28th April 2013 - Stoke-on-Trent to Alsager

Set off mid-morning.  In an hour and a half we reached the southern portal of the Harecastle Tunnel. This is 1.5 miles long, one boat wide and very dark.  On arriving the Tunnel keeper told us four boats were on their way through from the other side and we would have a wait of 50 minutes to an hour.  We elected to use the time refilling our water tank and in the meantime another boat arrived behind us.  Once the four boats had all popped out in front of us, the keeper sent us through with Ceilidh in the lead.  We have done this tunnel before, and whilst it isn't easy, with two bikes on the back it proved an absolute nightmare!  The tunnel sides are quite irregular and its impossible in the dark to keep to the centre, so several times we bashed the bikes against the tunnel wall.  To use a motor racing term, I flat spotted my tyres - by dragging them along the tunnel wall!   Annie had to keep a torch shone on the bikes and shout out if they got too close.

Eventually we popped out of the north portal - covered in orange mud from the walls with badly scraped bikes, missing one fender and a small hole in the cratch cover.

Then followed two flights of six locks each up through Kidsgrove and Alsager.  Rain clouds appeared at 5pm, and still exhausted after the tunnel we decided to moor up.  20 minutes later the heavens opened.....

North of Stoke there is plenty of industrial dereliction

There are still several pottery companies operating however.  It can still be called "The Potteries"

Taking in water as we waited to go through the Harecastle Tunnel