Housesitting in Cheshire

An animation of the Anderton Boat lift in action

We had to travel from Ashbourne to Lymm, it seemed daft to go back to Alvechurch, so we’d booked a pub stopover. Not a bad journey cross country, so we were going to be at the pub before we could check in. Brian found a little detour, and it was only a little detour, to the Anderton Boat lift, we knew it was open at the weekend after we walked there from our campsite, in the rain, a couple of weeks ago! We arrived just in time to hear an announcement about a talk, starting now, so off we dashed. It was just us, apparently he’d gone from 16 to 2, not sure why, but definitely our gain. Really interesting and perfectly timed to watch three boats go through. Success, finally, at our third attempt, though admittedly the first was probably 20 years ago! (See Brian's list of historical engineering facts at the end!)

The nerve centre of the Anderton Boat Lift. The hydraulic rams lifting the cassions are controlled from here

View from the top of the lift showing the exit

A pleasant enough pub was our overnight (The Black Swan @ Hollins Green), except for the helicopter hovering overhead for an hour at 04.00! We’d told Julia where we were staying, fortunately, as she’d made the comment we needed 12p for the toll bridge (The Warburton Toll Bridge)! Deciding we could afford 12p I allowed tolls on the Sat Nav. This took us from 9.1 miles and 20 minutes to 2.7 miles and 8 minutes! For 12p it would have been so easy to miss.

Our nights stay at the Black Swan in Hollins Green, just north of Lymm

Good local ales in the pub!

We arrived, on the edge of Lymm, to meet Julia and Adam, old Kitty cat, and the four hens, Chick, Bobbit and Thelma and Louise. The house is full of flowers as they were only two days married, so we’ve really enjoyed them. Kitty is gorgeous but a bit creaky. She is on gabapentine twice a day, and walks in a strangely jerky, clockwork fashion. Poor old thing, she does make us smile. The hens have a lovely house, but like nothing more than to come out and amble round the garden. Given the chance they’d like to amble round the house too! They hate other birds in the garden and rush at them, or do they think they are eating something exciting? I don’t know.

A houseful of wedding flowers!

Sweet, but old, Kitty cat

We’ve done a few walks from the house, it’s ideally situated between an old railway track, and the canal, to get into Lymm, a very pleasant village, with a very yummy Thai restaurant, (amongst other things). We walked down the canal to look at the Manchester ship canal and under the Thelwall viaduct. Very loud with the M6 going overhead!

And four hens to look after

Lymm, a very pleasant town

We then had to go to Barton Swing Aqueduct. The only one of its kind in the world. Brian seems to have gone from trig points to canal engineering, in the blink of an eye. This is an aqueduct, carrying the canal, that swings, full of water allowing big ships to move down the Manchester ship canal, there is also a swing road bridge. No sign of any movement though. This was right by the Trafford Centre, a shopping centre I guessed. Free parking and time for lunch, we stopped in. Not being great shoppers we didn’t buy anything, but as shopping centres go it was quite an experience. Not to mention we really enjoyed our fast food curry.

Our walk along the old Warrington to Stockport railway line, now a cycle and walk way and round the lakes of the Meadow View Fisheries

Then on to the Manchester Ship Canal

We didn’t do so well with our trip to Salford Quays and MediaCity. We went yesterday and although very pleasant it wasn’t buzzing and vibrant as we expected. It was interesting to walk round the Lowry though and see the “Matchstalk cats and dogs” for real. I’m not a great one for art, but I did enjoy this visit.

And under the two  mighty bridges of the Thelwall Viaduct, one engineering marvel carrying the M6 motorway across an earlier engineering marvel, The Manchester Ship Canal. British engineering at its best (bit noisy though)! See my list of interesting engineering facts below

The Barton Swing Aqueduct - unique in the world!

We spent Friday morning at the local bird of prey rescue centre. We’d forgotten that the cleaners came on a Friday morning so legged it out of the house without even any breakfast. Although it’s sad to see big birds of prey in any cage, these were so well looked after and both owners and volunteers were really enthusiastic and full of information. Apparently there is no regulation on buying birds of prey and since Harry Potter, there have been so many barn owls needing care they are really struggling.

Today we had a little trip to Bolton, though we could have been anywhere, where we actually were was Brian’s eldest granddaughter Abbie, and her boyfriend Alex’s, place. It was lovely to see them, and one of their cats and have a nosy around their first home.

Close up of the central ring gear that turns the bridge. Beneath you might just be able to see the giant roller bearings that support the entire 800 tonne bridge

Tomorrow we leave here and go to Bev and Iain, our friends near Bristol and their three cats (4 last time we were there, RIP Shadow). A stop off at mum’s for shopping, lunch or both, it’ll be all go!

