Heading North Spring 2023 Week 10

 Monday 8th May - Bosley Top Lock to Bosley Bottom Lock

This morning we woke to heavy rain, we had been watching the forecast and were expecting it, so we wore wet weather gear.

We left our mooring at 7.45am and moved down to the water point to fill up with water.  The locks were due to be unlocked at 8.30, so we were in plenty of time.

This is one of the restored mile posts on the Macclesfield canal.  During the mid 1980’s The Macclesfield Canal Society restored the milestones along the whole course of the canal. The society normally regards them as unique as they know of no other canal that has stone mile markers of these size and quality.  The Macclesfield’s very stout stones had mostly been buried during the second world war as a precaution against enemy soldiers using them to find their way! All but three stones were dug up and re-erected. The three could not be found so they were replaced with new stones cut from Kerridge Hill.

This is one of the side ponds located beside each of the twelve locks. The side ponds have been out of use for their intended purpose for very many years.  

They are a water saving device. A lock is emptied first into the side pond and when refilled this same water is the first to be poured back into the lock, thereby reducing the volume taken off the upper pound. A Macclesfield Canal side pond could probably save more than 40% of each lockful.

As we got half way down the flight we started meeting boats coming up the flight of locks.  This is nbRuncorn with Roger and Jean we met yesterday.

Another boat coming up, but he was unsure what to do as I was coming towards him and eventually came out of the lock on the wrong side and forced me across into the shallow water on my left.  I was not happy and reminded him he should pass boats on his left, at which he insisted I was wrong and he was right!  Grrr!

Coming down to the last lock of the day, the weather had been awful all the way down and the camera lens had got misty, still a pleasant effect!  Once out of the locks we moored up before the aqueduct, lit the fire and changed, showered and warmed up for the rest of the day.  

During a dry moment, Toby and I walked across the aqueduct over the River Dane, built around 1830 it is 45ft high with one semi-circular arch with a span of 35ft.

1 mile, 12 locks, 1hr 30mins

Tuesday 9th May - Bosley Bottom Lock to Ramsdell Hall Moorings

Although a grey morning, it was dry and not too cold, in the distance is Bosley Cloud, with cloud over the top.  We set off for a country mooring with a stop in Congleton to top up supplies.

In 1845 the North Staffordshire Railway Company came into existence and Congleton obtained a connection with Manchester and Macclesfield. The North Rode Viaduct, noted for its beautiful masonry, was completed in 1849 and the line between Congleton and Macclesfield was opened.  The viaduct has a magnificent span of 20 arches and looks stunning.

This was a rather daunting sight, there are three bridges here, all on bends but the scaffolding appears to hide them from view and it was only at the last minute you could see your way through!

We moored up at Congleton Wharf and walked the 20 minutes or so down hill into Congleton.  This is the Town Hall, an impressive, imposing Victorian Gothic style building at the heart of Congleton town centre.  The town was delightful and we were very happy we had made time to stop and explore it.

The aqueduct which carries the canal over Canal Street is very similar to the one in Nantwich, designed by Thomas Telford and built in 1831

We continued out of Congleton and moored up at Ramsdell Hall Moorings.  We went for a walk to find Little Moreton Hall, but our way was hindered by a field of frisky young cows, and as the Hall was closed we decided to return to the boat.  In the distance is Mow Cop and the building which looks like a derelict castle is Mow Castle.  It was built as a summerhouse in 1754 for Randle Wilbraham I of Rode Hall. It was built to look like part of a castle of a bygone era, and would have enhanced the view of the newly constructed Rode Hall some 3 miles away on the Cheshire side of the hill.

These ornate railings are known as Ramsdell Hall railings because when the canal was built the route was shortened by coming in front of Ramsdell Hall.  To compensate the owners these railings were built rather than a hedge so the view from the hall wasn’t interrupted.  They have since been restored by the Macclesfield Canal Society.

