The salt mountain

You've got the benefit of two days in one. Yesterday, Friday, we stayed in Middlewich for the day so that we could meet up with Matthew and Gail in the evening. 

In the morning we visited the butchers to top up with a couple of steaks for Saturday and some pork for Sunday. Also pop into Tesco Express for some veggies. Unfortunately the large Tesco shop closed a while ago and the Express is a little limited in what it has on the shelves.

Outside, another knitted pillar box for the coronation.

In the evening, Matthew and Gail took us to the Creative Indian Kitchen and it was wonderful. The restaurant brings you true Indian cuisine to tantalise your tastebuds. (Copied directly from the website)

And, boy, they do. All the dishes are prepared to your liking. Brigid doesn't like anything too spicy and they presented food that she loved - and no aftereffects either. 

Now on to Saturday. 

We started off by travelling along the shortest canal in the system, the Wardle Canal which is only 50yds long. At one point, the Trent and Mersey and the Shropshire Union canals were not joined. Look online and you can read all about it.

But, eventually, the Wardle Canal was built. And here is Wardle Lock Cottage, a Grade II listed property.

Once again the locks are quite deep, this one at 9' 9".

The stone in the bridge says Wardle Canal 1829.

Coming out of the canal you take a sharp right turn on to the Trent and Mersey and straight into Kings Lock but, this time, going up. 

Above we are looking back at the lock and you can see that the canal is much wider here. 

Middlewich is famous for its salt products and through subsidence, because of the extraction of the saline deposits, the canal is wider and deeper in parts than others. 

And here we are passing a salt mountain right next to the canal.

The factory for British Salt Ltd.

I know I keep saying it but further on toward Sandbach, more new housing. Matthew and Gail assure us that there is a high demand for housing in the area.

And so we've moored up near Elworth so that we can go to church tomorrow with M&G. And look, lunch in the sun again.

Not a bad view from our overnight stopping place. Also, no other boats moored near us. Just as we like it.

With the temperature climbing to 20°C and little wind, we took a walk along the towpath to Wheelock Wharf and you can read all about it above.

No, not a pterodactyl but a microlight making its way across a cloudless sky.

Back to the boat for tea and biscuits.