Tag Archives: Thomas Telford

Sunday 13 April – Making Up Time

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Distance travelled: 16 miles (by boat from Audlem Top Lock Visitor Moorings to Morris Bridge No 15)

Map highlighting a route from Brampton to Tewkesbury, marked with blue lines. Key locations, including towns and landmarks, are labeled, indicating various features along the route.
All our canal route planning came from CanalPlan

Locks: 19. Total so far: 92

We were meant to have a nice slow day today with a canalside carvery (that’s a big roast dinner in a pub) but because of Treegate yesterday we had loads of catching up to do.

So we got up early again and started straight away with the Audlem local flight. For this hill into Nantwich, Thomas Telford had to build locks. Fifteen of them, but he built them in a pretty amazingly straight line. We got into a proper rhythm and zoomed through.

Then something brilliant happened. Our luck turned and we found ourselves sailing past Overwater Marina just as the cafe opened for breakfast. So, we stopped and swapped carvery plans for giant cooked breakfasts. We’d definitely earned it.

Later in the day we saw this procession of tractors of all shapes and sizes and makes and ages. We didn’t know what was going on but we think it was raising money for the British Heart Foundation in memory of a chap called Rob Vernon. Although it turns out there was another vintage tractor run happening nearby that same day to raise money for Eilidhs Trust and the Joshua Tree. I guess Cheshire loves tractors.

Lush green fields under a cloudy sky, with rolling hills in the background and a dirt road lined with hedges. A few animals, possibly cattle, are scattered in the distance. A wooden utility pole stands among the landscape.

By the end of the day we moored up near a village called Church Minshull. We walked to the pub, The Badger Inn, for a drink as a group. It was a nice pub but the walk there really wasn’t great…there wasn’t a very good pavement and cars were going too fast. It was a bit scary really.

Still, it was great to be together on our last proper night. I didn’t want the trip to end.

Friday 11 April – Straight Lines, Speedwell Castle, and a Swan’s Nest

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Distance travelled: 23 miles (by boat from Gailey Visitor Moorings above Lock to Norbury Junction Visitor Moorings)

Map showing a route marked in blue, connecting various locations in a part of the countryside. Several points of interest and landmarks are labeled along the route, which travels through a mix of urban and rural areas.
All our canal route planning came from CanalPlan

Locks: 2. Total so far: 63

A canal boat is traveling along a misty waterway, surrounded by trees and power lines. The sun is rising in the background, casting soft light over the scene, creating a serene and tranquil atmosphere. A life buoy and ropes are visible on the boat's deck.
A narrowboat floats along a misty canal at sunrise, with soft sunlight illuminating the scene. Trees line the banks, and a life buoy rests on the boat's roof alongside a coiled rope. The atmosphere is tranquil and serene.
My Dad is annoyed that the stuck his finger over the lens in the left hand image, so he asked ChatGPT to fix it. It’s a good effort but it isn’t right is it.

I used to think all canals were just bendy and slow with lots of locks. But today wasn’t like that at all.

A young girl in a bright orange life jacket stands alongside a narrowboat named "Eleanor" at a sunny canal dock. Lush greenery and blooming trees surround the area, while other people are seen in the background. The scene captures a charming outdoor setting.

We joined a new canal called the Shropshire Union Canal, or the “Shroppie” which people call it for short. It felt totally different. We travelled 23 miles and only had to do TWO locks. One of them only changed the water level by 10 centimetres, which is basically nothing.

That’s all thanks to Thomas Telford—the same man who made Harecastle Tunnel from earlier in the week. He didn’t bother following the land, he went through it. He cut through hills, built embankments and bridges, and did everything he could to make the canal level and straight. The Shroppie was the last narrow canal built in England and opened in 1835. When it was new, people called it the “main line”. It was like a motorway for boats.

