And Away…

After tackling Mow Cop, we rewarded ourselves with a gentler day, with a walk to Little Moreton Hall. Now part of the National Trust (which we decided to join), this truly is a gem. Little Moreton Hall is a stunning Tudor manor house, famous for its wonky, timber-framed structure that seems to defy gravity. Built in the 1500s, it’s full of quirky character, creaking floors, and fascinating history. The weather was beautiful, and the easy half-hour walk across the fields made it all the more enjoyable.

A few days later, we ventured a little further afield to a spring farmers market at Rode Hall. Rode Hall is an elegant country house with lovely grounds, and their farmers market is well known locally for its fantastic selection of produce. It was about an hour’s walk across farmland to get there, but well worth the effort. We came back laden with wonderful local goodies – fresh bread, rhubarb, lamb’s liver, and pork pies!

After a blissful week at this mooring, it was time to move on in search of water, so we cruised into Congleton. We spent a few days here catching up on chores – washing, shopping, and giving the boat a good polish – before heading out to explore. One highlight was a six-mile round trip hike up The Cloud. Rising above the Cheshire plain, The Cloud offers spectacular panoramic views across the surrounding countryside. The climb was invigorating… although Chris did manage to lead us down the “slightly more adventurous” (and very steep!) route on the way back!

On Saturday 14th March, we set off on another six-mile round trip to Bosley Locks. The views once again were stunning, and we decided then to move the boat to the foot of the locks for a few days before making our ascent.

Tackling the 12 locks was a real milestone for us, but we were incredibly fortunate to have a volunteer lock keeper, Jeff, helping us for the first half. We then met NB Scarlet Lady coming down – a beautiful boat – and as a single-hander, the lock keeper continued on to help Russell the rest of the way down.

We also faced another first along the way – the swing bridge at Oakgrove, the Royal Oak Swing Bridge. There was a moment of apprehension beforehand, wondering how it would all work and imagining holding up traffic! In reality, it was fully automated and straightforward, and my worries were completely unfounded.

Two weeks, twelve locks, countless views—and just the one slightly questionable route down the hill !!