Yet another early start on Wednesday (7th August)
it was about 7:15 when we pulled the pins ... just 6 locks and a tunnel to do today ...
on what promises to be a lovely day.
George is on the tiller again and I'm walking to the first lock of the day passing this gate which presumably leads into Church Lawton
To lift your spirits! It certainly lifted mine!
Still travelling upstream through paired locks ...
the first three (46-44) are quite close together and while I'm waiting for What a Lark to arrive at the first lock ...
I watch the cows going in (or maybe coming out of) the milking parlour
Watching George bringing WaL out of the lock I can see lock 44 in the distance ...
and back at George closing the gate and gathering up WaL's stern rope
Looking upstream to the services at Red Bull
but first we need to bring WaL up this lock
Water tank topped up and we're ready to continue ...
What a Lark arriving at lock 43
20 minutes later and we're at lock 41 and there's Jophina II, who we locked with for quite a few hours yesterday, in the other chamber.
The Kidsgrove Gas Light Company was incorporated by Special Act in 1871 and was dissolved in 1949 after being vested into the West Midland Area Gas Board in 1948. Nowadays the building stands unused opposite the Canal Tavern at the entrance to the Gas Works Industrial Estate for commercial vehicles.
Jophina II turns right onto the Macclesfield Canal ...
as George brings WaL into the lock
We wait whilst this boat exits the Macclesfield to come into the other lock to go downstream
and we carry on straight ahead to the northern portal of Thomas Telford's Harecastle Tunnel ...
where boats wishing to transit are controlled by CRT's tunnel masters. During our briefing we're told that there are six boats currently coming through ... this is the first one ...
and this was number five, so it was time to switch on WaL's tunnel light and all the lights inside and be ready to go ...
11 minutes past 10 as WaL's bow enters Harecastle Tunnel
I stayed inside ...
The tunnel is 1½ miles (2.4km) long and runs 640' (195m) deep under Harecastle Hill. The main industrial reason for the tunnel was to carry coal to the pottery companies of Stoke-on-Trent.
The construction of the original tunnel, built by James Bridley, was commenced in 1770 and completed in 1777. It was not many years later that the limitations of his design were realised. The rapid growth of manufacturing and the increased need for coal and other raw materials to the potteries became a major problem.
It was decided in the early 1820's that a second tunnel should be built and the preferred builder was to be Thomas Telford. Brindley's tunnel continued to be used until it began to suffer from subsidence and flooding and was no longer fit for purpose. The tunnel was closed permanently in 1914.
Telford's tunnel, completed in 1827, had a towpath to enable boats to be horse-drawn making the transit quicker and was used in conjunction with Brindley's tunnel with each tunnel taking boats in the opposite direction.
In 1914 an electric tug towed boats through the Telford tunnel until 1954 when a fan was installed to remove the harmful build-up of diesel fumes and provide fresh air within.
In the late 20th century subsidence became a problem once again and the tunnel was closed between 1973-1977 when the now disused towpath was removed increasing the width of the canal.
It was 10:48 when I can properly see the exit ...
and a few minutes later can see the southern portal officer
10:52 and we're out in the light again; it had taken us 41 minutes to travel through the tunnel.
We were going to stop for the night here at Westport Lake but decided to carry on to give us 'a day off' tomorrow ...
through the sad, derelict, buildings of Stoke's pottery industry (our home town)
It was pleasing to see since our last visit to the Trent and Mersey canal through Stoke that some new/renovation work had been going on ...
and that the Middleport factory is still going strong since its establishment in 1851 by Hulme and Booth, albeit after several changes of ownership. In 1862 the factory was taken over by Burgess and Leigh and since the 1930's has traded under the trademark 'Burleigh', a combination of the two names.
A splash of colour on this now dull, damp day
amongst the urban decay.
This is new by bridge 125 ... Burslem Port (Burz-lum as we (locals) would say)...
The Burslem Branch canal built in 1805 used to branch for nearly half a mile from here on the Trent and Mersey Canal but was closed by a major breach in 1961 and abandoned the following year.
In 2011 the Burslem Trust (Bringing Boats Back to Burslem) was formed with the intention of restoring "the Branch Canal and create an attractive and safe “haven” for boaters passing through or visiting Stoke-on-Trent".
The Trust also aims to reopen a medieval footpath from Burslem Port into the centre of the town and there will be a terminus for commercial use including boatbuilding. See here for the strategic plan.
It's now midday but not far to our destination ...
'Nucleus' WaterWorld's water rollercoaster at Festival Park
A few minutes later we were lucky enough to moor up in the exact place that we wanted
... right outside the Toby Carvery
After lunch and several heavy rain showers we walked into the retail park (not a brilliant shopping centre (imo)) and did some food shopping at Morrisons.
Thursday dawned dry and bright ...
and as I was tidying up on What a Lark I saw and called out to Barry on Areandare although I'm not at all sure he knew what I was saying!
And this is the reason we're here ...
to spend time with some of the Harrison side of George's family ...
from the left ... George's brother David, George, Uncle Joe (who we earlier heard was not well enough to attend, so it was a lovely surprise to see him), Joe's daughter Jane and George's sister Diane.
Not forgetting of course that David's wife Bev, Diane's husband Paul and I were also there!
We enjoyed a very nice carvery roast dinner and listened to lots of stories from Uncle Joe ... a truly lovely time.
Any idea of the ex Challenger Share Boat name behind you in the tunnel queue, if Centurion, wandering why the took of the cratch cover as plenty of clearance!
ReplyDeleteHi Andy,
ReplyDeleteNot sure! The boat arrived at the tunnel without the catch cover so perhaps he wasn't using it on that cruise. Can't remember seeing the name but George says that the engine was a 'donk.donk' situated mid-section if that helps.
Good to hear from you, can't see your blog anymore.