Passage through Preston Brook tunnel is controlled by time - on
the hour + ten min northbound, on the half hour + ten min southbound. There is
a shallow stop lock and the area is heavily wooded and attractive. The northern
parts of this canal are its most appealing with luscious open fields and
interesting glimpses of the Weaver navigation and associated bridges and locks.
Saltersford tunnel has a bend in it, you cannot see through. As it is only one
way working like the other tunnels here, sound your horn and listen as soon as
you enter it. At Barnton, there is a great laundrette "Grooms" on Church Street Tel:
01606 782970. Anderton lift was being restored when we were here but it was
fascinating to see the work in progress. There is an excellent visitors centre
near the car park.
The Salt Barge at Marston (plenty of moorings), has a good
atmosphere, serves a good pint of Burtonwood Bitter and a guest beer along with
a national beer. The food is recommended. Around Northwich you quickly change from sections of high
industrial activity from the salt works to semi-urban
to picturesque countryside. The Old Broken Cross at Broken Cross
only serves Greenalls Bitter. We are much more impressed by the ale, food and
ambience at the Salt Barge.
The Flashes or lagoons created as a result of the old salt mines
combine with the wonderful Cheshire countryside to create a delightful scene
north of Middlewich.At Middlewich, you can enjoy a good pint of Directors,
Theakston XB or guest ale over-looking the coming and going of boats at the Big Lock pub by the side of the
Big Lock. There are a good selection of useful shops here with close to town
mooring a few yards down from the big lock. There is a modern
Somerfield as well. Middlewich Narrowboats boatyard have a nice little gift
shop, water point and sani-station.There is a water point and an excellent
chandlers at the junction.
From here on, please note that records date from 1996. The Commercial at Wheelock is a true gem. It is full of lots of 50's
and 60's memorabilia. It is a proper pub with proper, comfortable little rooms and a
wonderful non-smoking lounge complete with wicker chairs. What is more, the pub is
absolutely spotless, there isn't a bit of dust anywhere. Visit this pub before it is
closed or ruined. The Thwaites Bitter is magnificent. The so-called Heartbreak Hill isn't
so much strenuous as stretched out. These locks are all in pairs but invariably only one
is operational. It is a bit of a game guessing which! The scenery is pretty throughout.
The Broughton Arms at Rode Heath is a typical
"country kitchen" style pub,
but serves a fine pint of Marstons Pedigree.
The Blue Bell close to the junction with the Macclesfield canal is an
excellent award winning pub. The beer range is superlative and includes a good
range of Belgian beers. There are normally six real ales on, invartiably from
interesting breweries. We have moored below
bridge 132. Not the nicest of spots but we had no trouble. There is a pub above, The
Harecastle Hotel which is pretty ordinary but the food and Burtonwood ale is good.
The water is has becoming more and more orange since leaving Rode Heath and is now like
tomato soup. Passage though the tunnel is controlled by BW staff and we enter at 8am. This
is a dark and long tunnel made more spooky by the noise of the extractor fans and the
sealed exit until you reach the portal forty minutes later. Plenty of interesting industrial heritage in Stoke, we particularly liked being waved
at by pottery workers from the neighbouring factories. Rows and rows of toilet basins make
for interesting scenery. The Bass at the China Gardens is good if you want to pose with
your boat outside!
A short walk from the canal is the Plough at Etruria. It looks nothing
from the outside but inside it a friendly and comfortable inn with a great range of steaks
and sauces. In topc condition are Robinsons Mild, Bitter, Stockport Bitter and Hartleys
XB. Whilst the Star (Banks's,
Camerons, Pedigree) at Stone is a great traditional pub it
is usually heaving. There is an excellent chandlers here. There is a useful shop ten
minutes up the road at Hem Heath where you can get the local delicacy Oatcakes and the
excellent quality Wrights pies.
There are two good pubs in Weston but by far the better is
the Woolpack. A short walk into the village brings you to a convenient general store and
just round the corner on the green, the Woolpack itself. This is a pretty inn with a great
atmosphere that sells Marstons ales. The food is high quality and excellent value.
At Great Heywood (See Staffs and Worcs for more details) there is a lovely little
canal shop where we bought a Buckby can for Bluebell. At Fradley there is the
Swan
(Ansells) and a very pretty junction. Alrewas is great place to moor.
We choose the Old
Boat which serves good Ushers Best Bitter, Founders and a seasonal ale. There are remnants
of its previous incarnation as a Mad O'Rourke little pub. The GBG listed George &
Dragon is on the High Street. A splendid butcher selling good homemade sausages and large
pork pies, a useful Co-op and a paper shop can also be found here. At Burton you hit the last (or first!) of the narrow locks. The canal is surprisingly
rural here. We moored inside Jannel Cruisers but there is a £3 charge for this and you
are locked in until 9am. We wish we'd moored outside!
Plenty of pubs in Burton. Our
favourite was the Coopers, an amazing place serving straight from the cask: Bass, Pedigree
plus Hardy & Hansons Best Bitter and Classic. Very friendly. The Devonshire a few yards away sells Burton Bridge ales in good form. Shardlow is a
great place to moor. The Malt Shovel is my favoured canal-side pub serving Marstons
Pedigree but the best pub by far is a fifteen minute walk up to Cavendish Bridge where the
GBG listed Old Crown sells 6 real ales, most from independent breweries. The food sounded
great but is served lunchtimes only. Terrific place.
Highly recommended is Tandoori Nights
restaurant which is five minutes walk up the main road (North). They will even deliver
your food (01332 853383). Now you know why I said Shardlow is a great place to moor.
Sawley Bridge has a massive marina and chandlers but if you decide to moor on the
offside it is quite a walk round. So why not head into Sawley itself and shortly after
Harrington Bridge you will come to the Harrington Arms? A comfortable (dogs not welcome,
though they let us take ours into the garden on a lead) pub serving excellent condition
Hardy & Hansons Bitter, Classic and seasonal ale. Sawley locks (you can use either)
are electrically operated.