Closed until further notice

  

We had wished our journey along the Macclesfield & Peak Forest Canals would never end, as it’s just gorgeous here. So I guess our wish has come true!!!

Canal & River Trust (CRT) had already put restrictions on some lock flights in the south. We knew these two canals were very shallow, making for a slower than usual journey. Even during the wet winter a decade ago, when we moved aboard and the locks were closed for routine repairs. Now, with a busy summer and no rain for a good few weeks, it was inevitable there would be closures.

CRT closed Bosley Locks the very morning we had planned to descend the flight of 12. We had to moor at the water point & the boat following us moored alongside as a boat was halfway through the bridge. To free up the water point a lovely CRT lad asked us to move. The other boat is across the top lock bi-weir & he popped us down the little arm which houses the pump out station and where the feeder culvert from Bosley reservoir comes in. If a boat needs to use the pump out facility, we’ll need to back out & squeeze somewhere until they are finished. It’s unlikely anyone will come, as they’d have to reverse back past many boats to be able to moor.

Apart from the pipes to our starboard side, our views are stunning over to the Sutton Common’s BT tower on Croker Hill.

And the wild flowers from the galley porthole.

There is shade from the facilities building to sit in & plenty of room to pop the rotary washing line up.

The water tap is a few feet away and the sun is filling the batteries, so I’m washing & freshening up just about everything

We were moored outside Braidbar Boats for the 11^th anniversary of our boat’s empty shell going into the water at High Lane & being towed to the boatyard at Higher Poynton. This is their latest build.

It was extremely hot at Poynton, and we had a lovely shady spot from the afternoon sun. We walked along the Middlewood Way and picked the biggest wild raspberries we’ve ever seen. AND, we saw our first ever badger (alive), one evening, it ran right in front of us.

A quiet evening was disrupted as the Beavers & later the cubs paddled past having such fun.

 

We often comment on how few rabbits we see these days, well, they were out in force in the park at Poynton.

 

Luckily John noticed this chap hanging over his side of the bed. Hopefully the candles of an evening keep help to keep insects out.

We will get an update in a few days time, as to if & when the locks will open. The initial plan is to allow passage on 3 specified days/week.

The only problem with being marooned where we are is, it’s very remote. We have well stocked cupboards for now, but can feel a Tesco delivery coming on in a week or so if we are still stuck. We’ll be ravenous with all the wonderful hills to walk up here.

Peal Forest Canal

  

The construction of all canals amaze me, but, the Peak Forest Canal is one of the oldest canals, constructed on the steep slopes of the Peak District. As we cruise along we’re way above the trees growing in the River Goyte valley. This was a pathway from near where we moored in Disley. We had gone down several flights of steps before we took a photo.

 

It was a short journey from Marple to Disley, where we moored for a couple of weeks, as there was lots of exploring to do. It was a good job we hadn’t travelled far. Once moored, John went down into the engine bay to grease the stern glan. A few choice words ensued, as the engine room was full of water. Thankfully, it was the blue antifreeze from the engine coolant and not dirty brown, which would have been a tragedy and possibly need an urgent call to Canal River Rescue, our breakdown people. It took a good while for John to find the cause of the leak, which was a crack down a nut. The following day we strolled to Furnace Vale Marina to pick up a new one and a spare too.

The two demijohns of dandelion wine were clearing nicely, so John popped some finings in. It was all ready to drink the next day.

There were lots of elderflowers along the towpath, so I got first dibs of the pan to make cordial. I can only make a small batch as I can’t keep it cool for storage. Once bottled the next day, the pan was free for John to get three demijohns of wine going.

We are absolutely loving all the hills to walk up, the first few really made us puff, after 18 months on the flat Lancashire moss. We took a picnic to walk up to the ‘Cage’, a hunting folly at Lyme Hall. The views were tremendous. 

 

On another steep walk, the footpath went through this lovely little chap’s field.

 

There are lots of pubs in Disley, our favourite was Disley Malt, who have all the good beer guides. I always love looking at the 1999 one, starring John & his late boss.

 

The offside of the canal was quite shallow, and the heron came daily and caught lots of fish.

Disley was a good spot, as it was near the station as we had a few away days.

We went to Ainscough Cranes 50^th anniversary event in Leyland. Our daughter Ada was starting a new job with them the following week. It was SUCH fun being able to go in the cranes.

We met up with family at Chester Zoo for Astrid’s 3^rd birthday.

Astrid came to stay, but it was during one of those heat waves, so we couldn’t go out. A bedsheet worked really well as a sunshade for the bow deck.

We made scones very early before it got really hot.

As it was so hot we were only able to take her out in the evening once the sun had gone behind the trees. We had fun doing a bit of Himalayan balsam bashing. It’s shocking to see how this invasive species is taking over woodland, river & canal banks, drowning out the ferns, nettles & brambles, just to name a few.

Everyone came to meet us at Whaley Bridge for John’s birthday.

I was pretty excited to find an indi dyer, ‘Mamie and Florie’ who held a knit & natter. It was almost opposite where we were moored. It was such a beautiful showroom and workspace.

New Mills is an old mill town, with lots of ruins along the bank of the River Goyte. We watched rock climbers and puffed up a very steep hill.

Just as the weather gets hotter I finished knitting a shawl with my handspun yarn.

The longest day ever

  

It was 10 years ago we came down the Rochdale 9 locks through the centre of Manchester and our first time going up. It’s fascinating seeing all the old and new buildings nestled together.

I did wonder about this fire exit!

The towpath has been removed through the nightclub area and there are pontoons for the locking crew to get on & off the boat. There’s no walking between the locks here.

The 9^th lock is under Piccadilly and is one of the most unpleasant locks we’ve ever done. However, it was much cleaner than 10 years ago. We were there quite early in the morning, nonetheless, there were chaps loitering! But the dreadful smell of human excrement wasn’t as noticeable, as it was all those years ago.

Immediately after the lock 9 we turn a sharp right onto the narrow Ashton Canal, no sharing locks here.

Just as we approached the first of the 18 locks on this stretch, the engine made a dreadful noise & stalled. It took John about 45 minutes to remove a tent from around the propeller!!

There were lots of Canada geese along this stretch.

The journey went smoothly until lock 9. A boat descending the flight passed us & the crew said the locks were really slow & wouldn’t empty very fast. It appears they hadn’t closed the top paddles before opening the bottom ones, thus draining all the pounds behind them!!

The CRT lads were on the scene & said it was unlikely we’d get up the final 9 locks that day. We had run aground as had the boat ahead of us.

So, I made a quick batch of apricot scones for us & our fellow boaters. John had his tea & scones sitting on the usually deep lock bi-weir.

True to their word, we had to moor up at 21.00 after lock 16 as it was getting dark. Our longest day ever, a 15-hour day. Although the afternoon we spent aground & weren’t actually cruising.