Train Trip to Whaley Bridge

We decided to stay put again today as the forecast is not good, so we are going to Whaley Bridge by train.  We walked up to the station and got the train, it is only a few minutes on the train and the station is right in the middle of the town.

Whaley Bridge Basin

Old Buildings in the Basin

We walked down to Whaley Bridge Basin, this is where the Upper Peak Forest canal ends.  It is okay but the visitor moorings were under trees and there are not very many of them, so we will give it a miss by boat.  There are some old buildings in the basin which were nice and there is part of an old tramway which is now a walkway.

Old Tramway

We walked along the towpath and soon came to the junction and walked down to Bugsworth Basin.  This is a really pleasant place and lots of room to moor so this is where we will be coming to when we move on tomorrow.  We had a walk around the basin and past the pub there which is called The Navigation, we shall try that when we moor here.

We decided to do a circular walk back to Whaley Bridge, so we set off along the road and guess what we were soon walking uphill again, I am sure I am turning into a fell walker!!  Mind you, the views at the top of the hill were lovely and then we set off downhill and were soon back in Whaley Bridge.

Lovely views at top of hill

Whaley Bridge

We then decided to find somewhere for a coffee and some lunch.  There are a few pubs but a few of them seemed closed down, a couple of the others were closed and the only pub in the town that serves food had a wedding on and therefore were not doing food today!  We then looked for a café and there were a couple, but one looked closed, another one was really pokey and we didn’t fancy it and the only other one had no tables inside, only sofas outside under a cover so all the customers sat together, so we gave that a miss.

One pub was then actually open, so we went in they didn’t serve food but the girl behind the bar said the best pub for food around there was the Soldier Dick pub at Furness Vale, so we decided to go there.  

Our nice lunch

The train stops at Furness Vale so we caught that and the pub was just up the road from the station and very nice it was too.  We had a really good lunch and then went for a walk down onto the canal and then as it was only about a mile or so back to New Mills along the towpath, we decided to walk back.

The heavens did open a couple of times while we walked back so we had to shelter under trees, but soon we were back in New Mills, back past the sweet factory and into the boat.

We then chilled out for the rest of the afternoon as it has been raining on and off and very windy.  We are staying here again tonight and then moving on tomorrow.

We are glad we have visited Whaley Bridge, but we weren't that impressed, it seemed rather run down so I don't thing we will be rushing back, there was a good wine shop there though which had a wide selection of gins but as we have bought quite a few recently, we resisted the temptation to buy any more!