We set off again about 9am on Wednesday and headed towards Stoke-on-Trent . On the way we went through Barlaston where Greg liked the look of these 'Boat yard' gates.
I decided to walk Scully along the towpath for a while hoping to tire her out- not a chance. We saw the Wedgewood factory in the distance.
The local scout group decorated this bridge with hands and called it 'The helping hands bridge'.
Stoke City football ground....When there's a match on everyone walks down the canal and over the bridge to the grounds. Greg was a bit disappointed that the beer boat wasn't around .
Not long after the football ground we came across an old factory site which had just been demolished. Of course Greg had to go and investigate and came back with lots of Doulton 'Treasures'.
Even the little trickle of the River Trent which flows from here was quite high this time.
Going under all the bridges..
This is a very deep and slow filling lock...a little boy last year told me there was a whale at the bottom because of the noise it made.
The next lock goes right underneath the railway line...when your opening the lock gates the train passes right next to you.
Etruria bone and flint mill.
The last lock at Etruria is really deep so I always let Greg take the boat in while I wind the paddles up what seems like 100 times !!!
Awwww what a cute little rabbit...
Some of the old pottery factories..
Squatters have moved into this old factory and its now filled with rubbish.
We moored up at Westport lake for the night just before the heavens opened.
Today the sun was out and the sky was blue ..it looked lovely but boy was it cold. We made our way towards Harecastle Tunnel.
We had about a 50 minute wait to go through as it is only wide enough to get boats going through in one direction at a time. We filled up with water and chatted to the tunnel keeper.
Once you go inside the door shuts behind you and the huge fan comes on. It takes about 45 minutes to get through and is 1.66 miles long. It was freezing and very wet inside today ...we couldn't wait to get out the other side into the sunshine.
Past the end of the Macclesfield canal and the start of many locks (25 in total today).
A lovely summer house.
We saw the first ducklings this year near the Broughton Arms at Rode Heath but they moved so quick I didn't get a picture.
Three donkeys ...just for you Maria , the last one made me laugh-he didn't even stop eating while he was trying to scratch his belly.
This is where the baby owls were sitting last year when I saw them....not many bales left though now. Instead there was a grey pony in the field who rolled around in the mud under the trees and then went and stood in a big deep puddle up to his knees and kicked the water all over himself. He was filthy and will probably need hosing down to get clean again!!
We went through Wheelock and then moored up for the night as the sun had gone down and it was starting to get chilly.
Happy days.
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