A view from the top of a canal boat, showcasing a blue cover, orange life buoy, and a length of chain. In the background, tall trees line a path, and fence borders the canal as it crosses over an aqueduct, against a clear blue sky. The setting appears peaceful and rural.
Going over Thomas Telford’s Stretton Aqueduct that crosses the A5 – which follows the route of an old Roman Road!
A narrow, tranquil canal surrounded by lush green trees and steep, natural banks. The water is gently rippling under a clear blue sky, with a path running alongside the right side of the canal. The perspective looks down the length of the canal, creating a sense of depth.
This is an example of how Telford would ‘cut’ through the landscape to carve out the canal.

We stopped at a village called Brewood (which is actually pronounced “Brood”, weirdly). On the way to the playground we passed “Speedwell Castle”. Apparently someone built it in the 1700s after their horse won a race.

Three-story brick building with large, arched windows, featuring intricate designs. The structure has a prominent entrance and is situated at a street corner, with a sign indicating it is a hotel. The surrounding area includes additional buildings with traditional architecture, under a clear blue sky.

Even better than that fancy building was stopped at a bakery. And then stopping there again for cake on our way back to the boat. Yummy.

Back on the boat, I learned a game called Citadels with my godfather Dave. It’s a card game where you try to build a city and do sneaky things. I think I got the hang of it!

We finished the day at Norbury Junction. A long time ago, the Shrewsbury Canal joined here, and some people are trying to bring it back. Right now, the junction is home to lots of moored boats—and also to a pair of swans sitting on their nest. I didn’t get a photo, but I did catch a glimpse of the eggs when one of the swans shifted around. It felt like a secret moment.

A narrowboat is moored by the edge of a calm canal, beside a concrete path. To the side a swan is sat on top of its nest, incubating eggs.

We had dinner at the Junction Inn, sitting in the garden by the water as the sun set. The light made the whole canal glow golden. Today was a really good day.

Tuesday 8 April – Heartbreak and Harecastle

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Distance travelled: 10 miles (by boat from Railway Bridge No 151A to Westport Lake Visitor Moorings)

Route map showing a travel path between two locations, with labeled towns and roads. A blue line indicates the main route through a rural area, emphasizing waypoints along the journey.
All our canal route planning came from CanalPlan

Locks: 24. Total so far: 31

We got up super early. The canal was full of birds singing. Not like at home in Croydon. This really was proper countryside.

Today was a lock day. Loads of them. So many that this bit of canal gets called “Heartbreak Hill”. We did 24 locks before lunchtime! TWENTY FOUR! Plus the two we’d done the night before. I really wanted to join in and I began to learn how to use a windlass to open a paddle and let the water in and out.

We had to get to Harecastle Tunnel for our booked slot but then my Dad was like “Oh no, I actually didn’t book it”. Oops. So we had to try and rush a bit to get there (not an easy thing to do in a canal boat) and hope they’d let us through. And they did! Thank you Canal and River Trust, you saved my Dad’s bacon.

The tunnel is MASSIVE. It’s 1.6 miles long. That’s as long as walking from my house to school to my house, to school, to my house and back to school again! It took 45 minutes to get through and was pitch black inside (apart from our headlight). I was on edge the whole time because it was a bit spooky but also exciting.

There used to be two tunnels here – one built by a guy called James Brindley, and the other by Thomas Telford which was completed almost exactly 200 years ago. Only Telford’s is in use today. In the old days, people had to lie on the boat and leg it through by pushing on the tunnel walls with their feet. For THREE HOURS. I would definitely not like that.

Four children wearing bright orange life jackets pose for a photo on a canal boat, smiling and making peace signs. The entrance to Harecastle Tunnel is visible in the background, surrounded by trees and sunlight.

After we came out the other side, we moored up at Westport Lake. This place was originally created as a ‘pleasure gardens’ during Queen Victoria’s reign but over time it got neglected and became a wasteland. There was a playground which was really fun and we got treated to ice creams!

Then my Dad and Dave went to watch Stoke City v Luton (it was a 1-1 draw). The rest of us watched Series 8, Episode 7 of the Great Pottery Throwdown where the contestants made bird baths in honour of the Six Towns.

My favourite was Steve’s – and the judges agreed (sorry for the spoiler).