Peaks and troughs
- workingways2022
- May 26, 2025
- 7 min read
We last left you having just joined the Peak Forest Canal. Little did we know that we would end up staying this long, but read on to find out why...
Marple turned out to be a lovely little town and a nice place to meet our boater friends Lynne and Nigel for a coffee. We'd heard so much about this canal, and its promise of wonderful views did not disappoint as we chugged on. We'd also heard about the cheap fuel at Furness Vale wharf so we made sure we visited
the friendly people there before we moved on. Water levels can be an issue along this stretch, being a long, high pound, and we definitely found this to be the case when we tried to moor up. In the end we carried on to Bugsworth ('Buggy') Basin. We tied up next to our boater friends and enjoyed a lovely time there with plenty of chats over coffees on the handy benches nearby, when the weather allowed.
The highlight for Rob? Finding a low wattage toaster in the nearby B&M at Whaley Bridge so he could make use of our new-found electricity supply, courtesy of our lithium battery! For me it was exploring the local area, including the fairy garden, the fascinating transhipment shed at Whaley, and the incredible
heritage surrounding our moorings.
The basin was once the largest and busiest inland port on Britain's narrow canal system and is the only one to survive intact. The 6 mile Peak Forest Tramway linked it to the limestone and gritstone quarries in Derbyshire and it thrived commercially until the rise of the railways. The village is actually called Buxworth - the residents having decided that this sounded nicer than Bugsworth!
One evening we had a lovely meal at The Navigation pub, which we've sadly heard has now closed down. One Sunday we donned our walking boots to venture uphill to Chinley Churn, past the many slate quarries, picnicking on a windy hilltop with magnificent views, before returning to Jasmine tired but elated.
We even had a day out in Buxton, catching the train from Whaley - a wonderful journey in itself with views of the peaks all around. We wandered up to High Buxton, had a bite to eat outside the Pavilion, perused the art gallery and conservatory garden, ambled around the park and lake with a cheeky ice cream and tasted the famous spring water. We also walked up to the Devonshire Dome, built in 1779 and originally stables for 120 horses before being partly converted to a hospital. When the dome was added in 1880 it was the largest unsupported dome of its type in the word - and apparently still is in Europe!
On Shrove Tuesday, having inadvertently made double the quantities of batter, we invited Lynne and Nigel and another boater they knew over for tea. Pancakes were successfully tossed and consumed with a variety of fillings - very enjoyable! After a visit to Suffolk and then London to see family we set off
back along the way we'd come. I had a lovely, but hilly, walk up from Furness Vale one afternoon and was lucky enough to see a barn owl flying around near farm buildings.
A few days later we had a lovely walk down to the River Goyt and past the Torrs Hydro, a community-owned plant at New Mills. With its giant reverse Archimedes screw (called 'Archie'!) it has been generating green electricity for the local area since 2008. We then continued along the impressive Millennium Walkway - an incredible, cantilevered 160-metre long steel construction that that bends around the Torrs Gorge with great views of the old mills. Finished in 1999, it's part of the E2 walking route between Stranraer in Scotland via Dover to Nice in the south of France!
After passing the 'sweet-smelling' Swizzels factory on the site of a renovated and extended cotton mill in New Mills, we had a short stop for lunch and a walk in Disley before mooring near Strines - a lovely spot with highland cattle who would often come and drink from the canal.
We were joined by Lynne & Nigel and had some enjoyable chats over coffee, even managing to sit out in the sun a few times, and gave them lots of tips for their potential cruise to Liverpool.
We discovered Roman Bridge and Roman Lakes (both picturesque but neither of them actually Roman!) and I braved having my hair done in Marple (the lovely Gill at Shampers did a great job). We wandered down the 16 locks of the
Marple Flight and marvelled at Marple Aqueduct, built by Benjamin Outram between 1794 and 1800, with the equally impressive railway viaduct above it. We also discovered the remains of the 200 year old limekilns designed by Samuel Oldknow. Built with gothic facades and chimneys, there's even evidence to suggest that workers lived in the kiln buildings!
