Bartimaeus

Uv Ajed – the little-known phenomenon of seeing something that you’re sure you’ve seen before, only backwards. We set off this morning still facing away from Marple but made good time to the bottom of the Marple Flight arriving just as another boat was coming out.

We were delighted to be met by a Canal and River Trust volunteer lock keeper who helped us through the locks until he handed us over to a colleague about half way up. He pointed out the lock-keepers cottage and compared it with the enormous vicarage opposite.  These days all a lock-keeper gets is a blue T-shirt.

I was intrigued by the rope guide at one of the locks. Below this lock is a large bridge. A boat without an engine has to be pulled out of the lock. I presume the technique would be to gain some momentum then drop the rope back down. A dash down the steps should let you catch the boat again, and pull it on to the next lock (perhaps using a horse for that bit).

We stopped for a quick, late lunch as we left Marple and then headed south. It seems a shame to hurry along this beautiful canal again (this time in much better weather too) but with the time restriction on the Bosley Locks, we were keen to get through Macclesfield by the end of the day.

We found a beautiful rural mooring beyond Macclesfield.  This is our most adventurous mooring yet.  We are against a massive bank of purple flowers. Getting the ropes ashore and us back on board required the use of both the boat hook and the gang plank. The view on the other side is distant hills behind a field of sheep and geese – lovely.