Sadly the met office forecast that the weather would remain dry until mid afternoon proved to be wrong as there was a general cold dampness with intermittent light rain on our journey from the start of the Caldon through Stoke on Trent towards the Peak District.
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| Entering the upper staircase lock chamber |
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| Passing under Ivy House Lift Bridge |
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| Caldon Canal near Milton |
The Bedford Street staircase locks provided the first point of interest. Here there are two lock chambers the top gate of the lower chamber forming the bottom gate of the upper one. Before starting the ascent one has to ensure the upper chamber is full and the lower one empty, otherwise the results could be embarrassing.
After leaving the staircase there is a long dreary journey through built-up Hanley where the contour canal wanders from one sharp bend to the next. On the outskirts of Hanley there is the first of the lift bridges. This one is electrically controlled and simple to operate. One just presses a button to turn the traffic lights from green to red and raise the bridge, wait while the boat is driven through, and then press a second button to reverse the process. This time we only caught one car.
After Hanley the scenery improves as the canal passes through woodland making its way along the side of a valley. We stopped soon after the village of Milton out in the countryside at lunch time as the rain was getting worse. The weather didnt improve durng the afternoon so we stayed where we were for the night having lit the fire to provide some homely warmth.
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