It was at this point we heard about the breach in the canal at Bosley, not far from where we'd moored back in January. At the time we'd seen an area of towpath that looked as if it had been infilled. It turns out it was a culvert that was leaking and had had a temporary 'fix' - 5 years previously... It obviously finally gave way and within a few hours the canal was empty and water had gushed down the embankment into the neighbouring fields. Stop planks were hastily installed at the bridges either side by CRT and all the boats nearby were luckily moved out of the way. A few days later we heard that it would take approximately 12 weeks to fix... As we were hoping to go south, this meant a long wait - unless we wanted to travel a long way around via Yorkshire or brave the Manchester Ship Canal or River Mersey crossing, none of which seemed appealing! Luckily we had about 15 miles of canal to pootle up and down on, and as it's such a lovely area things didn't seem too bad.
We stopped in Poynton again and had a bracing walk up to The Cage at Lyme Park - a
tower that can be seen for many miles around. Built in 1580 as a hunting lodge, and later rebuilt in 1737 for Peter Legh XII, it served as a residence for the gamekeeper and included a small room for locking up poachers caught stealing the park's prized hare and deer. It's thought that the name and the design may have been inspired by the Tower of London's central keep, as Peter Legh XII was imprisoned there twice for treason.
It took until the start of April before we could dispense with lighting the fire every day, although the weather seemed to vary from warm and balmy to arctic, so it kept us on our toes! We were in Bollington again now, enjoying the little town with its resident alpacas, the local paths and Middlewood way trail and the lovely Sunday roasts at the Vale Inn. The weather was finally good enough for me to repot and sort out the roof garden, plus we ventured to the Bolly Folk Club - a friendly gathering of eclectic musicians in a room above the Dog & Pheasant pub where we played a few tunes. We also saw our first swallows!
One evening we got the call that the arrival of the first grandchild was imminent. The next morning we drove to Macclesfield and caught the train to Euston - an incredibly quick journey at just under 2 hours. We joined the extended family over from France at University College Hospital and saw our first sight of gorgeous Baby Jude. Randomly, Rob (Judge) Rinder (for anyone who knows who he is) was also spotted in the maternity unit!
Back to Jasmine, the weather was right for outdoor boat jobs, so Rob sanded down and repainted the back deck. We were also on the hunt for a Boat Safety Scheme (BSS) examiner as our 4-year certificate was due to expire. Luckily, during an impromptu visit to Freedom Boats in Macclesfield we were introduced to Rupert, an examiner who said he could help, plus the lovely Kev from the wharf agreed to fit a gas bubble tester, something which is now needed by liveaboard boaters - unless you can find a Gas Safe registered examiner (who are like hen's teeth...)
Heading back past Macclesfield, we moored at
Gurnett Aqueduct, somewhere we'd not stopped at on the way up. I walked to Sutton Lane Ends, once home to the wildlife artist, Charles Tunnicliffe, and discovered the lovely little village shop with its array of fruit, veg and plants. I decided to have another go at
Sweet Peas plus sewed some salad leaves, spinach and broad beans plus a variety of wildflowers - as I write I'm pleased to say they are all growing well. We also saw our first ducklings which cheered me up as I'd succumbed to the lurgy and was feeling extremely under the weather. Little Sutton is also home to the rather alarming annual scarecrow festival...
By Easter we had cruised on and were moored near
Danes Moss - an incredible area of historic peat bog. We walked around the fascinating nature reserve there and also up to Sutton Reservoir - looking alarmingly
low...
Back on board, hearing a buzzing inside the boat but unable to find the source, we discovered we had a hornet looking to nest in our roof space! Luckily we managed to remove it via one of the mushroom vents in the ceiling before it set up home..
We chugged on to the furthest winding hole we could access before the breach, turned around and returned to the same lovely spot before heading to Leek for the day. What a fascinating place it is, with some beautiful old buildings. As we'd sneaked over the border into Staffordshire we decided it would be rude not to have an oatcake or two and we luckily came upon the White Hart Tearooms where we could indulge! We also stopped for a tour of the fascinating Brindley Water Mill, an 18th century working corn mill created by the famed canal engineer, James Brindley.
Now it was time to head back the way we'd come and explore all those places we'd still not seen. Join us next time as Spring turns into Summer.
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