A simple paint job makes such a big difference to how cared-for the Trent and Mersey Canal milepostslook!
Photos: Sarah Honeysett
Last issue we reported that vandals had drained several of the pounds near the top of the Cheshire Flight. CRT worked hard to slowly refill these pounds despite the water shortage. It was therefore even more of a blow when, at the end of August there was more vandalism with the partial draining of 2 pounds above Kings Lock Middlewich.
This time several boats were affected as there are both permanent and temporary moorings directly above Kings Lock. Some of the boats were beached on the mud completely out of the water, others were leaning heavily to one side with the ropes under considerable strain. A few days later I was finally able to visit the area and take some photos (See pages 5 and 16).
On a much happier topic, Sarah has been out paining more mileposts. On the cover you can see the tremendous
difference she has made to the one outside a garden in Trentham. Below there are another pair of before and after photos of the one at Sideway. When I congratulated her on the difference she had made, especially to the (previously indecipherable) makers plate, she expressed regret that she had missed the black dividing line between Shardlow and Preston Brook. I’m glad that she isn’t perfect …
Finally, please note that the date of our Annual Dinner has been changed from Friday January 9th to Friday January 30th. The full menu is printed on pages 14-15. There is no “form” to complete this year, simply let Sarah know (as soon as possible) that you plan to attend, and then let her have your menu choices by Friday January 16th. Hopefully we will meet lots of you there.
Roger
Evans Photos: Sarah Honeysett
Almost every Wednesday morning, Jon and I enjoy a walk around Hanley Park and its neighbourhood with a local walking group. Often, we divert along the Caldon Canal towpath as far as PlanetLock,beforecomingbackthrough the “Cauldon Grounds” part of the park. After the summer stoppages due to low water, it was lovely to see a narrowboat heading through the park in the autumn sunshine this week, though water shortages remain an issue both locally and nationally.
Checking the stoppages, I note that the Froghall Arm of the Caldon has only
recently reopened and, despite a few spells of heavy rain – enough to refill the garden and allotment water butts –another recent walk around Knypersley Reservoir showed how much rain is still needed to compensate for this year’ s excessively dry spring and summer. If the Honeysetts ever feature on Gogglebox”, it will probably show us cursing the TV weather forecasters when they talk about the “threat” of rain!
However, as we saw last winter, rain to excess is indeed a threat. We can only hope that we get what we need gently and regularly, rather than in sharp deluges of the sort that caused the Bridgewater Canal breach and other damage.
Which leads nicely on to the IWAs recent initiative to raise awareness of the risks posed by Climate Change and uncertain funding to the waterways network in England and Wales. You will have seen more about this in the latest Waterways magazine. If you haven’t seen the report and interactive maps that accompany the online version, do take a look. Although the climate issue is framed in terms of predictions for 2050, this year it feels as if we are already there. Current projections warn that the pattern we have seen this year, of wetter winters and drier summers, is likely to be the new normal. The waterways in our immediate area are all classified as at “amber” on the risk index for funding, which is the same for most of the CRT-
managed routes. Regarding water shortage, expectations appear to be that we will be affected less severely than many areas, and also at lesser risk from excess winter precipitation, with the greatest concern for river navigations.
Of course, we do need to consider the picture across the whole country; those of us who are boaters don’t usually just potter about in our own back yard (although that is literally what Jon and I did this year). We want to be able to explore further afield without undue concern that we’ll find ourselves – or at least our boats – stranded a long way from home, for weeks or even months, by drought, flood or structural collapse. Boat hire companies need access to an attractive range of routes for their customers. Waterside pubs and cafes want boats to bring both additional customers and interest to their location. And, as I noted in Hanley Park, the other walkers get a certain little buzz from seeing boats using a canal.
Unexpectedly, even those who aren’t usually that pleased to see us would miss us, as we found on a cruise around the Wyrley and Essington Canal a few years ago, when the local fishermen were all smiles and said it was good to see a boat as, without them, the waterway became entirely choked with weeds. So this IWA campaign - for better funding to support the improvements needed for greater resilience to climate change - has the potential to get many different groups of people working together.
