Photo:
1. Sunset over Danes Moss last evening.
2. Treetops overlooking the moss.
3. Sunrise at Broadhurst Swing Bridge. A footpath from here leads west, over a railway bridge, to Danes Moss.
4. Our home for the past six days.
We left Danes Moss this morning, heading for Bollington, a small town three miles north of Macclesfield.
24th Oct 2011, 19:14
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Today was a repeat of much of yesterday, interspersed with rain and hail showers giving way to a beautifully crisp and sunny autumnal end to the day rounded off by a walk along the edge of a wood.
The raucous sound of rooks whirling in the darkening sky as they again returned in their hundreds to roost in the trees nearby is a welcoming sign that all is well in our world as I hope it is in yours.
It's now 8pm here and I've just been outside to find frost on the boat - and I'm still in shorts!
19th Oct 2011, 20:15
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To late. The rain is now upon us!
18th Oct 2011, 12:03
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Photo:
1. Dane Moss.
2. The main footpath through the peat bog.
3. The enveloping canopy.
4. A grey windswept nightfall.
Today we motored a few short miles to moor at Danes Moss just north of the Broadhurst Swing-Bridge.
As dusk approached me and Gunner ventured out for a walk across the moss with the threat of rain in the air under leaden skies and a freshening SW wind.
The birch trees were frantically waving at us as we emerged from the trees into the strong gusting wind on the western side of the moss where, since our last visit three years ago, a good many acres of trees have been cleared to allow the peat bog to re-establish itself and the moss to grow back to albut obscure the wet ground beneath. The raised boardwalk is still as firm as I remember it and makes for comfortable walking as it snakes over and around the myriad of water-filled drainage ditches, ponds and moist peat.
We continued diagonally across the moss as the boardwalk gave way to footpaths, heralding firmer ground underfoot, and continued through tree-lined fields until we came to a lane where we turned to make our way back to the boat with only a slight diversion from our original path as we passed this time through the centre of Danes Moss.
By now the wind was causing havoc amongst the branches with rooks by the score wheeling and calling to each other in the chaos as they sought to find a roost for the night. Darkness had rapidly gained the upper-hand by the time we arrived back at the boat with the aroma of wood-smoke on the wind, a light to welcome us home by, a warming coffee for me and a biscuit treat for Gunner.
17th Oct 2011, 23:51
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Photo:
1. Bosley Locks with 'The Cloud' in the distance.
2. Looking down the northwest side of the Dane Aqueduct.
3. 'The Cloud' viewed from the Dane Aqueduct.
I never tire of the views from the Dane Aqueduct immediately below Bosley Locks and after a gap of three years it's good to be back just to see them again.
For the past four evenings me and Gunner have walked the round trip from top to bottom of the Bosley lock flight just to take in the views above and below the Dane Aqueduct and have never been disappointed. The landscape is spectacular this time of year as the sun dips towards the horizon behind 'The Cloud', at 1000' high, and the moon gives the illusion of a flaming beacon atop high ground to the east as it begins its evening ascent to climb above it. A 'must-see' for anyone who loves this wonderful country of ours.
16th Oct 2011, 13:56
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As dusk approaches the sun projects a useful bearing through the trees as me and Gunner enjoy the fading light amidst this beautiful but darkening woodland echoing with birdsong and the sound of natures choir.
16th Oct 2011, 11:46
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This is the view as you emerge on the east side of Watery Lane Aqueduct with the canal passing overhead in a near north/south direction.
There are some really pretty lanes criss-crossing the canal around here with the peacefulness only broken by a geographically confused sat-nav follower, without a clue as to where they are, being comforted by a soothingly honest and reassuring voice emanating from the cars entertainment system saying something like 'carry straight on till morning'; and they will. If only!
13th Oct 2011, 09:05
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Photo:
1. The footpath passes under an oak tree canopy.
2. Little Moreton Hall.
3. Heading back in the dark with the footpath oak tree silhouetted against the night sky.
As dusk approached, me and Gunner took the footpath, leading from the canal towpath, across open country to Little Moreton Hall. This moated hall is an oasis of a bygone age dating from its completion in around 1580; 130 years after building started in 1450.
Once described as "a ginger bread house lifted straight from a fairy story".
For more information go to
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Moreton_Hall
7th Oct 2011, 21:35
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