Kent Green to Stone

Kent Green to Stone

Macclesfield and Trent & Mersey Canals

15th April 2010

17 Miles - 16 locks - 9 hours

These days of endless sunshine just seem to roll on and on - when will it ever end? Sure it's a chilly easterly wind driven in by an unusual cyclonic weather system, but two weeks without rain at Easter is amazing.

Misty morning at Ramsdell Hall

Our moorings near Ramsdell Hall were idyllic and a quick walk down a frosty towpath at 7.30am was rewarded by a bunch of lovely misty photos. I often think that this first hour of the day is the best - better even than twilight. Ramsdell Hall is an impressive place, and still in private hands owned by the guy that built the Kwik Save supermarket chain.

Reflections at Scholars Green

We made a brief stop at Hertiage Boatyard for a pump out, which was relatively expensive at £16. But that included a pint of blu and a very thorough rinse out. All in all I would say it was fair value for money.

Wand'ring Bark at Harecastle Tunnel

The highlight of the day had to be the passage through the Harecastle Tunnel. After the Standedge Tunnel the Harecastle is my favourite and, in spite of making several trips through it, this was the first journey from north to south. I have to say that the journey in this direction is probably the best, allowing the tunnel to show off its party piece at the very end.

 Harecastle Tunnel north portal

We enetered after a reasonable 30 minute wait and motored on for 45 minutes accompanied only by the distant runble of trains in the adjoining tunnel. Unlike the northbound passage, there is no gradual dawning of light from an initial pinprick as your near the end. Instead the blackness seems to go on for ever and you gradually become aware of an ever strengthening droning from the extractor fans. To ensure that the fumes are pulled out of the tunnel the southern end is covered by an airproof door, which is thrown open at the last moment by the tunnel keeper who has been watching your approach from a small cubby hole in the side of the shaft.  You are then left blinking like a bemused mole as you return to the land of the living in the northern environs of Stoke on Trent - a nautical rabbit out of the hat.

The old Harecastle Tunnel - north

There is an older and narrower tunnel just to the west which was the Brindley original, initially used for southbound traffic but abandoned after subsidence and last passed through by canoes in the 1960's. It it now highly unsafe and believed to be completely blocked.

Bottle Kilns at Stoke

It was then on through the various towns which together make up Stoke on Trent - Hanley, Burslem, Stoke etc. The route through Stoke offers a good selection of old industrial buildings, the real thing and not recreated representations of what went before, as seen in so many other places. These ones are aged, crumbling and sagging - mostly abandoned but really interesting if you like industrial history. The distinctive bottle kilns are particularly attention grabbing.

Bone mill at Eturia

Odd looking characters popped up from time to time on the towpath, and whilst some looked threatening, none caused us any trouble and all sauntered off after exchanging plesanteries.

On reaching Meaford Locks I had cause to consider the relative merits of living with a vintage engine. I can see the attraction of a slow running lump but I am not so sure about the smoke issue. We came up behind nb Catkin who was out on a maiden journey to test a new more powerful diesel engine, but by new we are still talking about something from the 1950's. The engine pulled ok to be sure, but only after filling the lock chamber with a huge cloud of blue diesel fumes. This echoed an observation of nb Frankie with whom we shared a cassion at Anderton and who we were to meet again at Stone. Frankie had a much used R&N unit which was tricky to start and kicked out black smoke which coated the stern and its skipper in spite of an over length exhaust pipe. To be fair, the skippers seemed completely unconcerned about this downside but personally I am but sure that peering into a pall of smoke hour after hour would not hit the spot for me.

I would love a vintage engine gleaming in it's engine room, perhaps like Revilo with its new R&N as reviewed by Adam in June's Canal Boat. But I don't fancy authenticity at any price. I think I will stick with my utterly reliable, economical, quiet and smoke free Beta for a bit longer.

We ended up mooring just below the Stone bottom lock, walking back to the Star for a rather average Stake and Ale Pie before returning to WB and watching part of a DVD before sleep overcame me. All these early moring photo expeditions are getting a bit much.

Macclesfield to Kent Green

Macclesfield to Kent Green

14th April 2010

Macclesfield Canal

17 miles - 12 locks - 7 hours

A strangely interrupted night, with a torch illuminating the boat at 5.00am, closely followed by some brawling ducks which seemed intent on throwing themselves at the side of the boat just for the sheer hell of it.

