Marple to Middlewich
(Macclesfield and Trent & Mersey Canals)
£1248pp (£2496 per charter)
Cruise 7 - 27th May to 2nd June 2026 (6 nights)
Marple can be a bit of a tricky place to moor - mainly because folks tend to ignore the 24/48 hour limits ... this is because the canal is so shallow OUTSIDE of marked mooring zones, getting a space along side in a deep enough area is difficult.
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With that in mind, Ellis MAY have wandered up to Bugsworth basin for the turn around days. This might mean an 'on the fly' pick up at arrival time at the junction... hopefully this won't be the case but forewarned is forearmed!
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Guests will arrive approximately 1.30pm on day one and after an introductory blah blah (and most probably glass of something fizzy) we’ll chug off to begin our adventure.
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The aim will be to make it up as we go along but my instinct is to chug along to High Lane. There's a pub near the embankment across the road which is quite friendly from memory... it might be an idea if the weather (and guests) are willing to go a bit further - perhaps Bollington.​
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Next norming after a DIY breakfast, we'll chug off and head towards Macclesfield for lunch (hopefully) getting moored on the floating pontoons - once again however, these are rarely available thanks to 'continuous Moorer's' so perhaps we'll have to chug on a bit further.
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IF folks are up for a longer day (and assuming time restriction for the Bosley flight are no longer in play), we MIGHT work our way down the 13 locks and moor up for a late dinner at the bottom. It's nice there... if however the flight is STILL (5 years on) on limited operating hours, we'll just have to make the best of wherever we ended up. The Macc IS a lovely canal but can be shallow in places so sometimes mooring is a bit trial and error.
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Once we're down the Bosley flight, we'll need to motor on for a bit, as once off the Macclesfield on to the Trent and Mersey, we've got a long hard couple of days working down what's affectionately known as 'Heartbreak hill' - we'll TRY and break off near places with pubs such as Wheelock and the Cheshire Cheese but no guarantee.
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As intimated - Lunch and overnight moorings will be adhoc but Capt. E. generally has flashbacks to good and bad spots so we'll be fine.
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Once in Middlewich we'll try and moor at the top of Kings lock for our final night - Capt. E might even suggest Fish and Chips from the excellent chippy there if you've been good... they are over priced but it saves cooking after a hard days locking!
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The trip will end the final morning and guests will depart around 9.30 after breakfast.
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NB - the mooring at the top can be quite noisy so Capt E. may suggest moving down onto the Middlewich branch of the Shropshire Union canal if there's space - it's a bit of a faff though as the tap is just below the lock which will mean some interesting reversing to fill up for the following cruise... maybe ear plugs are an easier option!
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Total distance is 41 milesand 47 locks . There are 2 moveable bridges and 19 small aqueducts or underbridges.
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