IWA hopes it might be a cause we can use to raise our profile and recruit more members. I am certainly thinking about which local groups share our focus on waterways and with which we could establish better links, but with attracting new members hopefully a by-product
rather than the aim. After all, the people I have in mind are already likely to have fees to pay to their angling club, memberships for Staffordshire Wildlife, the National Trust, or whatever. The Transforming the Trent Headwaters project is already in touch regarding the issue of water shortage. I think the message will be, “You don’t have to join up to join in – but please do join in!”
We can start with small things. If you currently attend our socials, make sure you chat to your friends about them, share our Facebook posts if you use that platform and invite folk you know along – especially if we are looking at something that fits in with their interests – they are for anyone keen on canals, waterways and the wildlife and heritage around them. Or perhaps you belong to a group that would appreciate a talk from one of us about the local waterways?
The same is true for joining in with the work parties and even writing content for Knobsticks. Rather too much of this little magazine now has me typing it up (Sonning Bear’s paws being a little lacking in dexterity to manage a keyboard!), so if you have something you would like to share – perhaps an interesting waterway journey or snippet of historical interest – let our editor know. If you can’t get to the social evenings, have you ideas for something else we could organise – perhaps a regular informal get-together at a waterside café during the day, or a walk or museum visit? If you’re good at organising social events and activities, but reluctant to take on the “social secretary” title, I am sure there are ways you could still help me out when you can. If we work together, hopefully we can adapt to the challenges facing us all.
Sarah Honeysett
Photos: Roger Evans
Cheshire Locks
Thursday 21st August
We finished Lock 61, which completes the Malkin’s Bank flight for the moment.
However, at some point we will need to revisit the towpath side chamber at Lock 61 as it is currently padlocked awaiting repairs. This means we don’t have full safe access to finish the painting.
Thursday 25th September
A week later than usual, but we struck lucky with the weather to start work on Locks 41, which are the top locks of the Cheshire Flight.
5 of us were in attendance on Thursday and 2 for the follow-up on Friday and we made full use of the pleasant weather conditions.
We prepped and painted as much of the woodwork as we could given that the locks are currently closed. We were also able to tackle the lock ladders and some metal mooring posts.
There’s plenty of metalwork on the lock gear and surrounding rails and fence work yet to be started which will keep us busy on the next couple of visits.
Thursday 16th October
Ideal weather conditions and the fact that the double lock was open to traffic at long last meant we were able to make excellent progress.
We concentrated our efforts on the lock metalwork and surrounding fences/ railings. There’s still plenty to be done including some woodwork but another good visit next month should mean the lock will be in a good state going into winter.
Article (& Photos): Tony Walker
Inner Visions
With a big thank you to Bradley, the internal visuals of our ideas for the old warehouse have really come to life. Based upon the original images provided by Ellis Hillman Architects, he is now showing, with much more realism and detail, how the first floor in particular can become a community hub for this part of Burslem. He even illustrates me giving a talk on Burslem Port! (Ed: See photo above)
On Saturday October 18th Burslem Port visuals even got a look in at the centenary event in Burslem Art School organised by the North Staffs Society of Architects. They had invited, among others, the students of the Architecture Department of the University of Staffordshire to display their degree
work alongside the centenary display of local architects from 1925. Our Burslem Port images were displayed as part of Bradley’s endeavours since completing his degree. There was also an impressive presentation given by a member of Howells on their design and implementation of the Goods Yard scheme adjacent to Stoke Station. At this same event I also came across a previous Burslem Port trustee, namely Patrick Redmond, the president of NSSA.
Our current intentions are, again with Bradley’s help, to further develop the floor plans of our warehouse and its siting within the canal terminus basin.
Purely by chance we have also learnt that Eden Valley Properties, the developers of the land adjacent to our canal, have withdrawn and so we await news of any
new proposed development. We have a contact in Birmingham who we hope to meet soon.
Work Party News
Having reached the halfway stage of clearing our Western boundary, we have moved our action to clearing the ground facing the South-West gable end of the warehouse, such that we can better imagine how the Burslem Port café terrace may appear! This involved cutting down several young trees and clearing a lot of brambles. 3 weeks of hard work! But I hope you can see from the photo how the café might appear. (Ed: See photo below)
The other good news is that, only this week, we have heard from two people who are considering helping us.
