After a quiet night, not rain, and no pain, we were up bright and early and away at our normal time of 0930 with one boat passing us going the opposite way.
As there was nobody about we stopped for a top up of water. I moored up yesterday quite close to the only boat on the visitor mooring, not wanting leave awkward gaps as I thought through the day they would fill up with boats stopping after coming down or mooring to gird their loins for going up the next day. How embarrassing to find there was still only the two of us on the mooring and me snugged up to the other boat.
Either side of the raod at Wheelock were obvious warehouse and wharves. The first, by the water point was an Italian and the second a pets supermarket. (Not where they sell pets, but stuff for them! I think.).
When this bridge came into view for a moment I thought I was on the Macclesfield Canal.
After passing under the West Coast Mainline near Ettily Heath you come to this relic. Not much to be seen today but it was a transhipment basin.
From the 1897 OS map though you can see it was quite a big deal. It was covered over and had a wharf with cranes alongside the canal. It looks like there were rail tracks either side of the basin with turntables to move the trucks about. On the other side of the bridge to the north was a bone mill and a track lead into there as well. Tenders went out from the Manchester and Birmingham Railway in 1843. It was completed by March 1844. Pickford's were engaged in the trade from the basin. to and from the Potteries via the railway that was the London and North West Railway by 1847.
Crows Nest lock is the top lock of the Booth Lane Locks and offered welcome shade as Helen brought the boat in.
Below Crows nest Lock is what looks like a wharf with a warehouse, but on checking it seems that it was Moston Corn Mill and powered by a water wheel. Strangely it seems that it is feed from the canal and the fall of the lock is the potential energy that provides the power.
This is the British Salt works at Middlewich. Obviously salt has been worked here since Roman times. British Salt was set up in 1967 by Cerebos and Staveley. They are now owned by Brunner Mond, and old name in chemicals in this part of the world, but in turn they are part of the Indian giant Tata.
Opposite Rumps Lock is the old Kinderton Arms. It was proposed around 1908 by the North Cheshire Brewery Co. but they couldn't get a full licence. I think it finally got built in 1910 replacing an old beer house. It seems that at this pub, the King's Lock and the Big Lock pubs groceries were sold to boat people from the bar. There were questions about their licence as often children were in the bar, even if only buying groceries. It also sad to note that during WWII two evacuee children drowned in the canal on separate occasions.
A little further on is this building that states that it was once the Winsford Industrial Cooperative Branch No.6 built in 1909.
This walls on the off side on the approach to King's Lock were of bricks of a funny size. I can't see that there was much there but I think they must be the edges of settling ponds of later works.
Often there is quite a ruck at Kings Lock but today it was all plain sailing. Straight on towards Runcorn and the Bridgewater canal and left under the bridge for the Middlewich Branch Canal to the Shropshire Union. I think the narrow boat belongs to a feller who was helping out at Wardle Lock as his boat had the diesel bug and the fuel needs cleaning and he was bored!
Helen was dropping Wardle lock as I came through the bridge.
This is the Wardle Canal and as you can see is said to be the shortest Lock 164ft of 47 mts opened in 1829.
Luckily we only went through one bridge and found a mooring just our size, and pulled in. This was handy as No.1 daughter is arriving tonight so it an easy place to get to. After lunch we went into Middlewich for a bit of shopping, and once back foolishly I decided to polish the side I had washed. In the end I did it twice as after once it looked worse!. Mind you it must be about 2 years since it was last down. Now I can hardly raise my arms!!!
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