A bridge from a bridge! We're on the Barton road swing viaduct and beyond is the swing aqueduct. The brick building between is the control room. The building and bridges stand on a man made island in the middle of the canal and both bridges swing sideways onto the island to open both sides of the canal to big ships 

The Bridgewater canal as it passes through the swing aqueduct over the Manchester Ship Canal below. We think the little hut on the right operates a swing lock that seals the water on the bridge, another lock on the left (yellow railings) swings out to seal the canal water. One both ends. They do this a good half hour before a ship is due, so queue's on the road bridge can really build up

A small part of the Trafford Centre, an amazing building and a very pleasant experience to visit

The grand staircase in the Great Hall of the Trafford Centre

MediaCityUK in Salford dock area of Old Trafford, Manchester. The Studios is where the UK soap Coronation Street is filmed

But it's also a major BBC and ITV site

Although Kitty cat doesn't seem very impressed!

So here's some interesting facts about the engineering achievements we've seen in and around Lymm and Manchester (in date order):

1. The year 1761: Through Lymm runs the Bridgewater Canal on its way from Runcorn (at one point running from the Irish Sea via the Mersey Estuary) to Manchester. It first opened in 1761 and was Britain's first canal built without following an existing watercourse, becoming the model on which all other canals followed. Named after the Duke of Bridgewater, it is 39 miles long and was originally built to carry coal from the Dukes mines into the industrial areas of Manchester. Following it's completion and opening to the Irish Sea it was used to export goods from Manchester around the world, before the Manchester Ship Canal was opened. Originally a stone aqueduct carried the  canal over the River Irwell, itself an engineering masterpiece, but this was demolished when the Manchester Ship Canal was built and replaced with the Barton Swing Aqueduct. In 1885 the canal was brought by the Manchester Ship Canal Co for £1,710,000. In 1975 a major leak occurred at an aqueduct over a river at Bollin, gushing water into the river below causing water levels in Manchester to drop by 14". Closure of the canal was considered, but eventually it was repaired for £250,000

2. The year 1854: Also running through Lymm was the Warrington to Stockport railway. It too had some modifications when the Manchester Ship Canal was built, being diverted over the Latchford Viaduct. The railway was closed tom passenger trains in 1962 and finally to freight in 1985 after the Latchford Viaduct was found to need major repairs, making it unviable. The track was removed and the route is now a cycleway. The Latchford Viaduct still crossed the canal, but is closed

3. The year 1894: The Manchester Ship Canal opens. It's 36 miles long and connects the Irish Sea to Manchester via the Mersey Estuary. Although freight could be carried from Manchester along both the Bridgewater Canal and the railways it still had to be unloaded from ocean going ships at Liverpool and reloaded onto barges and trains. High costs imposed by the Port of Liverpool forced businessmen to finance the building of the canal as it was cheaper to use the Port of Hull on the other side of the country. Against fierce opposition it eventually was passed by Parliament and built, roughly following the Mersey and Irwell watercourses and with locks to raise ships 60feet to the level of Manchester. It allowed ocean going ships to sail directly into Manchester, 40 miles inland, making it the third busiest Port in the UK. It cost £15m, more than twice it's original £7m estimate, a familiar story even today! The main exports from Manchester were in the cotton and textile industries and, here is another interesting fact: When we were in New Zealand, 9 years ago we were puzzled when watching adverts on TV that referred to Manchester. 'Buy your Manchester here'. 'Best prices and quality, come here for all your Manchester'. We could see pictures of home department stores with beds and furniture. It turns out that Manchester is a general term for home furnishings, bedding, sheets and all cotton textiles. I think they use the term in Australia too and people seemed bemused when we asked what it was. It's Manchester, they said, you know, sheets and blankets. A tribute to the strength of exports from here to around the world, aided in many ways to the Manchester Ship Canal  

4. The year 1893: The Barton Swing Aqueduct. The Chief Engineer was Edward Williams, who also built the Anderton Boat  Lift. The only swing aqueduct in the world. It is 250ft long, 17ft wide, 7ft deep and weighs 800 tonnes. It is still working (although only occasionally) 128 years later. The Barton stone aqueduct, itself an engineering marvel of the 18th century was demolished to make way. The new swing aqueduct was built alongside the still operating stone bridge and was so close, the swing bridge couldn't be operated until the stone bridge was removed. But so confident was Edward Williams that he pressed on with the built sure it would work

5. The year 1875: The Anderton Boat Lift. The same engineer, Edward Williams went on to built this lift just outside Northwich and lifts barges from the River Weaver 15.22m (50feet) up onto the Mersey to Trent Canal. It originally had two hydraulic, water filled rams to lift the two cassions, driven by steam engines using water from the river. By 1900 the rams were very corroded and major repairs were needed so, in 1908 a major refurbishment removed the hydraulic rams and replaced them with an overhead, electrically driven pulley and counterweight system. It operated this way until major corrosion to the structure was found in 1983 and it was closed. There it rotted quietly until funds of £7m were raised to refurbish it in 2001. It is now driven by two oil hydraulic rams, similar to the original design, but the overhead pulley system has been retained, but not used. 

