Cheshire cat

Heading North the bridge that underpasses the railway North of Stoke Station is lowish as is the next one. Both exhibit damage from boat chimneys etc. Neither is as low as the one on the Caldon. Bridge 9 Eastwood Road Bridge.

Wow. It's pretty nasty stuff. It discolours paint If anyone is wondering there is a place in Lymm that does it on ebay through the post

I got a nice tiller pin from there. They have out of the ordinary stuff

We walked into Burslem last month. Plenty of boozers, a few curry houses and that's it. It has a selection of fine old buildings but there's a general feeling of urban decay. A real shame.

Etruria is good. As Goliath says, The Holy Inadequate is worth a visit if you like your beer. They don't do food though other than pork pies. Westport Lake is also good but no pub. To the south Barlaston - Wedgewood is a good stopover.

I have a wooden pigeon box on my roof which I always bring in for the winter. I cover the hole with a wooden cap. Last year I made a new cap from oak and ply and painted it with enamel gloss paint. Despite this it has completely delaminated over the winter and is now scrap. I know the interior is not as harsh an environment but I'd go with marine ply.

Mooring anywhere at the southern end of the Macc is OK as is mooring above the Red Bull pub on the towpath. The last time I had a conversation with the tunnel keeper they told me there hadn't been any trouble at the northern portal for quite some time. Hire boaters moor outside the portal because they haven't heard the stories. It's ancient history, rather like the Ashton canal's reputation.

I have found that some brass has become magnetic, brass fittings in three pin plugs springs to mind as one example

This does the job. £10.00 for one bit seems steep but you get what you pay for. I used it to countersink holes in brass for the slide runners. It also works well on steel. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Draper-19235-16MM-Rose-Countersink/dp/B0002BUJ3U/ref=sr_1_16?keywords=steel+countersink+draper&qid=1554117257&s=diy&sr=1-16 The trick is to use it at slow speed which allows the cutting edge to cut rather than hop.

Hanley Park, Stoke on Trent. You can moor in the middle of the course. How cool is that. (Cauldon canal) Pennington flash (Bridgewater canal) Marple (quite hard) (Lower Peak Forest) Kingsbury waterpark Dead flat (Coventry canal) Congleton Flat(Macclesfield canal) Lyme park (Macclesfield canal 5th hardest in the country) Warrington (Manchester ship canal) Wolverhampton racecourse is one I'm hoping to do whilst afloat. By the way, I wouldn't recommend arriving by boat on the MSC. Warrington was a joke although you do get to run alongside the ship canal

Welcome back MTB

Just been passed by Arley Hall heading south through Stone. It looked like it was out on hire.

Not a straightforward answer then thanks.

A question in response to someone having a rant on another forum. In the days of horse drawn boats did horses meeting each other pass each other on the left or the right?

Claymore boats could often be seen travelling the Cheshire Ring. Day One Preston Brook to Manchester etc. Day two or three was the Marple flight and it has been out of action for a long time. I think the last time I went to Preston Brook Midland Chandlers was January and I did notice the boatyard was looking unusually tidy. I hope it's not terminal.