Middlewich to Bridge 24 - Middlewich Branch

Friday 16^th to Saturday 17^th August

Friday – It rained for most of the day but we did venture out in the morning to do shopping and then stayed inside for the rest of the day.

Lovely Peanut

Saturday – The rain had gone and it was a lovely sunny warm day.  We walked into town in the morning to go to the Butchers and get a few other things.  In the afternoon Bill who we know from the Gloucester and Sharpness canal on NB Tempranillo moored up near us and came in with his little dog Peanut for a cup of tea and a catch-up as we haven’t seem him for quite some time.

Wardle Lock

We have to turn around so we decided to do it around 5pm when the canal was quieter. We left our mooring and headed for Wardle lock which was not far away.

Coming out onto the Trent & Mersey

When the Middlewich branch of the then Cheshire canal was built in 1830, the Trent and Mersey canal company insisted that there should be no direct connection at Middlewich, so built the short Wardle canal to join the two, charging large tolls for freight traffic.  

Inscription on Bridge

The Wardle canal is the shortest canal in the UK and is only 154 feet long with one lock.  An inscription on the bridge at the junction with the Trent and Mersey indicates the end of the Wardle canal and that it was opened in 1829.

Waiting for lock to empty

Back up Wardle Lock

There was a boat coming out the lock so in we went.  Kev came out of the lock and out onto the Trent and Mersey canal and reversed back to the water point.  We filled up with water and then I walked up to the lock as we had to go back up.

Passing Tempranillo

Under We Go

There was a hire boat just going up the lock who didn’t seem to know what they were doing and had to empty the lock first and didn’t tie the boat up so when the water emptied out the lock the boat was all over the shop and they were hanging onto the ropes for dear life! They eventually went in the lock and up they went. There wasn’t any boats coming the other way so I shut the lock and emptied it.  Kev had tied our boat up properly so when we let the water out of the lock our boat stayed put!

Swan Family

We were soon through the lock and chugged off along the canal waving goodbye to Bill as we went past him, although he is going the same way as us, so I am sure we will see him again.

Coming into Stanthorne Lock

A Couple More Bridges

We went on along the canal and came to Stanthorne lock where the hire boat was just going in so I went up and gave them a hand.  There wasn’t a boat coming so we had to empty the lock first and then Kev came in.  A boat came behind us so the chap from there and a young boy came up to the lock to help.  The kid was a nuisance jumping around everywhere and climbing on the lock gate, I could see him tripping and falling in, an accident waiting to happen. The chap told him to stop it but he just carried on, locks aren’t playgrounds I don’t know why people let kids do that at locks they can be dangerous places.

We opened the top gate to let Kev out and the kid was sitting on the gate.  He stayed on there and I wanted to shut it so I asked him to get off which he did, I wasn’t going to do that with him on it as if he fell in they would blame me. 

We chugged on a bit further under a couple of bridges and moored up by bridge 24. We are staying here tonight then off back to Church Minshull tomorrow.

Moored at Bridge 24