6. The year 1963: The Thelwall Viaduct opens carrying the M6 motorway north over both the Manchester Ship Canal and the River Mersey. It is 4,414feet long (1.345km), the longest span being over the Ship Canal at 336feet

7 The year 1995: A second Thelwall Viaduct bridge is constructed alongside the existing, with the first bridge modified to take all northbound traffic, the new bridge taking southbound traffic. In 2018 over 167,000 vehicles a day went over the crossing

Housesitting in the Peak District

Snoozy Brian and Monty cat chilling out

Our first Housesit is nearly over, it’s been for three very fluffy cats between Uttoxeter and Ashbourne, on the road to Alton Towers. We’ve had Monty, a Norwegian Forest Cat who has loved us from arrival, Lucia a black, long haired, moggie who comes and goes, but now shouts to let us know she’s back and demand strokes and fuss, and Stripes a Maine Coon, very shy, but having strokes now and then when he comes home. At least we’ve seen him every day which is better than the first Housesitters apparently who didn’t see him at all for two days. Just as we are settling in, it’s all going to be over, but that’s how it is when the homeowner has children so can only go away for half term week.

A rare photo of all three pussy cats together, black Lucia on the left, Monty (I think) middle and Stripes on the window shelf (those two look quite similar but are completely different breeds)

Milk shakes at the busy Ramblers Retreat

We arrived on Sunday to meet Darren and daughter Molly who gave us a good rundown of the house and local walks, so with fab weather forecast all week we set off on the first one on Monday morning, straight from the front door onto an old railway, now cycle path. I do like a walk that starts from the house. We were aiming for the Ramblers Retreat, but so it would appear was half of Derbyshire, fortunately we weren’t starving so a milkshake from the ice cream bar was yummy.

The chained oak. Not sure how easily you can see the chains, you might have to click on the photo and zoom in. There is a chain in evidence between the second and third branches from the left, quite high up in the canopy you might be able to see. The fallen branch on the ground on the left has a chain embedded beneath the bark. It's a very old oak tree and some of the branches look quite dead and only held aloft by the chains. I believe four relatives of the Earl of Shrewsbury died roughly corresponding to four branches falling from the tree (legend would have it), before he took the curse seriously and chained it up

Chilling out in their lovely garden

We’d stopped en-route to visit the chained oak (or hex tree, as it’s called on the ride named after it at the nearby Alton Towers. So near you could hear the squeals), so called because the Earl of Shrewsbury upset a beggar woman who cursed him, saying that every time a branch fell off a member of his family would die. This appeared to come true so he had the tree wrapped in chains to prevent any more branches falling off!

A five mile walk while Jackie was away to a local hill with a trig point

Outdoor breakfast in the heat every day here

Tuesday I had to go back to mum, she had an appointment to have more vision tests, and then possibly to have laser treatment. Fortunately I’d managed to bring my second Covid jab forward to the previous Tuesday or I’d have been up and down on Monday as well as Tuesday! Her appointment wasn’t till 7pm, the quirks of going private. His tests revealed long standing damage from previous problems when I was at school, so nothing to be done for that, but also a thickening of the lense from her cataract surgery 10 or so years ago. He did get his laser out to remove some of that, but sadly with the long term damage, and the ‘floaters’ caused by the laser there was no eureka moment. We are still hoping that when the floaters stop floating and new glasses are purchased there will be an improvement.

This was our first walk along the old Churnet Valley Railway, now a cycle way and this is just emerging through a bridge to the old railway station of Alton (a short way from Alton Towers), which is now holiday cottages 

Looking down into Lathkil Dale...

I came back to the Housesit on Wednesday, having left Brian ‘home alone’ not only to care for the cats, and cook his own dinner, but also to operate the TV/Sky/Netflix/catch up.....all things he usually leaves to me! He seems to have survived! As did I, having to drive the hour and a half each way, things I usually leave to him!

Where we met up with old friends Tim and Jill, with Ruby dog. We've known them for nearly 30 years and have housesat for them in their lovely house just south of Derby several times. It was two years ago whilst housesitting for them that our old car blew up in Ashbourne. We were on our way with Ruby dog to a walk outside Ashbourne when it died, we had to leave it there, get a taxi, hire a car and then search for another car. Ruby dog was superb throughout and was a real therapy dog! 

