The day started bright and sunny.
We walked to the nearby St Martin's Church, a mission outpost of the main parish church in Poynton itself, a couple of miles away from the canal.
We were made very welcome - there was a congregation of around 45, mostly of our generation but a sprinkling of younger people, perhaps because a couple of the regular congregation were celebrating their Ruby wedding anniversary this weekend.
We are not sure how old the present church building is - it cannot be much - and is a combination of the worship centre and a multi-purpose hall. It seemed very effective, open and in itself welcoming. The service was led by the curate who joined the parish just a year ago.
After the service everyone adjourned to the hall for coffee and plenty of cakes were on offer, It would have been churlish to refuse! Chatting, we discovered one couple who live backing onto the canal where we were moored and another person who, for the past five years, has lived on a narrowboat just a short distance from our mooring.
Eventually we left and returned to the boat, with the sky alas much greyer but no rain. By now it was just after midday and we were by no means ready for lunch after that large slice of cake, so we set off.
In places the verge still has coloured flowers to brighten up the appearance.
Bollington was once very much a centre of mills - the first we encountered was the largest, Clarence Mill. Built not long after the canal opened in 1831, it was used to spin finer cotton for making lace.
The textile industry collapsed in the 1970's and the mill now houses many different small businesses, including a community radio station.
Immediately after Clarence Mill was passed over Bollington Aqueduct which has given CaRT several headaches in recent years as it sprang sudden leaks. The canal is some height above the surrounding areas and one can only wonder at the amount of effort needed to shift the earth required to create the canal. We were not sure about stopping for lunch but all of the rings here were already occupied - it is a known and popular place to stop with, as far as we could see, not specific time limit.
The others side of Bollington is dominated by the Adelphi Mill. The conversion of this mill specialise in serviced office accommodation although there are some small workshops as well. This mill was built for the same owner as Clarence Mill but, although it started with cotton spinning, its main use was for silk. During the Second Wold War thew mill made parachutes.
We continued along the canal with frequent stone bridges. At one stage there were several swing bridges between Bollington and Macclesfield but, perhaps thankfully for moment, all were replaced in the past. In some cases a light footbridge was built but in others all that remains is the narrow stone gap, which takes as much care to navigate as the other bridges.
The first part of the town is an industrial area but it is well screened from the canal - only the tallest structures can be seen. After a sustained campaign by an occupier of a house near the canal at the centre, new pontoon visitor moorings were created about four years ago. We had not decided where we would moor but said that if there was room on the pontoons, perhaps we would stop, even if quite early. Otherwise we would continue to the outskirts of the town on the far side. As we turned the corner there we could see a suitable space with the only downside that a tv signal would not be possible - only the space at the far end might have that option.
7.1 Miles - 0 Locks
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