Rainboat

Back on the Trent and Mersey the channel was wider, straighter and deeper, making navigation a lot easier as we made our way towards the notorious Harecastle Tunnel.

On the way we passed Middleport Pottery which had free day-moorings for visitors. We made a mental note to take a tour the next time we travelled this canal but right now, both our sights were set on the journey ahead, through the fourth longest, self navigable tunnel in the UK.

Harecastle has an interesting history. In response to the need for coal in the potteries, James Brindley engineered a low, narrow tunnel stretching 2630m through Goldenhill. It opened in 1777, allowing navvies to leg their boats through. The trip would take about 3 hours while boat children led the horses overground, along Boathorse Road and met up at the other end. The industrial revolution meant that almost as soon as the Brindley tunnel opened it was insufficient for the vastly increased demand for coal. Also, it had been dug out of soft earth and millstone grit. There were major problems with subsidence and flooding.

Brindley had died before his tunnel opened so Thomas Telford was brought in to engineer a second, parallel tunnel. Though still only wide enough for one boat, the new tunnel incorporated a towpath, meaning horses could pull vessels through, reducing journey times to 40 minutes. Offshoot tunnels linked directly to nearby mines, where coal was loaded on to small craft and taken back to the main tunnel. This eliminated the need to haul coal to the top of the mine shafts and proved a far more efficient method of extraction.

From 1827, when the Telford Tunnel opened, the two worked alongside each other, meaning boats could travel both directions at the same time. In 1914 the older Brindley tunnel finally collapsed. Its legacy is the intense orange hue leached into the canal from iron ore disturbed as the ground slowly shifts and subsides.

We moored for water just before the southern entrance and were given a safety talk by the tunnel keeper. Will shifted all the plants off the roof, turned on the navigation and headlights and tested the horn. Since parts of the towpath collapsed, there was no option to walk Tiger through. The keeper noted the two adults, two dogs and two cats on board and advised us that if there was a problem, we should sound the horn every 30 seconds until we hear the rescue boat giving three blasts in return. Only one of us was allowed to be outside, while any crew and all pets needed to be shut indoors. Life jackets were advisablebut not mandatory. As we were towing Little Rainboat, we'd go through by ourselves, not in convoy. We set off just before our booked time of 1pm. The keeper opened the barrier and tunnel door, then closed it behind us. Once inside, noisy fans started up, ventilating the 2676m length. They removed the smell of diesel but a sulfurous odour intensified the deeper we got. Vicky camped out on the bed with the two dogs and Whiskers. She'd prepped calming music, a calming spray, cheese treats, honey and peanut butter licky mats as well as Tiger's snuggly bed to try and keep her calm. Thankfully she coped reasonably well and Will did a super job of keeping to the middle so there weren't any loud bangs. The only scrape came when he tried to avoid a massive hunk of rock sticking out into the water. We reached the north portal in just under 40 minutes but had to travel through a lock before we found a suitable place to moor near Kidsgrove.

We made a big fuss of Leo that evening as it was his 3 year adoptiversary. He and Tiger enjoyed his new puzzle feeder, but figured it out pretty quickly!

Whiskers obviously approved of the location. He went off the next day and when we checked in the evening he was 400m away on a long island between the Trent and Mersey and the Middlewich Canal that ran parallel. Will galantly set off and returned 45 minutes later with a disgruntled ball of black fluff struggling in his arms. He'd been in a large Willow, protected by steep banks of bracken, brambles and nettles. Will really wished he'd worn thicker trousers!

The forecast showed gusty winds and heavy downpours so we stayed for six days. Will found Amigo's, a nearby kebab takeaway and we both enjoyed it so much we visited twice! Abby's annual booster was due and Beechwood Vets was only 13 minutes walk away. Conveniently they were able to fit us in the same day. Abby is nearly 16 but sprung out of her box in the consultation room and rubbed herself against the vet. It helped that she had dreamies. On her health check the vet detected a heart murmer. We decided to do some further checks included in a 'geriatric package'. Her BP was good and none of the results from her blood test were anything to worry about. She seemed as well as an older cat could be in herself so it's just a case of being vigilant and keeping it in mind. She's still happy and enjoying life, which is what matters.Read more