Tuesday, 18 August 2015

Pretty Quiet – that’s the “Macc”

The Macclesfield Canal was very quiet indeed. Most likely due to the fact that the Bridgewater Canal into Manchester is shut indefinitely so the Cheshire Ring is (sort of) out of action.

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That said, the “Macc” was even more of a delight as there was almost no chance of meeting another boat at the very pretty but very tight bridge ‘oles.

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The Peak District scenery was outstanding

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The brooding mass of The Cloud, at 1,126 feet,  overlooks the area around Congleton and Bosley Locks ……..

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… and the beautifully worked stone blocks of lock chambers were actually quarried from The Cloud.

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We tackled the flight of 12 locks at Bosley on Sunday – they are a delight to work in themselves alone but the added scenery and the sunshine made it a total pleasure.

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As the canal was so quiet we achieved the rise in an hour and a half.

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Just a little moan: It’s a pity that C&RT staff have to use the landing at lock 6 to moor their workboat. Their “duty of care” towards canal users seems to have evaded them and someone could have an accident trying to get off their boat to work the lock.

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All the bridges on the Macc are beautifully constructed but the crossover bridges are in a league of their own …….

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….. what workmanship!

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Clarence Mill at Bollington is very impressive on the approach from the aqueduct.

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There were quite a few apples on the trees in this little orchard! That’s an idea – let’s fill the whole well deck with soil and we can have a market garden!

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On Sunday evening we moored up on “the Deeps” at Higher Poynton and went for a pint at the Boars Head where we had a lovely chat with some of the locals. The moorings were full by the time we got there (getting the last space seems to be becoming a habit!) but it looked like quite a few of the boats had been there for a while. On the way back from the pub it was nice to quickly catch up with Martin on nb “Ice Breaker”.

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