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| approaching Yard Lock, Stone |
As I whizzed along the longish middle pound - on my bike - I saw that it would make a good place to tie up for the night, so that's what we did. We are directly in front of the Bywater Hotel pair; I had a good chat with the owner.
We have now come up with a reasonably definite plan: we'll go to Liverpool via the Bridgewater Canal and Leeds and Liverpool Canal, then traverse the Pennines on the L&L, then return to the Trent and Mersey via Standedge Tunnel. (I'd better find out about booking a passage - and booking from Aintree to Liverpool.) We have a deadline to meet at the beginning of September, that's the annual BCF Barbecue at The Taft near Rugeley, but we can meet that on four-hour days and still have a couple of days in hand. We're actually already slightly ahead of schedule now; I aim to keep it that way.
Oh - I have discovered that there's no John Lewis in Stoke; I'll have to do my camera thing in the Trafford Centre. The Bridgewater Canal goes very near, so that's handy.
6 comments:
We're headed for Liverpool too, booked our passage on the 26th July, so we still get 2 weeks in Salthouse Docks as the stay changes to 1 week after 1st August.
Regards
Chris & Joy
John Lewis was in The Potteries Centre in Hanley last time I was there (about two months ago) and has been in the same location (but not the same building) since at least the 50s (when I saw Santa there).
Chris, the 26th is exactly when I have calculated we'll be on the last leg from Aintree to Liverpool. I'll contact CRT and see if we can get on the same booking. I suppose it doesn't make much difference to them that it's a Sunday (apart from less traffic to hold up at the swing bridges).
Dave, that's interesting. There's no mention of a John Lewis store at Hanley (or anywhere else in Stoke) on their website.
Dave, a little research on the internet has revealed that there was indeed a Lewis's store in Hanley, but it is now Debenhams. Nothing to do with the John Lewis Partnership. If you haven't seen it, then take a look at this website http://thepotteries.org/advert_wk/129.htm for some wonderful old adverts etc. It will bring back memories for you, I'm sure. The 1967 Christmas window display looks a right mess - and not at all Christmassy!
We're coming West on the L & L over the next few weeks (just outside Leeds at the moment)- hope we see you! Chance meetings with boatiing friends is something we've missed in our exploration of the North :-)
Not sure if we'll got to Liverpool this year - decision to be mae when we get to the bottom of the Wigan flight...
Sue, nb Indigo Dream
p.s. would Jubilee fit the Calder and Hebble locks? We can recommend crosssing the Pennines on the Aire/Calder/Rochdale - even if it does mean finishing the ring through Manchester!
Sue, I do hope we'll meet. We're intending to get to Wigan on 22nd July on our way to Liverpool, then pass through Wigan on our great west-to-east cruise around the beginning of August (all timings subject to change etc.)
We know Jubilee fits the Calder and Hebble as we did that last year on our way to Sheffield having done the Rochdale. (Manchester's all right!)
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