Saturday we travelled a sort distance back to the point where the Leek branch crosses over the Caldon line, this just so happens to be by a pub! This was important as we were meeting Mike and Liz on Sunday for lunch. Having moored up we felt it was encumbant upon us to check it out - the things we have to do :-).
The pub, The Holly Bush Inn, was very friendly and had a couple of border terriers in the public bar Spike and Dillon, George would have loved it.
Dillon was on the boat moored behind us, the guy was working on the towpath improvements that we had seen earlier in the week and had travelled down to moor by the pub for the weekend, from chatting to him sounds like this was his regular weekend stop whilst working on this contract.
Sunday
We had a lovely lunch with Mike and Liz and then shared with them our holiday photos - hope we didn't bore them too much!! The pub was actually down on the Caldon canal, from the car park you could just make out By The Way on the tow path.
Monday
The forecast for today was not great, heavy rain all day - urgh! But when we got up it was not too bad, so we decided to make a move.
As we approached the junction that would take us onto the Caldon canal, we spotted fluorescent jackets at the second lock. So I was sent ahead as the scout to see if they were just working on the towpath or if it was the lock. When I got there the sign before the lock advised it was the towpath. So we were good to go. I was clearly having a very blonde morning as I turned the lock around when it was actually in our favour - doh!! Now had the workmen on the second lock actually been working they would probably have noticed this and I would have been duly embarrassed but as they were all either on their phones or smoking a fag or both, they were totally oblivious, so my blushes were spared.
We travelled on passed the old flint mill at Cheddleton, which is now a working museum.
Through the next flight of three locks and found a lovely spot to moor up at near the steam railway. Lucky we stopped when we did as the forecast rain put in an appearance at that point.
Those of you of a certain age will recognise the blue engine on the front! Here they use it to shunt the carriages around.
Monday evening we headed out to the pub The Black Lion in Cheddleton to watch Tottenham vs Sunderland - never a good one for us as this is the only game we watch were we truly have split allegiances. It started well for me as Sunderland took the lead, but it was short lived and by the end of the evening I was totally depressed - hence I had to have 3 glasses of wine!!! The pub was really friendly and apart from the result it was a good night ( Tottenham won 5 v 1 ).
Tuesday
We set off with the aim of getting to the end of the Caldon branch, we were however a little nervous as the river Churnett runs parallel at this point before the canal and river run together for a short period. Our nervousness was a result of the speed the river was running at. As we arrived at the lock where the two merge, there were warning signs, and off I went to check the height of the river at the board under the bridge - low and behold it was on Red, so we had to turn round and head back.
We are not very lucky with river sections, the year before last we got stuck at Loughborough on our two weeks holiday, because the River Soar was in flood.
Never mind we had made it most of the way. As we travelled back passed Sundays pub we travelled under the Hazelhurst Aqueduct.
We the went back through the locks that had work being carried out on the towpath, as with the day before there clearly wasn't that much work going on!!! No wonder councils are broke.......
We stopped at a small village called Endon.
Wednesday & Thursday
These were work days fro Rodney, but I did get to observe some more men supposedly at work on the canal towpath and the road - have to say there really was not much work going on it seemed one person worked and three looked on!!! Not sure who supervises this work for the council but they need to get a grip........ Sorry rant over, but when so many services are being cut it is really frustrated to see so much money clearly being wasted....rant really over now.
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