Trips 25th & 26th May (Macclesfield & Ashby Canals)

 Trips 25th & 26th May

I also had the Sunday off work, but with a late finish on the Saturday and multiple cancellations I decided to have a more local day to walk the Test Way path between Redbridge & Romsey, something I’ve been wanting to do for a while.  The bank holiday Monday I had a cheap Travelodge in Birmingham city centre giving me quite a few options for the Monday itself, making use of the lack of peak restrictions on the bank holiday.  Even if the weather was set to be Scorchio!

25th May – Exploring the Macclesfield Canal (Part 2)

After exploring the section of the canal from Macclesfield to Marple the previous week, I decided to visit the section between Congleton & Macclesfield.  The day started with the 05:27 service from Grateley with 159018 to Waterloo, with a gentle stroll towards Euston to catch the 07:53 Avanti service to Stoke on Trent giving me a nice 25-minute connection to the stopping service to Manchester.  390001 was lightly loaded in coach C as it called at Milton Keynes & Rugby along the way, an uneventful trip to Staffordshire.

I made use of the toilets at Stoke station before boarding former West Midlands 323206 from the bay platform for the speedy run towards Congleton, although the heat was already starting to rise (even with the majority of windows opened).  At Congleton I left the train to begin my walk, heading towards the Queens Head pub, finding a slightly overgrown path down some steps leading to the canal, where I turned left to go underneath the railway on the towpath.

323206 departing Congleton Station

The towpath in this area was quite decent, although a bit narrow in places (to the degree when I met someone coming the opposite direction one of us had to pull over in a wider spot to allow the other to pass without the risk of getting too close to the canal side).  Thankfully the towpath did open up a bit more after leaving the built-up area of Congleton.  I crossed over the Dane-in-Shaw Brook and the route of the old railway line (which headed towards Biddulph).  After pausing for a photo of a 323 crossing the Congleton Viaduct, I continued my walk with the canal changing direction to head north west (rather than north east), going underneath the railway to skirt round the edge of the Havannah area of the town.

After changing of direction to go back heading north east, I left Congleton behind and headed into the countryside, the towpath quality changing a few times, similar to most rural canals.  After crossing underneath both the A54 road and the railway for the last time, the canal crossed over the River Dane to approach the Bosley Lock Flight, the only set of locks on the entire canal, raising the level by 118 feet.  The route of the long closed Churnet Valley line crosses the canal in this area with evidence of the old railway embankment crossing the fields.  The lock flight ended, going underneath the A54 once again with the canal running close to the railway, giving a nice view over the North Rode Viaduct, somewhere I stopped for a photograph and to have my lunch. (Although my memory might be poor and the viaduct was before the lock flight).

A voyager crossing North Rode Viaduct

My lunch consumed, I resumed my walk, heading towards Oakgrove and a noisy section with the canal running close to the A523 road, although the woodland did give me some nice shade from the sunshine.  Another change of direction of the canal took it close to the railway near Danes Moss nature reserve before heading back east, underneath the A523 near Lyme Green, skirting close to Gurnett in Sutton with some lovely views of the hills to the east of Macclesfield.  Soon the countryside was replaced with the urban area of Macclesfield with the towpath switching sides for the first time.  My walk along the canal ended when I reached the A537 Buxton Road, the point where I joined the canal the previous week.

Before heading down the hill towards the station, I visited a nearby Co-Op for some cold drink, for the water I had in my rucksack had gotten warm.  After visiting the shop I headed along Buxton Road, detouring via Victoria Park before reaching the station, with quite a few delays due to various issues.  The first northbound train was 323230 on the stopping service, for it must be a good few years since I last called at the likes of Adlington & Poynton.  Due to overcrowding (I presume due to a Man City parade based on the number of Man City shirts) I couldn’t get off the train at Stockport, so stayed on to Manchester Piccadilly.

