It's not unusual for me to go for a short walk along the canal near to my home in Middlewich, on this occasion though my wife came with me and we decided to follow a path that we had not really noticed before.
It was 25th January, another cold breeze gently blowing but on the whole not too bad and the start was pretty normal, following the Shropshire Union branch to the shortest canal in the country, the Wardle Canal at just 47 metres long. The Wardle canal joins to Shopshire Union canal to the Trent and Mersey Canal and is famous for it's picturesque lock & lock keepers cottage.
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| Trent and Mersey canal near the Wardle canal junction |
Having reached the Trent and Mersey canal we turned north towards Northwich for a short distance. The sun was behind us and a pair of swans were meandering along the calm water and beyond the bridge were some narrowboats belonging to Middlewich Narrowboats. A typical Middlewich view that requires the passerby to reach for a camera. I only had my phone camera with me but it didn't do too bad a job. Soon after this the canal runs parallel to Brooks Lane and on the opposite side of Brooks Lane is a public footpath though the industrial estate and into the countryside; we decided to explore it. The footpath was mostly well marked but in places became less clear. Mobile phone to the rescue again this time with GPS and maps and so we were able to follow the path as it headed in the general direction of Holmes Chapel then north again towards the A54.
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| My Mini Pred Helicopter with training aids - in 2008! |
By a happy co-incidence a small diversion had us walking past the South Cheshire Model Flying Club field where some other members were flying a helicopter. I've had a helicopter for years but haven't flown it for a good while but just lately these same chaps have been trying to encourage me to give it another go and on this occasion went so far as to let me have a fly with a buddy box connected (a training system) and I did alright. Hmm, we'll see!
By this time most of the afternoon had gone and it was time to head straight back towards Middlewich and home. All in this walk was very nearly 5 miles, far more than I usually walk and I was all in too!
