As forecast, the rain started in the early hours and hasn’t really stopped all day. Some of the rain gauges in the area show from 27mm to 37mm in the past 24 hours. Looking out of the porthole this morning it was difficult to tell which side was the canal and which was the towpath. (This is actually the towpath!)
We knew we weren’t going anywhere in this weather so had a fairly lazy start to the day. But we also wanted to have a look round Bollington, so settled on a plan to head out at lunchtime. The rain was persistent and we’d get wet, but it also wasn’t that heavy. We walked along the canal back to Clarence Mill, where we went to the Waterside Cafe for lunch.
I had the parsnip and apple soup with a toastie, and Adrian had the Christmas turkey ciabatta which came with a cup of rosemary gravy. Both were very good. On leaving the cafe, we headed down the road next to the canal where the scale of the embankment becomes apparent.
We visited a charity shop so Adrian could buy some wool, then walked under the canal on its very high aqueduct.
Then we went to find Middlewood Way; by the time we’ve spent the whole winter in this area surely we’ll have covered all ten miles! In Bollington, it has a huge viaduct striding across the valley.
The viaduct looks just as impressive when you’re up on it, and the town is down below.
We made a slight detour to get some blueberries from the Tesco Express, then walked back along the bit of Middlewood Way I did yesterday. I still needed a few more steps so did another loop, crossing between the canal and the footpath at the first bridge. We were so wet we’ve had to have a partial change of clothes, but the good news is that tomorrow is meant to be much better. And we do need the rain for the reservoirs…
0 miles, 0 locks. (14 miles, 0 locks)