Down - and up again

We must be mad. We spent two hours wrestling our way down the twelve Bosley locks, moored up below them on the aqueduct and then went off and walked up the 1150-ft high summit you can see in the distance called The Cloud.


We made it!
And so did Brian who was more impressed by the smells than the view

Still, it was worth it. Even on a hazy day the views are superb. There's a complete 360 degree panorama of Cheshire and Staffordshire. On a clear day you can see Wales, though probably not Lands End and John O'Groats that are marked on the big bronze compass plaque at the summit along with all the local landmarks.
The walk was actually not as bad as it looked (it looked terrifyingly steep!). We had to drop down from the aqueduct into the river valley below then climb some steep lanes before a very stiff trudge up through a meadow. The last bit was easy, though: the National Trust who own the site had even put in some concrete steps and a handrail up the steepest bit.
After an energy packed banana and honey sandwich each - plus a pile of dog biscuits for Brian - we were recovered enough for the descent. And three hours after leaving it we were back at the boat.
Tomorrow sadly we'll leave the hills behind, tunneling through the last of them via the Harecastle Tunnel that brings us to Stoke. A few more days and we'll be back at base.