And on to Leek

Monday saw us leaving Froghall and retracing our steps back towards the junction with the Leek branch of the canal. 

It was a beautiful sunny day and Little Switzerland looked gorgeous.

Just thought I'd show you the guage for the tunnel at Froghall.

It would have been a very tight fit and not worth the risk of getting stuck. Also it would have meant clearing everything off the roof and all for the sake of saying 'we did it.' 

I just love what this person has done to their satellite dish. 😊

See what I mean about the beauty of this canal?

I know you can't see him very well but the gentleman on the left has been looking after this lock for the last five years and turns up every day to help folk through. Nothing to do with C&RT just out of the kindness of his heart.

At the lock before this one we were waiting for a boat to come through when Brigid realized that it was a training boat. They weren't coming through but were going to turn their boat around several times, deal with a medical emergency, set off a smoke bomb (unexpectedly) to see how they reacted and generally put them through their paces. We left them having a chat and a cuppa before the ordeal commenced. We found all this out because the organisers didn't want us to call the police or fire brigade if we saw anything odd going on.

Nearly the last lock of the day and some help at hand. Just look at the ornate ironworks on the bridge.

And this is looking back at the work being undertaken on the bridge before the lock.

And here we are, just round the corner on the Leek branch. Lovely views ahead.

And alongside. 

Tuesday and on we go. 

These canals are not used as much as the mainline ones. They are shallow in parts and quite overgrown in places. However, they are beautiful and quiet. Well worth visiting if you have the time.

Rhododendrons all along.

And at the end of the canal a stone welcome sign. 

Even the roadsigns are in stone. 🤣

And, yes, you've guessed it, the obligatory café for lunch of Staffordshire oatcakes. I think we're addicted!

It's about 1.3 miles into Leek and after picking up more supplies, 1.3 miles back again. I can tell you that we were ready for a cuppa and snooze. Anyway this is looking forward from the front of the boat. Only 3 other boats here and 2 of them came up ahead of us this morning. 

Managed to reverse the boat past all the above without hitting any of them. Quite pleased really. 

Froghall

Sunday and a late start for us.

When we came here before, the house on the right was up for sale. We did look at it online but it wasn't for us. The new owners are busy building an extension - looks like a lot of work!

The Old Dock House, the first home of Methodism in Cheddleton.

Services were held here weekly from the 1790s.

As we move forward the canal becomes more surrounded by trees and this area is known as Little Switzerland.

Looking back at the Black Lion, a pub with no road access. You can only get there by walking or cycling or by boat. Yet it's always busy.

Alongside the canal runs the Churnett Valley Railway and Consall Forge platform and waiting room are built overhanging the canal.

Fancy sitting in there?

The further you go the narrower the canal gets, particularly at Cherryeye Bridge. 

A couple of times it wasn't too clear which way you had to go and it felt as if you were steering through the bushes.

But in the end we got to Froghall. We had to turn round before the tunnel and basin because the tunnel was too low for us to get through. A shame as the basin was empty and there are nice moorings there.

The basin is actually at the start of the (now closed) branch to Utoxeter. 

Being lunchtime we repaired to Hetty's Tea Shop. Lovely Bentley parked outside.

And it was back to our new favourites, Staffordshire oatcakes. 

Froghall has been described as an outpost of industry since the advent of the canal fostered the growth of the Caldon lime quarries. And here are the old lime kilns.

Nothing could keep me away from the Churnett Valley Railway.

And the chance of seeing a steam loco. I say loco because this engine is American. 

Cheddleton

As we made our way to the first lock of the day, who should come through but boaters we had shared locks with before. It seemed that they had had problems on the canal, it being fairly shallow. Let's hope it's not a problem for us.

And below we see the captain having a good old workout.

There really is no need to go to the gym when you have a canal boat.

You also get to see some interesting sculptures along the way.

More stables converted into des res.

Oh, and look at that. A nicely restored tractor in its own outbuilding.

A sign indicated an obstruction in the centre of the channel. What is it?

Of course, a traffic bollard. No doubt, at Bank Holidays, they have a canal cop directing the boats 😂😂

On a sidearm the home of the Stoke-on-Trent Boat Club.

We stopped for lunch close to Endon Bank. It seems that we stopped here last time we came this way.

Now, turn left or right? Right takes you to Leek but we are going through the locks on the left on our way to Froghall.

Different canal, different winding gear. These paddles are operated hydraulically. Easier to work but more turns on the handle. By the way, I've left my locking key in place for the photo. We never leave them in place normally because if the paddle dropped or something else went wrong then the handle could fly off and cause an injury. 

Having dropped down through 3 locks we now go under the Leek branch.

We've arrived at Cheddleton where there is an old flint mill.

Once again we are mooring almost exactly where we moored last time. Mooring rings provided so a safe place to stay.

An unexpected visitor

Friday night and a lady walking past the boat suddenly stopped and took a picture. When we went to see what the fuss was all about we saw that a swallow had settled on our chimney.

Didn't want to get too close.

But got close enough.

And then it sat on the tiller for a while.

All rounded off with a gorgeous sunset.

Onto the Caldon Canal

Well we set off this morning after the usual routine of emptying the loo and topping up with water. 

We have now turned on to the Caldon Canal and the first lock is a staircase lock. The captain is driving today and left me to sort out which lock to empty and which to fill. 

Fortunately the locks were set in our favour so Brigid could take the boat straight in.

Here she is in the bottom lock.

And now moving into the upper lock.

We went through another lock and then through Hanley Park, somewhere we have stopped at before.

This is another place we have stopped but, not today.

Now we come to Ivy House Lift Bridge.

Luckily it's fully automated and all you have to do is put your key in the slot and press the buttons in the right order.

It's quite exciting having beepers beeping, barriers lowering and this massive bridge lifting high in the air.

And there she goes, stately as a galleon.

After that, close the bridge and an acknowledging wave to the motorists who have been waiting patiently.

As I was making the tea, the boat suddenly went into reverse. Ah, the usual nightmare, a bridge on a bend with another boat coming through. But, panic not, with the captain in charge we sailed through after the first boat had exited the bridge and sidestepped around a second boat following closely behind. And the only comment she made was 'Why were they going so slowly?' 

More remedial work going on.

We stopped briefly at Milton to get some meat and vegetables and found The Teapot, another café, where we had a bite of lunch.

Talking of lunch, not exactly a teddy bears picnic but close.

We've now stopped before Engine Lock which is opposite Norton-in-the-Moors. As you can see, open fields and a clear blue sky.

Spent the afternoon painting the nest of tables, splicing a rope while Brigid worked on her forthcoming Quiet Day. 

A peaceful, sunny, relaxing afternoon - just what we needed. 

Middleport Pottery

Thursday, and we spent nearly all day at the pottery.

Our morning started off with a gentle cruise up to the moorings alongside the pottery.

Once inside we were plastered with stickers for the tour and the heritage trail and given an electronic key to access areas where the public couldn't go.

For example, the steam engine room. The potteries were right in the centre of a coal mining area and had clay in abundance.

Middleport Pottery was the first purpose designed where the layout of the plant followed the process of the production. They even had a bath house for their workers and families were allowed to use it at the weekend. Coal was in use the whole time, steam was available the whole time and hot water was available 24/7. 

We met many of the people who produce the amazing pottery and saw how they attached handles, transferred patterns and fired the pieces. And all still being done in the original Victorian premises. The hope is that the owners will still find it beneficial to pour money into the site to keep it running. 

We then moved 2 and a bit miles along the canal to Etruria ready to tackle the start of the Caldon Canal tomorrow.