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This is my day-by-day account of our recent canal boat holiday (August 17th - 24th 2002).  The Eyes and Miller families took two narrow boats from their base on the Macclesfield canal, via the Trent and Mersey Canal and along both branches of the picturesque Caldon Canal - and back.

The links will display some of the photos we took along the way.  To see the complete photo gallery click here.

Saturday
We picked up the boats (Dunster and Durham) from the Peak Forest Cruisers boat yard in Macclesfield, and after a quick run through of how everything worked and a short trial of actually driving the boat, we set off in convoy down the Macclesfield canal.  Our first stop was after only 12 bridges - we moored up beside bridge 49 (Fools Nook) so we could have a quick drink at the pub there.  Drinks consumed, we headed back to the boats and moved down the canal as far as the first of the Bosley flight of locks, where we moored for the night.   We enjoyed a meal of Chilli con Carne which was then followed by a brief walk to the 1st lock for a flavour of the next day's task.

Sunday
Up early for a spot of fishing then a spot of breakfast (not fish!).  We set off down the Bosley locks with growing expertise in both boat handling and lock operation.  We had a few hiccups along the way but made it to the bottom with both boats still afloat and all crew members with a full complement of fingers each.  We moved along to Congleton, where we stopped for lunch at bridge 75 to visit the Queens Head pub.  We all had excellent meals (a few pints of excellent beer were also consumed) and then made our way back down the steep steps to the canalside to cast off and continue our journey down the Macclesfield Canal.

With dusk settling in, we moored up at Red Bull basin. There was some evidence of the nearby sewage works in the air – but it wasn’t too bad.  We soon forgot that when Kathryn managed to drop a mooring spike in the canal – luckily it was near the side and Dave M bravely managed to retrieve it.  We walked along the towpath to the junction of the Macc. and the Trent & Mersey canal and were most surprised to find the water colour of the latter a distinct orange... (maybe it should be renamed the Orange Bull Basin?).  We had a quick drink at the Red Bull Pub there before retiring to the boats for some sandwiches and bed.

Monday
Dave M woke up with bad toothache and declared that he needed to visit a dentist as soon as possible.  We located a dentist in nearby Kidsgrove and made the plan that he would get 'seen to' whilst the rest of us drove the boats through the Harecastle Tunnel and we would meet up at the other side.  With this in mind we set off - and I immediately managed a specatuar head-on crash into another boat whilst turning the 90 degree corner into the T&M canal.  It would have been useful if our boat's horn had been working...  
Just further along from this we had another 90 degree corner to negotiate - which also proved beyond our limited boat handling skills at the time...
Still afloat and with only pride and boat dented, we carried on to the entrance to the Harecastle Tunnel.  We arrived to find we had just missed a Southbound slot so we had over an hour to wait for the next one.   Dave M headed off to see the dentist (taking Kirstin along as she doesnt like tunnels) whilst the rest of us pondered the passage ahead. 
After an age, six North bound boats emerged from the murky depths of the tunnel and it was then our turn.  In Dave M's absence, Kathryn was elected to drive the Miller boat through the gloom with help from Sally and Belinda.  Suffice to say that we made it through the darkness, collecting a number of dents and scrapes along  and a lot of orange stuff along the side of the boat. It must be noted how well Kathryn coped with the challenge of driving a 20 ton, 61 foot narrowboat through a mile and a half of black tunnel.    We arrived at the other side to find Dave M and Kirstin waiting for us.   It was here that Kirstin collected a nasty rope-whip injury as one of the mooring ropes from the Eyes boat snapped whilst mooring and whipped into her leg - sorry once again Kirst !   Dave M had been prescribed antibiotics for his toothache which was taking a while to have any effect.
With that behind us we carried on down the Trent and Mersey had a sandwich lunch beside Westport Lake, we then took the turning for the Caldon Canal and not far along here I had my second big hit of the day.  Totally misjudging a sharp bend (too fast!) and then missing the reverse gear resulted in a heavy collision into a concrete bank - the presence of other large dents along the bank proved that it wasnt the first such event.
The first locks on the Caldon are staircase locks - well that confused us for a while but with the help and advice of some other 'more experienced' boaters we climbed to the top of the staircase and continued along the Caldon. 
The less attractive scenery of Stoke finally giving way to glorious countryside, we motored as far as Stockton Brook - getting a few more locks under our belts and noting the slight differences between the Macclesfield, T&M and Caldon lock designs.  The journey was very pleasant and interspersed with the occasional encounter with trees (I had to extract my landing net from one), bushes, bridges and other boats. We even saw the famous Caldon leprechaun and Kathryn had a quick word with him. Once safely moored, a delicious pasta meal in the Miller boat preceded card games and then it was bedtime.

