A much better day today, although it would have been difficult to be worse! After breakfast we headed out to walk up the hill to White Nancy, a folly on the top of Kerridge Hill which was built in 1817 to commemorate the Battle of Waterloo. We went along the towpath to the next bridge, crossed it, and took a path up to the village of Kerridge and then following the signs up the hill. The final stretch is up a characterful stone staircase, which seems to go on and on.
Not only is White Nancy an attractive monument, the views are also spectacular and they looked particularly good today because of the mist and cloud hanging in the valley.
We could see Alderley Edge and the tower blocks of Manchester. We talked to a couple of other people up there, who pointed out all the surrounding hills too. One of them was a keen walker who was telling us about a thing a man is doing for the local hospice. Each day he puts a holly walking stick next to White Nancy, with the name of someone who used the hospice. The idea is that people take it with them and leave it somewhere else, and log the location. There are going to be thirty-one of them in all.
We made our way back down (the stone steps seemed worse on the way down!) and back and the boat prepared to set off.
Very soon, the canal passes industrial units on the outskirts of Macclesfield. To be honest this isn’t the prettiest part of the canal, but before long you’re in Macc itself and passing Hovis Mill.
We pulled in at the water point and started filling the tap. The pressure was terrible and it was taking ages, so we had lunch, then gave up. We can try one of the taps at Bosley tomorrow instead. The next section of canal has a massive wall with buttresses along the towpath.
The final bridge of the day, number 43, is another snake bridge which takes the towpath to the other side of the canal.
We moored up shortly afterwards, at Gurnett Aqueduct. In fact, we’re pretty much over the road that runs underneath.
We went to find a post box, then visited the big garden centre that’s alongside the canal. They didn’t sell stamps, but the lady on the till suggested the Post Office in Sutton, so we walked up the lane, across a field, and into Sutton Lane End, where the Post Office is in a village store which has a cafe and a florist, and a remarkable green grocery section in a unit outside.
Our circular walk back to the boat also took us past the village nativity scene.
3 miles, 0 locks. (17 miles, 0 locks)