Heartbreak Hill

Yesterday was a glorious day, warm, sunny, still, a perfect cruising day.  We left our overnight mooring below Mow Cop,

 where we had enjoyed a peaceful night and beautiful sunset on Sunday evening.

Ahead of us was the junction at Hardings Wood, where the Macclesfield Canal crosses over the Trent & Mersey before joining it and dropping down 2 locks at the beginning of the Cheshire locks aka Heartbreak Hill.

Many of the locks are in pairs, although some are now not in use and are filled in or left decaying.

At Kidsgrove one was under repair, with a team of C&RT men working on it, but I'm not sure what they were doing.

We like this flight, the locks are spread out, coming in twos or threes all the way down to Middlewich. Here this roller is in good condition, guided the horse's rope pulling the working boats.

And these stone steps winding round to the lock-side.

We met quite a few boats and overtook nb Yelvertoft at one of the double locks, all enjoying the late summer weather.
We shared the locks, working 6, then steering Tacet through. As Ian opened the gate at one of them.........

"It came off in my hands, it did."

At the bottom of each lock is an iron-work split bridge, so no need to jump across gates.

I love this cottage beside the locks, could happily live here I think.
We enjoyed the day, cruising in the sun, working the locks, and we got to Middlewich about 6.30pm.

Today we needed to do food shopping and wanted a look at ropes at the chandlers, so that was the morning's job, and then we set off again along the Middlewich branch of the Shropshire Union. Not so many locks today, and a lovely rural ride through the Weaver valley.

Sunday
Congleton - Kent Green
3 miles

Monday
Kent Green - Middlewich
14 miles, 31 locks

Tuesday
Middlewich - Cholmondeston
9 miles, 5 locks