Thursday 17th
October 2019
After a clear night, it was a beautiful, crispy clear morning. Quite
reluctantly, we left Consall. This part of the Caldon Canal beyond Hazelhurst
Junction, both on the main line and the Leek Branch are hidden gems in our
country. Very remote and isolated but beautiful countryside, very quiet and
peaceful.
We crossed over the river and stopped on the water point, doing two washes
while we were there. We then continued upriver once again coming to
Oakmeadowford Lock where the canal leaves the course of the river. While we
hadn’t experienced the rain as in other parts of the country, it was still a
bit of a relief to be above the river. There had been rain on the moors, a lot
of which would flow down the Churnet and could well have taken the river into
flood and prevent passage by boat.
Joining of River Churnet and Caldon
Canal below Oakmeadowford Lock
Once above the lock, we slowly cruised up to Wood’s Lock, just before
Cheddleton, and moored. As with the downstream cruise, we had seen huge numbers
of pheasant. The locals in the Black Lion had mentioned that Consall Estate
breed pheasant and partridge for shooting and last year 70,000 pheasant were
shot. Staggering numbers. Two pheasant we had ‘acquired’ and Brenda plucked,
gutted and cleaned them in the back end, reminiscent of our days in Scotland.
We had our first soup of the year that had been simmering all day on
the stove. The noise as darkness was falling from the pheasant all around us
was loud. Like being in a Hitchcock film.
Weather: a lovely day.
Day Total: 1 lock; 2 miles; 0 Tunnel; 0 Swing Bridges; 0 Lift Bridges;
0 Boat Lift; Day’s running hours 2.1
Overall Total: 766 locks; 1344 miles; 52 tunnels; 61 Swing Bridges; 14
Lift Bridges; 2 Boat Lifts; total engine running hours 847.1hrs
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