Wheelock

After what was intended to be a gentle day, we ended up feeling well exercised! Mike rose and went off in search of a newspaper - this he found quite quickly in Lawton, but then decided to carry on to Alsager, which proved a little further than expected!

Mike lived for a year in Milton House in the centre of the village - a hostel for apprentices from ROF Radway Green and English Electric in Kidsgrove. It was here that he was first introduced to working with computers, especially DEUCE and KDF9, the prototype of which he worked on. according to a website, two years later the local council (Alsager Urban District!) bought the gardens which to make a park - when Mike was here there were several low single storey blocks typical of war time accommodation structures. The house reverted to private dwellings.

Although there was a phone in the hostel it was sometimes necessary to use the nearby phone box. In those days it was a traditional red box with Buttons A and B - a call locally took 4 pennies! Today there is an updated phone box in possibly the same place - or at least on the same road corner.

Opposite the hostel is the church which Mike went to and for a while sang in the choir. It seemed a long stay at the time but, looking back, a year was really quite a short time but so much happened in that period.

On the way, he found that his watch had stopped - luckily he spotted a small jeweller, upstairs over another shop. He almost missed it but for a pavement sign saying that Gold was Bought here!

A scenic route back meant that it was even later than expected that Mike returned to the boat to find Christine rather eager to set off!

The locks have unusual bollards most of the lock landings.

The route ahead is quite heavily locked - it is sometimes known as Heartbreak Hill. The locks were all constructed as pairs but chronic lack of maintenance means that many only have one operational. Some have even be filled in or used as overflow weirs. One of two appear to have been taken out of use only recently.

We moored up for lunch just before Chells Aqueduct - one of Christine's tasty soups using some lamb bones brought with us from home.

By the time we were ready to set off, rain arrived. It was only occasional showers but one or two were quite heavy. Nevertheless it did not feel too cold as we worked the locks.

The canal passes close to a number of small villages but not through the centres. At Wheelock we stopped for a 'full service' - Christine popped to a nearby shop (following a sign which told us it was close) and put a couple of ice creams in the freezer for dinner tonight. The former canal company's wharf transhipment warehouse has now been converted to a restaurant.

We were chased fiercely by a male swan that swam within inches of our stern - after we were safely past his mate, next and very new chicks he eventually said farewell!

No much further we decided that we had done enough - 20 locks - so found a good mooring and pulled in for the night.