I left my mooring on the north side of Middlewich, just before the Big Lock which, incidently, was a blissfully quiet night compared to the previous night along side the very busy A533. It’s called Big Lock because it is a wide lock on a predominantly narrow canal. Many years ago, in the late 18th century, it was intended that Middlewich should be the trans-shipment point between Mersey Flats (widebeam barges) and narrowboats and there were plans to convert the northern section of the canal to a wide canal all the way down to Middlewich. This was for the purpose of transporting salt on Mersey Flats up to the Manchester ship canal and also to the River Weaver using the Anderton Boat lift. This was scrapped shortly after starting due to financial reasons and it was also around the time that the railways were starting to make an impact on the canals and was taking over due to it’s ability to transport goods more quickly and easily. All the rest of the locks, aquaducts, bridges and other infrastructure remained a narrow canal. As far as I am aware, this information is correct but any dates appear to be sketchy and I couldn’t find a good source for this information. I’d be grateful if someone would point out any errors.
After negotiating the lock with the help of a couple of other boaters, I set off and soon came to the outskirts of Middlewich.
I soon crossed the Croxton Aquaduct over the Rive Dane.
And then came Croxton flash where I observed the signs to keep out to avoid being grounded in the shallow water. You’d have to go well out of your way through the marker poles if you’re daring enough to try it, but I suspect you wouldn’t get far past that line.
This flash doesn’t appear to have a name, although it probably does. It’s not on any map that I can find, but it is breath-taking when it slowly comes into view after rounding the bend. Again, I have to keep to the main channel, or else, but there are no guidance markers here.
Here’s a marina under construction at Rudheath, near Northwich. I couldn’t really get a better photo because of all the other boats surrounding it.
At first I thought I had spotted Jesus reincarnated as a duck, but as I got closer, it became apparent that he was a she, and was standing on a submerged log.
Unfortunately, the canal bisects the hideous Tata Chemical works at Lostock Gralam. I thought I’d share a few images of this on my way through.
Shortly after this I came across this interestingly decorated bridge depicting the uses of salt, although I’m not sure. There is a chemical reaction formula on the bridge which shows a reaction to make Chlorine (Cl), Hydrogen (H) and Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH) from Water (H2O) and salt, Sodium Chloride (NaCl). That may have something to do with a specific Tata chemicals proccess.
I eventually arrived at Marston, where I moored for a couple of days.
Here at Marston is the Lion Salt Works, although now it’s just a museum but I found it absolutely fascinating. I have actually taken a lot of photos of it but I won’t be detailing it here but I do intend to cover the museum in it’s own post. The photo below is of an old brine tank, looking a bit worse for wear now. I’m not sure if they are intending to do anything about this now as clearly, as you can see, it has some very large holes in it and I think it might be a little past the sprucing up stage.
There was a small advertising board on the towpath advertising tea rooms, so the day after arriving here, I thought I’d try my luck at getting some lunch. When I stepped inside, it was a standard-ish cafe with a large area for children to play, and at the rear, the entrance to the museum. After purchasing my order, I managed to find a table and tucked into my rather nice “homemade” sausage roll.
As I have previously mentioned, the museum was brilliant and it’s being covered in a seperate post.
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