Quackers at Marple

In and out of the water at Top Lock Marina on the Peak Forest Canal.

A contribution to
Weekend Reflections;
Scenic Weekends;
Saturday Critters;
Camera Critters.

Marple ducks

The notice sellotaped to a tree on alongside the Peak Forest Canal at Marple reads:
PLEASE READ

Ducks need a
nutritional diet too.

Feeding white bread to ducks can
stunt their growth and prevent
them from flying. Give them
a healthy dinner of cracked corn,
birdseed or oats instead.

The nearest ducks I encountered were enjoying the manicured lawn of a house on the opposite side of the canal.

A contribution to Wednesday Waters and signs, signs.

Gates at Lock #15

These are the lock gates on the Peak Forest Canal at Marple.

A flight of sixteen locks raise the canal more than 200 feet over the course of about a mile.

A contribution to The Weekend in Black and White.

Reflections on the canal at Woodley

Last week we celebrated our son's 34th birthday and escaped the aftermath of the election by taking a trip down the Peak Forest Canal from Ashton to Romiley aboard Community Spirit, a narrowboat operated by the East Manchester Community Boat Project

Here we are approaching the railway viaduct at Woodley beyond which is the Woodley Tunnel.

You can see a map showing the location of 61 photographs I took that day and view them as a slideshow on Geo-trips.

A contribution to Weekend Reflections and Scenic Weekends.

Alice on the Peak Forest Canal

Alice has just passed under bridge #11 and is heading home to Ashton under Lyne.

Alice is sister to Mary whom I showed you on 10th June.

Visit other contributions to the Celebrating Summer theme at City Daily Photo.

Also a contribution to
Ruby Tuesday;
Our World Tuesday;
Outdoor Wednesday;
Water World Wednesday.

Peak Forest Canal: Reflections and Shadows

From the bridge overlooking Manor View, Woodley.

A contribution to Weekend Reflections and Shadow Shot Sunday.

Woodley Tunnel

At Woodley the Peak Forest Canal passes through a 176yd (153m) tunnel. The towpath also passes through, protected by a handrail.

This is taken from just inside the southern portal. I'm informed that halfway along the tunnel the towpath is very muddy so I haven't actually made the journey through.

A contribution to
Our World Tuesday;
Water World Wednesday.

Caution No Fishing

A warning about overhead power cables by the Peak Forest Canal.

A contribution to signs, signs.

Mary at Woodley

The narrowboat "Mary" approaching Gravel Bank Bridge on the Peak Forest Canal at Woodley.

Mary is one of two 32 foot long narrowboats available for day hire from the Portland Basin Marina in Ashton under Lyne.

The section of the canal from Ashton to Marple is lock free and therefore relatively easy to navigate.

A contribution to Ruby Tuesday;
Our World Tuesday;
Outdoor Wednesday;
Water World Wednesday.

Reflections in the Peak Forest Canal

Near the boundary between Apethorn (Hyde) and Pole Bank (Woodley).

A contribution to Weekend Reflections and Scenic Weekends.

U is for Unity Mill

Unity mill was constructed in the 1860s for spinning cotton and was formerly known as Trianon Mill. By the 1890s it had converted to a rubber works but later was converted back again to a textile mill. The site has been used for the manufacture of products for the food, animal feed and brewing sector until it closed in December 2003. It occupies an area to the east of Woodley between Pole Acre and the Peak Forest Canal.

A former canal basin behind the mill is thought to have been built to serve the Hall Lane Colliery, established pre 1829. The wharf was later associated with the Mill. Although the canal bank is overgrown the outline of the basin is extant.

The buildings are decaying whilst the owners hold out for a sale or planning permission that might ensure a profitable conversion of the site.

A contribution to ABC Wednesday.

Bottom Lock Bridge

Following on from our recent photograph of Engineer Wharf viewed from a train on the railway viaduct between Romiley and Marple, is Bottom Lock Change Bridge.

