Knobsticks - Summer 2025

North Staffordshire & South Cheshire Branch

KNOBSTICKS

Summer 2025

Clearing the boundary at Burslem Port

Photo: Dave Broome

Editorial Welcome to our Summer edition. The sun is shining at last and canals are being closed due to lack of water. Mind you, the weather forecast has rain all next week!

As you will see on the next page, we have 2 people doing the “chair’s report”. First Alison says goodbye (although she is continuing as secretary!), then Sarah (accompanied by a bear of course) introduces herself before rounding up the news of local events.

Next (pages 6-11) we have an article by Alison about a very interesting cruise on VIC 32 through the Crinan Canal (and surrounding waterways).

Then (pages 12-13) Sarah explains what events are coming soon (although the first one may have already happened by the time you read this unless I type faster!).

Brief reports from Burslem Port (page 14) and Cheshire Locks (page 15) are then followed by the latest news of Sonning’s doings (pages 16-20).

The event is to highlight the breach to the locals, and help campaign for more funding for the waterways network.

The canal's owners, Peel Holdings, will be supporting the event, as well as attending it.

The site will be within walking distance of the breach, on fields alongside the canal, post code WA13 9JT and it will be over the August bank holiday weekend.

Hopefully we will see many of you there enjoying yourselves and supporting the campaign even though it is (just) outside our branch area.

What else do I have for you?

Well, Anne Chetwyn has asked me to thank Kath & the members of Stoke boat club for generous support of her "name the Easter bunny". They raised £20 for branch funds. The winning name was Opal. (Photo: Anne Chetwyn)

Finally (page 24) we have news of forthcoming working parties.

Personally we are just about to set off for Foxton to help build and run the “Harborough 75” celebration event.

In August we will be off again to do the same at Agden Bridge over August Bank Holiday. I am reliably told that this event will be announced before you get to read my musings, but in case you haven’t heard about it here is what I know so far: The Bridgewater Canal Campaign Rally will take place close to the breach near Lymm in Cheshire.

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I think that I have totally run out of things to say now, so I will just wish you a happy Summer on, or by, the canals.

Roger Evans KNOBSTICKS

Chair’s Report

Dear Branch Members, I’m very happy to be able to let you all know that Sarah Honeysett, who for many years now has been running our programme of talks and social events, has agreed to take over from me as Chair of this branch. I know that Sarah will do a fantastic job in this role.

I’ll be carrying on as Secretary, a role I’ve been carrying out alongside the Chair role for several years anyway, so I’m not going anywhere! Well, metaphorically at least. I’m actually writing this while on holiday on the west coast of Scotland, in between two separate and quite different trips on the Clyde Puffer, the VIC 32 (see article on pages 6-11).

I’ll be pulling together the rota for the branch stand at the Etruria Festival as soon as I return, though the event itself will have happened by the time you read this, so I hope that I see lots of branch members there enjoying the event.

Regards Summer 2025

Well, I didn’t expect to have another page of Knobsticks to write - in addition to the Social Scene section and acting as Sonning Bear’s typist and photographer - but here I am again, this time as Chair of our branch!

This feels very odd as, despite being an IWA member for a couple of decades and a committee member for quite a few years, I feel that I know much less about our waterways, historic boats and buildings, restoration projects going on around us and who’s who at IWA HQ than most of my fellow committee members. So I admit I have a huge amount to learn and will need help and support from my committee colleagues, as well as ideas and feedback from all of you.

One thing I have resolved to do is to turn the current crisis regarding links between the north-west waterways and the rest of the navigable network into an opportunity to cheerlead for our area as Alison Smedley a great place to visit by boat or towpath, Page 3

Chair’s Report particularly as we also have Stoke-onTrent celebrating its Centenary this year.