 Ramsdell Hall is a country house in the parish of Odd Rode in Cheshire, England, overlooking the Macclesfield Canal. It was built in two phases during the 18th century, and is still in private ownership.  Built in about 1750, the house, inevitably, has its ghost. Legend has it that in its early days, a duel was fought on one of the lawns between two young men who were competing for the hand of the owner's daughter. She dashed out of the house to try to prevent them from fighting, and foolishly ran in front and was killed by a lunging rapier!

The very same cows we met on our walk had made their way up to the canal by night fall.  Toby was not impressed!

7.25 miles, 0 locks, 3hrs 12mins

Wednesday 10th May - Ramsdell Hall Railings Moorings to Westport Lake Moorings

Very exciting day, we are going through the Harecastle Tunnel from north to south - we have only ever done it once this way before, so really looking forward to it!

We left our mooring and passed by Sherborne Wharf at Scholar Green.  10 yers ago we hired our first ever boat together - nbRuby Tuesday from Claymore Holidays at Preston Brook.  It was March, snow still on the ground and bitterly cold, but we loved it and was the start of our narrowboating adventures.  We then left the Macclesfield Canal and joined the Trent and Mersey Canal.

We cruised gently down to the mouth of the tunnel and joined a queue of three other boats, we breasted up against the third one and settled down to wait until we were given the go ahead.  The tunnel is 8,778 feet or 2,676 metres long and the roof is very low in some places. It is one way working and can take anything from 35 - 60 minutes to complete.

This is the boat we have been waiting for, now each of the four boats can begin their journey through the tunnel at 2 minute intervals. It was agreed that we would go third through the tunnel as we were on the outside of their boat. The orange colour of the water is due to iron oxide seeping from the Brindley tunnel (this is similar to Worsley where the iron oxide from the Duke of Bridgwater's mines seeps into the canal). 

Taken inside the tunnel, the light behind me is the headlamp of the boat behind us.  There is plenty of space either side of the boat so long as you stay in the middle of the tunnel which can be difficult at times.

We left the tunnel along with the boat behind us, and saw a queue of boats waiting to go through the other way.  Once at Westport Lake we moored up for the day and the heavens opened and it rained for the rest of the afternoon!

6 miles, 1 lock, 1 tunnel, 2hrs 48mins - Harecastle Tunnel 38mins 29secs

Thursday 11th May - Westport Lake to Barlaston

We set off from Westport Lake and passed several pottery buildings with their bottle kilns left to go to ruin, which seems such a shame.  This bottle kiln was at the former Price and Kensington Teapot Works.

Steelite International is the modern day face of pottery in Stoke today. It is a world leading manufacturer and supplier of award winning tabletop and buffet solutions for the hospitality industry. It produces over 500,000 pieces of tableware every week - 140,000 of those are cups!

Further down the canal is Middleport Pottery, built by Burgess and Leigh in the late nineteenth century. The Grade II* listed Pottery is the UK’s last working Victorian potbank in continuous production. After 130 years, Middleport Pottery remains home to world-famous ‘Burleigh’ pottery.  Through public and private funding, Middleport Pottery was saved from closure and underwent substantial remodelling and renovation, transforming it into a visitor attraction and centre for creative businesses.  The Narrowboat Dane was built in 1946 by the Mersey Weaver and Ship Canal Carrying Company, just north of Middleport Pottery on the Trent and Mersey Canal.  The boat transported raw material from Cornwall to Middleport, and continued to carry finished Burleigh ware to Liverpool where it was exported around the world.

This is the site of the Burslem Branch Canal, a 600 metre long arm of the Trent & Mersey Canal in Stoke-on-Trent. It was opened in 1805 but was closed by a major breach in 1961. There are plans to reopen the canal and construct a new marina with recreational facilities.

Our first lock of the day, at Etruria, a very deep lock and we were following another boat, so it all took a bit of time.  5 locks in total through Stoke.

More goslings, seemed quite happy to have their photo taken!

A mile post on the Trent and Mersey Canal, the contract to cast these distinctive mileposts was won by the local foundry in Stone.