Tuesday
I woke early and rose to have an hour fishing only to find that my landing net had disappeared over night.  We concluded that we had left it on the tow path and someone had taken it - at least the rods were still there on top of the boat. 
After breakfast we set off - stopping for water at  Park Lane Wharf - and took the branch down to Leek, passing some fantastic countryside and enviable waterside properties.   We moored up just beyond the Leek tunnel (which was pipsy compared to the Harecastle) and had great fun turning the boats round.  The about-turn achieved, we walked the mile into Leek to find lunch.  Lunch was found at the Leek branch of Safeway - not quite what we had in mind, but it was good food and well priced.  We headed back to the boats, past the scrap yard and iron-work factory, and set off back up the Leek branch as far as Hazelhurst Junction. 
An accute turn at Hazelhurst Junction took us back into the main line of the Caldon and immediately faced with two more locks and we headed for Froghall. Once again the scenery was quite beautiful as we pressed on upstream. We stopped briefly at the Flint Mill Museum just above Cheddleton locks where we had a quick look round before heading off again. Night was approaching as we moored in the dusk above the weir at Consall Forge - we didnt appreciate at time what a lovely place we had found.  Once moored we ventured along the towpath and across a railway to the Black Lion Pub only to find we we the only customers - spooky.  The landlord (who was also a bit spooky) informed us that the stream train was due past at 11.15am the next day.  We had our drink and then retired to the boats for sandwiches, games and bed,  having planned to stay around the following day for the steam train.

Wednesday
Glorious blue skies and sun greeted us.  We set up our barbeques and started preparing a breakfast of egg, bacon, sausage, mushroom, beans, toast and crumpets - interupted only by the early appearance of the steam train, which saw us diving for our cameras in comic fashion.  It turned out that the train was just testing the line before its passenger runs.  11.15am came and so did the steam train complete with carriages and passengers - we were waiting this time with cameras poised and we managed to get a few snaps.
It was time to go - we had to turn the boats around again.  The Miller boat was turned around with consumate ease by Kathryn compared to my effort - almost getting our boat totally wedged between the bank and the weir guard rail, a clearance of 2 inches and lots of pushing and heaving saw us turn around eventually! It was here that Sally was chased by a goat and had to scramble to safety over a fence. 
Motoring back down the Caldon we were planning to moor up that night at Planet Lock in Stoke which we hoped was a suitable position to rendevous with Nanny and Grandad early next morning (Nanny was joining us for the last 2 days).  Despite the long haul ahead, we couldnt resist stopping at the excellent Holly Bush pub near Hazelhurst Junction to sample their fine beer at lunch time.  The beer was good but we resisted a long stay and moved on after one drink.
Jennifer and Emily did quite a lot of the driving down this stretch and did extremely well - apart from the high speed smack into a lock gate (its not just me !) which meant it took three people to open the gates as they were firmly wedged together. 
We arrived at Planet Lock in the gathering dusk to find it unsuitable for overnight mooring, whereupon I legged it down the towpath in the vain hope of finding a countryside pub with vacant overnight moorings.  These are few and far between in the middle of Stoke so we settled for a stretch of grass just above the Bedford Street staircase locks and a 'nearby' fish and chip shop.  Numerous phone calls then ensued to try and explain to Nanny and Grandad exactly where we had landed and how best to find us the next day.

