Monday 17 April 2017

The Cloud

 

IMG_2168We pulled pins at 08.30 with a bit of mizzle in the air. Not deterred we pressed on towards a mooring we wanted for the night which was below Bosley locks and with a local hill called The Cloud in the background it has to be in the top ten picturesque moorings on the canal system. One thing that is unusual on the Macclesfield canal is these distance markers . We thought they looked a bit like gravestones when we first saw them.

IMG_2170We stopped mid cruise to pick up some essential supplies ( not wine ) in Congleton and as you can see we are moored opposite the old wharf that has now been developed in to a housing development as have similar old factories and mills along this canal.

IMG_2184I’m not sure what they feed the Cows on up this way but they sure are a funny colour.

IMG_2203After a good three and a half hour cruise in rain ,mist and fog we finally got to our chosen mooring spot just below Bosley locks , Isn’t it strange that as soon as you moor soaked through to the skin that the rain stops and the Sun comes out .our mooring sits below The Cloud or Bosley Cloud as it is sometimes known . At 343 metres (1,125 ft) in height, it is one of the highest hills in the area. Its heather-covered summit plateau is crowned by a trig point from which extensive views over Congleton, Biddulph, Macclesfield, Holmes Chapel, and the Greater Manchester area can be enjoyed. The Cloud sits at the northern apex of a triangle formed by the broken ridge which runs along the border between Cheshire and Staffordshire and the hills stretching south through Biddulph Moor into Staffordshire. The plan was for Carolyn and Curly to have an afternoon climbing to the top and soaking up the views ,but as soon as Curly saw how far away and how high it was she decided against the idea.

IMG_2193What you don’t realise when you moor here is that you are actually floating on the Dane aqueduct which carries the canal at a great height over the river Dane. With Curly having no fear of heights she swings on the railings over the river making my legs turn to jelly.

Tomorrow it will be an early start as we tackle the 11 locks of The Bosley flight. We have done this flight before and as I remember it was a pleasure to do.

                                                                                                                 Happy Days

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