We’ve had a very pleasant couple of days below Bosley Locks. Yesterday wasn’t as bad as the forecast predicted, so Gloria, Amy and I, with the 3 dogs, set off to climb to the top of Hen Cloud.
Hen Cloud from the bottom of Bosley Locks.
This gritstone ridge rises 1350 feet above sea level, one of a chain of outcrops running along the edge of the Peak District. Mow Cop, which we climbed earlier in the trip, is the furthest south.
It was quite steep towards the top, but we made it, taking about 1¾ hours. The dogs really enjoyed the exercise. Hen Cloud is apparently Old English for “steep rock”….
Gloria was well pleased to reach the top, Jake wonders what all the fuss is about...
G, A and dogs pose on the top.
The view to the west. Fiddlers Ferry power station was just visible on the horizon, 27 miles away.
And the main building of Jodrell Bank, a mere 8 miles away. The summit was a mass of purple heather.
We didn’t see a drop of rain on the walk, it wasn’t until later in the afternoon that the first of the days showers came along.
Carol arrived at the top of the flight in the afternoon, intending to join us today, so I offered to go up and do the locks for her this morning.
We had an easy trip down, and Laura earned her own windlass, looking after the current lock while I went down to set the next.
Laura at Lock 7
After a bite to eat, Carol decided to push on a bit. After all, she’d done nothing all morning; Laura and I did all the work!
After saying our goodbyes to our erstwhile neighbours, we followed on, but only went a mile before a shower of rain told me to pull over. I rang Carol, and she’d made it to Congleton before stopping, so we’ll have to play catch-up tomorrow.
Locks 0, miles 1.
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