Victoria Park Bandstand, Macclesfield

I decided it would probably be better to head towards Birmingham sooner rather than later, as I wanted to do the 18:30-odd Chiltern service from Moor Street towards Stourbridge Junction for the novelty of Mk5 coaches on that area of the network (as the one later in the day has rubbish connections back towards Birmingham).  The next service was a refurbished voyager in the shape of 220028 as I managed to grab one of the unreserved seats in coach D.  First impression was good; the new seats were comfortable with USB sockets located in the front between the seats (makes it easier for someone sitting in the aisle seat to access them).  As expected of a 4-coach voyager, it departed Manchester very busy, remaining busy (in terms of standees in the aisle) until Stoke on Trent where it did empty out a bit, although didn’t help this service running in front of an Avanti 11 coach Pendo).

Due to signalling issues around Wolverhampton, the train was diverted to run via Bescot Stadium & Aston to reach Birmingham New Street (Darlaston having a massive 5 vehicles in the large car park).  I left the voyager at New Street, heading outside into the afternoon heat.  After visiting Poundland for some more liquid supplies I was going to head towards the hotel, to get myself checked into the hotel (losing some weight from my rucksack and to make sure the room wasn’t roasting).  When I was passing Bull Street, I noticed a tram for Millennium Point so I decided to jump on for the one stop journey to Albert Street on tram 50, waiting for it to return to take me to Corporation Street.  I walked back towards Bull Street but the platform display was suggesting a 30-minute gap before the next tram so decided Millenium Point would have to wait for another day.

West Midland Metro Tram 50 at Albert Street

After getting checked into the hotel, getting a room on the 3rd floor (again!), finding the room to be reasonably cool (window open with curtains closed), I relaxed.  Sadly, my plans changed as the Stourbridge Junction train had been cancelled at Banbury due to a train fault, but not wanting to spend the rest of the evening I decided to take a spin to Dorridge to intercept the 2nd Stourbridge Junction service.  Leaving the hotel, I headed towards Moor Street and onto 168002 which was delayed, the stopping service went first, but this service passed it at Tyseley (the 172s using platform 3 and the connecting line).  At Dorridge, I dodged the many youths whom had alighted from a train from Stratford Upon Avon (complete with loud speakers and various drug related smells) to pop to Sainsburys to waste some time.

When I returned to Dorridge station (which was quite humid), the ID of the 2nd Stourbridge train had been updated to be a pair of 165s, so I cut my losses and boarded a late running Birmingham bound 168328 & 168003.  Part of me would have loved to have done the 165s to Stourbridge for the novelty factor, but the more sensible part looked at RTT to highlight a 45-minute wait for something back to Birmingham, assuming that was actually running.  Anyhow back at Moor Street, I headed back to the hotel on Newhall Street to have a shower & to relax, with an early start planned for the Tuesday with a return to Leicestershire.  An enjoyable (if a bit hot) day in Cheshire, just the 6-mile section between Kidsgrove & Congleton left to explore of the Macclesfield Canal, so hopefully another canal can be ticked from my list by the end of July.

70811 passing Dorridge

26th May – Reaching Moira and the End of the Ashby Canal

It was an early start (although I was already awake before the alarm went off due to the warmth in the room) to stroll towards Birmingham New Street to catch the 06:52 service for Leicester, featuring my first refurbished XC 170 (similar to the EMR sets, just different colours inside).  We weren’t allowed on board until the 2-coach unit on a Nottingham service departed first as both were sharing the platform.  170101 took me to Hinckley where after detouring via the large Tesco next to the station I made my way to the slightly poorly designed bus station (the road isn’t quite wide enough for 2 buses to pass comfortably).  I took the Centrebus run route LC6 service (bound for Coalville) with a little Solo to Market Bosworth, alighting at the oddly named “Terminus” bus stop, close to the canal (saved walking the mile from the town centre to the wharf!)

After a short walk via the car park of a Sports Club, I dropped down onto the Ashby (De La Zouch) canal at the point where I left it a couple weeks ago, turning north underneath the road bridge, passing a large marina.  The countryside arrived with the towpath being quite changeable for quality, no big hazards which was good.  The canal weaved towards Congerstone skirting round the edge of this little village before weaving towards Shackerstone, where I decided to make a little detour to pay a visit to Shackerstone station on the Battlefield Line, grabbing a few photos of various locos before making my way back towards the canal.

