Macc got us up just after 5.30 this morning, but as he’d had a bit of a funny tummy yesterday evening it wasn’t a great surprise. The good thing was that he went back in his crate, and we all stayed in bed until 7.15! We left our mooring at Gurnett Aqueduct about 9, and after a couple of bridges passed the winding hole where we turned back in December. This meant KV was now on new water.
We have only done this part of the Macc twice before, and both a long time ago. We came in this direction on Debdale in September 2009 and north on Briar Rose in September 2013. Not surprisingly, we don’t remember much about it. This time, we stopped a little further on, by the path to the retail park next to the canal. I made the first trip, to the Iceland Food Warehouse, for some five litre bottles of water. We didn’t actually need the water, I just wanted the bottles to pump the engine oil into when I do the first oil change. I would normally use the empty bottles from the previous time, but of course I’ll be starting from scratch, and this seemed to be the cheapest way of getting some bottles! I tipped the water into the water tank. Then all three of us set off for Pets at Home. It’s the first day Macc is officially allowed out for a walk, and what puppy wouldn’t want to go shopping for himself. On the list was an ID tag for him, which is engraved by a machine on the counter. We’ve put our phone numbers on one side, while the other is supposed to have an address. We’ve put the postcode of Adrian’s aunt, plus our boat name.
We came back to the boat while Adrian headed to Home Bargains for a few things. Macc was exhausted by his shopping trip, so while he slept we set off again. Just ahead was the first of two swing bridges, so Adrian walked ahead to open it.
The second swing bridge was a mile further on, so he walked on to that one too. There’s a nice looking house just before it, but what you can’t see is that it’s on the A523, the main road between Macclesfield and Leek.
The bridge is an electric one, so Adrian had to press various buttons to lower the barriers and open the bridge. It’s on a minor road immediately off the A-Road, but on this occasion we held up no cars at all.
We wanted to moor not too far from the top of Bosley Locks, but the maps suggest there aren’t really any visitor moorings, just long term ones. So when we came through Bridge 52 and saw both piling and a section with a newly planted hedge so we could have a view both sides, we pulled up and moored.
It’s a really lovely spot, even though the West Coast Main Line is across the field in the valley. The lack of hedge means we should get more solar, and from the field we’ve been hearing the distinctive sound of lapwings, which resembles a weird computer noise. Google it if you don’t believe me. Macc has also been trying out another of his purchases. We’ve got him a bed, in the hopes he’ll use it either in the engine room or on the rear slide, while we’re travelling or doing locks. He seems to quite like it, while testing it on the well deck.
After his post-lunch nap we walked down to the top lock, mostly to take the recycling to the refuse point as it’s been piling up since Marple. Given that it was his first towpath walk, he did really well. We stopped a good few times when he wanted to charge ahead, and he had a carry when he got a bit too excited about lol the new things he was seeing, but for much of the time he just trotted along nicely.
Finally, the next episode of The Water Road is out today. It’s an interview with Nick Atty, the founder of CanalPlanAC, the canal planning website. He explains how it started, how it works, and what he hopes will happen to it in the future. Click here to listen.
3 miles, 0 locks. (7 miles, 0 locks)
Really enjoying these updates! Good luck with the locks, it’s a lovely mooring at the bottom.