An interesting photo showing the original course of the canal against the new railway line, in many cases the railways were built close to the route of the canal as most of the work was already done.

Our final lock of the day, Trentham Lock, I helped the boat ahead of us down, but there was a boat ahead of them that had got stuck on rocks below the waterline.  The second boat tied a rope to their stern, I let down a lock of water and the boat managed to pull the stuck boat off the rocks.  All in a good days work!

We found a quiet mooring just outside Barlaston and moored for the night.  The pub there, called ‘The Plume of Feathers’ is owned by Neil Morrisey and sells his own range of beers.

8.25 miles, 6 locks, 4hrs 54mins

Friday 12th May - Barlaston to Stone

Today promises to be better weather wise, so we prepared the boat ready to move on at 9am.  

Barlaston used to have a busy boatbuilding yard, and this is the remains.  There is a row of cottages that were built for the workforce of the boatyard and the larger house was lived in by the boatyard owners.

Another snake bridge, moving the towpath across the canal to the other side, beautiful structure.

Our first set of lock is at Meaford, 4 locks now, but originally it was 1 lock and a staircase of 3.  This is the original course of the canal down to the staircase of locks.  The canal was completed in 1777, and alterations were made before 1800, so it must be around 224 years since this route has been disused.

Super shot of Ella coming through a bridge hole.

Toby and I worked the last 3 locks down into Stone, at the first lock the grass was so long you could only see Toby’s head.  He is so good and waits patiently for me to work the lock, watching as the boat comes into the lock.  I had to make sure I didn’t forget to take him with me!

The original Joule’s Brewery in Stone, dates back to 1780, but it was taken over by Bass Charrington in 1970 and production ceased 4 years later.  The fourth Brewery is currently in Market Drayton and produces all the Joule’s beers.

Crown Wharf, the flagship Brewery Tap stands in the shadow of the original Joule's Brewery on Crown Street, Stone. Part of the Crown Wharf site sits on the original Breweries Dirties Yard and the canal-side location was owned by the Brewery back in the 70s but never developed.  This is the company’s very first new build tap room.

We moored up above Star Lock and spent a quiet afternoon exploring the new pub and shopping in the town.

3.5 miles, 7 locks, 2hr 30mins

Saturday 13th May - Stone

We have decided to spend another night here, a pleasant mooring and a good place to sort out a few things.

This is a statue of Christina Collins.  Christina Collins was travelling by narrowboat from Liverpool to London. It is important to remember that some passengers were carried by canal boats as it was cheaper than travelling by coach. She passed through Stone on the journey and raised concerns about her safety to the lock keeper at Aston. Her body was found on 17th June 1839 at Rugeley.  Three of the four bargemen were charged with her murder. All three were sentenced to be hanged.  However one of the men was reprieved at the last minute and was sentenced to be transported to Australia instead.  Today, to commemorate Christina passing through Stone, there is a wooden sculpture named after her by the bridge below boat yard lock. The story of her murder also inspired an Inspector Morse mystery by Colin Dexter entitled “The Wench is Dead”.

Sunday 14th May - Stone to Great Haywood

When we woke this morning there was mist rising from the canal, but gradually the sun broke through and it turned into a lovely warm sunny day.  We stopped to put water on and then made our way gently towards Great Haywood.

We have seen many lambs, ducklings and goslings, but these were the first calves, the one crossing the bridge is so tiny!

A lovely cruise today, weather glorious, no wind, more boats moving and a very pretty part of the canal.  We are experiencing problems uploading photos today, so will publish what I have and add in more photos next time.

9.75 miles, 5 locks, 4hrs 24mins

Heading North Spring 2023 - Week 9

 Monday 1st May - New Islington Marina to Piccadilly Village

Today we have decided to stay in Manchester and probably move the boat out of the Marina and around onto the Ashton Canal at the Piccadilly Village.  We spotted a hire boat moored there and we figured they would move on today and free up a suitable mooring.

