The Wardle Canal

We learnt something today.

We always knew that the first lock on the Middlewich Branch Canal was called the Wardle lock but we didn’t know that the Wardle canal is a canal in it’s own right.

It is the shortest canal in the UK at only 154 ft long and came about due to an argument between the Shropshire Union and Trent and Mersey canal companies when the Shropshire union canal wanted to join up with the Trent and Mersey canal at Middlewich.

All this information came from Maureen the unofficial lock keeper at Wardle lock.

She has been on the canal most of her life originally around Birmingham and is a real character.

Just a few yards along we moored up and went shopping in Middlewich a short walk away.

Somerfield’s offer a delivery serviced t0o your boat and sure enough the man turned up with baskets and a trolley with not only our groceries but another boat’s as well.

We gave him a hand lifting the boxes over the bridge and down the steps but it beat the you know what of carrying it all back from the shop.

We shall be using their services again without a doubt.

We had a mini Kelvin rally as Arkstone pulled in and we heard the distinctive sounds of a Kelvin engine. It was K2 type which is double the size of ours and enormous. It spent it early life powering a lighthouse generator inn Scotland.