A Hearty Breakfast before a Long Day.

 Wednesday 18th September 2024 In Kidsgrove.

The day started with breakfast at the Malkin's Bank Golf Club, which was as good as we remembered from last year. Unusally, we both had the "Full English", which set us up for a long day's cruising ahead. It was a little too cool to sit outside for our breakfast but we had an excellent view out over the course.

Right next to Lock 61 was this large banner that we had completely missed last night - we must have been very tired!

Most of the locks on this section, known to the old boat people in the past as "Heartbreak Hill", are paired locks, which increases the chances of finding a lock in your favour. The locks tend to be quite close together, so M was walking ahead to set the next lock to save time. It was a beautiful autumn day.

Sadly, for a number of the paired locks, one of the pair was out of commission temporarily or, as in this case, permanently.

On the way, we passed under the M6, which could be heard for a few miles on either side. It must be so hard for people living close by to have that unrelenting roar day and night from passing traffic. M remarked that she would far rather be doing 3mph on the canal than 70mph on the motorway.

This row of cottages next to Lock 53 at Thurlwood is always so well kept. A lovely quiet rural location.

M always loves to see these footpaths going off into the distance; she says they call you to follow them. This one was particularly enticing, as it went off towards Mow Cop on top of the hill in the far distance.

 After a long day and eighteen locks, we finally arrived at Kidsgrove just a short hop from the entrance to the Harecastle Tunnel. Tomorrow, we will visit the local Tesco and then tackle the tunnel.

Today: 6 miles, 18 locks and 4.9 hours.

Trip:279 miles, 134 locks and 142.9 hours.