Then soon after 9am the hire boat we had spotted appeared to be coming into the Marina and we were quite pleased as we knew we could take their mooring.  However, the male part of the crew appeared walking along the wall, canalside of the railings and carrying a windlass.  He said that they were trying to turn round as they had taken the wrong turning and were supposed to be heading down the Rochdale 9 into Castlefield Basin.

Jack borrowed our boat pole and pushed the boat off the wall, shouting instructions to the driver which didn’t seem to work for the poor lady.  Apparently the boat is 68ft and she didn’t like driving it!

Jack returned the boat pole and jumped onto their boat and turned it round for her so they were heading back down the Rochdale towards Castlefields.  It seemed like an ideal opportunity to share the last two wide locks with another boat, so we quickly got ourselves sorted, reversed out of the Marina, waved goodbye to Jack and set off after them.  Two locks later we waved goodbye to the hire boat, turned left and joined the Ashton Canal and found the empty mooring in Piccadilly Village and tied up again.

We spent a lovely morning exploring Manchester and a quiet afternoon on the boat.

At the end of the day I went to find Jutland Street, the steepest street in Manchester.  It was originally called Junction Street and was renamed in 1939.

LS Lowry did a pencil on paper sketch of the very same road in 1929 and the original hangs in the Manchester City Art gallery.

Tuesday 2nd May - Piccadilly Village to Portland Basin

After a very pleasant evening we were ready to move on up the Ashton Canal and its 18 narrow locks.

This is the Chips building at New Islington.  Chips is a unique residence in New Islington. It’s nine-storeys high, looks like three chips stacked on top of each other and the exterior is stamped with the names of places which pay homage to Manchester’s role in history as the birthplace of the industrial revolution. 

The Ashton entrance to New Islington Marina, with Dave walking over the lift bridge to the next lock of the day.

The City of Manchester Stadium in Manchester, England, also known as the Etihad Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is the home of Premier League club Manchester City F.C., with a domestic football capacity of 53,400, making it the 6th-largest football stadium in England and tenth-largest in the United Kingdom.

We have seen many Canada Geese sitting on nests, but this is the first set of goslings we have seen, beautiful bright yellow balls of fluff.

This is the Stockport Branch canal.  The Stockport Branch of the Manchester and Ashton Canal, now infilled, ran from Clayton, Manchester to Lancashire Hill, Stockport.  The Stockport Branch was opened in 1797 as an after thought to the Manchester, Ashton under Lyne and Oldham Canal system, in order to transport coal from the collieries in the Ashton and Oldham area to Stockport.  The canal was just over 4 miles long with no locks. Its route took it through Openshaw, Gorton, Debdale Park and Reddish to a wharf and warehouse complex at Lancashire Hill, to the north of Stockport town centre.  Soon after this we passed through a swing bridge and it was time to pull over and examine the weed hatch, I had lost power and sure enough Dave had to cut lengths of plastic away from the propeller!

Our last lock of the day is at Fairfield Junction, where a branch canal was built to Hollingwood, but only the first few hundred metres have been rewatered for a mooring basin.  The Ashton Canal turns right and we cruise along to Portland Basin and turn right onto the Peak Forest Canal.

This is one of the lowest bridges we have been under so far on this trip, we made it through without having to clear the roof, which was a relief!

Housed in the former Ashton Canal Warehouse, the Portland Basin Museum is situated alongside the Ashton Canal at Portland Basin, opposite the junction with the Peak Forest Canal.

We moored up just before the lift bridge and enjoyed a quiet afternoon and evening.  

6.5 miles, 20 locks, 5hrs 48mins

Wednesday 3rd May - Portland Basin to Marple Aqueduct

Today we continue on our way towards Marple, the canal is quite beautiful, the sun filtering through the fresh green leaves on the trees and the blue skies look delightful.

