Moving North on the Macclesfield.

We had a lovely night with my niece and nephew and his wife. It was great to catch up with their news and things seem to be going well. The Holly Bush pub in Bollington was interesting as it looked like an old fashioned Doctors as it was a 1930's house. It was disappointing as there was only one beer on, and only us in the place. Not one of the better of the many pubs in Bollington.

This morning we moved off and made for Higher Poynton for water. We passed the Clarence Mill and it seemed that there was greater occupation of it so hopefully it is doing well.

Clarence Mill, Bollington.

As we approached Higher Poynton a small boat was winding and I had a feeling that he would be going for the water tap. And so it proved. I managed to tie up across the mouth of Braidbar Boats Arm to wait for him to finish. I think really he was loading his motorbike aboard. We didn't have too long to wait though.

Taking water at Higher Poynton water point.

I had forgotten how much linear mooring there was on this length and it makes it slow going. To relieve the tedium you can see 'The Cage'. This stands on Lyme Park land. Lyme Park estate was granted to the Danvers family in 1346. It was then passed to the Legh Family and they retained it until 1946 when it was handed to the National Trust. The present house was built in the late 16th Century and modified in the 1720's. The Cage was built in Elizabethan times and it has been used as a banqueting hall, a hunting lodge, a prison for poachers and a look out for the Home Guard and the home of the Estate Keeper. It has never had plumbed in water. 

The Cage, Lyme Park.

We arrived at Marple having done two loads of washing and got it up on the line quickly to give it the best chance of drying. We went for a walk round the town and it seems to have quite a few nice fancy shops and was busy. We walked back via the canal and stood at Bridge 1 and looked at the juction of the Macclesfield and Peak Forest Canals. The building opposite used to be part of the buildings for Jink's Boat Yard. It is interesting to note that the Cheshire Ring was fully opened until 13 May 1974

Marple Junction from Bridge 1 on the Macclesfield Canal, looking at Jinks's Boat Builders.

Just looking the other way there is a perishable Goods warehouse that belonged to the Macclesfield Canal Company. The covered loading bay is getting a bit forlorn and I understand that there was to building development on the site but it is all on hold at the moment. One of the features of the Macclesfield Canal are the mile posts. This is the only canal with stone mile posts. There are 27 mile and 78 quarter mile posts made out of Kerridge Stone. In WWII the mileposts were removed and buried. The Macclesfield Canal Society managed to track down 24 of them in the 1980's. They had the others made. There is some controversy as there are 27 mile posts but the canal is only 26 miles long. The Society made up a Mile Post for Marple where the canal was measured from. This one shows no miles. The argument is that there shouldn't be one here as surely the boatmen would know where they are!

The controversial first mile post with the Persihable Goods Warehouse in the background at the start of the Macclesfield Canal.