Today is the first day after the longest day! I refuse to believe it's all down hill from here on in! We have at last had some wonderful weather. We deserve it because it was wet, wet, wet up to a couple of weeks ago. I know we are much further north but come on, everywhere needs sun!
Since I last wrote we have travelled the Macclesfield canal, onto the Peak District canal and back down onto the T&M. We thought the Caldon canal was beautiful but the Peak District is even better! Narrow and very shallow ( even after all the rain! ) but at the end you have the Bugsworth Basin. How lovely is that! All renovated by volunteers and fund raising to achieve the results so far. It still is not finished. We stayed there a few days, giving a donation allows you to stay over the usual 48hours. Walking up into the hills and seeing the countryside from a height was lovely. The dogs loved the freedom as well I am sure.
Karen 'popped up' for the weekend which was great. Really good to have a chance to catch up properly. Geoff cooked a BBQ for us which was just done without rain!
If you haven't touched on this this part of our wonderful country then give it a go! It is different to Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire. Hillier, no large fields of crops, a lot more cattle and the fragrance that goes with them! The long shaggy coated ones with horns as well. It really is quite stunning. Along side the canal there is renovated mills and old working chimneys. If walls could talk!
Many of the old mills are being converted into apartments, it's a good way of recycling!
The other main thing we have noticed is that everyone is so much more friendly!! So folks no offence!
Even the girls on the cash out at supermarkets actually talk with you, in MK they are so standoffish!
On the way back we stopped in Bollington for a couple of days. I had booked hair cut! It was ok though, not too scary! Except paying for it! Eek!
We also walked up to the White Nancy. It is a memorial to commemorate the battle of Waterloo. Strange looking object! 'Bullet' shaped and painted white. A steep climb up but worth the view!
We also stopped for two days to go and look at Little Moreton Hall. A building built during the civil war.
Over 500 years old and held together inside to stop it collapsing. The dogs enjoyed the walk across the cow fields to get there....
Since Monday we have been back on the T&M and going down heartbreak hill. It's a series of 32 locks from Hardings Wood junction to the junction onto the Middlewich canal. We will do that tomorrow.
We were going to go onto the Llangollen canal but have changed our minds, due to others saying how crowded it is and you have to be patient queuing for locks. So we will save that for next year!
Twice we have fleetingly seen another Beacon Boat, Windsong. Once going in the opposite direction, so a wave was all we could manage. Then back at Harding Wood junction, we had stopped to do the Tesco trot, well Geoff did, when they pulled in for a brief word and then off....
We are on the look out for other BB's on our journey.
Our only time schedule is to be in Stoke Bruerne for September 13th /14th. In fact we will be at Gayton junction the weekend before, as we would like to achieve getting a mooring for the village at war weekend in Stoke Bruerne. Looking forward to dressing up! Do you think I can practice the jitter bug in the boat beforehand?!
Also today I have had confirmation our booking for a cottage in January ( yes I know it's months away!)
has been accepted. So, it will be four walls and no rocking for a week! That's about 10-15 mins from my Dad, so we can have a good catch up. I am also hoping that my son and daughter may come and visit us. So, if you are reading this please pop it in your calander!! 10th -17th. I would really like to see you both!!
I hope that all of our family and friends are well, enjoying the summer and maybe the tennis? I would love to hear from you and how your summer is going....
