Guide Bridge to Dukinfield

A steady plod cos it is Sunday and there are no locks today.  Thank goodness.  

I spotted this unusual bridge for the towpath.  I am not sure what it is for as there is no access now to anything beyond but to have built over it must have had an importance at one time.

We soon reach Portland Basin.  There has been a lot of regeneration here and it looks very tidy and well cared for. 

The Huddersfield Narrow canal is straight ahead but heading for the Macclesfield canal means that there is a sharp right hand turn for us.  Just the other side is a marina and we were going to top up with diesel and get some gas but there is a low bridge and it will mean getting out astern so give it a miss.

Under the bridge and immediately there is an aqueduct that crosses the river.  I am not sure but I think it is the River Tame that it goes over.

I moor up at the railway bridge and here too the towpath is well used by bikers and walkers alike.

Many of the walkers like to stop and chat about the canal and boats and you tend to learn bits about the locale.

The Portland Basin is a delight.  The old warehouse has been converted into a museum but not just on the canal.  Inside there is a load of old machinery that carried out the work making anything from clogs to linen with a load of stuff inbetween.

In front of the museum is a collection of old work boats including Hazel, Forget me Not and Lilith. The oldest is Lilith which was launched in 1901 and was a very simple boat.  It was just a long box with a pointy bit at each end.  Called a 'Joey' there were many hundreds of these carrying the materials for the West Midlands industry.

The boats are linked to the Wooden Canal Boat Society and more info can be found there at www.wcbs.org.uk 

All the exhibits have an explanation and there are film archives that are running to show the way of life that was once common in the area.

There is a street in the museum that depicts the 1920s and along with the school and some shops there are house interiors.

And not forgetting the chapel.

On the way out there is panorama of the way that the area has changed over the years.  I did wish that the model railway worked though :-)

If you get to Portland Basin the museum is well worth a visit.  

A short walk up the Huddersfield Narrow and there is a large ASDA.  Stocked up with food and cat litter then off to find a mooring for the night.

Our first lift bridge.  The mooring for the controls are very short but usable.  This one needs handcuff keys and a windlass to open it.

Not much later we come to a halt with the low bridge meaning the dropping of the wind genny again.  It wont even take an 18 inch chimney.

One more bridge and a quiet spot is found.  Within minutes there are a pair of Jays creating havoc for some Magpies in the trees on the other side of the canal.