Caldon Canal
After
turning off the Trent and Mersey canal we eventually managed to get
on to the water point and refreshed our water supply. Mr and Mrs
Obnoxious had moved off so we decided to cancel the trip and turn
around in case we ran into them again but..
the workers from the
Canal and River trust had moored two of their work boats in the arm
used for turning.. so we had no choice but to carry on up.
The canal was
originally built as a link from the Wedgwood factory at Etrutria to
Uttoxeter designed and built by James Brindley in 1779 consisting of
21 lock and going to Froxhall as the first stop but eventually to
Uttoxeter. After rising up the first lock (a staircase lock) we soon
were moving out through the suburbs of Stoke on Trent.
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| Staircase Lock |
The main industry
here is or rather was, pottery making and two of the old kilns are
still standing. The factories have been pulled down and new flats and
homes have been built.
It looks quite a
good area to live in, new properties and recreational areas. What the
planners had done was leave the old kilns in place around the new. It
looks really pleasing to the eye.
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| Kilns |
Through a couple of
lift bridges and on to Handley Park for the night. Lots of youngster
were there, family's with toddlers. The tow path was on the starboard
side so we had people walking by the open ‘swan hatch’ one little
lad stuck his head in and shouted ‘HELLO’ it was funny his dad
looked a bit apologetic but we didn’t mind. Its all part of our
lifestyle. All the sports equipment was being used. . . tennis
courts . . .5 a side football, netball . . .also cricket nets. Not to
mention the joggers. With all the youngsters we were a bit worried
about trouble after dark but, as the light faded it went dead quite
until the dawn chorus woke us up.
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| Moored at Henley Park |
Moving on the next
morning we were realising the canal waters were quite low, if we were
to close to the edge, the boat leaned a bit as she rode the silt
edge. One holiday boat came towards us and was a bit worried, moved
over more than they needed too and ...promptly ran aground.
We love the holiday
season, watching all the new canal boat hirers making all the
mistakes we made in the beginning...laughing with them , NOT at them,
cuz we all had to learn.
We help if we can,
also if they want help but some think they know what to do because
they have seen the video supplied by the hire company or they have
had a 20 minute training session. We leave this sort too it.
We have been doing
the locks and cruising for over 4 years now and not a day goes by
without learning some thing new.
Approaching a very
narrow and shallow part of the canal it was a bit awkward to say the
least. It was under a bridge as well!! . . .When suddenly, the bow of
a 70ft hotel narrow boat towing another 70ft butty boat (for non
boaty people a butty boat is one without an engine towed by the front
boat but steered by a separate skipper) but wait for it . . . .
some clown was
trying to over take !!!
Sadly the hotel boat
ended up aground with a member of the crew push it off the sand bar
with the barge pole. . they let two boats past before refloating and
continuing on their way. We had a chat to passengers on the boat who
looked as if they were enjoying themselves.
We continued non
stop to the end of the canal noting the places of interest on the way
up because we would be turning around and retracing our steps in our
case waves.
The canal has been
disused for years and part the goes to Uttoxeter is now a railway
line. There is a tunnel at the end which we wouldn't get thorough so
we turned early and headed back
In the working years
we were told up to 100 boats per day would ply their trade carrying
flint and vast quantities of limestone. We noticed a flint mill on
the way up and stopped on the way back as it had a 48 hour mooring
outside. It was free entrance and donations if you wanted too. A very
knowledgeable guy came over and welcomed us and told us about the
mill. It is still in working order although one of the two water
wheels was being restored at the time we were there. They were part
of a gang of a few locals who maintained the old mill also a millers
cottage on the site. We were allowed to go inside, 2 up 2 down with a
small scullery on the back. Opposite was a bigger house by the canal
which an old lady of 98 lived. She was born in the old millers
cottage and has live all her life in the area. The water wheels are
turned by the river running beside the canal, every so often the
river floods and the marks on the cottage were about 3 foot up the
walls. However the river has never flooded the other big house.
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| Flint Mill |
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| Flint Mill |
The sound of an old
steam train whistle was heard over the weekend. Love that smell of
smoke and steam. We tend to moor up over Saturdays and Sundays, we
aren’t in any rush. We had a 20 minute walk back along the tow path
to the local hostelry. The Boat. . we were not impressed. It looked
lovely from the outside but when approaching the bar its normal in
bars to be greeted with, hello, how can I help you? ...not a look
and a yes !
The landlord looked
as if he wasn’t a happy man and the barmaid didn’t smile.
Beer was served in
plastic glasses outside. No food ..over a weekend (?).
but if there was, a
beefburger would have set you back . . £8.50 that's a bit steep in
my books.
One customer had
left a comment on the pubs web site commenting on the prices being
quite high the landlord had come back at him regarding the amount of
rent he had to pay £1000.00 a week...with his attitude he won’t be
there long, he needs to welcome people if he’s going to make a
profit.
One of my fears is
one day we may come across a calamity of some sort. We have seen a
body of a sheep float past this week and on the Monday as we returned
back to the Trent and Mersey canal we had to stop a bit earlier. If
we have a busy day or a few locks we run out of energy we call it a
day.
On the Monday we had
planned to return to the Handley Park again as we had enjoyed it.
However stopping early was divine perhaps.
At 7.30 in the
morning the body of a man was recovered from the canal where we would
have moored. Not sure what happened but there were no suspicious
circumstances.
So sad. Ok enough
for now...in the next episode The Trent and Mersey...Harecastle
tunnel and the Floating bar ...The Barge inn. Cancelling the peak
district (for now).
Take care …
Lastly a short video of the Caldon Canal
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