21st: Cheshire Ring part 1
On Saturday four intrepid explorers met up at Stockport station to venture out into the salt plains and marshes of Cheshire. Well actually it was John, Linda,Sue and Tracy setting out on a walk along the Trent & Mersey Canal.We alighted at Lostock Gralam and it was all of about an hour before our first refreshment stop : scones with jam and cream kindly provided by Tracy. This was in a delightfully sylvan setting between Northwich and Middlewich.
We made it to Middlewich before our first pub stop : the delightful ‘Big Lock’. This was accompanied by the first of several light showers which gave Lindaand Sue the chance to show off their snazzy umbrellas.
It was an entertaining day with plenty of action on the canal, with lots of boats coming and going with the many locks on this section; and everyone very friendly.
We had a further stop at Sandbach at ‘The
Commercial’, a wonderful old fashioned type of an establishment, before
moving on via ‘The Broughton Arms’ (very busy) and
finishing up at ‘The Red Bull’ in Kidsgrove. We had a tasty meal but had
to jog back along the canal, just in time to catch our train. It was a
full and enjoyable day and we’re already planning the next stage :
Kidsgrove to Macclesfield.
John H