Future dates for willing helpers
December 5th + 19th
January 9th + 23rd
February 6th + 20th
March 6th + 20th
April 3rd + 17th
(Ed: See the next page for 2 more visuals from Bradley of other parts of the warehouse)
Dave Broome
November 2025
By the time you are reading this, we will be well into our 2025/26 season of social meetings. Many thanks to those of you who attended our first talk from Tamsin Harrison of the Transforming the Trent Headwaters project. I hope you found it interesting; it’s an ambitious and wideranging project that could have a positive impact on the heart of our area and we will certainly watch future developments and support it where we can.
Hopefully our talk from Friends of Hanley Park, Pat Smith and Brian Lawrence, will have given you a fresh look at Hanley Park and encourage you to explore if you are making your way along the Caldon Canal between Etruria and the City Centre. Jon and I (and Hanley Bear, who refers to it as “Me Park”) certainly enjoy our regular Wednesday morning walks and are looking forward to the reopening of the café in the main pavilion, hopefully before the end of this year. The Friends have their Christmas event on Saturday 13th December.
At the time of writing, I still don’t have a name for our December speaker – a change of staff at Middleport Pottery means that I have a new contact to deal with, but they are still optimistic of providing someone. If we are let down, I may have to inflict one of my quizzes on you!
Looking ahead to 2026, note that there is a change of date for our annual dinner to Friday 30th January. I was originally led to believe by a stand-in manager that, while a new kitchen was being built for The Bleeding Wolf, the full menu would be unavailable. But Jenny, the
Social Scene
actual manager, advises this is not the case, so we are reverting to the last Friday of January to give everyone a good long break (and a pay day, for those in work) after Christmas.
As previously, you can choose from the main menu and decide if you want one, two or three courses, and pay for your meal on the night. If you are driving, The Bleeding Wolf is right on the A34 so easy to find, with a big, free car park, and it is also handy to the moorings above Hall Green Lock on the Macclesfield Canal for anyone travelling by boat.
To help us reserve a room of the right size, it would be helpful if you could let me know as soon as possible if you plan to attend, and I will need your meal choices on or before Friday January 16th. Please phone, text or email me, or let me know at our December social. We’ll have our usual raffle and auction and the quality of the catering at The Bleeding Wolf is always good, so I really hope you can join us.
Sarah Honeysett
Ed’s notes about the meal
The full menu for our annual dinner on Friday 30th January is included on pages 14-15. As always, you can order 1, 2 or all 3 courses. Pay on the night.
Please note that there will NOT be a booking form this year.
Instead, please let Sarah know as soon as possible that you plan to attend, and then let her know your meal choices by Friday January 16th .
Hopefully see lots of you there.
North Staffordshire & South Cheshire Branch
Friday 12th December 2025 7:45 for 8pm
Middleport Pottery/Re-form Heritage (Speaker: TBA)
Friday 30th January 2026 6:30 for 7 pm
Annual Dinner at The Bleeding Wolf, Scholar Green
Friday 13th February 2026 7:45 for 8pm
The Canal Heritage of Stoke-on-Trent Andy Parkin from the Potteries Heritage Society
Friday 13th March 2026
7:45 for 8pm
Branch AGM followed by
A Journey along the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal Alan Chetwyn
Friday 10th April 2026 7:45 for 8pm
Marking 40 Years since the National Garden Festival in Stoke-on-Trent Speaker to be confirmed
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
Dinner (Friday 30th January)
To help us reserve a room of the right size, it would be helpful if you could let Sarah know as soon as possible if you plan to attend.
Please note that there will NOT be a booking form this year. Instead, please let Sarah know your meal choices by Friday January 16th (by phone, text or email, or even at our December social).
