Superb scenery.

Another week's wait to see what 'Line of Duty' is all about!! We were off about 0930 and although the ground was wet there hasn't been much rain at all over night. We were off about 0930 and just as we were underway a hire boat came round the corner and over the aqueduct.

This photo of the turnover bridge was taken yesterday. It wasn't quite so photogenic this morning in the dull drizzle.

This is the house that Helen will buy when we win the lottery. It has a great view down the Shawbrook Valley. The photo is from the aqueduct. We passed Vaudrey's Wharf at the north end. It was supposed to be under threat of being filled in due to a leak, but it survives still.

A little further on and in the opposite direction is the railway viaduct. A good view but windy today. I had let the hire boat pass but they stopped for water just after Bridge 68.

The Cloud starts appearing and as you progress up the canal it's aspect changes, and in fact is seems to change sides of the canal too.

There had been a boat pass us so we thought that the locks would be all our way, but they are leaking or somebody had set off well before us. The bottom few locks seemed to have paddles broken etc but we managed to get a good steady pace going and we were soon at the top, despite the occasional short showers.

We got to the top in good time and stopped to top up with water. The best thing about the Macclesfield Canal are the views. The hills seems to rise from the bank of the canal and the valleys drop away on the other.

We passed through the Oakgrove electic swing bridge (Fool's Nook) and Helen was girding her loins for the manual bridge at Danes Moss nature reserve to find that it is being left open temporarily as the footpath appears to be rerouted. How temporary this is I'm not sure.

As we approached Gurnett these lambs were racing backwards and forwards along the side of the canal. It was great to see them with their tails swinging behind them. I couldn't see the normal elastic bands round their tails so that they will drop off at a later stage.

The views to the hills lead you onwards. By now the showers had stopped and the sun was out, the wind was starting to pick up though.

Last time we passed they were repairing this spills was just before the Gurnett Aqueduct. It is a nice aspect of the hills, houses below and the road from the canal. The pub down below is also a good pint. But we carried on today.

As you approach Macclesfield it seems like you are cruising down the moat of a castle with this stone buttresses and walls. There is a bridge, but no drawbridge. We pulled up opposite the mill and before the Puss in Boots pub. We did see that there are new pontoon moorings through the bridge. I suppose it was easier to put them in rather than pick up all the lost stones that made it very awkward to get the boat alongside.

Once moored up we were off down to town for some shopping. As we passed M&S we popped in to see if they had a meal deal and we were in luck. Very enjoyable it has been too. We are relentlessly moving on as we have to be in Manchester for Thursday as we are off home again.