The Potteries

At Barbridge Junction we turned off the Shropshire Union and onto the Middlewich Canal.  There are just 4 locks on this short canal but as it's part of the popular Cheshire Ring some queues developed.  Coming out of Minshull Lock we passed 8 boats waiting to go through in the opposite direction.  

Poor little Bess picked up a chest infection and was very down.  A visit to the vets in Middlewich resulted in a course of antibiotics, an anti-inflammatory and a whopping £80 bill. Happily Bess quickly responded to the treatments.  

At Middlewich we turned south on to the Trent and Mersey Canal and headed out of town past the huge piles of salt at the saltworks.  Our luck at avoiding delays ran out as we started to climb the Cheshire Locks also appropriately known as Heartbreak Hill.  At the third lock we were stopped by a boater in front who advised there was a shortage of water ahead.   We could see our pound was down and after walking up to investigate further I was told the water shortage stretched over 6 miles.   Canal and River Trust staff came out but seemed to be at a loss about the cause of the problem or how to resolve it.  They eventually decided to stop boat movement for a few hours which allowed the water level to improve sufficiently for us to proceed.  

Waiting for the water levels to recover.  This section of the canal has two locks side by side to reduce delays!

 When boats started moving the water levels rapidly diminished and we came to a halt as we grounded on a shallow bend.  Luckily we could get ashore and I walked ahead to let some water down from the next lock while Kev manually towed Brent III into deeper water with a rope.   We were pleased to see the water levels were normal at Rode Heath and moored up with two other couples who'd been travelling with us.  We all sat out and enjoyed a drink or two as we discussed the failings of CRT.  We have since seen from the stoppage notices that a leak was identified on one of the locks and there have been attempts to repair it.  

The next day, despite a bad forecast, we decided to move on and up to the top of the locks to avoid being caught out by any further water shortages.  Shortly after the last lock we joined the queue for Harecastle Tunnel.  This tunnel is 2926 yards long and isn't wide enough for two-way traffic.  Convoys of 8 boats are allowed into the tunnel from one direction at a time and we were lucky to be the last boat in the next group travelling south.   We were warned the headroom varies and in places it is very low but our journey through the tunnel was slightly quicker than the estimated 45 minutes.  

The entrance to Harecastle Tunnel.  The canal is orange due to iron deposits leaching into the water.   

Inside the tunnel the yellow paint indicates the lower level of the tunnel roof ahead. 

South of Harecastle Tunnel the countryside gives way to the Potteries.  Distinctive kilns line the bank, some factories are sadly derelict whist others are still operational and now have their own small museums and visitor centres.  

The kiln outside Middleport pottery.

 We decided to visit the Wedgwood factory which relocated from Burslem to Barlaston in 1940.  The interesting factory tour took us through the processes of bone china production and it's elaborate decoration and the intricate work on Jasper ware.   The Wedgwood Museum held a vast collection of pottery was well as information about Josiah Wedgwood and his experimental work on pottery techniques.  

Surprisingly work is underway to build a new factory which will accommodate new technology and improve the facilities for visitors.  Also included in the plans is an 80 berth marina so there'll be some changes the next time we come this way.  

Our journey from Calveley to Wedgwood