For example, on Saturday 10th May I joined fellow Friends of Hanley Park to walk the new “Canal Arcana” nature trail between Hanley Park and Etruria, where there are now eight beautiful ceramic plaques showcasing the natural history along the route. I’ve put a post with some pictures on the branch’s Facebook page. If you go looking for them, do take your reading glasses, however, as the notes underneath are small and in a fancy font.

planning to bring a boat to the Etruria Canals Festival, why not have a little Caldon Cruise (assuming we still have water in it by then!) and come back to Hanley Park? There’s more about this event and others on my “Social Scene” pages. [See centre pages] Back to the breaches on the Bridgwater Canal and the Macclesfield, the IWA’s latest Region and Branch Chair’s Liaison Meeting (the first I had attended) had the loss of links to the north-west as the first item on its agenda. Rightly, this was highlighted as exactly the sort of crisis we should use to try to get media interest in the Fund Britain’s Waterways campaign. It was also suggested that IWA try to work with CRT to lobby Peel Holdings for better access to the Manchester Ship Canal in the interim.

Sadly, after the chaos caused by such a wet autumn and winter, the extremely dry spring is now causing its own set of difficulties for our waterways.

Another agenda item, on regional organisation, became a series of musings on what the IWA’s role actually was, how we should work with CRT while simultaneously holding them to account, how we could work with canal restoration projects and boaters’ groups and Once you get to Hanley Park, you’ll see whether the IWA had itself become a de plenty of mooring rings through the facto boaters’ group despite having a park, but rarely any moored boats. That much broader mission. There were the café is still closed is a disincentive to questions about how to encourage new stop but the park itself is lovely, well- membership and active membership, but used by its local communities and no clear answers. Perhaps a good monitored by CCTV (though not starting point might be to ask existing specifically along the towpath). I am members why they joined and what they therefore suggesting that if any of the would like to see us do? Again, I would boaters in our group are going to be be keen to hear your answers and around the area over the weekend of 7th suggestions so feel free to email me or and 8th June, they join us for an look out for me at some of our summer informal boat gathering to join in the events and share your thoughts. celebrations of Stoke-on-Trent’s Centenary “People’s Parade”. If you are Sarah Honeysett Page 4

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Chair’s Report

Another Canal Arcana Plaque being admired by Sonning Summer 2025

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Clyde Puffer through the Crinan Canal

VIC 32 moored at Crinan Basin before we set off Rupert and I recently had the opportuni- to, Tarbert on Loch Fyne. As we ty to help crew the VIC 32, the only one particularly wanted to boat the Crinan of the few remaining Clyde Puffers that Canal (having previously cycled its operates as a passenger boat, through length, and having also boated the other the Crinan Canal. three navigable canals in Scotland) we offered to join as crew, once we realised We had originally booked a 5 day trip they would still need to bring the boat that would include the Crinan Canal for through the Crinan Canal to get to April last year, but that was cancelled Tarbert. It turned out that this was a due to a Scottish Canals’ stoppage very welcome offer, as they were overrunning! So we re-booked for this otherwise going to be a bit short handed year (the puffer’s schedule only takes it for going through the locks on the canal, through the Crinan Canal twice a year, most of which (apart from the sea locks once in each direction), only for that to at each end) are user operated. also be cancelled a few weeks beforehand, due to lack of a skipper!

So we set off for Scotland and arrived at Crinan on the appointed day, via two Our replacement trip was a fortnight ferries and an overnight stop on the later, but wouldn’t include the Crinan island of Arran. Arran has recently been Canal as it would set off from, and return designated as a UNESCO Global Page 6

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Clyde Puffer through the Crinan Canal Geopark which was of interest to me wearing my work hat so we drove around the island observing wildlife (saw a red squirrel and seals!) and visited some amazing stone circles.

VIC 32 (trading as Puffer Steamboat Holidays) is based at Crinan Basin, which is above the sea lock that takes boats out into the Sound of Jura. We were due into the next lock up on the canal at 9am the morning after we arrived. This lock was operated by the sea lock keeper, although Rupert was on the bank to do things with ropes to help get the boat into the lock.

sea and marshes (the Mòine Mhòr) on the left, and steep rockfaces on the right.

The channel along here was built to a fairly restricted dimension, as money was running out after the canal builders had started at the other end of the canal.

This is a delightful stretch of canal, with a couple of wider stretches of water, one with reeds and a houseboat, another huge one at Bellanoch with lots of sailing boats moored up. There is a swing bridge along here too, operated by Scottish Canals.

