Frank went off for his morning stroll but came back without a newspaper. This is a bad thing!
We went for a wonder to Froghall Basin. We can't get there by boat as WD won't fit through. There's a very small tunnel in the way It's only 76 yards long but if prevents most boats from getting to the end of the Caldon Canal.
Froghall Basin is the current terminus of the Caldon Canal (although there was a long since closed extension down to Uttoxeter).
Limestone got to here from the nearby mine on a tramway and was then processed in these kilns (there probably weren't mole hills around here in 1779). It was then loaded onto narrowboats and sent on its way.
It is a very tranquil place nowadays but in its heyday it must have been very noisy.
In some ways it is good that the tunnel bars the way for most modern day boats as it keeps it a quiet place.
When they built Consall Station I don't think there can have been enough room so they built it out over the canal. We had to make a sharp stop here otherwise we would have bumped into a boat coming the other way. There was some ice around but it was quite thin and WD easily made its way through it. The blacking is still intact.
The wide river section came next and we were heading upstream. However the current was only slow and there was no problem.
Next came Cheddleton where Frank wondered off to get his daily fix of The Guardian. It was gone 2PM. I think he was getting withdrawal symptoms.
We moored up here and went to visit the Cheddleton Flint Mill. The mill was used to grind flint. It has two waterwheels both of which have been restored to working condition. As we wondered up to the door a woman came out and offered to start the mill up for us. She opened a sluice from the river and the wheel started to turn. Pretty soon it stopped turning and the museum woman couldn't work out why. But we had seen it turning. The other wheel requires two people to operate it so she couldn't start that one up. But we had a good look around.
There is a steam engine there too.
And lots of snowdrops!
We went on our way, there was very little ice now. The canal twists and turns and is quite narrow in places and manoeuvring can be quite tricky. All the bridges are very narrow, they didn't build this one over gauge. Up the three very pretty Hazlehurst Locks then an extremely sharp left hander to get onto the Leek branch. We are now at the summit of the whole Trent & Mersey system. We pootled along a very manicured stretch of canal. The back gardens that reach down to the canal were all extremely well looked after. The canal clings to the hillside with good views over to the right of the Churnet Valley that we were cruising along a couple of hours ago. Then comes the Leek tunnel. It's only 130 Yards long. Soon we come to a winding hole where there is a sign saying that craft over 45ft long should turn here. We are 58 ft long so we wind and then reverse a few yards up the canal and moor up for the night. We are only a couple of hundred yards from the end of the canal, on the outskirts of Leek.
We ate baked potatoes and the earlier prepared stew and dumplings. Very yummy.
It was a very clear night and the forecast is for freezing temperatures. There was a very thin crescent moon.
Frank was pleased that the new pope is named after him!
9 Miles, 8 locks.
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