Stoke-on-Trent Boat Club to Leek.

What a fabulous weekend we had.

We spent the weekend outside of the Stoke-on-Trent Boat Club at Endon. We had been invited to there Barn Dance evening on the Saturday by friend Ken Marek. Saturday the weather was dreaful, it rained pretty much all day, so we did not venture out until we went to the Barn Dance in the evening. Ken let us in through the gate and we joined the members of the club. The entertainment was the Fettlers from Bolton. Michael and Jonty were excellent. Jonty was very funny with his jokes. There was also a caller who called out the dances and helped with the steps. Keith and I were only to happy to sit and watch as everyone else  worked very hard to do the dances. We had a buffet and enjoyed the beer which was £2 a pint. A good evening was had by all.

Sunday the weather was much nicer in the morning. We headed off out for a walk and found the old railway and cafe.

Unfortunately the Station Kitchen does not open on a Sunday or Monday, so we missed out on a cuppa.

We were again invited to join in at the boat club. We had a beer and helped to finish off the food from the buffet. There was lots of chatter and laughter. It was wonderful to catch-up with people we knew.

So here we were Monday morning and moving day. The sun was shining, but it was a bit chilly, so I lit the back cabin stove. The one thing about the Caldon Canal is it is shallow and has a lot of bends. But it is stunning. Our first stop was at the Endon Sanitary station to do all the necessary. We then headed for the junction with the Hazelhurst locks.

We turned right at the junction and on to the Leek Branch.

I do love the stone bridges on the Caldon and the large expanses of woodland which come down to the edge of the canal.

We cruised through the short tunnel at Leek. The tunnel went through extensive repair work and was re-opened back in 1985. Arriving at Bridge 9, we had to wind and then moor up. The winding was fine, it was a nice deep winding hole. We then had to reverse past three other boats, so we could moor up on the last available mooring.

After some lunch, we walked into Leek, which is a pretty little town.

There are some wonderful independent shops, charity shops and a bug market which is open on Wednesday and Saturday, so we will miss it this trip. There are also a lot of antique shops, which were fabulous to walk around.  We had a coffee in the Green Dragon, whetherspoons and then wandered back slowly to the boat.

My favourite shop of the day Housey House.

Hadar has come to visit the Caldon Canal.

Last nights sunset over Westport Lake was very impressive.

This morning we had a lovely start to the day. Paddy and I walked down to the lake and watched the ducks before heading back to the boat.

We set off at 8.20 am and were heading for the Caldon Canal.

We stopped first at Middleport Pottery to have a look around their shop. They do a beautiful dark blue pattern, which I am sure Wetherspoons uses and I love it.

We have never seen the front of the building, it is beautiful, but what is sad is the empty and boarded up houses opposite. So many needing homes and these are sitting empty.

We made our way to Etruria and up the Bedford staircase locks.

This is Hadar’s first visit to the Caldon Canal, We last did the Caldon Canal on our old boat Misty Lady in 2005. So it is new water for our lady.

We were actually interested to see the changes and they were all to clear when we reached Planet Lock, because there is a new Medical Centre right beside the lock, this was not there in 2005.

There has been a lot of building going on with lots of new houses and apartments going up.

Art work beside the locks.

We arrived in the rain at Stanley Moss and past the obstruction in the centre of the canal, it is like a mini roundabout. We moored up by Stoke Boat Club.

The heavens opened and so we were glad to have stopped.

Moored at Westport Lake.

The weather forecast for today was supposed to be dreadful. It was raining when we woke up, but we decided we would work up two locks, moor up and go to Tesco for food.

Locks done, food shop done, we then decided to head for Harecastle Tunnel.

We had to wait for an hour to go through, so I put the shopping away, made a coffee and some lunch whilst we waited.

1 pm we started through the tunnel and so I put the washing machine on. It was a touch foggy in the tunnel ha ha the fans were clearly not doing a great job, because we still had all the smoke from the previous three boats.

On exiting the tunnel, we thought we would moor up for the day on the oppsite bank, but having spoken to the tunnel keeper Derek, we decided to move off. He had told us that since the cottage became empty they have had things being taken, so we thought we would move.

We are now moored at Westport Lake, which is stunning in the sunshine. Photographs to follow.

In the land of Orange water.

We had a lovely peaceful night at Paddys Wood.

We left the mooring at 9 am and headed for the first of the 23 locks we would do today.

I love these locks because with them being doubles you can go up whilst someone else is either going the same way or in the other direction.

We had a good run up through the Cheshire locks, 23 of them and 7½ miles in 5½ hours, with lots of boats coming down, setting the locks ready for us, and the sun was shining too!

The motorway at Hassell Green was very busy and they all seemed to be going way to fast for my liking.

In the distance a view of Mow Cop.

With lots of boats coming down the locks we played boat balet with a few.

We decided to moor at Red Bull, and were fortunate that a hire boat pulled off the mooring allowing us to pull in. We were thinking there may not be any moorings further up the locks, so took this one for the night.

Dutton to Paddys Wood.

We had a nice weekend moored at Dutton and the weather was kind.

We set off this morning at 8.30 am ready to do the tunnels.