Once at Dunardry our work began – Rupert and I being issued with life Once up the lock, the skipper took the jackets and then going ashore to operate VIC 32 very slowly along the long pound the 5 locks here. The locks are a bit that winds along the edge of the coast – bigger than we are used to – 88ft long by

Going up Dunardry Locks Summer 2025

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Clyde Puffer through the Crinan Canal 20ft wide. The gates have very long balance beams which have metal spikes to keep them shut, and are heavy work to get moving (harder than the heaviest/ least well balanced Grand Union gates, for example). The paddle gear is all hydraulic, although several of them weren’t working very well! One oddity is that the windlasses belong to the lock, rather than the boats, and you have to remember to return them to the hook on the balance beam before leaving the lock, rather than remembering to take them with you like we do normally! (I only forgot once and had to go running back).

It took a little over two hours to go up the 5 locks, which were fairly busy with boats. There were two sailing yachts going up ahead of us, a fishing boat coming up behind, and a larger sailing yacht coming down the flight in the opposite direction.

We managed to eat lunch back on board going along the ridiculously short summit (about three quarters of a mile long!). Then off again to operate the locks on the Cairnbaan flight, which is four locks and a swing bridge (operated

by Scottish Canals) before another long pound.

The channel was noticeably wider now, with the VIC 32 making much faster progress along towards the town of Lochgilphead, which the canal skirts before running alongside the coast once again, but we were now on the other side of the Kintyre Peninsular. We had to wait a while for Scottish Canals to come out to operate another swing bridge.

Then it was down another four locks down to Ardrishaig Basin, where we moored up for the night. It was 6pm so that had been a 9 hour boating day, for 9 miles and 14 locks. A very enjoyable day’s boating!

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The following morning we helped on the bank by taking the rope to strap the puffer into position for the swing bridge and then into the sea lock, before heading out onto Loch Fyne where the puffer could finally get going at a faster pace, about 5.8 knots.

The trip down Loch Fyne to Tarbert took a couple of hours and we were soon moored up on the quay, where a delivery of biofuel was due to be delivered. Until a couple of years ago the VIC 32 used coal in its boiler, but two years ago they moved to using Green Dragon, a sustainable biofuel made from the waste vegetation left over after making rapeseed oil.

The Crinan Canal was designed by John Rennie (who also designed the Leek Arm of the Caldon Canal) and opened in 1801 (also the year the Leek Arm was completed!) to provide a short cut for vessels heading between Glasgow and the islands of the West Coast by saving the 130 mile voyage around the Kintyre Peninsular and avoiding some treacherous waters around the Inner Hebrides.

We left the boat at Tarbert (they were offering day trips to passengers that week), and spent 8 days exploring the local area including the towns of Inveraray and Campbeltown, then the islands of Islay and Jura. We had a great time (lots of castles, standing stones, whisky distilleries and ferries) before then returning to Tarbert for our official cruise!

The food provided when we were crew had been excellent but for the official cruise we now had two cooks providing the most amazing food! We were really very well looked after, with the routine of breakfast, morning coffee, lunch, afternoon tea and a 3 course evening KNOBSTICKS

Clyde Puffer through the Crinan Canal meal every day! The mornings were mostly spent steaming from one pier to another through the most amazing scenery (we were extremely lucky with the weather), and in the afternoons there were excursions ashore.

The first day saw us steaming away from Tarbert pie, south down Loch Fyne and turning left up the Kyles of Bute to Tighnabruaich (on the Cowal Peninsular).

Once moored alongside the pier we explored the local area. Rupert and I walked along the coast road and back along a lovely lane above the houses, then visited the small heritage centre and learnt about the history of the gunpowder factories in the area.

The next day we continued up the Kyles of Bute to Loch Ruel (Red Loch, named after the blood of those killed at a battle between government and royalist forces in 1685). Then down the other side of Bute (through a narrow channel between the Burnt Islands – where the Norse had burned their dead in their longships following the Battle of Largs in 1263).

Then it was across the wide open Firth of Clyde (where I had a go at steering) to the island of Great Cumbrae. We moored at Keppel Pier and all walked into the town of Millport for a private tour/ demonstration of the keyboard instruments at the Cathedral of the Isles.

