TUESDAY. At Lymm
The 2008 journey thus far: 293 Locks; 444.5Miles; 56 Swing\Lift Bridges
Journeys using bus pass: 20
On our last visit to Manchester, we discovered a small café in Liverpool Road that served excellent grilled breakfasts. We called first at Sainsburys for supplies, carried them back to the boat and went for breakfast. The meal was as good as we had remembered, and put us in good spirits for boating.
We left Castlefields under an sky which was overcast and gave the impression that it would so remain for most of the day. We were on the lookout for a canalside warehouse building with the East wall covered in a wonderful mural. I failed to locate it when we were inbound. We found it today, the entire mural had been removed from the brickwork with hardly a trace. We were able to confirm the location; as the small notice on the south wall with the credits for the mural had not been removed. Why was it removed? Answers on a postcard please to us.
We arrived at Waters meeting and turned left towards Sale. The first oncoming boat of the day was passed soon afterwards. The Cheshire ring is obviously popular, as we had passed more boats today than at anytime since leaving the river Soar. After Sale, the towpath was full of cheerful walkers and our hands were worn out waving to children; in some cases to Grandparents as the children looked on and wondered what was happening.
There was rain in the wind as we passed the grounds of Dunham Massey Hall and over the River Bollin aqueduct. A few spots continued to fall until just before our destination at Lymm; when it decided to rain properly, but only for a few minutes whilst we tied up.
Myra went exploring and found the remains of the 18th century Lymm Slitting Mill. Bars of wrought iron were brought to this water powered mill; firstly to be rolled out into thin sheets and then cut into narrow strips. These were then used for various processes including the manufacture of nails, in this area mainly a cottage industry as they were hand made. The actual date of the mill is uncertain, but it was in production by 1751.
Weather- overcast, one shower then dry.
