24th – 26th Macclesfield and environs

Today, 24th, we moved down to Armco moorings by the side of an industrial park, just half an hour from Fools Nook, obtained some oddments for the boat - shoe storage, hose attachment, white spirit, funnel for when we do an engine oil change. Then moved on to the Macclesfield Canal Centre, completing watering up, emptying the cassette toilet, pumpout for the other toilet holding tank, and got rid of trash and recycled glass – wine bottles…… hic! (That was Alex while I was working.. and teetotal….!! ) *grinning*.

Yet another welcoming marina, the chandlery well stocked, and staff friendly and helpful. We had a chat about space to book temporary mooring for a couple of days during the next month, and we were fortunate to find that a boat had just left for summer cruising and we can have a slot anytime from now till 17th June for the battery work to be completed. This suits us just fine, as that should enable this to be done during the time I have to commute back to work for my 3 weeks of shifts. We have notified our boatbuilders and will hopefully hear back shortly with a firm date. We moved over to the opposite side of the canal to the official Visitor Moorings, being lucky enough to get the one spot that allowed us to get right next to the bank rather than 2ft away and having to use a gangplank like the next boat to moor up.

This afternoon we walked downhill into town to obtain travel information for me, but also with the intention of me showing Alex some of the local history. So we then headed up 108 cobbled steps to the market square, looking back over our shoulders to a view of the Hollins hills. Macclesfield was a silk weaving and printing town, and we intend to try and visit the heritage mills museums while we are here. During the past it also had a visit by Bonnie Prince Charlie when he was attempting to claim his throne back, and I have inherited some woven silk pictures depicting this. I showed Alex the old market cross near the very impressive Town Hall, after wandering down the cobbled terraced streets.

As you can probably gather, there are some steep hills, so our journey down then up, meant the opposite coming back to the boat, only this time laden with bags. We just HAD to buy items from a deli in the indoor market, appletopped pork pies, chicken liver pate with cranberries, fresh salad, and cinnamon apple juice…mmmmmmmm. Very welcome when we sat down!

25th – We decided to explore a little onwards from Macclesfield, having decided that the weather looked a bit too iffy for my mum to be comfortable. We passed the rear entrance of my old school where the school used to have its own canoes, and sixth form PT took on a whole new meaning … (very convenient pubs with lenient landlords at the time!!!), we moved on past some lovely canalside gardens,

the owners having invested time and money in landscaping with the weather improving by the minute. Reaching the next available point to turn the boat, we decided to retrace our steps and collect my mum for a trip down the canal. I have been keen to give mum this opportunity to see the boat as she is getting rather frail, and showing early signs of Alzheimers. Her 75th birthday looms mid June and this is close enough for her to consider it a lovely present.

She had a wonderful day, interested in all the passing boats and scenery, standing a lot of the time in order to see better (being only 4ft 10ins!), spotting a stationary heron on the bankside, and fascinated by the waterside flowers. We were all amused by a very fit canoeist actually overtaking us going far faster than we could ever manage on these narrow canals!

I think Mum slept rather well last night! We had walked her home from the point nearest her home, and decided to stay put for the night.

26th – The weekend’s weather forecast is not good, and in fact the promised rain became very heavy showers as we moved on down to Macclesfield and the visitor moorings again, in order to be nearer the bus station for my return home on Sunday. They were all full, so we stopped off at the Canal Centre, and asked if it was ok to pull into a vacant slot as the pontoon normally used for visitors was occupied. Chatting to the marina staff, across the water, we were offered the opportunity to stay overnight here with electricity hook up! They are doing some mooring renovations which won’t start till tomorrow, so there was a vacant space. Good timing or what! We put some more tokens into the meter, and have taken the opportunity to recharge the batteries to full capacity, do all the washing and drying etc!

Not all boring stuff, once that was set off, we walked into town and headed for the Silk museums and Heritage Centre. We spent the afternoon engrossed in the history of the silk weaving industry, imagining the noise of the looms clacking. The afternoon was well finished off by mocha coffee and sticky buns before returning to the boat.

The boat is in fact moored right outside a restored mill, now converted into apartments.