The following day we headed up the Firth of Clyde to Blairmore, just north of Dunoon, where the pier has been

Rupert on Deck on the Firth of Clyde Summer 2025

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Clyde Puffer through the Crinan Canal restored by the community. On the way we had dolphins swimming in front of the boat for quite a while! They seemed to be having great fun. Once moored at the pier we caught a bus to visit the Benmore Botanical Gardens where we were particularly interested in the Fernery which had been restored by our friend, the late Dr Mary Gibby OBE, who owned Swan, the sister boat to our Skylark.

The following morning we headed back down the Clyde to Rothesay on the Isle of Bute, where we all inspected the amazing “gentlemen’s conveniences” on the end of the pier (the ladies was modernized in the ‘80s, but the gents is amazing!). The very impressive sanitary ware was made by Twyfords at Cliffe Vale Pottery, and we were amused to see photos of bottle kilns in Stoke on Trent, and of toilets being made, in framed photographs on the wall.

Then after lunch we all caught the bus down the island to Mount Stuart, where we visited the house which had been built by the 3rd Marquess of Bute using money made by his father from docks and mines in and around Cardiff. It’s a truly amazing building, well worth a visit should you find yourselves there.

Back in Rothesay it was time for us to bid our fellow passengers and crew farewell as we needed to head home in time for a volunteering commitment at home the following day.

We enjoyed our puffer experience very much, and will definitely be back either as crew, passengers, or for their annual work party weeks at some point in the future. We very much recommend it to others – although expensive, it’s comparable with other cruises (albeit the sleeping accommodation is fairly basic) and the food was excellent. A reasonable level of fitness is required for moving around and on/off the boat, but other than that it can be as relaxing or interactive as you wish, with the opportunity to have a go at steering, helping with mooring lines or helping the engineer putting biofuel in the boiler.

You can find out more at savethepuffer.co.uk (Puffer Steamboat Holidays).

Alison Smedley Page 10

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Clyde Puffer through the Crinan Canal

Alison having a go at steering the VIC 32 on the Firth of Clyde Summer 2025

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Social Programme

North Staffordshire & South Cheshire Branch Social Scene – May 2025 I must start this item with a huge “Thank You” to both Alison and Rupert Smedley for their impromptu reprise of their talk on Historic Narrowboats at our April meeting, and to Alan Chetwyn for having his presentation on his journey to Sharpness to hand, only to be thwarted by my failure to check what technology was required to show it. So, we have one talk lined up at least for 2025/26, as Alan gets to try again at our AGM next March!

Before then, we have a few summer events to look forward to. The Etruria Canals Festival takes place over the weekend of 31st May and 1st June and our branch will have a stall there, so please do come and say “hello” and let us know if you are available to help at all over the weekend – extra hands are particularly welcome when setting up and taking down the gazebo.

This is the first of several summer events beside the waterways through Stoke-onTrent as part of the City’s Centenary celebrations. On Saturday 7th June, just a week after Etruria there is the People’s Parade, happening in and around Hanley Park.

According to the Centenary website, “The People’s Parade will feature 1,000 community participants, alongside specially made large scale puppets, costumes, live music, dancers and banner. The Parade commences on College Road, then heads into Hanley City Centre before returning to Hanley Park where it will be met by the Party in the Park celebration event, featuring charity stalls, craft vendors, fun fair and a live music stage. There will also be food stalls and an alcoholic bar with food and drink offerings.”

As a boater and a Friend of Hanley Park, this seemed to me to be the ideal opportunity to encourage boaters to use the mooring rings that run all along the towpath through Hanley Park. Jon and I are planning to be there on Uplander II – water levels permitting – so we hope to see some NSSC boating colleagues and visiting boaters there too.

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Social Programme A week later, on 14th June, there is Middleport Pottery’s 1920s-themed canal festival while back in Hanley Park we have Stoke Pride on the 21st June and the Six Towns Carnival on July 13th. Both events have colourful parades as well as food, drink and community stalls. I will share more about all of these on our branch Facebook page. Although we don’t formally have a stall at these events it would be great to see some boats there and of course we can chat about the IWA to passersby.