Macclesfiled is OK, but I can't raise a lot of enthusiasm for the visitor moorings. We got the best of the bunch but even that was on a convex bend which made fendering difficult. We moored directly opposite the old Hovis Mill, which was rather more impressive by night than by day.

The canal continued to be both narrow and shallow but unusually, dredging was in full swing by BW's contractors at Bosley, and again in Congleton itself. Canal Boat is this month  running an article on dredging which I found strangely absorbing, and was paricularly struck by the fact that each cubic metre of silt cost £50 to shift. Where there is muck there is money.

The 12 locks at Bosley were well behaved and fast, most being set for us. Aqueducts were also there a plenty, causing us to stop regularly and fill out boots with photos of rivers in the air large and small. Adam (nb Debdale) said I would have a field day in this area.

For all its shortcomings in terms of width and depth, the Macclesfield grew on me. It's high (518ft) summit pound offering great views to the north, flanked by an impressive line of hills to the south. One of these days I will take a slow trip along this canal with Belle and spend several days exploring on foot.

Due to it's late construction the canal shares many characteristics with the Shopshire Union, deep cuttings followed by soaring embankments using the cut and fill technique later used on the railways. I particularly like the 2 mile reach leading into Congleton, which is perfectly straight and each bridge frames the next, on and on into the distance like looking down the wrong end of a telescope.

Dane Aqueduct

We took a long pause at the Dane Aqueduct, scrambling down the the waters edge and observing the fine single arch which crosses the fast flowing river. As is often the case, trees obscure the view but we still got some good shots as a reward for our efforts.

Mooring at Ramsdell Hall

With an early passage through Harecastle planned for tomorrow we moored opposite Ramsdell Hall on the short stretch of armco piling. This is a particularly fine mooring, virtually in the hall's gardens and much better than the official ones provided by bridge 86. A quiet night of swooping owls, distant dogs and the occasional rumble of a Pendelino sighing past the back of the hall.

Whaley Bridge to Macclesfield

Whaley Bridge to Macclesfield 

13th April 2010

Peak Forest and Macclesfield Canals  15 miles - 0 locks - 6 hours

A full boat last night, with all four Ahab's on board. The birthday celebrations continued with a great cooked breakfast which really set us up for the day.

Belle and Tilly departed at 11.00am leaving Jeff and I to our own devices once more. I know that Manchester marked the northern most point of the trip, but this felt more like the turn back home, downhill all the way to Great Haywood.

Bugsworth basin

Before setting off we had to atttend to a recurring mechanical fault on WB which has been niggling for a while but had suddenly taken a turn for the worse. The flexible exhaust coupling to the skin fitting keeps rattling loose, that and the bolt securing it to the exhaust pipe out of the manifold. The nuts are far too large for my mole grip so we had to resort to a rag and some twisted string. Not a perfect or lasting solution, but one which seems to hold for about three days before a repeat treatment is needed.  At least I now know what the trouble is, and that it isn't the exhaust baffles breaking off which was my earlier diagnosis.

Emergency DIY bay

Whilst laying on my back on the swim sorting out the exhaust I noticed that the wide coolant pipes were chaffing on bits of the engine in two places and took the opportunity to protect them - another replacement job for the winter.

After the warmth of Monday,  Tuesday cooled throught the day with extra layers being added as fast as they were discarded the day before. The temperature dropped with each passing mile and in the end we were all muffled up in fleeces, windproofs and gloves - at least there was no rain.

 Helicopter at Wood Lanes

Whilst the day was devoid of locks, the area abounds with aqueducts which resultred a a great many off boat forrays to secure images for the Aqueducts blog. I must get round to posting the rest of them. As well as all the aqueducts, we also passed the back of Dr D's first home in High Lane - I hope I got the right one.

Dr D's olld house - I think

I had forgotten how shallow the Macclesfield is, as shallow as the Peak Forest in parts with the bridge holes being the worst. Each passage caused great gouts of rubbish and sediment to roil in our wake with twigs chattering through the blades of the prop.

Hovis mill in Macclesfield

We had plans to moor after Bollington but BW and their contractors had other ideas. The hopefull MP marked on the map turned out to be a sea of freshly dredged mud so we had no option but press on. Mooring in this area is problematic so in the end we moored in Macclesfield itself, right opposite the old Hovis Mill. The old structure looked particularly good after dark, stretching the camera to its focussing limits.

