Sarah, John and Middleport Pottery.

 Tuesday 26th April 2022 near Kidsgrove.

We started early at 8am to go up through the three Etruria locks. We needed to be at the south portal of the Harecastle Tunnel by midday, when it closes.

At the top of these locks is the junction with the Caldon Canal. Beside the junction is a statue to James Brindley, the engineer who built the Trent & Mersey Canal. The backdrop of modern apartments really doesn't do him justice.

The first heron that we have seen this year. He was a "brave heron" and stood his ground as we cruised past.

When we came this way in 2013 and 2016, the old Shelton Steelworks was just a vast wasteland. Now it is at last being developed with large warehouses and new roads covering this huge site.

Middleport Pottery welcomes boaters! Yesterday, we met up with Sarah and John, a lovely couple on n.b. "Cat's Whiskers". We had agreed to meet up at Middleport Pottery this morning for a look around and a cup of coffee.

Middleport Pottery is one of the very few potteries still manufacturing in Stoke-on-Trent and the only one still using traditional Victorian methods and equipment. It is fascinating to visit but sad that today we didn't have time to take the factory tour.

It is interesting to contrast Middleport's factory with the Wedgwood factory that we passed yesterday; one still in its original premises and the other all high-tech and modern.

 

The street outside Middleport could be Coronation Street, if it weren't for all the cars. The terrace of  houses looks as if they have been well renovated and gone quite up market.

 

The shop in Middleport Pottery is full of the china made on site; a real treasure trove!

We couldn't resist buying this for Judith, who loves doing jigsaw puzzles. It illustrates the history of the area, industrial and othewise.

The tea room at the factory is in the old Packing Shed. Tea and cakes served on their own china, of course!

Sarah and John outside the Factory entrance.

Middleport Pottery has its own moorings for narrowboats and we posed with the two boats before setting off to go through the Harecastle Tunnel.

The instructions for the tunnel say to arrive before 12:00 midday. Too much chatting over coffee led to us being very tight for time and we arrived at 11:59!  We were ushered straight into the tunnel. Couldn't have timed it better if we had tried!

The tunnel is 2,926 yards long and takes about 40 minutes to go through. It is very narrow, pitch black, quite wet and very cold indeed. Once the last boat in each convoy is in the tunnel, the tunnel keepers close the door behind you and start up huge fans to draw fresh air through, which means that there is a constant cold wind in your face. They advise you to wear warm clothing in the tunnel, no matter how warm it may be outside.

Emerging into the sunlight at the far end of the tunnel. The water at this end is a deep orange colour because of the local iron ore dissolved in the water.

 After leaving the tunnel, we waved goodbye to Sarah, John and Cat's Whiskers as they turned on to the Macclesfield Canal, on their way up to Bugsworth Basin, while we continued on up the Trent & Mersey Canal.

We moored up three locks further on. R did these locks while M went to nearby Lidl to get a "few bits".

Today: 7 miles, 6 locks and 4.5 hours.

Trip: 17 miles, 18 locks and 10.5 hours.