Shower hopping through Macclesfield and Bollington.

We were woken up last night by a huge roll of thunder and flash of lightening as a storm opened up above us. Meg opened one eye and went back to sleep, I contemplated the fact that we were in a steel boat, on water, with the TV aerial up, and an electrical storm was raging overhead. Then I went back to sleep. Que sera, sera.

The weather had cleared this morning, and we were on our way by 11:00. The Macclesfield is very green at this time of year, trees overhanging the channel and meadows either side.

Clark Lane Snake Bridge

Coming into Macclesfield, there has been a collapse of a retaining wall, closing the towpath. Work has started on shoring up the remaining sections with buttresses, but I guess repairing the breach is going to take some heavy machinery.

Collapse near Bridge 41

Just beyond this, one of a row of cottages has an unusual item of garden furniture. It certainly beats the imitation well and plastic gnomes!
I spotted two boats today, deserving of the SBDA.
This one near Swettenham Wharf in Macclesfield….
And this one at Kerridge Wharf. Some useful logs on the roof….
Also at Kerridge is this narrowboat representation of Captain Nemo’s famous submarine…
We stopped at Bollington for a visit to the Co-op, waited for a couple of heavy showers to pass, then pushed on for another hour or so.

Clarence Mill, Bollington
We moored between bridges 19 and 20. A quiet spot, but shallow. We just got tied up as another heavy shower came over. We’ve done well to avoid them today, travelling in the sunny spells. It’s been quite breezy, though, making it a bit cooler than the last couple of days.
Locks 0, miles 9½