With the culvert fully repaired we finally got the go ahead to travel south, and we’re facing the right direction
Leaving the middle arm at Bugsworth
But of course to get off the Peak Forest Canal back onto the Macc, we had to travel north. Confused? Yes, perhaps this is what happens when you hang around too long.
And this canal really gets its grip on you
Is this art? Or does someone just have too much time on their hands?
There’s definitely some odd characters on this canal
But we were happy to finally be cruising with a purpose, and it was mild enough not to need our thick coats on. No more sitting around, watching the world go by
There’s something very special about narrowboating in this area, we love seeing the industrial heritage of the our country. Bugsworth Basin is a prime example of how the canals were a significant structure for the communities they served. It’s now listed as a Scheduled Ancient Monument and the Bugsworth Heritage Trust oversees the area making it an interesting and informative place to visit.
Model of the basin back in its heyday
The Peak Forest Canal was completed in 1804 to transport limestone and gritstone from the Derbyshire quarries down to the Ashton Canal where it was probably went on to help build Manchester.
Looking towards Manchester, about 15 miles west of Bugsworth
It was hoped that the canal would go further into the peak district but alas building the necessary locks wasn’t economically viable. A terminus was created at Bugsworth which, when it was built, it was Britains largest inland port. (Aparently, Eric and I can’t agree what defines an “inland” port) Equally impressive was the 14 miles of gravity and horse powered Tramway system that was built to bring the stone down from the quarries. You can still walk the tramway, but it was too wet and muddy for us this week. Not only was the basin a storage and transhipment port, it was the hub of a thriving village where the lime was processed in huge kilns.
The Middle arm is considered the prime mooring spot, and although it was originally all under cover, the stone sheds have long since been dismantled and repurposed and all that’s left is the short arm, a bit of wall with 2 arches and a base of concrete- where an enterprising local build a pigsty. The working life of Bugsworth Basin remained until the 1920s,
Nowadays it’s not trade that keeps the canals viable, but as with all waterways, natural or man-made, they need a constant supply of water. And whilst we might be getting a generous contribution from the heavens this week, direct rainfall isn’t sufficient without careful management. You’ll usually find a reservoir near the head of most canals with pumping stations along the route. Combes reservoir in the High Peaks was built to feed the Peak Forest canal, but it wasn’t sufficient and in 1838 the Victorians completed Toddbrook reservoir at Whaley Bridge. As with most reservoirs, Toddbrook suffered its fair share of leaks over the years but in August 2019, after a particularly wet summer, part of the modern concrete slipway collapsed. It was feared the whole structure would give way with catastrophic consequences. 1500 residents of Whaley Bridge, Furness Vale and New Mills were evacuated whilst Chinook helicopters dropped 400 tones of aggregate to help prevent a disaster. CRT has been working on the repair ever since, with some interesting modernisation, shown here.
(Images swiped from Internet search)
The project is supposed to be completed this year, so we took a walk up to see what was going on. Most of the dam is still fenced off from the general public so we weren’t able to get up close, but we chatted to a few of workmen and peer through the site gates. They aren’t so convinced the work will be finished this year. Neither are we.
There’s plenty of information online about the dam but I found this short little case study interesting.
Thankfully the effect of the of our current structural failure – the culvert collapse which had closed navigation on the Macclesfield has been repaired and reopened. We’re pointing in the right direction and ready to start cruising.
The past 2 months have been somewhat frustrating. Having the culvert collapse somewhere around Scholar’s Green just a few days before we about to cruise past, somewhat put a halt to our plans. Instead of spending the New Year in Stone, we were stuck on the Macc and our first cruise of 2024 was made heading north not south as planned.
Heading out of Bollington, past Clarence Mill,
New Year’s day 2024, going north past Clarence Mill
Stopping for fuel at Baileys trading post,
And we got more than we’d bargained for
And whilst Eric tried to stiffle his cat allergy sneezes, our new friend tried to work out how to get off Firecrest to return to their own ship
think you should get off port side
Not knowing how long the breach was going to take to repair we settled down to await the delivery of more updates from CRT
Hearing that the next update wouldn’t be until end of January, we packed up and went home to see the family for a belated Christmas
family time
We had to cut short our visit home because the forecast changed drastically and temperatures plummeted,
And the next day the snow arrived
One of the good things about a big freeze, is that Ice makes for some fascinating patterns
And the ground is solid so going for walks is a treat, not a muddy quagmire.