Planning for the branch’s 2025/26 calendar is underway, with our social meetings scheduled at our usual time on the second Friday evening of the month from October to December, and February to April, at 7.45pm for an 8pm start. I am planning to end 2025 with some Stoke-on-Trent focused talks in honour of the Centenary and am waiting to confirm dates with Andy Perkin from the Potteries Heritage Society, colleagues from the Friends of Hanley Park and the Transforming the Trent Valley initiative, which has been looking at our area in their Trent Headwaters project.

I am hoping to book our January Annual Dinner at The Bleeding Wolf on the A34 in Scholar Green (near Kidsgrove), which is a fairly central location for our branch and easily accessible to anyone coming by boat from the moorings above Hall Green Lock. That leaves February and April to organise, so I will probably invite one of our nearby restoration projects to give us an update and, if inspiration fails, may inflict another quiz on you all.

Have an excellent summer and I hope to see many of you at our events and social meetings soon.

Sarah Honeysett Admission to AGM/talks is FREE Donations to waterway causes welcome!

Refreshments available.

Non-IWA members are very welcome Venue (unless otherwise stated): Stoke on Trent Boat Club Endon Wharf, Post Lane, Endon STOKE-ON-TRENT, ST9 9DU For further information contact: Sarah Honeysett (01782 772295) socialsec.nssc@waterways.org.uk or visit the branch webpages at: www.waterways.org.uk Summer 2025

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Burslem Port Student Action

Work Party News

Michael Toohey and myself had a very interesting visit to the architecture department of the now “University of Staffordshire” to see the interim results of three of their degree students’ proposals based upon our wharf warehouse and overnight mooring basin.

Again, because of my health after Christmas and, more recently, my eye operations we have only managed three Friday work parties this year. These have concentrated on exposing our Western boundary with Eden Valley Properties, and have involved cutting down many quite tall saplings. We have a long way to go! Help!

With money no object and a vivid imagination we were presented with dramatic curved roofs, relocated mooring basin and exciting plans for our warehouse. We now can’t wait until their final submission on May 22nd to see the completed designs as the main part of their degree course; I believe the first from this new university department.

In respect of the work carried out by the department of design, surveying and planning at Newcastle College, we have recently received a similar invite to view their work based not only on the warehouse building but the whole length of the canal back to its junction with the Trent and Mersey. It should be interesting to view different approaches. I’m, of course, hoping we can get some publicity from both of these invites as we are so keen to draw, or should I say entice, new faces onto our small team here at Burslem Port Trust.

Design Progress Not much to report I’m afraid due to my double cataract operation which has rather curtailed my drawing ability. I am, however, looking to see if there is a chance to fit half a dozen houses on the land to the South of the warehouse, currently shown as a children’s activity area. If so then it may boost our chances of attracting either a developer, or some financial support.

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Future Dates June 6th + 20th July 4th + 18th August 1st + 15th + 29th September 12th + 26th Dave Broome [Ed: Also see photo on Front Cover] KNOBSTICKS

Cheshire Locks March 20th (+21st) There were 6 of us in attendance on Thursday and 3 of us returned for a follow-up on Friday. Thanks to the great weather conditions and the sterling work of the team, we were able to complete Lock 64 at long last .

We also painted the metal mooring bollards between Locks 63 and 62. We then joined the rest of the team who had already made great progress in prepping and painting Lock 62 and the extensive metal fence surrounding the adjoining sluice. [Photos below by Mike Wilford]

We were also able to finish most of the work needed on Lock 63 but despite our best efforts we were unable to complete.

April 17th We had a very productive day at Locks 63 and 62. The weather was excellent and there were 10 of us in attendance. 4 of us were able to put the finishing touches to Lock 63 which now looks really neat.

Summer 2025

Article (& un-credited photos): Tony Walker Page 15

The Boating Adventures of Sonning Bear

Boating Bears in Stoke-on-Trent

My last few Knobsticks articles have been about our journeys on some of the great rivers of Europe, but Hanley Bear has been nagging me to make this one about our boating adventures much Page 16

closer to home, in honour of his home city (Stoke-on-Trent) which has been a city for one hundred years this year.