Cheshire Ring - Congleton to Sandbach

Cheshire Ring - Congleton to Sandbach
16th August 2006
Macclesfield and Trent & Mersey Canal

14 Miles
27 Locks
9 Hours

Yesterdays thunderstorms cleared away leaving a glorious summer day for the descent of Heartbreak Hill. The final four miles to the Hall Green stop lock passed quickly and uneventfully and we soon found ourselves looking down into the orange water of the T&M from Pool Lock Aqueduct, a structure which is more impressive when viewed from below. Red Bull junction performs its curious circular descent, taking the canal back on itself using the first two locks to lose the necessary height.

As we emerged from lock three, a hire boat made a desperate dash to move off from the waterpoint before we passed, cutting it all so fine we had so apply reverse gear to avoid a collision. Things got interesting when they realised that Tilly had walked ahead and set the lock ready for our entry. I pointed out that it was our lock and after much muttering on their part I politely pointed out that it is very bad form to push into the stream just as another boat was about to pass. Result: more huffing and puffing.

As we descended the lock a self righteous plonker from said boat decided to come and remonstrate with me for criticising them, trying to justify themselves by claiming that they were merely trying to clear the water point for us - how thoughtful! But I has the last laugh. These locks are mostly duplicated so for the next eight I raised a top paddle on the parallel lock to fill the chamber for them before they arrived. It was very amusing to see the result of my "killing with kindness" policy.

By the time we reached the Wheelock flight proper a queue had build up at lock 55 involving 9 boats, which took and hour and a half to clear. Here we had time to catch up with Sarah (2 boats ahead) and avoid contact with Mr Pushy who was behind us.

Heartbreak Hill dragged on interminably, as it always does and we paused at Hassall Green for ice creams, provisions and to purchase a copy of Narrow Boat Planning by Graham Booth.

It was a relief to reach the bottom of the flight at 5.30, but Belle had an appointment In London the following day so we pressed on the bridge 160, near Sandbach and about 15 mins walk from the station. The mooring was very secluded and one which we will use again.

Cheshire Ring - Higher Poynton to Congleton

Cheshire Ring - Higher Poynton to Congleton
15th August 2006
Macclesfield Canal

17 Miles
12 Locks
8 Hours

Today we played tag with nb Sarah, who had been our companion since Manchester. Among her crew was a girl called Emma, who quickly became Tilly's new best friend. The girls swapped back and forth between the boats, ultimately settling for Sarah because of her superior DVD capabilities! At one stage we lost Tilly for over three hours, only to see her plodding up the towpath from the foot of the Bosley locks.

This section is the "Mac" at its best, with open countryside interspersed with small towns. It may be lock free in the main but it certainly isn't without interest. Bollington is passed high up on an embankment complete with aqueduct, providing excellent views of the area. The Middlewood Way also accompanies the canal, providing good walking and cycling potential for those that prefer to move under their own steam.
Next came Macclesfield, complete with the original Hovis Mill, with the hills rising up to our left. Finally we arrived at the top of the Bosley flight, overlooked by the impressive Jodrell Bank radio complex.

All 12 locks (if you exclude the stop lock at Red Bull) on the Macclesfield are grouped into the Bosely flight which drops the canal by 110 ft in about a mile. I decided to test Jeff's boat handling skills by awarding him points out of ten for each lock, with one point deducted for each bump, no matter how slight. He rose to the challenge and was dismayed when he did a double tap on the penultimate chamber, breaking his perfect record and resulting in a score of 118 out of 120. Not bad for a 12 year old and represents a record I am not sure I could achieve myself. This feat of navigation marked his boating coming of age and an acceptance that he really can be trusted at the helm.

Just before Congleton the canal takes a wide sweep to the north before arriving in the town amid a collection of embankments and cuttings. We moored at Congleton Wharf and tramped down the Dog Lane Aqueduct to the Wharf Inn, under an atrocious thunderstorm which soaked us to the skin. Both families shared a table and enjoyed the rather splendid ales offered by the CAMRA pub.

