Another sunny morning and a quiet night, we set off a little before 10 am just after the grass cutter had passed, I have see kids riding these on the back of pushchairs but not a man behind a mower before. He was getting along at a good pace so they cover more ground in a day.
We met 4 boats in quite a short time period so it was easy locking as far as Rod Heath and after that everything was against us until Kidsgrove.
The towpath side lock Thurlwood Lower Locks is a bit narrower than the rest and has a sign attached to the beam to warn boaters.
No one can do a trip along this section of the canal without a photo of Mow Cop, I don't intend to climb up to it this trip. although we will be passing closer.
By the time we reached Kidsgrove the water was much browner, this is looking back at Poole Aqueduct that carries the Macclesfield Canal over the Trent and Mersey, we will be crossing that shortly. If you look closely at the map at the bottom you can see how we came under the Macclesfield Canal, up 2 locks and then turned right running back parallel with the Trent and Mersey canal before crossing it.
We have to be in Kidsgrove for Saturday but have made better progress than planned, we expected much more traffic about than we have seen. Up two more locks to Hardings Wood Junction where we turned right onto the Macclesfield, we had to wait a couple of minutes for a hire boat to come out and make the tight turn into the lock we were vacating.
I am not sure exactly where the Macclesfield canal starts as there first stop lock which is normally the junction of two canals is situated about half a mile from the junction.
Something I think that is unique to the Macclesfield Canal is a chain operated swing bridge, I have seen them on rivers but this is the only one I have seen on a canal. I can see how you would use the chain to draw the bridge across to use, but how is it opened to boat traffic again after you return.
All boaters like to talk about their toilets, well how about a "loo with a view"
We carried on up the Macclesfield for about ½ mile before mooring for the night.
Today's Journey 
2 comments:
Hello Brian, I believe the Macclesfield Canal does indeed start at the stop lock; the canal between there and the Trent and Mersey main line being the Hall Green Branch.
There were two stop locks. One was for the Macc and the other for the T&M, and they were end-on to each other so both canals could control flow of water. The gates were removed from the T&M side, which explains the long entrance 'channel' from that side.
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