A Quiet and Relaxing Day.

Friday 4th September, 2015 in Slaithwaite.
Today, we took a day off to explore Slaithwaite (or, as the locals pronounce it: "Slough-it" - as in the town of Slough). We are not booked in to go through the Standedge Tunnel until Monday and it is only three miles and 21 locks away - so a comfortable two days' cruising.
Slaithwaite is a very attractive town and the renovation of the canal has led to a regeneration of the centre, although, sadly, we have not seen another boat moving in a week - so the canal is very underutilised by boaters. This is such a pity as the canal is so very beautiful.

The main street runs alongside the canal and is lined with small independent shops - not a high-street-multiple in sight.

There is a high class mens' and ladies' outfitters with beautiful worsted in the window. The old Globe Worsted Mill of 1887, a very handsome building, sits on the other side of the canal. Scaffolding was being erected round it, so it is to be hoped that it will be redeveloped as apartments or offices.

There was also an independent butcher whose window modestly announced that they are "Champion Pork Pie Makers".

M found a florist and bought up their entire stock of Michaelmas Daisies as the geraniums in MM's front well-deck were well past their best. She spent much of the afternoon replanting the front deck to very good effect.

Meanwhile R busied himself washing MM's roof, the side next to the towpath and then pushed MM to the far side of the canal and washed the other side. All the recent locks had left her looking a little dirty.

When M had finished gardening, she went and picked a bag full of sloes on the towpath just round the corner.  Enough here to make a least a litre of sloe gin for the winter - hooray!

All this work made us hungry, so we treated ourselves to good old fashioned fish and chips from the local chippie - delicious!

All in all, a very gentle day. Other than being pushed across the canal and back, MM didn't move - so she had a day off too and a much needed bath to boot!