Heading up to Lyme Park
We thawed out eventually and made it up to Marple
Looking towards the junction onto the Peak Forest
We were getting quite annoyed now, updates from CRT telling us what they were doing to fix the breach, but nothing about how long they expected the work to take. Should we turn around here or go onto the Peak forest Canal. We emailed CRT and got quite an apologetic reply acknowledging their oversight in not giving a predicted completion – it should be done by END of March… oh my goodness, that would be over 3 months to fill the hole. At least we could pace our meanderings, Whaley Bridge, here we come.
Looking back towards New Mills from Furness Vale
Through the lifts bridges
Wood End lift bridge
Past the swizzles factory,
mmmmm parma violets and love hearts
We walked from Furness Vale back into New Mills, admiring the amazing skill of the people who built the bridges
and finally we cruised into Bugsworth Basin
One of our favourite destinations, Bugsworth Basin.
Autumn seemed to arrive late and disappear early this year, or at least we think so. But what we did see of it was worth it.
High Lane
With several more commitments off the boat we needed good access to public transport. Half way between Middlewood and High Lane provided us with good options, and a lovely walking route.
We couldn’t resist a cruise down memory lane either as we decided to go onto the Peak Forest canal for a week or two.
Turned right onto the Peak Forest
And we managed to get a perfect view of the Halo Moon
The Halo Moon
But of course clear skies make for a frosty morning
Disley
Our neice has just moved to the area so she came to see us and enjoyed the cruise into Bugsworth Basin
Aunty Cheryl, Laura and Uncle Eric
We took the opportunity to catch up with several friends that we made in 2017 when we’d moved onto Firecrest but weren’t able to leave the Braidbar
We said our goodbyes to Buggy and the Sunny,
And before we knew it winter had arrived
The canal was frozen for a week and the only boat daft enough to break the ice was a CRT work boat travelling at speed. We were livid, and wish we’d thought to take a number down to complain. The snow didn’t last long, unlike the snow that fell at mum’s up in the Lake District, they got 12 inches most of it falling in just an hour or two. No wonder it took them by surprise. I caught the train up a few days after and although most had gone, the views remained spectacular
The River Kent (in cumbria)
and going back to wake up to my favourite view from my teenage bedroom
I’m not the fittest or most energetic of people and I’m certainly not sporty, but with one or two exceptions, I love watching live sport on TV. I even watched the penalty shoot out at the Euros. So instead of keeping up to date with our meanderings, I’ve been unpicking the intricacies of cycling competition, modern pentathlon, tennis tournaments and boxing bouts. But in between the joy and despair shared with various athletes and the extremes of British summer weather, we have continued to cruise the Macclesfield and Peak Forest canal.
We moored on the Braidbar spot for a few days, filling in James and Donna with our adventures of the past 4 years, whist asking James for his assistance to channel in some news wiring for our ever increasing Solar panels.
Tim and his friend have taken advantage of our close proximity to their homes and cycled out on several occasions to join us, and to share a birthday cake.
I’ve hopped on the train to visit my mum up in the Lake District
And Eric has dutifully returned back to Suffolk to complete some emergency repairs on our Bricks and Mortar. Leaving me with time to explore the walking trails around New Mills and to reaquaint my friendships with Kate, Annie and Martyn who run the Wiseheart and Wild creative Studio in New Mills, Furnace Vale and Disley.
We’ve worked hard in Bugsworth Basin, where we fixed the last two possible solar panels on to the roof.
And we’ve made friends with many boaters as we have taken the opportunity to moor for several days in the same place.
We had thought we would cruise onto pastures new, by continuing down the Marple flight, and through Manchester onto the Bridgewater canal before heading towards Chester. However there have been on going issues with some of the locks on that route, so we revised that plan and are now heading back south down the Macclesfield Canal and have a coin ready to toss when we get to the next junction.