From here the Peak Forest Canal, having been carried over the valley of the river Goyt on an aqueduct, progresses through the Marple Locks, a series of 16 locks and one of the steepest flights in the country.

Note: this photograph was taken in 2009.

A contribution to Weekend Reflections,
Scenic Weekends
and Sunday Bridges at San Francisco Bay Daily Photo.

E is for Engineer Wharf

Engineer Wharf viewed from a train on the railway viaduct between Romiley and Marple.

Engineer Wharf is situated on the north side of the Peak Forest canal, close to the foot of Marple Locks, and it contained the canal company's workshops dating from 1825. These included a blacksmith's forge and a carpenter's workshop where replacement lock gates were made.

A Tithe Map of 1850 shows the wharf prior to the construction of Marple Viaduct by the Sheffield and Midland Railway Company, which carried their line over the river Goyt as well as over the wharf.

More information can be found on the PittDixon website.

The canal has just been carried over the valley of the river Goyt on an aqueduct after which it progresses through the Marple Locks, a series of 16 locks and one of the steepest flights in the country.

A contribution to Our World Tuesday,
Outdoor Wednesday,
Water World Wednesday,
and ABC Wednesday.

Woodley Viaduct

The viaduct at Woodley is a bit of a hidden wonder insofar as there isn't a vantage point (as far as I'm aware) from which one can see the whole of it.

This view from Manor Road is looking at the eastern end of the viaduct as it crosses Hyde Road.


Here now is the view looking from Manor Road through the archway towards Hyde Road.

After Manor Road the next archway crosses the Peak Forest Canal. You can see the underside of it on the photograph I posted in July 2009 on Ackworth born, gone West.


On the day I took these photographs I had walked down Manor Road and crossed the canal using Bridge #12, which I showed here on 28th September. I then walked back to Hyde Road along Bankfield Road, crossing under the fourth arch. This view is looking back at the viaduct.

The railway used to be the main line from Woodley to Stockport (Tiviotdale) and points West, but now it terminates at a nearby industrial area.

A contribution to Sunday Bridges at San Francisco Bay Daily Photo.

Bridge #12

Bridge #12 on the Peak Forest Canal at Woodley.

A contribution to Weekend Reflections
and Scenic Weekends
as well as Sunday Bridges at San Francisco Bay Daily Photo.

Engineer Wharf

Engineer Wharf is situated on the north side of the Peak Forest Canal, close to the foot of Marple Locks, and it contained the canal company's workshops dating from 1825.

This view was taken from a train crossing on the viaduct above.

More information about the history of the wharf can be found on the Industrial Heritage of Britain website.

A contribution to Our World Tuesday.

T is for Tunnel

Woodley Tunnel on the Peak Forest Canal is 153 metres long; method of working is two way traffic; approximate travel time through the tunnel is 1 min 30 secs.

The Peak Forest Canal runs for 15 miles between Ashton under Lyne and Whaley Bridge. It was built to link the Ashton Canal with the tramways that brought limestone from the Peak District quarries.

A contribution to ABC Wednesday.

Marple Canal Basin

Marple Canal Basin lies at the end of the Macclesfield canal.

The Macclesfield, one of the last narrow canals to be built was approved by Act of Parliament in April 1826. Thomas Telford surveyed the canal and construction was engineered by William Crosley. The completed canal was opened on 9th November 1831 at a cost of £320,000. It was bought out by the Manchester, Sheffield & Lincoln Railway in 1847. With nationalisation in 1947 it passed to the Docks & Inland Waterways Board with commercial carrying finishing only in the 1960s shortly before British Waterways was formed. The canal runs from Marple Junction with the Peak Forest Canal in the north 26¼ miles to the stop lock at Hall Green near Kidsgrove. Thanks to Telford's design for commercial traffic the Macclesfield Canal has a very shallow and tapered bottom. The deep channel is just wide enough for two boats to pass in the centre making mooring other than at wharves "challenging".

A contribution to Skywatch Friday.