Cheshire Ring - Romiley to Higher Poynton

Cheshire Ring - Romiley to Higher Poynton
14th August 2006
Peak Forest Canal and Macclesfield Canals

16 Miles
16 Locks
9 Hours

It was a short run from Romiley, through the Hyde Bank Tunnel and onto the bottom of the spectacular Marple Flight. Running alongside Brabyns Park and then through Marple itself, this is unquestionably one of my favourite flights. The chambers are made of huge blocks of limestone brought down from Bugsworth basins with short, curved intervening pounds, all tucked away in groves of trees. There may be 16 of them but they are such a delight that they pass all too quickly.

During our passage there was a problem with the water levels in some of the short pounds and in one the level was nearly a metre down, rendering navigation almost impossible. Jeff became stuck mid channel and was only able to progress when a lock of water was run through under him. But I could only do this once because of the limited supplies in the next pound up.

After the Marple flight we made our way firstly to the Whaley Bridge terminus, filled with water and then went to explore the Bugsworth Basin complex. As we entered we saw much arm waving and there was nb Susan, who we had accompanied up the Rochdale and Ashton the previous day. We moored up alongside and sampled an excellent pint in the Navigation Inn, before taking a good look at the drained inner basin, and the remains of the inclined plane which once connected the Peak Forest Canal with the the Cromford via the High Peaks Tramway.

We were both completing the Cheshire Ring in 6 days, so we didn't spend the night there, though we would have liked to. Instead we returned to the junction at Marple and then moved down the Macclesfield past the impressive Goyt Mill. With evening approaching we pressed on past High Lane and into Higher Poynton, mooring just opposite the shallow flashes and near the excellent Braidbar Boats.

Halcyon Days - 1970

Halcyon 1970

Stone to Whaley Bridge

1970 saw us back in the Midlands, but time with a change of hire base and a change of direction.

Our craft on this occasion was the Halcyon, another mid cockpit plywood cruiser which were all the rage at the time. We took the boat out from Stone in Staffordshire, so I suspect that means we hired from Canal Cruisers, one of the very first hire businesses on the system and one which is still in business today.

Halcyon of the Macclesfield Canal 1970

Our route took us up through the Harecastle Tunnel in the days before it's long closure and reconstruction, the time when so many tunnels were closed including the Blisworth, Wast Hill and also the Preston Brook (I think). I don't remember the steel doors or ventilation system which draws the air from north to south, so maybe these are later refinements. I do seem to remember that operations were mornings one way and afternoons the other, rather than the repeated switching we have today.

Harecastle Tunnel northern portal with Water Jasmine of Water Travel, Autherley emerging

The key thing was that Halcyon didn't have the fixed windscreen system present on Yorkanaught, which we had wanted to take through two years previously, and had a low enough air draft to let us pass - just. Although I was only ten at the time, I remember the low section clearly, where the roof came down so low we had to sit on the cockpit floor and steer by looking at the sides, there were a mere couple of inches above the cabin top.

We then ventured up the Macclesfield, a shallow canal with margins full of rocks and coping stones which had been undermined by the wash of passing craft. It was on this stretch that we became aware of a major snag with Halcyon. The propshaft appears to have come straight from a blueprint supplied by the Ministry of Crap Design (this venerable Institution is still alive and kicking, adding peverse tweaks into almost any product you care to mention). You see, the propeller was stuck onto the end of the propshaft, which is a very sensible place for it to be. The problem was that the propshaft extended to about two feet from the stern gland and was completely unsupported.

The rocks in the Macclesfield were the downfall of this craft and as we passed Congleton an underwater obstacle knocked the shaft out of true and set up a terrible vibration. We pressed on to Whaley Bridge from whence help was summoned. This resulted in a days delay, when the offending shaft was removed and a new one inserted aided and abetted by a boatyard worker immersed up to the neck in the cut. Its a good job it was the summer!

This delay at Whaley Bridge gave me an opportiunity to explore the weeded up arm half a mile back down the canal. Although I didn't know it at the time, the junction I mooched around in was the entrance to Bugsworth Basin, and had I been a bit older and a bit bolder I could have gained access to the overgrown basins beyond which have recently been restored.

The trip back took us through High Lane and by a strange twist of fate, past the back of the house which Dr D would buy just a few years later. It's strange the way these things happen, a bit like me ending up in Birmingham.

The trip ended with a day or so to spare, which was used exploring the Caldon Canal. In those days there were bottle kilns a plenty and working ones too. How things change.

Sorting these old boat trips into chronological order has been tricky in the absence of written records. However, as I appear in most sequences I have used my growing frame to order the record. This trip appears to mark the last time I wore life jacket.