We started our week in Marple, feeling frustrated and stuck. We finish it 52 miles, 31 working locks and 1 tunnel further on, feeling positive and upbeat in one of our favourite places.
Moored as we now are at Great Haywood, on the edge of the historic Shugborough Estate, we are treating ourselves to a day of long country walks before heading off once more to cruise into Derbyshire to meet up with friends.
Movement, changes of scenery, and in our case a change of season en route have served to put us back in the positive. Taking control of a situation which was not of our own making but which thwarted our plans every way we turned, has been liberating in more ways than one.
We u-turned on the Peak Forest Canal to travel the entire length back down the Macclesfield Canal. We had originally seen this as a way round the lock failure in Manchester, a way to get onto the Rochdale that would take us on a new route to Yorkshire but this week it felt like backtracking with purpose. As we turned onto the yellow ochre waters of the Trent and Mersey at Hardings Wood Junction we rather hoped we were putting this year’s travelling onto a positive footing.
The Scarecastle Harecastle with its skeletons and ghosts always feels like a significant passage point – the movement in our case between CRT’s North West and West Midlands regions. Suddenly we were encountering more boats moving, more hire boats which is good to see – commercially for the businesses that run them but also for the people being brought onto the waterways to enjoy and appreciate everything they have to offer.
Stoke on Trent is a favoured spot for us to overnight – I used to work for the BBC in the Potteries and it holds fond memories. The place is as vibrant as ever – potteries remain and in many cases thrive here although they no longer use the canal which was built to service them and the mines in the area. New service industries like Vodafone and bet365 are springing up, but like in any UK city we encounter, homelessness and dereliction are alarmingly still apparent alongside the shiny new exteriors and evident economic wealth. After heading through Stone, we passed beneath under the evidence of 18century industrial show in many places including the regimented beauty of the red and brindled brick Salt Bridge at Salt now a Grade II listed structure.
This week with its new month, has heralded the start of autumn, with atmospheric, dreamy misty mornings. It’s set me musing…
This week’s travelling turns out to be a bit of a metaphor for life – if something feels frustrating, you feel stuck in a rut, trapped (by your own actions or someone else’s) – take control of at least part of your life and make changes. It will bring new perspectives, new energies and revitalise you. Our work is still the same, our home is still the same, but by taking control and choosing a new route to go in, we are experiencing new perspectives, new positive energies and feeling revitalised. Try it for yourself – it can be something small, or big – the choice as they say, is yours. Enjoy your week and whatever control you choose to take to make a change, to feel liberated and empowered.
The week ahead for us will be a chance to catch up with friends, family and our post! It will also be a daunting one as we head tidal on our first leg of the River Trent and its tidal waters – gulp!
Pickingupducks 