STARTERS
Salt & pepper calamari 8.75 With a lemon mayo
Button mushrooms in a garlic & cheese sauce 7.95
Served with toasted ciabatta drizzled with garlic oil
Chicken liver parfait 8.50
Served with an apple & ale chutney & toasted bread
Gambas pil pil 9.25
Garlic & chilli prawns served with sourdough
Brie wedges 8.50
Served with cranberry sauce
Irish mussels 9.25
Served classically in a white wine, garlic & cream sauce, served with toasted bread
Soup of the day 6.50
Crusty bread & butter
Meatballs 7.95
In a tomato sauce & topped with melted cheese
MAIN COURSES
Classic sausage & mash 15.95 Creamy mashed potatoes, red cabbage, crispy onion & pan gravy
Pan-fried salmon fillet (gf) 18.95
Served with garlic roasted new potatoes, green beans & creamy leeks
Chicken massaman curry 16.95 With rice & flatbread
Malaysian chicken Rendang 16.95 With rice and flatbread
Thai red chicken curry 16.95
A classic Thai red chicken curry served with jasmine rice & shrimp crackers
Steak & ale pie 16.95
Served potatoes, gravy & vegetables or mushy peas (please indicate your choice)
Beer battered haddock 16.95 In a homemade Robinsons ale batter, served with chunky chips, mushy peas & tartare sauce
Beef lasagne 16.95
Served with garlic bread or chips & salad (please indicate your choice)
Homemade vegetable lasagne 15.95 (v)
Served with garlic bread or chips & salad (please indicate your choice)
Mushroom stroganoff 15.95 (v) (gf)
Mushrooms, peppers & onions in a creamy sauce, served with your choice of rice or chips (please indicate your choice)
Annual Dinner (Friday 30th January)
Breaded scampi 15.95
Served with chunky chips, garden peas & tartare sauce
Vegan cottage pie (vgn) (v) 14.95
Served with chips & seasonal vegetables
Chicken & chorizo burger 16.95
Grilled chicken fillet and sliced chorizo in a brioche bun with lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise, served with fries, coleslaw and onion rings.
Chicken fillet with mushroom sauce (gf) 16.95
Pan fried chicken fillet smothered in a white wine, cream mushroom sauce with chunky chips and seasonal vegetables
Crispy chicken noodles 15.95
Salt & chilli flavoured crispy chicken strips, with peppers, onions, noodles and sweet chilli sauce
Buttermilk chicken burger 15.95
Buttermilk chicken breast with lettuce, tomato & mayo, served with fries & onion rings
Beef burger 15.95
Topped with fried onions, lettuce, gherkin & tomato, served with fries, onion rings & homemade slaw
Salt & pepper chicken burger 16.95
Buttermilk chicken breast topped with salt & pepper onions & peppers , served with salt & pepper fries & onion rings
Cheese & bacon burger 16.95
Topped with smoked bacon & Cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato & gherkin, served with fries, onion rings & homemade slaw
12oz gammon steak (gf) 16.95
Served with pineapple & a fried egg, chunky chips & garden peas
10oz rump steak 22.95
Served with all the classic steak trimmings, chips & garden peas
Add peppercorn sauce (gf) 2.00
DESSERTS
Sticky toffee pudding (v) 7.75
With a homemade toffee sauce & custard
Biscoff cheesecake (vgn) (v) 8.00
Topped with Biscoff crunchy topping and served with vanilla ice cream
Jam sponge pudding (v) 7.50 Served with custard
Chocolate chip brownie (v) 7.95 Served with vanilla ice cream
Cheese & biscuits (v) 10.95
Choose 2 of the following cheeses: Stilton, Brie, Cheddar, Cheshire. Served with chutney, crackers, grapes & celery (please indicate your choice)
Notes: You can choose one, two or three courses. No money is needed in advance, simply pay for your meal on the night.
We’ll have our usual raffle and auction and the quality of the catering at the Bleeding Wolf is always good, so I really hope you can join us.
Sarah Honeysett
Photos: Roger Evans
The Boating Adventures of Sonning Bear
More Boating Bear adventures in Stoke-on-Trent
My last Knobsticks article looked at some of the fun events we went to for the Stoke-on-Trent City Centenary, but now I am going to finish my boating guide to Stoke-on-Trent for people coming along the Trent and Mersey Canal. My article in May took us from Harecastle Tunnel as far as Etruria, so let’s start at the EtruriaIndustrialMuseum.
This is the site of Jesse Shirley’s Bone and Flint Mill which processed flint for the pottery industry. There is a visitor centre and museum with lots of exhibits and a café, and the mill has original kilns, crushing and grinding machinery
and “Princess”, the stationary steam engine that powers it all. The Museum is run by volunteers, so it is not open every day. If you want to visit, it is best to check on their website to find out when they are open or if special events are happening.
If you are boating, you have two locks to work down at Etruria and a total of five as you work down to Stoke Town. The top one, T&M lock 40, is the deepest on that canal (about 4m), with quite a short pound to lock 39. You’ll get a great view of the flint mill as you leave lock 39 and you would never think you were in the heart of a city as you cruise down to lock 38, Twyford’s Lock, named after the pottery works that you can see facing onto the main road nearby, which has been turned into flats. Below the lock, look out for two surviving bottle kilns between more new flats.
