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squiz Member  Member#: 218 Location: Registered: 11-05-2003 Diary Entries: 42 Mood: don't like winter.....too dark |
21st August 2018 Mt. Biking: Froghall to Leek Wind Direction: Wind Stength: Surf / Sea State: Air Temperature: Sea Temperature: Weather: cloudy start, sun later. Max Speed: 22.37 (knots - unless stated otherwise) Distance Covered: 23 miles (Nautical Miles - unless stated otherwise) Tuesday 21st August – bike ***** Froghall to Leek – cloudy start, sun later. A bit of a disturbed night, went to bed at 10.30 with a group of noisy youngsters sitting at a picnic bench by Hetty’s tearoom, luckily, they went fairly quickly only to be replaced by more. I was woken at 3.30 by kids running about near the van which makes you nervous especially with the two bikes are just laying covered over and locked on the grass. We couldn’t bring the bike rack as picking up the windsurf trailer so bikes are in the van when travelling. They leave with the obligatory wheel spin and we manage to get back to sleep not waking until 8.30 as the carpark starts to fill up and there has been light rain during the night. We get a sad pic from Hannah of Rob cooking breakfast outside the tent in Devon in rain, I think they have had enough and will be heading for some home comforts at Hannah’s mum’s cottage:) So relaxing start, late breakfast, then Mag packs a picnic and we set off on the bikes at 11.20. Past the Hetty’s café, open today and doing a roaring trade despite the grey day, across the road to the very start of the Caldon Canal. Over a lock to Froghall basin and onto the very narrow but very pretty tree lined canal. Froghall tunnel is just around the corner easily by-passed at the side we met up with a very friendly local on a bike and stop and chat for ages. As with the previous local we chatted with he navigates by the pubs along his route! He tells us of a pottery near Stoke that is covered in clay poppies which were part of the armistice tribute at the Tower of London a few years ago and that it is well worth a visit. He was going today but at 17 miles it is too far for us! He also says he might be doing a biking holiday in East Anglia starting in Stowmarket, Suffolk, what a small world! The canal meanders along with few locks hardly looking wide enough for boats to use. We pass a Canal Trust tourist narrow boat and chat as we pass. Just around the corner there is a railway station right by the canal used by steam trains, sadly not running today so we stop and watch the boat pass as its only just wide enough to get through! Then it’s the Black Lion at Consall where we cross a river and come to more old lime kilns. The canal widens now but boats are still few and far between, just some moored along the way. We see a fleeting glimpse of a kingfisher whizzing away and scare several dozy pheasants that run-in front of us along the tow path before flying away! Then we come to the double water mills once used to crush flint for the potteries at Cheddleton and on to Hazelhurst Aqueduct high above us! I know that this carries the canal to Leek but we are not sure now to get the bikes up there. We climb the steep steps to the canal and get chatting to yet more friendly Midlanders in their narrow boat who show us their map to help us find the way to Leek. We say we have cycled many canals and the only place we didn’t stop was Sheffield as it looked a bit rough only to discovered that where they lived!!! But luckily, they agreed that it was a S***hole and they don’t moor their lovely narrow boat there! Back on our bikes you have to continue along the lower canal to Hazelhurst junction before cutting back on yourself to reach the higher Leek Branch. This two-mile dead end was the busiest section with several boats on the move. At Leek tunnel we had to push the bikes over a high hill before reaching the end of the canal. Carrying on along a stream we stopped for lunch in a nature reserve before biking into Leek, a Historical Market town apparently. We soon found the town centre, which was OK, got told off for riding the wrong way down a one-way street then left in search of the canal. Well finding it was easier said than done, the road was busy with cars doing their best to knock you off so we turned off as soon as we could doing a large detour along a wooded tramway past what looked like a large private school, posh houses in col-de-sacs and the rugby club before finding the main road which took us down to Cheddleton and the canal. Then all we had to do was bike the 5/6 miles back to the van! With the sun now out and the banks covered in pale pink balsam blossom it was pretty as a picture:) Back at the van with a much-needed cuppa and cake I discovered we had covered 23 miles being out for 5 hours 15 minutes! We were going to stay here again and risk being woken by noisy yougsters in the night, but a young couple in a van parked nearby with load music, making litter while preparing a BBQ so we decided to move a little closer to Stoke so we could bike to the poppies tomorrow. Quickly packing up we headed to Stockton Brook passing lovely rolling countryside with the big hills of the Peak District just North. We found the canal by the busy road and tried a few country lanes near the canal but were having no luck finding anywhere:( Then we got lucky, we followed a footpath sign which took you down a private track right to the canal. At a bridge over the canal I had to give way to someone coming the other way who stopped to say it was private, I got out to say we were just looking for somewhere to park for the night and did he know anywhere and he said we could park up their private lane by the derelict pumping station so we could bike in the morning. His name was Mark and lived in one of two houses at the end of the track, his neighbour also passed and had no objection to us staying, what lovely people:) So with a quiet canal view we had Lidl lasagne and will hopefully enjoy an undisturbed night tonight before going in search of the cascading poppies tomorrow!!! Photo Gallery Here |
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