Locks top

We woke to a lovely sunny morning which was nice after the wind, rain and banging about last night, I crawled out sometime after midnight to tie the rudder down tighter to stop it creaking and squeaking, at about 4am the temperature was down to 2.3° C but was up to 8° when we got up.
We were ready to set off at 10 but Diana wanted to go and look at the old railway viaduct and visit the Co-op so it was almost 11 before we finally slipped away.
We passed some bungalows on the non towpath side supporting slow down signs, only one of them had a boat moored at the bottom of their garden, but I do wonder where this sign was lifted from, it looks genuine CRT but its used where a river reverts to a canal.

We needed to fill with water but there was already a boat on the water point moorings in Macclesfield, I hovered to wait but he called me in behind him. Much to my surprise I was able to slide back in, in between the bank and the last or the long term private moorings. I didn’t think there was room, we had quite a wait while he filled his tank and another 25 minutes while ours filled. So we were there about ¾ hour. 
As we set off it started to rain. Just through the bridge from the water point is this house, I a not sure if its an angular extension on the end or part of the original build to use all the odd shaped plot. You can see the rain on the canal. 

From now on it was not only showery, some heavy but we also had thunder and lightening.
These days you see lots of boats with electrical solar panels on the roof, we have a couple of small ones, but this boat had a solar water heating panel, not sure why he had it covered up.

The last  half hour was not only quite wet but also it turned quite cold as well. Our plane was to moor just before the long  term moorings above Bosley locks, which we did in the pouring rain. If we had started at 10 we would have missed the last soaking.

  Todays Journey

8¼ miles, no locks in 3½ hours

Bollington

Not the best of nights sleep last night, first the hammering rain, then the geese, I am not sure which came next, the ducks on the waterline or the boat behind’s Eberspaecher firing up.Once were were about it was more wind and hail. Things had moderated by about ten se we made ready to set off. The whole journey was a mixture of hail, rain and sunshine with of course a bit of wind. It was an uneventful but rather cold trip to Bollington where we managed to moor at the far south end of the embankment.

On our outward journey I questioned the marker in the trees. Tim who came to visit us this afternoon kindly supplied this answer as well as some other interesting information.

”The clump of trees with a concrete block among them is actually a very common site around the northern part of the Macclesfield canal (north of Macclesfield). They are the markers of old mine shafts and workings – coal and fire clay. The shaft is directly under the concrete marker. Some of these mines, especially in the Higher Poynton area, were proper shafts with galleries under them. Others were bell pits. Nearby Pott Shrigley is Bakestonedale hill with the remains of over 200 bell pits. There was also a drift mine under Nab hill at Bollington with its entrance facing the canal just south of br.26, Sugar Lane, you can still see it if you look up the field hedge. There is a wharf edge on the canal here from which the clay was taken to Dukinfield at the northern end of the Peak Forest canal. That was a day trip for the boatman – 7 miles to Marple, down the 16 locks, several miles to Dukinfield, unload 20 tons of clay, turn, back up the 16, and return to Bollington. Now that’s what I call a hard day’s work!
Tim”

Todays Journey

4 miles with no locks in 1½ hours

Poynton

Its turned quite a bit cooler again but at least its bright and dry. We were away at half ten heading towards Marple Junction, on the way we passed this imitation butty, it looks like a butty but it actually has a hydraulic drive in the rudder. Her original name was Anne and she was built by Stow Hill.
Just before the junction at Tramway Wharf we passed this fine old boat Prince.Thankfully when we got to the junction the little cruiser had moved from opposite the mouth of the junction. Just by the narrows is the old transhipment shed in serious need of love and care, It’s a pity its not in the same condition as the bird nesting boxes attached to the wall.

Just beyond this there use to be a CRT yard with boater services. This has been sold off for housing

with a new service block is being build at the very end, but progress seems very slow.

We made our way south along the Macclesfield canal looking across to the East to The Cage, a National Trust property and on to Poynton. Just before Pointon across the towpath is an old concrete building that someone has decided to add some graffiti to, you will notice that the Narrowboat is in the same style as the one on the hoarding in Macclesfield that I posted last week.

We cruised slowly past all the boats moored at Lord Vernon's Wharf, I am not sure if these are Braidbar Moorings or CRT moorings all along the towpath. We passed the trading post, under the bridge and moored against the towpath in the wide section of canal, there are warning notices saying the offside isshallow but it seems deep enough for the geese. I hope they don’t get up too early in the morning.

Today’s Journey

6½ miles with no locks in 2 hours

Hawk Green, Marple

You don’t get two days the same, Light rain when we got up, but no rush so waited to the rain to finish, what happened it chucked it down for about half an hour then it stopped. The rest of the journey was dry but since we have been moored up its rained again.
It was quarter to twelve before we finally left in the rain, reversing between the rows of moored boats to wind at the service point and visit the book swap, before heading back onto the Peak Forest canal. This chap didn’t even say “Ay up” as we passed by dead slow, just waved his hook at me.

