Froghall and back to Cheddleton

Today's Canal - Caldon

Alas, back to greyness again - no more sunshine. At least, despite a brief feeble attempt to rain, the weather stayed dry.

As we prepared to set off we could hear the Churnet Valley Railway preparing to make several journeys today. Clearly at least some will be hauled by an historic diesel loco. As the line follows the canal very closely from here to Froghall we have hopes of seeing some action.

The first lock was quite soon. There are three locks between here and Froghall. At least being spaced out gives a chance to get our breath back before the next one!

The next section was at times very narrow, as well as bendy. For some distance, passing would not be possible so we were glad not to meet anyone.

A lonely lift bridge which was re-built around 1999 looks in excellent condition but as it is 'normally left open' it probably gets very little use.

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The next lock marks the start of a section on the River Churnet. As a result there is the all important level marker - green, OK to go, red stay above the lock. No problem today but the real depth in the water meant that we suddenly took on a much faster rate.

At the Black Lion pub the river goes under this footbridge and we are back to a canal. It was good whilst it lasted!

The railway now changes sides. The narrow channel under the bridge is followed by an even stranger section where the Consall Station platform is built out over the canal - the strange -flying' structure is a waiting room for this platform.

The next lock is the last on the canal and also has a specific component - a height gauge for Froghall Tunnel ahead. If your boat touches the red and white strips then you will not get through. We will not!

The remainder of the canal to Froghall is yet more bends and narrows - the non-passing sections seem to be even longer. On the way we passed under `Cherryeye Bridge. Why that name? Wait until the return trip!

Eventually we reached the winding hole before the tunnel where we have no choice but to turn around. However, the hole is small and only allows boats up to 65ft to turn. It took us quite a lot of to-ing and fro-int to get around. Full length boats can travel so long as they fit into the low tunnel as there is a larger winding hole in the basin beyond.

We moored for a short while on the visitor moorings and took a stroll down to the tunnel entrance.

The height gauge shows why it is needed as the tunnel roof drops in the middle. It would be tempting to think that boats that could get in could then get out! (The same is true at Harecastle Tunnel)

Time then to set off back once more. One might imagine that the Cherryeye name resulted from someone painting the arch red. However, it is believed that the name arises from miners working at a nearby ironstone quarry. The redness in the stone rubbed off onto their hands and from there onto their eyes. 

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We missed a photo opportunity on the way down but remembered it here! Still too high . . . Actually, we were no so out of range as we expected but the main problem would seem to be the edges of the cabin roof which would likely have given away a lot of their paint.

As we passed Consall Station we eventually saw a steam loco at close quarters. It was running free with its train of coaches left down at Froghall by an earlier diesel loco-hauled service.

At the water point opposite the Black Lion we filled up, but not without incident. The pressure was extremely high and blew our adapter hose to fit the water tank entry right off and into the water where it sank without trace. This home made adapter (mainly a short length of hose with a connector to fit the end of our hose) This then allowed the water in the hose to spray everywhere - a high pressure hose is just uncontrollable. Mike got a soaking, and Christine wet feet. We eventually managed to cobble together parts that allowed us to fill the tank but it will be much better when we can replace the 'proper' adapter.

Alongside the water point mooring stand the remains of former lime kilns, a reminder of the importance of several industries on the growth of the economy in this area. These kilns were built between 1806 and 1816 for a local wealthy landowner and by the mid 19C thousands of men were employed in the area. See here for more detail.

We also had lunch whilst moored here and then continued back up to Cheddleton. Shortly before we reached our intended mooring for the day we had a splendid panoramic, if distant, view of a steam service that had just departed Cheddleton Station.

9.9 Miles - 8 Locks

Cheddleton

Today's Canal : Caldon

Before leaving this morning  - a bright sunny day as promised - Mike walked the 200m to see the end of the canal. 

It is rather inauspicious, originally it continued a short distance closer to Leek but never actually quite getting there.

Rather more of the end of the canal might also have been lost but for the fact that here the feeder from Rudyard Lake joins in. 

The canal crossed the River Churnett - we shall see more of this river from the Froghall Branch.

The last full winding hole was also close to our mooring with the view looking rather more splendid than last night! We definitely would not made a turn at the end.

Soon after setting off we returned through Leek Tunnel.

A view of the large lagoon by he tunnel entrance - we did not dare to explore how much of it would support a narrowboat!

On the way up we grounded a number of times, especially on some of the very tight bends, but this time we learnt from that experience and, with one exception, found a better line that meant we could keep going. For the most part the sunshine filtering though the trees made it very pretty.

Christine was very impressed by the size of the cones on this end of garden tree. Perhaps at least 200mm in length.

We arrived back at Hazlehurst Junction and made the almost 180 degree turn onto the Frogall Branch. It took too much concentration to take a picture! Immediately we dropped down a level through three locks in a flight. The junction is at this acute angle because originally a three lock staircase linked the two levels, just the other side of the aqueduct but this became a bottleneck and was replaced by the present separate locks.

Bridge 12, just below the bottom lock, had to be re-built a short time ago at what seemed to many to be a vast cost but it needed to meet stringent heritage requirement.

Then under the aqueduct. From this angle we gained a much more impressive view of the structure than when crossing above where the lower canal is barely visible.

The present line of the canal is from the very right of this picture and the surprisingly straight piling edge seeming to go nowhere is the alignment for the staircase - this is all that can now be seen.