Shackerstone Station (Battlefield Line Railway)

The towpath had swapped sides so the canal was now on my left, as I entered a nice woodland cutting, the shade being nice as well as the peace & quiet of rural Leicestershire.  Soon I arrived at Snarestone where there was a small tunnel requiring a detour over the top on a well signposted path.  I re-joined the canal the northern side of the tunnel for the last section of the canal, reaching Sharestone Wharf where the current canal ends.  I switched from walking alongside the canal to walking on the base of the old canal, then onto the "Ashby Canal Trail" path, passing the site of Ilott Wharf and heading towards Measham.  On the outskirts of Measham I joined the route of the former Ashby & Nuneaton Joint Railway, passing the site of the former station before reaching the road.  I did have an option to end the walk but decided to carry on as the buses are only hourly and I had missed one by around 10 minutes.

After Measham I followed cycle route 63 which ran along the route of the old railway with one small detour near the bridge underneath the A42.  The railway path skirted close to Oakthorpe before reaching Donisthorpe.  At Donisthorpe I headed towards the Donisthorpe Woodland Park before picking up the route of the old railway as it headed towards Moira Junction where in the olden days it connected with the Burton - Leicester railway line (now effectively mothballed at the northern end, slowly being reclaimed by nature).  I joined another path which ran alongside the railway before heading towards the original canal terminus (complete with a 30-0 milepost marker), now part of a small nature reserve near Overseal.

Ashby Canal at Snarestone

The next section was via the roads, passing the National Forest YHA and reaching the Conkers Waterside Centre, as part of the canal has been restored.  I headed towards Moira, detouring towards a handy Co-Op for some more liquids and some food, before carrying on.  I passed the Moira Furnace Museum heading back towards Donisthorpe, the restored section of canal ending near a woodland centre.  The last section was a walk towards a bus stop near the Donisthorpe Memorial Park, relaxing leaning against the wall (thankfully in the shade).  I had around 20 minutes left before the bus to Burton, which was running around 10 minutes late.

Annoyingly I had left my power bank in my work bag, so my phone was down to single digit percentage battery (which after a 4-and-a-half-hour walk was good going considering I started at 90%), so I needed to be careful.  Sadly, the Diamond run route 19 bus didn't have USB sockets, but I was surprised at it being a double decker.  An interesting route which headed towards Burton Upon Trent via Overseal, Albert Village, Swadlincote & Newhall, featuring some steep hills as it crossed into Derbyshire & then Staffordshire. 

Moira Furnace Museum alongside the Ashby Canal

In Burton Upon Trent town centre, I headed towards the station via a couple of shops.  I had a couple of options, either take the next service into Birmingham for a voyager towards Basingstoke or take the next service which called at Tamworth to change for something towards London.  I decided on the voyager option due to issues on SWR (where most of the West of England trains were only getting as far as Basingstoke due to late running).  First option was a 2-coach refurbished 170117, where I got a seat and put my phone on charge, relaxing with the trip to Birmingham New Street where I had around 30 minutes to wait before the next Bournemouth train (the Reading train I was hoping to catch was running hopelessly late with issues on the ECML).  220020 rolled in, annoyingly the wrong way round to what RTT was suggesting (RTT was suggesting 1st class was at the front, whereas it was at the rear, as I was aiming for one of those seats in coach D which can’t be reserved).

The train departed New Street very busy, but as usual for XC it emptied out at Coventry & Leamington Spa, however it was running around 30 minutes late due to congestion between Wolverhampton & Birmingham so it gave me extra time at Basingstoke before taking a busy 159009 & 159004 to Grateley.  An enjoyable, if hot, day in Leicestershire, certainly for rural charm the Ashby Canal is a good rival for the Leicester arm of the Grand Union canal.  Anyhow as always thanks for reading, more photos can be found on my Flickr *here*.  May is nearly at an end, scary that.