The Caldon Canal to Froghall was opened in 1779 and the branch to Leek 18 years later. In 1811 an extension of the canal from Froghall to Uttoexter was completed, but by 1845 was no longer in use. A feasibility study re reinstalling this section has recently being done. The canal was built principally to carry limestone from the quarries in the Caldon Valley and to provide ground flintstone to the potteries of Staffordshire.
AL in the top lock at Hazelhurst Junction
Sign post at the Junction
The village of Denford
When the sun shone the canal was a delight to behold
We moored up just before the Old Flint Mill at Cheddleton
To go and find Tim and Mike. Couldn't find them or the pub where I thought they would be and would t you know it, I had picked somewhere with no phone signal, nada, not even able to send a text msg. Nothing for it but to huff and puff my way up a hill until eventually the phone had 1 bar. Rang Tim and asked where are you? And he replied "where you told us to be, at the Boat Inn". Okay, I said we will be with you in a few minutes.
I met up with L. who had come looking for us and we hightailed back to AL to set off for the 'few minutes' cruise to meet the lads. As we set off, I looked at the canal guide to discover the Boat Inn was two locks and nearly a mile away!
Here is Mike who'd been walking up the towpath wondering what had happened to us
Tim, surrounded by a variety of carrier bags and having a slight look of a homeless person about him, had staked out a vacant mooring below the boat inn. We moored up, put the luggage aboard and unpacked and inspected the essentials - Jean's food parcel of scones, clotted cream and fruit cake, Yum and went to the Boat for lunch as we were all hungry, tho L and I were sorely tempted by thought of some of Jean's scones and clotted arteries cream.
Set off again after a leisurely lunch, the sun, as if in celebration of Mike and Tim's arrival, shine for the rest of the afternoon and we passed through some lovely countryside
And
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