After a lovely couple of days at Bugsworth Basin with friends coming and going to take our minds off the wet weather, we are now heading back south on the Macclesfield Canal.
We hung around the basin on Saturday morning hoping the rain would clear as the forecast had promised. I took the opportunity of a walk around as the history and work which went into re-opening the basin is fascinating.
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| Interesting model of the basin |
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| Our mooring in the middle basin |
Before we left, one of my old work mates popped by again on his Indian built Enfield motorbike. You could certainly hear him coming from some distance away !!
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| Eric and his Enfield |
We had barely seen any boats coming and going over the last couple of days, but having watered up, we appeared to have left at just the right time as we passed 8 boats heading for the basin before we reached Furness Vale. There was a boat ahead of us in the distance as we approached the first swing bridge. We were in view, so why oh why would you shut the bridge, jump back on your boat and clear off. Not once, twice or even three times, but all four swing bridges were the same. In the end I gave up shaking my head and just smiled, more in sympathy I think.
We noticed this sign (you couldn't really miss it) near New Mills. Apparently if you brush against this stuff and then are subjected to sunlight, most people suffer severe blistering of the skin and it can take years for the symptoms to subside. No wonder the sign was so visible.
We weren't planning in going far, but the Peak Forest is so shallow and despite our best efforts we couldn't get in at locations which took our fancy and so ended up turning left at Marple Junction and back onto the Macc and mooring out in the country and mile or so from the junction.
Today has been a very lazy day. A bit of a lie in before we set off late morning. As we pushed away from the bank, Louise set off walking, she thought with Jasper, but he had other ideas and hopped back on the boat. He couldn't quite work it out why 'Mum' was walking without him and so went to try and find out with a wander along the gunwale. It's certainly the first time he's displayed any cat-like tendencies and I'm pleased to say that it ended well as he hopped off at the next bridge and resumed his walk with Louise.
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| Mum.......where are you going ?? |
There have been very few boats moving about today, despite the good weather. Plenty of Braidbar Boats at Higher Poynton where there seemed to be a bit of a gathering going on. A few day boats about with people enjoying themselves and lots of walkers, cyclists and runners, but other than that, very quiet indeed. It's even very quiet inside the boat too, as Louise is battling a bout of toothache and an emergency dentist may be needed sooner rather than later. There's only so many painkillers you can take in one day !!
The Giant Hogweed has been there for years although the sign is fairly new. They won't cut it down in case it spreads. The best thing would be to burn it down but that would involve too much H&S so they've put up a sign instead
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