The giant Hogweed looks to be doing very well this year, I think its spread a but since we were last this way.

As we passed this boat I noticed that the front mooring pin was just laying on the bank and sure enough as I past the bows swung across the canal, so we stopped and repegged it. This time with the pin driven fully in, a passing local boater said it had been here for months, I wonder if the rubbish will still be here when it goes?

I took these photographs just before the bridge where I photographed the hands yesterday, its a set of finger cawing the bank and a large bee on the roof.

As we went through the swing bridge there was a boat tied up on the bridge moorings the far side, so I had to pick Diana up on the off side with the stern. Much muttering about inconsiderate mooring until we found the owner hanging in the weed hatch trying to remove a cratch cover from his prop, poor chap.
The next lift bridge is electrically operated with the control box conveniently on the towpath side.

A little further along there are these two big red “No Mooring” signs about 30m apart with no obvious reason for them unless they are left over from before the towpath edge was repaired.

When we found what looked like a nice length of piling we pulled over to moor for the night. On closer inspection it wasn’t that good a length and we had to move back a bit to get our mooring lines to tie in with the securing bolts.
As I type this its chucking it down again.

Today’s Journey

5¾ miles no locks in 2¾ hours.

Bugsworth Basin

Our normal 10 am start, a very quiet day on the canals, we only met 4 boats including a day boat.
Just past Lyme View marina I spotter this in a field on the off side, anyone have any ideas?

A little further on as we popped out under the bridge just before Bailey’s Trading Post this chap lurking on the off side gave both of us a start.

From here on the going is a lot slower with no end of moored boats. I think this collections of curios has grown since we passed last. If I could have got the camera turned on faster it would have been a better photograph.

I don’t think you can go past Goyt Mill without photographing it, there are several small companies  advertising their presence in the mill but I do wonder how underutilised it is.

There are still no services available at Marple, the houses look almost complete but there doesn't look much room to get into the services. Just before the junction I spotted these gates, probably the best condition on the system.

The junction was interesting with a plastic cruiser moored not quite opposite adding to the excitement.

We were now on the Peak Forest canal which has 5 movable bridges. The first an electrically operated lift bridge from the towpath side, the second is manual pushed swing bridge. We wondered what the third would be when we saw this sign. It was in fact another manual swing bridge, not like the picture gram.
Just beyond the bridge is a chap who does so rather large art. as w passed he pointed out some of his other efforts which I will try to photograph on the return journey.

Looking back as we passed the lovely sweet smelling factory this development on the offside is nearing completion. Lots of work going on at well over 6 foot from the ground with no scaffold handrails

We stopped at Furness Vale to fill up with diesel, its the cheapest I have seen since Hawne Basin and then carried on to the end of navigation where we winded and came back so that Diana could visit Tesco.Due to all the long term moorings the only place to pull in and wait for her is under the access bridge. Once she returned we set off to Bugsworth basin to moor for the night. On the approach to the basin you pass a house that has a large blue plaque on the wall commemorating the engineers responsible.  Unlike a lot of people, this basin is not my favourite mooring by a long way, its very close to a very busy and noisy road, whereas I like peace and quiet, so we headed to the very far end of the first arm to try and get the maximum shielding from the stone work.

Today’s Journey12½ miles, no locks in 6 hours

Grimshaws Bridge

Last night we ate at Ye Olde Kings Head which is just at the bottom of the aqueduct down a set of steps’'. I must say I can’t remember last time we hat such a tasty pub meal.
It was decidedly warm today hitting 20°C with a bright sun up in the sky, we left at our normal 10am. We hadn’t gone very far when we passed this tree that someone has given a very good swipe

Coming into Macclesfield there as some old hoarding along the back edge of the towpath, someone, no idea if its graffiti or commissioned has brightened it up a bit.

We pulled in at the waterpoint on the off side at the bottom of the CRT yard to fill with water. This would be a great spot for an industrial wheelie bin, on the off side to prevent fly tipping, accessible only to boaters and removable via the CRT yard. The old mill reflected lovely in the canal and its a cloud by the top of the chimney, not smoke.

We continued north on the warmest day this year towards Bollington, I thought I had best take a poor photo of one of the famous turnover or snake bridges.

Most of the visitor moorings in Bollington were full but we wanted to go a bit further before stopping for the night. Lots of canals had iron work to protect the bridge edges for the tow lines, but this doesn't seem to be the case on this canal as can be seen by the groves in the stone, I wonder the effect on the poor old boaters lines.

We carried on to the visitor moorings just before Lyme View marina as there are some handy mooring rings here.

Today’s Journey

7 miles, no locks in 3¼ hours