Saturday 27th
August
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| Lovely night sky at Macclesfield |
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| Jacquard Loom |
We are off to the Silk Museum today. This museum tells the story of the silk
industry and Macclesfield’s proud history connected with this trade.
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| Inside Museum |
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| Jacquard Loom |
It is about a 20 minute walk from the canal, down hill then
up hill! We went into the museum and
spent a good couple of hours looking around.
It is really interesting and tells the story of silk from ancient times
to today. It also tells about the life
cycle of the silk moth and how they produce the delicate fibres. There are a couple of films to watch as well.
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| Silk Museum |
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| Sheltering from rain in Band Stand |
They also have a room with some of the larger machinery used
in silk manufacturing including thread winders and looms capable of weaving
complex pictures using Jacquard card.
Many of these machines are the last surviving examples. The Jacquard loom is a power loom first used
in 1801 and uses cards with holes punched in it and probably laid the foundations for the beginnings of
the binary computer.
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| South Park |
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| 108 Steps |
When we left the museum, it was lunch time and we had
brought a picnic with us as it was lovely and sunny when we left the boat but
when we stepped out of the museum it was raining, not very much though so we
headed to South Park which wasn’t very far away and as the rain stopped we sat
on a bench at first but then it started again so we headed for the band stand
and finished the rest of our picnic there.
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| Coming down 108 Steps |
We then headed into town and went for a coffee and then went
to find the 108 steps which are at the back of St. Michael’s Church. We found then okay and down we went. No one seems to know why the steps were
built, but they predate 1696 and lead from the church down to the Train
Station. It was okay going down, they
are quite shallow steps and all cobbled.
We then walked back to the boat.
Sunday 28th
August
There is a monthly market held in the market square and
surrounding streets in Macclesfield so we are off there this morning. It is called the Treacle market because Macclesfield
is known as Treacle Town, referring to the centuries old accident when a horse
drawn waggon overturned, spilling its cargo of treacle onto the cobbles.
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| Treacle Market |
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| Treacle Market |
We walked down the road then being gluttons for punishment,
we walked up the 108 steps, it was okay, I think all that fell walking is
paying off as we made the top easy and wasn’t too puffed out!!
We came right into the market and what a market it was,
there was over 100 stalls selling gifts, art, crafts, food, etc., in fact one
of the best markets we have been to for a very long time. We spent a couple of hours looking around the
stalls and needless to say we bought a few things, couldn’t resist.
We then headed back to the boat as we are chugging on this
afternoon.
The Treacle Market sounds good. Am enjoying catching up on things we didn't get to, through your blog!
ReplyDeleteYes the market was really good, best one we have been to for a long time, would highly recommend it next time you come up this way and I like seeing where you have been through your pictures on FB.
ReplyDeleteWe're in Tattenhall marina at the moment. It's a beautiful day, the two castles (Beeston and the one that I can't remember without looking on the map) are as clear as anything. All our washing is done and dry. We sampled home-made chocolate cake in the cafe earlier. We're now off to the bar to try the Saffron Gin I spotted earlier.
ReplyDelete