It already seems like a lifetime since we were driving around the North Yorkshire coast in the motorhome. We’ve spent the last few weeks back home on the boat dawdling our way up the Macclesfield Canal towards Marple. However, we did put a sudden spurt on when we noticed that the water level had dropped and heard of a leak further up. This is a summit level of just over 23 miles, so it wasn’t a little leak! You can forgive us for being slightly paranoid about getting stuck after last winter’s escapades.
Having got past the leak we relaxed a bit and stopped on a wide reach (like a little lake) at Higher Poynton where I spotted a Kingfisher and made friends with a cheeky duck who kept flapping up into the side hatch (aka duck hatch!!).
We trundled on through the swing bridges of the Peak Forest Canal, stopping for a few days for Ian to go on his barefoot wanders. The Millenium Walkway at New Mills is quite dramatic and was well worth the walk.
Finally, we made it to our destination at Bugsworth Basin, a true favourite of ours, as it’s not every day that you get to moor up in an ancient monument! The basin was constructed at the end of the 1700s and has multiple arms that originally provided access to wharves and tramways. It was the navigable hub that linked the local quarries with the industries of the North West.
Limestone for construction and architectural sculpture, gritstone for grinding and tonnes and tonnes of lime that was used everywhere, from farming to toiletries. Limestone is so versatile that I doubt the Victorian Industrial Revolution could have happened without it. Demand was high for these raw materials and in its hey day, there used to be around 160 working boats milling around the basin.
By today’s standards, I think the basin is looking busy, with about 30 boats moored up. And I’ve learnt a new word this week, Wharfinger, an archaic term for the keeper or owner of a wharf or dock. (If I’d read The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens, I would have known what a Wharfinger was). This person was responsible for the day-to-day activities including the maintenance and provision of the channels, docks, quaysides, slipways, berths, providing tide tables (where appropriate), resolving disputes and to warn of any latent hazards in the vicinity. Now more commonly known as … the Harbour Master. Bear in mind that during the 1800s, Bugsworth Basin was known as the largest inland port in the country.
Our arrival in this area of the High Peak coincided with the annual Buxsworth Steam Weekend. That’s not a spelling error, in 1930 the villagers, with the support of the vicar and school headmaster, campaigned to change the village name and remove any association with bugs (this vote was repeated and won again in 1999!). Despite its small size and steep roads (1 in 7 is the maximum a steam engine can manage), the village managed to squeeze 3 engines in. On closer inspection we got another surprise, Engine 2701 (aka Tombola) had originally been built by Fodens, an engineering company based in Sandbach, just down the road from the Grammar school that Ian went to (although I think the engine might be a tad older than he is! [b***** cheek!!! – Ian]).
I do love the sight, sounds and smells of these massive metal beasts. The glowing colours, the shining brass, the puffs of smoke from the chimneys, the hissing steam erupting from the valves and whistles; it’s a real treat for all the senses. As a youngster in my hometown, I would sit by my bedroom window and listen out for the toots as our local traction engines rumbled slowly past on the main road heading to the next weekend summer rally. I guess I’m just an old nostalgic at heart. [Yep – nearly as old as me! – Ian]
