A Walk by the Canal

We bears haven't been able to enjoy any boat journeys for ages but at least we live close enough to the canals to go for towpath walks when the weather is nice enough.  

One sunny morning, Polar and Grizzly took us down to the aqueduct where the Macclesfield Canal crosses over the Trent and Mersey Canal.  There is a circular walk from there that takes you up to Hardingswood Junction in Kidsgrove along one canal and back along the other.

You can see that the water is quite orangey, because there are iron deposits in the hill that the Harecastle Tunnels burrow through nearby.  In fact, when there are more boats on the move, stirring up the sediment, the water is even more orange!

We started our walk near Mr Tony's yard, where Uppie has been for little repairs from time to time.  There was a boat out of the water for hull-blacking, so we could show Waverley what the under-water parts of a narrowboat look like.

After crossing the bridge across the 'Macc', we were carried down to the Trent and Mersey canal and the locks.  There, Polar let us out of our Bear Bag and we climbed up onto the balance beam to explain how locks worked to little Waverley.  We found we had a very good view of the aqueduct.

Sometimes there is a kingfisher here, because the pool below the lock must be good for catching fish, but we didn't see it today.

We had a serious talk with Waverley about staying safe near the water too, as there are culverts and by-washes near locks, with strong currents, that are very dangerous for small bears and little human cubs.  

There is also a sad little memorial beside ths lock to a young man who fell into it and was drowned, so even grown-up humans should be very careful near them.  We all had leaky eyes looking at the little garden his friends and family have made to remember him.

Polar gave us all hugs before she lifted us back into the Bear Bag to carry us up to the next lock, which is the last of the Cheshire Locks at the top of 'Heartbreak Hill' - the thirty-one locks coming up from Middlewich.  When we have been away on journeys on Uppie, we are always sad to get here, because it means our adventure is nearly over, but Polar and Grizzly are pleased because it means they have finally done all the locks! 

Like lots of the Cheshire Locks, there are two beside each other here, because the Trent and Mersey was once such a busy canal that there would have been long queues if only one was in use.  There were no boats on the move today, so it was very quiet. 

'Can we go up to the wharf and see Uppie?' I asked Grizzly, as we reached the junction, where we would otherwise have turned back towards Mr Tony's yard.

'Of course we can,' he said.  'We can go right up to the tunnels if you like.'

Once we reached the railway bridge, we could see the line of boats along Uppie's wharf.  It would have been a lovely day to go boating too, with light winds and sunshine, and I almost got leaky eyes again when we saw our boat.

'We'll come down for a visit one day,' said Polar.  'Then we can check the engine and have a tidy-up on board, bring the duvet and pillows back aboard and get ready for when we are allowed to go cruising again.'

 

That made us all feel much more cheerful, and we chattered away to Waverley about what Uppie was like inside, until we were nearly at the tunnels.

We were carried under another railway bridge and found ourselves in a cutting with towpaths on both sides and a moored boat waiting near the tunnel that's still in use.

Hanley Bear told Waverley that the bigger tunnel had been designed by Mr Thomas Telford, a very famous engineer who also designed the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct.  It had been needed because the older tunnel, designed by Mr James Brindley, was so narrow boats could not pass in it, and that was causing long delays on this busy canal.

'Some people think the new tunnel was built because the old one was broken,' said Hanley.  'In fact, they used both for nearly ninety years, with one taking north-bound boats and the other boats going south.'

 

But, eventually, the old tunnel had become unsafe and now all boats have to use the Telford Tunnel, with tunnel keepers organising things so boats going in different directions don't meet in the middle.

From the towpath, we could see the rescue boat, which lives just inside the tunnel when it is closed.  The towpath was looking very smart, because volunteers had been cleaning the cobbles and cutting back overgrown vegetation, and there was even a little wildflower patch by the tunnel-keepers' office.

Little Waverley said he was very excited about being a Boat Bear and was looking forward to going on the boat.

 

'I would like to go on a train too,' he said, watching one passing over the bridge.  'I came down from Scotland by train, but I was in a mailbag and couldn't see out!'

We bears decided it would be a marvellous adventure to go to Scotland on the train with our human guardians, when it is safe, especially if we could see Waverley's paddle steamer, so we will talk to Polar and see if she can organise it for us.

Then it was time to head back to the car.  We followed the Macclesfield Canal this time, passing more moored boats including one with some cartoon people on the side.

 

'May un Mar Lady was a cartoon strip in the local paper, before I was even a cub,' Hanley explained. 'It means Me and my Wife in Stoke dialect.  They were always arguing with each other, but Mar Lady usually won.'

A little further on, we reached the bridge where we had started our walk and Mr Tony's boatyard, and we were almost back at the car when it started to pour with rain.  Polar quickly tucked us inside the Bear Bag and zipped it up.

 

On our way home, the sun came out again and Polar photographed a rainbow, which made us all feel cheerful - but having scones and rice pudding for tea made us even happier!