Hanley says that Stoke-on-Trent is the best place in the whole world (he also thinks Stoke City are the best football team in the world!) and that we should encourage more boaters to visit, so I will do my best.

We spent several weeks last spring and summer cruising around Stoke, as our human guardians had things to do which kept them at home. Because we keep Uppie (Uplander II) at Kidsgrove, a trip to Stoke always starts with a journey through Harecastle Tunnel. It’s always good to see the tunnel keeper as you come out of the gloom at the south portal! If you have time to moor and look around, Hanley Bear says don’t miss the KNOBSTICKS

The Boating Adventures of Sonning Bear Transport Trust round, red sign on the tunnel keeper’s cabin.

It's not far from the tunnel to one of our favourite moorings, at Westport Lake.

There are proper mooring rings there and views across the lake, and the café, which was closed for a little while, is open again. We like going for walks around the lake with our human guardians and exploring the wetland area between the lake and the railway.

The geese can be noisy and we are a little bit scared of the swans but there are other birds to see, like the tufted ducks, which are Grizzly’s favourites.

was the Price and Kensington Teapot Factory. This has been disused for a long time and used to have lots of junk flytipped in it, but a local businessman called Mr Wayne Walker is trying to renovate it and has cleared all the rubbish away and started to repair the buildings, so it is looking much better, although some very naughty young humans have smashed some of the windows again.

Under the bridge is Longport Boatyard, where we sometimes get Uppie’s hull blacked and often get fuel or the pumpout done. We are always curious to see what boats they have for sale or are building, but we wouldn’t want to swap Uppie for anything else!

Travelling along the canal from Westport Lake towards Longport, you’ll see the first bottle kiln beside the canal at what Summer 2025

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The Boating Adventures of Sonning Bear A great place to stop for Elevenses after travelling through Harecastle Tunnel is just around the corner, after passing the very modern Steelite Pottery works, at the Middleport Pottery. There are a few spaces for boats on the non-towpath side immediately beside the pottery (but you cannot stay here overnight) and plenty of mooring rings along the towpath on the other side, from where you can get to the pottery over a little bridge where some lovely art has been done by the local community. [Ed: See picture at start] Even if you don’t stop, you’ll see your second big bottle kiln at Middleport Pottery from the canal and not too far away, after Middleport Park and some flats overlooking the canal, is a little bottle kiln at Oliver’s Mill, again on the non-towpath side, along with another unusual kiln with a rectangular stack.

Inside the pottery there is a museum trail to visit and, if you have time and can book in advance, there are factory tour where you can see things being made and decorated. Several local craft potters have shops and studios here as well as the Burleigh (originally Burgess and Leigh) shop and ‘seconds’ shop.

There are more craft and card shops just across the road, and another museum area called “Harper Street” and, in the main site overlooking the canal, there is the café where they serve excellent oatcakes and other savoury snacks, and very good cakes too!

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Just a little way from the next bridge, look out on the non-towpath side for the site of the former Burslem Branch – there is a super display board to show you where it is and what it used to look like before it closed in 1961. Don’t forget that Mr Dave Broome is always grateful for help to look after the footpath and keep the Burslem Port site neat and tidy (we will remind our human guardians!)

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The Boating Adventures of Sonning Bear

The Trent and Mersey Canal curves round from here, past some rather ugly big warehouse buildings on what used to be the site of the Shelton Bar steelworks, and heads towards “Festival Park”, named after the site of the huge garden festival in 1986.

Summer 2025

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The Boating Adventures of Sonning Bear We bears think it’s a shame it isn’t still a big park but humans find it useful to have things there like shops, restaurants, a cinema and a big swimming pool.

There are lots of mooring rings here so it’s easy to stop here to explore. It’s also a good place to catch buses up to the city centre (which is the town of Hanley) or across to Newcastle-under-Lyme.

[Ed: See picture at bottom of the previous page] I am going to finish the first part of my guide for boating in Stoke at Etruria Junction, where the Caldon Canal leaves the Trent and Mersey. There are plenty of mooring rings as you approach the junction along the T&M and also in the

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basin beside the Industrial Museum, which is one of our favourite moorings except during the Etruria Canals Festival over the first weekend of June, when these moorings are reserved for visiting historic boats.