We passed Unity Milljust before Woolley Tunnel.  Unity mill is thought to have been constructed in the 1860s for spinning cotton and was formerly known as Trianon Mill. By the 1890’s the mill was converted to a rubber works then back again to a textile mill. The site has been used for the manufacture of products for the food, animal feed and brewing sector until it closed in December 2003.  It is in a very poor state, very derelict.

Here we are driving over Marple Aqueduct with the Viaduct in the background.  Marple Aqueduct, also known as 'the Grand Aqueduct', carries the lower level of the Peak Forest Canal across the River Goyt at Marple. Benjamin Outram and Thomas Brown jointly designed it and the contract for its construction was placed with William Broadhead, Bethel Furness and William Anderson. The first stone was laid without ceremony in May 1794. The three arches were keyed in during 1799 and it was filled with water in 1800.

 

It is the highest canal aqueduct in England and the highest masonry-arch aqueduct in Britain.  We moored at the foot of the Marple Locks, ready for them to be opened tomorrow at 8.30am behind another boat.

We walked down to the path beneath the aqueduct and viaduct and saw the wonderful three arches.  The circular holes to the right and left of each arch cuts the weight of the masonry above the arches.

On the way back we called into a animal husbandry shop to get some bits for Toby and I met Effie, a three day old lamb whose mother had had triplets and couldn’t manage the third one.  She had just had a bottle, was wearing a nappy and simply wanted a cuddle, beautiful!

6.75 miles, 0 locks, 2 tunnels, 1 lift Bridge 2hrs 54mins

Thursday 4th May - Marple Aqueduct to Marple

This is our third sighting of a Mandarin duck, also with a mate although she is not in the photo.  He is being harassed by the Canada Goose, they are on high alert at the moment as the females are sitting on eggs in their nests.

Today we ascend the 16 Marple Locks.  The locks are worked three days a week, Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday from 8.30 to 12 noon, with all boats to be exited by 4pm.  This is an effort to conserve the amount of water being used due to the closure of the Toddbrook Reservoir.  Canal and River Trust are currently working on a major project to restore Toddbrook Reservoir after the dam auxiliary spillway was damaged in August 2019 after a period of intense rainfall.

Each of the locks are very deep, the flight of 16 locks are a spectacular sight, one of the steepest flights in Britain and raising the canal by over 200ft.   With the beautiful countryside around Marple Aqueduct, a 20 minute walk up the towpath to the top of the flight is a delight and the 2 - 3 hours it takes to bring a boat up is such an enjoyable experience.

At Lock 9 is Oldknow’s Warehouse, a three storey stone structure now housing a suite of offices.  Samuel Oldknow had a mill at Mellor and bales of finished cotton were brought to the warehouse for storage before an onward journey along the canal. 

Arriving at the top of the 16 locks we said a very big thank you to Roger, lead volunteer for the flight, for all the brilliant work they do to make this such a wonderful flight of locks and for making our transit today so enjoyable.  After a welcome cup of coffee provided by Roger we turned right onto the Macclesfield Canal, pulled over for water (a very slow tap) and then moved down to the visitor moorings to spend the rest of the day.  

A walk into Marple to restock with provisions, some lovely shops and very friendly people.

1 mile, 16 locks, 3hrs

Friday 5th May - Marple to Bollington

Dave went back into Marple to visit the lovely deli we found yesterday and brought back fresh croissant and pastries for brunch.  We then got the boat ready and set off for Bollington.  This evening we are meeting up with a college friend of Dave's for supper.

Goyt Mill, built 1905, at Hawk Green was the last cotton mill to be built in the Marple area, and is the only building of that kind left standing locally today.  After the Second World War the British cotton industry declined rapidly and yarn production stopped at this mill in 1960. The space is still used today by a wide variety of businesses.

A field of sheep and lambs, so cute!  We made a stop at Baileys Trading Post for water and diesel and then onto Bollington.  We moored on the aqueduct with only one other boat ahead of us.