Thursday
Early up (again!) and by 8.00am Nanny and Grandad appeared along the towpath with bags full of croissants and that nights evening meal. After a spot of fishing during which I caught my biggest two fish of the week (what do they feed them on in Stoke?) we set off once again.  We negotiated the stair case locks like old hands this time, waved goodbye to Grandad, and continued onto the Trent & Mersey past Westport Lake and up to the Harecastle Tunnel entrance for our return trip.  Once again we had just missed a passage slot so we had a hour to wait - as this entailed sitting around in the sun for a hour it was no hardship, it also gave Belinda and Kirstin (who still doesnt like tunnels) a head start on their journey walking over the top.  We filled up with water whilst waiting and soon it was time to enter the tunnel again.  Once again I was driving the lead boat, which meant there was nothing but blackness (and tunnel walls) ahead.  As we progressed through, it became apparent that the headlight on the Miller boat wasnt working and Dave M was having to advance by torch light alone.  All was going well (much better than the previous passage) when an almighty bang from the Miller boat told of a significant hit - they were still chugging along so we pressed on towards the slowly increasing light at the end of the tunnel.   Once in daylight the damage was evident - a large dent in the top front of the cabin where it had smacked into the wall, accompanied by a large piece of wall sitting on the boat roof.  Well if the head light had been working...
Belinda and Kirstin were waiting for us at the tunnel exit and they smartly hopped back aboard the Miller Boat.
Directly after the Tunnel exit I managed to crash our boat into the middle leg of a double-arched bridge.  I had been lining up for the right hand arch - but at the last minute noticed the small 'Keep Left' sign on the bridge leg - well it was too late by then - they should put a big sign there if they want people to miss the bridge !
We sailed onwards and took the junction for the Macclesfield canal (another tricky 90 degree turn completely misjudged by yours truly) getting as far as the stop-lock at Hall Green before taking a brief lunch break.
Time was now on our side so we stopped mid afternoon at bridge 86, where we scrambled over the bridge parapet before trecking across the fields to pay a visit to the National Trust property of Little Moreton Hall.  What a fascinating building - the roof tiles weigh over 150 tons in total so its no wonder the walls are wonky!
We returned to our boats and decided to stay put for the night.  A delicious Nanny-made meal was enjoyed followed by games, fishing and bed.  It was at this stage we found that the batteries in the Eyes boat had drained (the charger hadnt been operating correctly it turned out) so it was torch power to see to our beds.

Friday
Raining to start with - for the first time, and there was still no power in the batteries on the Eyes boat despite running the engine for an hour.  A service call out to the boatyard was contemplated but deferred as we were not far from the end of the week and had the safety of two boats between us.  We set off up the Macclesfield canal and it stopped raining - by the time we had stopped for lunch at the foot of Bosely Locks the batteries had regained their charge and we had lights and toilet flushes once more. 
Lunch recharged our own batteries and we set about ascending the 12 Bosely Locks.  We made good progress through most of the locks - only encountering one wayward boat (not one of ours) that made a real pigs ear of lock 3.  By 16.30 we had completed the final lock and reached our intended overnight spot of bridge 49 - Fools Nook. 
Given the early hour we decided to press on up to bridge 43 to investigate the pubs there as Dave M had a guide book promising a choice of two.  It was on this stretch that I almost lost my fishing rod from the top of the boat - it was swept over the side and off the front of the boat by an overhanging tree branch, whereupon I jumped onto the boat roof and ran to the front of the boat only to see the top 18" of the rod sinking slowly.   Luckily I was able to reach down into the water and scoop it up before it sank out of reach - a lost landing net I can take, but a lost rod and reel is a different matter !   We also encountered a swing bridge along here that had been closed on our outward journey - we couldnt find where to insert the winders to open it so we were stumped until it dawned upon us that we just had to push this one and it would swing open - whoever would have guessed that.
We eventually moored up in front of bridge 43 and took the path down from Gurnett Aquaduct to the roadside. We walked along the road, past James Brindleys apprentice cottage, to the Church House pub where we all enjoyed a very good meal from their extensive selection.   The 3 real ales were also sampled and I would give my vote to the brew from Youngs - although a second tasting session may be a good idea.
With full stomachs it was back down the hill to the  boats for coffee, games and then bed for the last time.

Saturday
A bit over-cast this morning abd it is the last day of our holiday and just a short 30 minute run is needed to get back to the boatyard by 9.00am.  We go without breakfast and spend some time getting the kids up, packing and clearing up before setting off for the final leg.  We arrive with 5 minutes to spare and moor our two boats delicately next to each other.  Our cars are waiting for us and we have soon transferred all our belongings from boat to car and ready for off.   A quick word with the boatyard man - about the dent and the batteries and a request for directions to the nearest MacDonalds for breakfast...

An excellent weeks holiday made all the more enjoyable by the good weather we were extremely lucky to have. 
We are already looking forward to our next canal boat holiday.