"Macclesfield on Canal" and now below Bosley locks Day 22

 

We left Bugsworth Basin last Friday on another chilly day and started our return to the Macclesfield canal which is lovely with some magnificent scenery, although mooring can be a pain and its a bit shallow in parts-all part of the fun of boating. Saturday again dawned chilly so we decided to have another go at mooring in Macclesfield so we could explore the town and get a coffee. We did manage to moor between bridges 39 and 40 which is only a short downhill walk into town from bridge 37. Its worth persevering as the town is well worth the effort.

 

 

 

Macclesfield town pedestrian street

Side street

walking up from the station

View from bridge 37 towards the Hovis Mill, there are 2/3 visitor moorings on the left but it is shallow

Our mooring between bridges 39/40 on Armco which is deep enough to get the boat in

As we left Macclesfield these lambs were having a great time running and jumping along together

 

Going back to my post on Bugsworth Basin I didn't say why it had been built. The basin dates from the late 18th century and is the only remaining example of a canal/tramway interchange in the UK. It was the largest inland port on the narrow canal system. The Peak Forest Tramway ( a tramway usually used only horsepower) linked Bugsworth Basin to the limestone and grit stone quarries in Derbyshire from where material was transported to the growing industrial area around Manchester. It fell into disuse in the 1920's.

There was a great diorama of the area around the basin- this is part 1- I couldn't get my software to join them together.

Part 2 of the diarama

Bugsworth lower basin the entrance under the footbridge is in the distance

A view from the footbridge of the lower basin

Our mooring tonight below Bosley Locks looking towards The Cloud which rises to over 1000ft

Looking back to our mooring at Bosley tonight the railings are on the Dane Aqueduct

Anne at the helm and coming out of lock 8 of the Bosley flight in lovely warm sunshine- I was down to a t shirt and we managed our first BBQ this evening.

Although the aqueduct doesn't look much from the towpath, walk down the foot path and its something else

Interesting spillway, which has its own walkway as the water flows right over the towpath.