A photo of Tim taking a photo!

Thursday we drove to Lathkil Dale to meet Tim and Jill from nearby Derby. We had a lovely walk with them and Ruby dog along the river and back to the Lathkil hotel for lunch. We did meet Henry (6 or 7 ish) and his mum and dog along the way. He was a lovely lad, not scared of talking to strangers, though obviously mum was there, but it was still a very pleasant surprise when his little arm snaked out around my waist. The other grownups had told him that he couldn’t go through the gate and down the very steep ladder of the mine shaft. He was very keen though so with me a step below and Brian above we escorted him down to where he could see further down the mine shaft as we cranked the handle, that powered the dynamo, that lit the lights. He wasn’t as excited as I expected him to be that he’d made electricity, but he was appreciative that we’d taken him “I could fall down here and really hurt myself” he’d realised on the way down. “That’s why I’m here to catch you” I said, seemed to reassure him!

Going down the mine! Below is 6 or 7 year old Henry and below him Jackie, making sure he's safe. Mum meanwhile was unconcerned, chatting to Jill. Ruby dog was wondering where we were going while Tim took the photo

Another gentle walk on Friday along the Churnett canal (well it has been very hot) before a walk round Ashbourne today. Tomorrow we clean and pack up before heading to Lymm outside Manchester for a night in a pub before our next sit starts on Monday.

Don't get many photos of the two of us, so here's one looking romantically into each others eyes!

Drinks and lunch afterwards at the Lathkil Hotel. A great way to end a splendid walk and day!

This is a large house that has been extended and this is a huge dining area with large kitchen behind and massive sliding doors opening onto the garden. Our room is up those few steps there into an self contained annex that they've just converted and will rent out on Airbnb. It's fabulous in there with it's own entrance, kitchenette, bathroom, patio doors and outside sitting area. Normally the door there would be locked, but we use it to access the rest of the house to look after the cats. The dark round circle in the floor is an old well that they covered with a thick sheet of glass. It's 4.5m deep apparently, the glass is strong enough to stand on, but it does feel weird to do so...

Looking down the well. You can't see much because of the reflection, but you can see plants growing out of the walls. Apparently Darren went down there during the build, cleaned it all and fitted some blue lights down there. The lights failed after a month and all those plants have grown since

Brian working on the blog at the dining table next to a sleeping, chilled out Monty cat

Monty cat likes to bounce Lucia cat and here he is preparing to pounce. Lucia seems to like it and they end up rolling around together and then Lucia dashing off with Monty is quick pursuit 

Lucia cat

And very shy Stripes cat

Lucia cat on the sofa in the lounge demanding strokes from Jackie

Our walk from Froghall to the Black Lion pub along a very picturesque canal. This is Hettys tea room at the start

This is Froghall tunnel, long enough, but not too long, but the roof is quite low. On one of the locks higher up is a profile of the tunnel hanging overhead with a notice advising boat users that if they can't get under the profile, they won't get through this tunnel 

The crossover bridge where the towpath crosses from this side to the other. Nice reflection in the water. I like to think of this as art!

This is the privately owned Churnet Valley steam railway, it runs next to the canal for most of the way and, when this train went past Jackie waved and she got a special toot from the driver. But look at the scenery, it's just beautiful and it was like this most of thee way. It almost looks like we're in the tropics - the heat of the day helped with this illusion too! It's actually the same track that we took a couple of days earlier from the house in Denstone. The part of the track we walked on had the railway removed, but this part, further up was retained

This is one of several overflow weirs allowing excess water to run from the canal down to the Churnet river below

There's the steam train in the station at Corsall. See how the waiting room at the station overhangs the canal

And there it is going over the canal bridge at the Black Lion pub. That's as far as we walked, we didn't even have a beer at the pub, despite it's scenic location. It was just on midday, we'd got a long walk back, weren't too hungry and didn't want to feel tired. Not only that, but it was 'Fizz Friday' and we had a bottle of pink sparkling wine chilling in the fridge for when we got back! Incidentally, here's the power of just talking to people, just after we set off back we passed a 73 year old chap with a lovely little dog. After stroking his dog we got chatting to him and, during the conversation he told us that it was his mum's funeral yesterday, she was a couple of days short of her 93rd birthday. We had a long chat about her and her life and it seemed to do him a power of good to talk it through. You never know what problems people are carrying when you pass them! 

No idea what flowers these are, but they were growing alongside the towpath in a wood and I liked the look of them

Well, we've had a lovely time here looking after these pussy cats and exploring locally, I think we're going to miss them all!