Macclesfield Canal - Rudder problems and more

 This posting to our blog describes our trip on the Macclesfield Canal which runs from Hardingswood Junction where it leaves the Trent and Mersey to Marple Junction 28 miles later. After a flight of 12 locks at Bosley the summit level of the canal is about 500 feet above sea level. We had a new mishap but also some lovely days and the summer weather seems to be finally arriving. So here goes:

Hardingswood Junction built in the 1700s bears a strong resemblance to modern motorway junctions. Though we turned left to join the Macclesfield Canal (known as the 'Macc'), the intention is to go right so fairly soon the canal turns right over the top of the Trent and Mersey which by this point has dropped down a couple of locks. So this picture from Poole Aqueduct shows us looking down on the Trent and Mersey.

Soon on the right we passed a line of hills with this folly on the skyline. It is called Mow Cop (Mow pronounced to rhyme with 'cow'). We have climbed up there before but didn't do so this time. It has a great view over the Cheshire plain.

This is Ramsdell Hall, a fine 18th century house by the canal near which we moored. Out of the blue we discovered that we had moored next to Mick and Suzanne Wilson who were responsible for fitting out Leo originally. It was good to see them again but what a coincidence!

From our mooring we walked about a mile west to visit Little Moreton Hall shown here. It was built in the 1500s and note the long gallery at the top of the house which was added later and whose weight very nearly collapsed the whole building.

Here is the view of the house from its internal courtyard.

At either end of the long gallery is a relief of which this is one. The attendant explained its significance apart from the spelling mistake on the left which should have said 'the sphere of destiny' not 'the spear of destiny'. This is the good lady who is dressed demurely and who is governed by learning and mathematics.

And here is the bad girl. Note the hoisted hemline and exposed breasts. She is ignorant, relies on luck to make her way in the world and has to sell her body to survive.

The turnover bridges on the Macc are famous. Such a bridge is needed when the towpath changes sides to get the horse across. But those on the Macc are designed so that you do not have to unhitch the horse from the boat in doing so. Note how the path over the bridge curves round on the left going through the arch of the bridge on the side where the boat is arriving.

As befits a canal planned by Thomas Telford the locks on the Macc are concentrated into a flight of 12 at Bosley. This view taken looking back from near the top shows the Cloud, a hill close to the canal which is almost 1,000 feet high. We had serious problems climbing these locks when, coming into lock 9 near the bottom, we scraped over a submerged baulk of timber which lifted the rudder out of its bearing cup. This has never happened to us before but we finished up with the rudder hanging from the the top bearing with nothing holding it at the bottom. The boat would still steer but clearly wasn't right.

This is Broadhurst Swing Bridge beyond the top of the locks. This had to be swung by Helen power before Leo could pass through.

The landscape of the Macc is pretty hilly and it was built with a lot of embankments and cuttings to flatten out the hills. In this photo we are above the Gurnett Aqueduct. The road below does actually pass under the canal. In one of the houses down below James Brindley, one of the most famous canal engineers, served his apprenticeship.

There are a number of very narrow sections on this canal where there used to be swing bridges. If you look at the left side of this one you can see a circular depression where the bridge used to swing.

 

We came into Macclesfield with our dodgy rudder and phoned a number of boatyards for assistance. One boatyard suggested we might be able to do it ourselves, so we spent a hardworking afternoon repeatedly lifting the rudder with wooden levers and chocks and then seeking to drop it in the right place in the bearing cup. We had pretty well given up when a coal boat, Alton, arrived and its skipper, Brian, said he would have a go. Now Ian couldn't lift the heavy rudder but Brian could and he tried and tried for an hour to drop it in while Ian used his toes to assess where the bottom of the rudder stock (its axle) was lying. Obviously the canal water is too opaque to see down very far and the bottom of the rudder is too low in the water to reach with hands. A boating neighbour, Alan, also gave valuable assistance. Anyway Brian finally managed it, though the rudder is now stiffer to use than it was. And for all his extreme efforts all Brian took away by way of payment was a bottle of beer and a pain au chocolate. People on the canals are so helpful: it is amazing!

The following day we carried on, passing Clarence Mill at Bollington. The CRT chaps shown right were looking for the location of a whirlpool where water was escaping from the canal. Since we passed the canal has closed behind us and they are seeking to mend the leak.

We moored on Tuesday night at Higher Poynton on this wide stretch of water. It is a lovely place. The wide stretch of water was caused by subsidence due to mining around here.

On Tuesday afternoon we had a good walk through the edge of Lyme Park. This building on the next ridge to our path is called the Cage and was used as a hunting lodge.

From the hills above the canal we could see the centre of Manchester in the distance.

We liked this fun boat with the front of Del Boy's Reliant over the bow and the back of the car over the stern.

We passed this creche of goslings with three adults on guard.

As we approached the north end of the canal at Marple we passed the huge Goyt Mill shown here.

And the very last yards of the Macc are only wide enough for one boat at a time. Note that here is another of the curvy turnover bridges. The other side of the bridge is the Peak Forest Canal which we joined at this junction. We turned right and we are now moored in Bugsworth Basin some 7 miles away from here. To the left is the top lock of the Marple flight of 16 locks.

Here is the sign at the junction. Back through the bridge where we had come from the sign points to Macclesfield and Stoke on Trent. To the left it points to New Mills, Bugsworth and Whaley Bridge and right to Dukinfield, Manchester and Huddersfield.

But all this is for another day.  Enjoy!