Bottom of Bosley Locks to Fourlane Ends, Adlington.

Travelled 11.6 miles, worked 12 locks and 2 swing bridges in a time of 6 hours 35 minutes.

This morning Bosley Locks beckoned, so at 8am we set off up the 12 lock flight. I walked ahead to set the first lock which was already empty. Unfortunately the rest of the flight was against us. As I worked the locks The Bosley Cloud accompanied me up the flight to warm my heart as I watched as the low cloud came in and the drizzle began. Having set a lock for Keith and shut the bottom gates, I would raise the paddles on the top gates then walk to the next lock to set it, whilst Keith closed the gates behind him on the lock he had just exited. On the Maccy the locks have two gates top and bottom, which is very different. The flight is one and a quarter miles long, so I got some walking in. Despite the locks being against us we got to the top in two hours, which I thought was good going.

Just before we approached Oakgrove, we saw Ann-Marie loading coal on to Alton, so pulled alongside to have a quick chat. We will hopefully catch up with Ann-Marie and Brian on the way back. It was lovely to see her again. We said our goodbyes and headed to the first of the two swing bridges. I stepped off the boat with my BW key to work the bridge, whilst Keith steered the boat through. I had two cars waiting to use the bridge, I always feel like I have such power when I get to work bridges. It is always nice to make the traffic wait for us for a change. We passed by Macclesfield, maybe one day we will pay it a visit and were soon back into the countryside.

We had some stunning views of the Pennines.

Along the Macclesfield Canal there are six snake bridges where the towpath changes from one side of the canal to the other.

The beautiful mill in the photo above used to be the Hovis Mill and was built in the 1820's. It is now apartments.

At Bollington we passed Clarence Mill, one of the Maccy mills which appears on a lot of photographs. There are a few lovely mills alongside the canal, none of them actual working mills anymore which is a real shame, but never the less they have been put to good use, unlike so many old building which have been knocked down.

This is my cute photo for the day.

Keith saved these four narcissi from further trampling of feet, and put them in my coffee mug.

We have managed to get as far as Fourlane Ends, Adlington. We had thought of going further, but didn’t want to risk there being no moorings available at Poynton and Marple, as we know that the Marple moorings are not that great, but get busy, we would then have had to go on to Whaley Bridge. We are now within a days run of our destination for this trip.

It has been a quiet cruise today, only meeting three other boats along the way. The peace and quiet of this mainly rural canal gives it a huge amount of charm, the only downside is the depth of water, especially in the bridge 'oles, we were dragging the bottom through ever one. But I have had a wonderful day and I am now feeling everso slighly pooped.

Chat soon xx