We stopped on the visitor mooring just before Cheddleton as Christine had a Zoom meeting at 1.30. Fortunately her mobile signal was just good enough but it was touch and go at times. Meanwhile Mike prepared the fish pie for tonight's meal so that we could continue a little further once the meeting was over.

Cheddleton Mill is only staffed (by volunteers) on Mondays and Wednesdays. Visitors are welcome to look around the outside of the buildings but we had a rather splendid view as we cruised slowly by.

Just beyond the village came another two locks.

The next stretch was rather faster, with seemingly deeper water but just before the next visitor moorings that all changed. There was a number of boats permanently moored on the off side and although we kept to the middle channel as best we could, we still ran aground opposite one of them. We tried forward and then reverse but the boat stayed put. The bow was free as was also the stern but the bottom caught somewhere in the middle and we simply pivoted around it. We even resorted to trying to push or lever off with the pole - not been deployed for a long time! Then we tried rocking the boat but there was not much movement. We are not sure quite what was the final trick but eventually we slowly moved backwards, free from the silt. This time we took a different line (only by about half a metre) but close to the moored boat and with a sigh of relief we were through. (Will we ever get back, though?) The visitor mooring was just ahead so we pulled in - we had lost too much time to push on as it is a while to the next known mooring.     

The Churnett Valley Railway runs close to the canal for some distance - here is where rolling stock is kept, some still seemingly awaiting careful restoration. We could not check whether we will see any steam trains running tomorrow as this is a largely mobile-free zone! (We did later get a signal that allowed us to upload this day's installment but it was almost 22:00)

5.5 Miles - 5 Locks

Leek

Today's Canal : Caldon

Another grey day but one which ended with quite high winds. 

Soon after setting off we arrived at the deep Engine Lock. It gained this name from a large beam engine nearby that pumped water out of local mines.

Two lift bridges to negotiate before the next set of locks. The first one provides vehicle access to an adjacent property and is electrified, opening and closing comparatively quickly.

In between is a feeder bringing water to top up the canal.

The next lift bridge is manual so this was to be Mike's turn to open. As we neared we could see that it was left open so a bonus!

And so to the bottom of the five lock Stockton Brook flight. These locks are also fairly deep and the bottom paddles on the first few were unusually stiff.

Mid flight there is the site of a former waterworks and pumping station. Last used by Severn Trent in 2004 it is now slowly being renovated to create a Community Centre for Arts, Nature and Heritage. It is clearly not an undertaking for the faint hearted but they are holding an open day later this month so that local people can see what is the aim. Good luck - it would be a shame to lose such an impressive piece of Victorian industrial architecture.

Alongside a couple locks there is a piece of modern sculpture that seeks to remind people of the typo of industry for which the region was once famous, much of which has now disappeared.

Our old friend the Leek Branch railway line makes yet another appearance as it crosses the canal below another lock.

Eventually we arrived at the top lock - five locks completed in 7 minutes over an hour.

At Stanley Moss there is a much-photographed 'obstruction' (or so the guides and maps say) complete with a blue keep left sign. (It is keep right coming the other way as only one side is navigable!) Originally this was the base for the centre pivot of a swing bridge that carried a tramway from a nearby factory making colours for the ceramic industry. Initially it connected to the Leek Branch running very close as well as to a wharf alongside the main canal.

Later, a short arm was added to provide an expanded loading capacity. This is now home to a local boat club. Some history of the factory can be found here. (There are several our interesting articles via Google)

Is this a genuine 'trailer' boat?

We stopped at Endon Wharf where there is a full range of boater facilities.(Actually, some our out of commission as the result of continued misuse - sad. Still, what we wanted was OK. We have our own shower but not every liveaboard boater does)

At Hazlehurst (or Hazelhurst) Junction the canal divides into two branches. One drops down the locks ahead and continues to Froghall where it once connected to the Uttoxeter Canal. The other was principally a feeder to bring water from Rudyard Lake, but made navigable - just! It is very bendy and at times quite narrow. Steerers need to be constantly alert.

We opted for the Leek Branch. After running parallel to the now lower Froghall Branch, it crosses over on a short aqueduct.

Immediately the canal also crosses the Leek Branch Railway - our turn to be over the top after so many bridges earlier.

Although it seemed much slower than we recalled from previous visits, we later looked back at our cruising logs. We came here twice with Take Five, a shallower draft. The four times between Hazlehurst Junction and the start of the Leek Tunnel were around 45-50 minutes whereas today it took 66. Slower, yes, but not by a great margin given that we scraped the bottom through every bridge hole, almost coming to a dead stop.

There is a large open expanse of water just before the tunnel entrance and we certainly felt how strong the wind has suddenly become.

Leek Tunnel has an unusual profile. We do not often bother with photos inside tunnels - not a lot to see! However, in this case it does indicate just how snug a fit it is - but only for 120 m.

On the other side there is a Tunnel Waiting Area feature - the cattle might have a long wait!

Nearly at the end we came to the sign that requires most boats to wind at Bridge 9 as the winding hole at the terminus is otherwise too shirt for anything over 56 ft. After we had turned we reversed a few boat lengths only a known mooring space. We do not expect a great amount of passing traffic in the night! The wind is forecast to die down after a few hours and be rather calmer tomorrow. Still a breeze but bright, warm sunshine - we sleep in hope.

6.9 Miles - 6 Locks