We arrived early so had to wait for 9.30 am to go through the tunnel.

Having done Saltersford and Barnton tunnels it on was onward past the Anderton Lift.

We stopped at Anderton to take on water, empty the toilet and get rid of rubbish and whilst there I sold a bottle of Toilet Blue, to a boater who had been following us. We left him to fill up with water and we carried on.

It was lovely to see Martin on Halsall off on his deliveries no doubt.

The trees are all now well in leaf and the Bluebells are dying back, but the scent from the wild Garlic was pungent on the breeze.

Bramble Cutting was empty, so we could have stopped, but it was still early, so we decided to carry on. It is looking lovely, someone has been putting in a lot of work to get it looking tidy.

First lock of the day was Big Lock at Middlewich.

By the time we got to the Middlewich 3 locks we were in a queue of 3 boats. So I walked up to help the other boats through. The lock keeper on duty came and helped us through locks 2 and 3.

Up through Kings lock and a further four locks to do before we stopped at Paddys Wood at 5.30 pm.

We have not named the wood after our Paddy, it is already named Paddy in the Canal guide, so it is fitting for us to stop here on the ringed mooring.

Walk down to the River Weaver.

Hi Folks.

Being the weekend we do not move unless we have too, so it was a chance to relax and enjoy the weather. Before I go on I remembered something funny from yesterday (Friday). I love looking at gardens and what the owners have done with them. Yesterday I got more than I bargained for when looking at a beautiful garden. There was a naked man walking around his garden and conservatory. I had to look again because I did not believe my eyes, but on the second look yep the man was naked, well apart from socks and shoes. I thought I had seen everything, but obviously this was a first for me whilst cruising the system.

Ok back to the weekend and a chance to relax.

We had the most peaceful night of the whole trip so far. There was not a sound to be heard when I lay in bed last night. Marmite was feeling the chill, so she settled down on my for the night. I fell asleep, so I have no idea how long she stayed snuggled on me, but she was not there when I woke at 6.45 am.

I made us the usual morning brew and we sat in bed listening to the radio and planning the day. Marmite crept beneath the duvet for a warm. I have never known a cat that feels the chill like her.

After breakfast, we set off for a stroll down to the Acton Swing Bridge. We walked along the towpath to bridge 210 and walked down the road to the bridge.

It is a very impressive structure and even though we have been through the bridge when we cruised the Weaver, seeing it from the land makes it all the more impressive.

The weir at Dutton Lock in all its glory.

The river was very calm in the sunshine. Rowers were out doing their training sessions.

Beautiful day to be out on the river.

The Dutton Locks.

You cannot help but notice the sunken boat 'Chica'

The MV Chica began its life in Norway in 1894, it was then  named ‘Flora’. Apparently she was commandeered by The Germans in 1940 and renamed, ‘Bjorg Haukaas’. In 1965 she was renamed the ‘Lill Tove’ and after being bought by the ‘Straight Shipping Company’ in Gibraltar in 1977 was renamed CHICA in 1981. She floundered in 1993 and she has lain here ever since. She had a very colourful life from all accounts, which included after the war found herself running guns in the Mediterranean and finally smuggling cigarettes and tobacco across the straights of Gibralter only to find herself as part of the fishing fleet in Liverpool bay in 1950. If she could talk she could fill a couple of books with her stories.

Having walked down to the locks and saw two boats ready to come up, we strolled back and took the path which would take us back up on to the canal.

It was a pleasant walk on a cool but sunny morning.

Having been on board for a few minutes, there was a shout out from outside. It was our lovely and long time friends Ian and Irene on board Freespirit.

They pulled alongside and we did a bit of catching-up on where we had been. Irene and Ian had just come off the River Weaver. It was lovely to see them again. They are off to Liverpool, so if you see them give them a wave and say “Hello”.

It is wonderful to see friends and on this trip we have cought up with a number of people we have known for sometime.

Dunham Massey to Ryan’s Bridge No.210 on the Trent & Mersey Canal, near Dutton.

Another sunny start to our day, which got underway at 8.30 am when we left Judith and John on NB Serena.

It was going to be a busy old day, in fect it was the busiest day we have had so far for traffic.

Lymm was lovely and sunny as we passed through.

We caught up with Linda and George on NB Wandering Star, they had spent the night at Lymm.

Preston Brook tunnel beckoned, we arrived there with 5 minutes to spare and followed Linda and George through.

We had to wait to go through Dutton Stop Lock, as there was a boat coming through and then it was Linda and Georges turn, by the time they went through another boat was approaching and was hoping to catch the tunnel time of to the hour. I helped him through and he just about caught the time to go in. In the meantime I could not open the gate properly as something was caught behind it, so Keith crept into the lock and then we got the pole out to try and dislodge whatever was jamming the gate. We manage to move the offending item and I got on with working the lock.

I love Dutton dry dock, it is so pretty. Probably dating from 1777 and owned by Tim Leech.

We were to follow Linda and George all the way to Bridge 212, where they moored up, we could not get in so carried on.

Time for a dip.

We are now moored near Ryan's Bridge No.210, not far from Acton swing bridge on the River Weaver. I feel a walk coming on over the weekend.