Wheelock and Sandbach

We are taking advantage of the dry days to zip along the sections of canal we've travelled on previously, in order to get to new waters. We intend to turn north off the Trent and Mersey and explore the Macclesfield and Peak Forest Canals, heading north east on the Huddersfield Narrow, through Standedge Tunnel. Long term we'll travel east to Wakefield, then south over The Wash to Cambridge.

Today we ascended the three Booth Lane locks and cruised through rural surroundings to arrive at Wheelock, stopping just before Wheelock Wharf, between a field and some back gardens on the off side. Will went straight off to explore and surprise surprise, found a pub! He got chatting to some locals who advised him to visit Sandbach, just a short bus ride away.

A bitter wind blew forcefully overnight, draughting in through the air vents at the head of our bed. It blasted Rainboat so she rocked against her lines, only to yo-yo back and bang against her fenders. It was raining and frigid the following morning, with a real feel of -1°C. We waited for a dry spell before walking the dogs and even then only gave them a short one. Leo has a little more hair now and can keep himself warm for a while by running about but he gets tired quickly.

We left the dogs with the heating on and caught the number 38 a few stops to Sandbach. It was nearly 15 minutes late and we got pretty cold standing on the roadside. Wheelock seemed a quiet place with a restaurant, pub, convenience store, pet store and a vendor of garden gnomes but Sandbach was more lively. A few covered market stalls sold fruit, veg, eggs and brick-a-brack while permanent stands inside the small Market Hall offered jewellery, vintage clothing, dog 'wellness', woodcraft, new age crystals and goth paraphernalia alongside the more conventional butchers, cheese shop and café. We were drawn to the Chocolates to Cherish stall which had a whole shelf, small though it was, dedicated to vegan chocolates, all handmade by Paul Stockbridge, Master Chocolatier. His partner Tracy runs her A Sense of Wellbeing business from the same stall.

Vicky needed a sit down so we didn't linger long. The cobbled main square bordered by old townhouses was just around the corner. Here we found The Café On The Square which not only had a vegan option but a whole plant based menu alongside their vegetarian and meat based one. We joined other diners up a winding staircase where we were treated to a view of the square though the olde worlde vertical grid window. From our table we could see the locally famous Sandbach Crosses; Anglo Saxon stone monuments from the 9th century. They'd been destroyed sometime in the 16th or 17th century and their pieces scattered, but in 1816 a local historian had collected together most of the pieces and reassembled them!

Sight seeing over, we visited the fruit and veg stall, butchers, Aldi and Handy Household; a good quality 'sells everything' store where we somehow managed to buy £77 worth of items, including a boot scraper in an attempt to stave the endless tide of mud tramped into Rainboat's galley. We really enjoyed our trip to this little town, which had a good mix of sightseeing opportunities, practical services and places to treat yourself.

Friday was much the same weatherwise so we took the dogs to Cheddar Cheese; the Wheelock pub that Will had visited when he first arrived. It had been reopen for less than a week after a shiny new refurbishment. The staff were happy to have customers and the dogs got treats and fuss from them as well as other patrons and even the plumber 🥰 From here it was on to even more strokes and some interesting smells in the pet superstore. We took the opportunity to buy cat litter even though we didn't need it. The bags are so heavy they are difficult to carry over any distance so a canalside pet shop was an opportunity to be taken advantage of!

Will returned to Cheddar Cheese for a fish and chip lunch the following day while Vicky rested. It was the pub's first day serving food so it felt good to support them.Read more