We love the Etruria Festival and hope to see lots of you there and for other special events in Stoke-on-Trent for the Centenary, but you can read more about those in human guardian Polar’s Social Scene article.

Article: Sonning Bear Photos: Sarah Honeysett

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VisitEngland graded 2-8 berth quality narrowboats.

Weekly hire and short breaks available.

Wide choice of excellent routes; E.g. Four Counties Ring, Caldon, Cheshire Ring.

Beginners and experienced crews welcome; Full tuition given.

Please ring for a brochure or visit: WWW.CANALCRUISING.CO.UK

Summer 2025

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The Swan Inn Stafford Street, Stone Two minutes from bridge 93 at Star Lock

Serving Real Ales & Scrumpy Cider Beer Garden

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KNOBSTICKS

North Staffordshire & South Cheshire contacts If any of the roles shown as vacant interest you, please contact Alison Smedley for further information.

President Roger Savage roger.st21@gmail.com

Planning Officer Dave Broome (for Stoke on Trent City Council only) 07974 966253 dave.broome@burslemport.org.uk VACANT (all other areas) Contact Alison Smedley

Chair Sarah Honeysett 01782 772295 Membership Officer Mary Smith sarah.honeysett@waterways.org.uk membership.nssc@waterways.org.uk Treasurer Alan Chetwyn (No Email)

07742 116959

Navigation Officer Jon Honeysett MBE 01782 772295 navigation.nssc@waterways.org.uk

Secretary Heritage Champion Alison Smedley MBE 01538 385388 Sarah Jones alison.smedley@waterways.org.uk sarah.jones@waterways.org.uk Sales Officer VACANT Contact Alison Smedley

Burslem Port Work Party Dave Broome 07974 966253 dave.broome@burslemport.org.uk

Social Secretary + Uttoxeter Work Parties Sarah Honeysett 01782 772295 Caldon VACANT sarah.honeysett@waterways.org.uk Contact Alison Smedley Publicity Officer + Website Editor Cheshire Locks Work Party Sarah Honeysett 01782 772295 Tony Walker 07708 320470 + Julie Arnold walker.tony31@gmail.com publicity.nssc@waterways.org.uk Newsletter Editor Roger Evans 01606 834471 nssc-newsletter@outlook.com 10 Long Lane, Middlewich, Cheshire, CW10 0BL

Stoke on Trent Boat Club Rep: Jason Burnham

West Midlands Region Chairman Helen Whitehouse 01543 491161 westmidlands@waterways.org.uk

The Branch committee meets at 7:30 p.m. on the 2nd Tuesday of March, June, September & December. All Branch members are invited to attend.

The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the Inland Waterways Association, the West Midlands Region, or our Branch.

They are, however, published as being of interest to our members and readers. © The Inland Waterways Association - Registered as a charity no. 212342 www.waterways.org.uk/staffscheshire Summer 2025

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Join Us on a Canal Work Party

Our Branch runs 3 work parties each month, helping to maintain and restore our local canals :-

• Cheshire Locks (Trent & Mersey Canal, Kidsgrove to Wheelock)

(jointly organised with the Trent and Mersey Canal Society) 3rd Thursday of each month (except December), 10am to 3pm.

Contact: Tony Walker Phone: 07708 320470 Email: walker.tony31@gmail.com

• Uttoxeter Canal (held in partnership with Caldon & Uttoxeter

Canals Trust). Work parties are unfortunately no longer running due to lack of an organiser. If you are interested in getting involved (full training and support are provided) please contact: Alison Smedley Phone: 01538 385388 Email: alison.smedley@waterways.org.uk

• Burslem Port, Stoke-on-Trent

(working in partnership with Burslem Port Project) Fridays: June 6th + 20th, July 4th + 18th August 1st + 15th + 29th, September 12th + 26th Contact: Dave Broome before attending Phone: 07974 966253 Email: dave.broome@burslemport.org.uk ——————————–————-—————————-————— See the IWA website www.waterways.org.uk under “Events” for dates.

Volunteers are advised to wear stout shoes and old clothes, and to bring waterproofs (and a packed lunch and drink if staying all day).

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