I took Toby for a walk back along the canal and down to the road so I could see the aqueduct.  Canal aqueduct: c1830 by William Crosley for Macclesfield Canal Company. Work on this canal began at Bollington in 1826 and was completed at Hall Green in 1831. Its route was surveyed by Thomas Telford and its construction was engineered by William Crosley. The bridge was designed by the engineer Thomas Brown and was completed in 1828.

A lovely evening at The Poachers Inn with Pat, Paul, Anne-Marie and Phil, it was great to catch up again and many thanks for treating us to supper, it was brilliant food!

8.5 miles, 0 locks, 3hrs 12mins

Saturday 6th May - Bollington

Today we are staying in Bollington and are going for a walk recommended by Phil. 

Whilst we were having our cup of tea, nbAlton, fuel supplies boat was passing and we hailed them in order to buy 4 more nets of logs, as there is still no indication that the evenings are getting any warmer.

We set off down the hill beside the aqueduct, with Ella moored up above us.  By the end of the day three more boats had moored up around us, it is certainly a popular place to moor.

Looking back we could see Clarence Mill.  Clarence Mill was the first in Bollington to be built for steam power. It was therefore the first to be built away from the river. It was built here for just one good reason – the canal. Transport of raw cotton to Bollington and finished thread and cloth away from Bollington was all done by canal.  Spinning stopped in 1970, but the building is still in use today with two upper floors as apartments and several small businesses on the ground floor.

This tiny church is a Methodist Church, but is no longer used for worship as the congregation has moved to Macclesfield.  We were struck by the size of the building!

We then began to climb out of Bollington up towards White Nancy.  White Nancy was actually built as a summer house by the Gaskell family who lived below the hill at Ingersley Hall in about 1815.  It is regularly painted white and inside there are chairs and a circular table carved from a single piece of stone.  It may have been named after a Gaskell daughter, Nancy. Then again, maybe after the horse that is said to have hauled the heavy stone table top up the hill.

The views from White Nancy are amazing, in this photo you can see the Manchester skyline and behind that the  Pennines, all of which we have explored on Ella!

Heading back down to Bollington we passed through Endon Hall.  Endon Hall is a 19th-century house with associated circular lawns and floral borders. There is also a large icehouse on the site.  There is also a tall crenellated tower which appears to have been built as a folly.

Kerridge is a delightful little village perched on the hillside and we stopped at the nearby pub, The Bulls Head, for a cold drink and a rest.  All in all a delightful walk!

Sunday 7th May - Bollington to Bosley Locks

Today looks a lovely day so we prepared everything and set off at 9am for the top of Bosley Locks.  The locks are open three days a week, Monday, Wednesday and Saturday, so we shall be ready for 8.30am tomorrow.

We passed Adelphi Mill once we were over the aqueduct, the second cotton mill in Bollington.  Begun in 1851 by Martin II and his brother George Swindells, the mill was named Adelphi in recognition of the Greek meaning of the word – brothers. It opened for business in 1856.  It was steam powered, the same as Clarence Mill, and it eventually closed for business in 1970.  However it is a hive of activity these days with the space being used by many modern businesses.

Baby ducklings…

a heron just taking off..

baby goslings, just some of the wildlife to be seen on the Macclesfield Canal.

This is a wonderful example of turnover bridge, where the towpath crosses over the canal on a bridge and comes down on the other side.  This was done so that the horses didn’t need to be untethered when the towpath changed sides.

We moored up before Bridge 53 as there was a man on a boat ahead of us who told us there was nowhere to moor down at the locks.  Very quiet mooring in open countryside.

After a spot of lunch we took a walk down the locks to the aqueduct where we shall moor tomorrow.  A stunning view of the gritstone hill called Bosley Cloud.   Bosley Cloud is a prominent hill situated within Cheshire's Peak District on the border between Cheshire and Staffordshire. It is 343 metres (1,125 ft) in height making it one of the highest hills in the area and one of the best places to see spectacular views of Cheshire. 

We met Roger and Jean on nbRuncorn who also moor in Diglis Basin, what a small world!

8 miles, 0 locks, 2 swingbridges, 3hrs 36mins