A stroll along the Weaver
So having been for a little stroll at the weekend I decided that it was time to try to keep it together enough for another walk on Monday. I needed to go and make a dental appointment and that is something that is easier to do in person as it stops them trying to put me off to something other than the earliest available date.
Took the usual route through Winnington to the Trent and Mersey leaving it at the entrance to Barnton tunnel. A short walk along the main road and I was at my dental surgery.
"I'd like to make an appointment please."
"Could I have your name?"
"Alice Chapman."
"N Xxxxxxx St?"
"yep"
"You aren't due a check up until after July 16. The first appointment we can offer is July 30"
"Nothing earlier? As yet again there are issues with upper left wisdom tooth"
*tappity tappity*
"Weds July 7, is the earliest."
"Can't do Wednesdays, sorry."
"Oh. We can fit you in on the 6th."
"Thank you."
It nice what a little pushing can do and I'd suspect that I've not taken up a space for an emergency appointment either.
I then carried along the main road for a hundred yards or so and took a lane that rejoined the canal over the top of Barton Tunnel. I carried on for a short while until I came to the access road to Saltersford Locks on teh Weaver Navigation. Here I left the canal walked down the hill and joined the river. Stopping to take a few piccies at the locks. In the 1870s when the Navigation was improved, to permit passage of vessels up to 1000tons, and the current paired locks built the existing lock was converted into a sluice to help control the water level in the navigation between there and Hunts Locks upstream. The current lock sluices and pelton wheel lock gate operating mechanism are still in use and good solid Victorian engineering dating from 1875. These piccies of the sluice show some of the evidence from its former incarnation as a lock.
Top pivot and gate recess
Recess for original bottom gate
"How green is my valley?"
"Very. And that's just the water!"Continuing on I walked along the bank of the navigation to The A49 at Acton Bridge. That stretch of the navigation has at present, thanks to little rainfall, almost no flow downstream and it's developing a nice (!) algal bloom (the piccie doesn't do the virulence of the green justice), as well as getting rather smelly.
At the A49 I popped into the Leigh Arms to use the loo (ok so I had half a pint of scrumpy too, which considering the medicinal cocktail I take is fairly silly when out and about on my own), before heading over a short field path to rejoin the Trent and Mersey for the walk home.
Barnton TunnelThe walk back along the canal takes me over the top of both Saltersford and Barnton Tunnels. Neither of these tunnels are exactly straight. Saltersford, in particularly has a dogleg in the middle and therefore has time controlled passage through it. IIRC from the hour to 20mins past the hour entry is permitted for boats heading south and 30min to 50min past for north bound. Barnton is not quite so bad as you can at least see the whole length of the tunnel.
By the time I got home I'd developed a blister on the second toe of my left foot. Not only that, but I'd made a bad choice of knickers, and they'd rubbed my labia raw as I discovered when I had a pee - it stung a bit. Comfy knickers don't always turn out comfy when stressed.
Alice.
(As always, thumbnail images link to full resolution versions)