Thursday 17 August 2006

Chshire Ring - Sandbach to Saltersford

Cheshire Ring - Sandbach to Saltersford
17th August 2006
Trent & Mersey Canal

15 Miles
9 Locks
7 Hours

The day started with a walk to Sandbach Station, a 15 minutes from the canal. Belle was off to London so Kiwi was left in the care of Tilly and Jeff whilst the Capt waved her off from the platform. Her departure left an empty hole, reminiscent of the separations when we were courting years ago.

We had a deadline to meet and a boat to return to Black Prince, so we were on our way again by 10.00 am, shortly after Sarah had passed us once more The weather was fine as we crossed the broad open tract of land leading to Middlewich, past various chemical and salt works. The geography changes little after Middlewich, with the next 9 miles passing endless flash lakes caused by the extraction of brine. Most of the length is on a slight embankment, built up at the land has settled down.

We passed the Anderton Boat Lift, which we would have loved to experience or at least look around, but time was against us and so we pressed on initially through the Barnton Tunnel and then the Saltersford. We stopped just after bridge 204 and spent a couple of hours tidying up the boat and then a spot of fishing before a meal and a DVD. The bed seemed very large without Belle.

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