The Boating Adventures of Sonning Bear
After lock 37 you go underneath the main railway line through Stoke and lock 36 is quite close and another quite deep one. The next section was re-routed when the A500 road was built and isn’t very pretty, although there is a bridge to look out for, named in honour of Pat and Millie Osborn who were very active IWA members, campaigners and volunteers.
Nearby is a new development called The Goods Yard that might be worth visiting when more of the shops and cafes planned for the refurbished waterside warehouse building are open, although it would be nice if there were better moorings here.
Opposite The Goods Yard is where the old Newcastle Canal used to join the T&M. This is also where you stop if you want to visit Stoke-upon-Trent, one of the Six Towns. A short walk away you can find Stoke Minster (and Mr Josiah Wedgwood’s tomb) and the Spode Museum, which has a really great tea room with excellent cakes – always an important consideration for small bears! There is also Stoke Market on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, supermarkets
The Boating Adventures of Sonning Bear
and shops, including the Portmeirion factory shop. Our humans say there are also pubs.
Passing under the next bridge, you are back on the original route of the canal and you can spot another small bottle kiln a little further down. Shortly afterwards, you go over the aqueduct that takes the canal over the River Trent, which is quite small at this point.
About a mile further on, we get to one of Hanley Bear’s favourite places – the Stoke City football ground. We like going to the match by boat and there are mooring rings out by the ground. If you are there on a match day, you’ll usually find The Oatcake Boat and the Barge in Booze bar boat there, but they are also fairly quiet moorings if you need to stop
The Boating Adventures of Sonning Bear
somewhere for the night coming into Stoke and don’t have time to get up through the locks.
After the stadium, you get into Trentham, which is another good place for overnight mooring. There are mooring rings near the main road from Longton, where there is a carvery pub, and you could possibly walk down to Trentham Gardens from here too. We like being nosy bears and looking at people’ s gardens as we go through Trentham!
You leave the City of Stoke-on-Trent just after Trentham Lock. There are very good moorings a little way below the lock, with mooring rings, and this is where to stop if you want to visit the Wedgwood Factory site
This has a super museum and visitor centre, cafes and restaurants and the opportunity to do factory tours.
Our human guardians, Polar and Grizzly, took us to look around the Wedgwood Visitor Centre last year and, because we were (mostly) well-behaved, we were allowed to have tea and cake there, on very posh china. As you can see, they make cakes that are just the right size for us Small Bears!
You can see that there are lots of interesting things to look out for if you are boating through Stoke-on-Trent, or walking or cycling along the towpath. We all hope that you won’t just boat through Stoke, but will boat to Stoke, and visit some of the interesting places and nice spaces here.
You can explore more of Stoke-on-Trent from the Caldon Canal, so perhaps that’ s something we can look at in a future edition of Knobsticks.
But, next time, I might write about an adventure we had during the summer without any canal boats at all!
Article: Sonning Bear
Photos: Sarah Honeysett
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
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
Chair
Sarah Honeysett 01782 772295 sarah.honeysett@waterways.org.uk
Treasurer
Alan Chetwyn 07742 116959 (NoEmail)
Secretary
Alison Smedley MBE 01538 385388 alison.smedley@waterways.org.uk
Sales Officer VACANT
Contact Alison Smedley
Social Secretary
SarahHoneysett 01782 772295 sarah.honeysett@waterways.org.uk
Publicity Officer + Website Editor
Sarah Honeysett 01782 772295 + Julie Arnold publicity.nssc@waterways.org.uk
Newsletter Editor
Roger Evans 01606 834471 nssc-newsletter@outlook.com 10 Long Lane, Middlewich, Cheshire, CW10 0BL
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
Membership Officer
MarySmith membership.nssc@waterways.org.uk
Navigation Officer
Jon Honeysett MBE 01782 772295 navigation.nssc@waterways.org.uk
Heritage Champion
Sarah Jones sarah.jones@waterways.org.uk
Burslem Port Work Party
DaveBroome 07974 966253 dave.broome@burslemport.org.uk
Caldon + Uttoxeter Work Parties VACANT
Contact Alison Smedley
Cheshire Locks Work Party
Tony Walker 07708 320470 walker.tony31@gmail.com
Stoke on Trent Boat Club Rep: Jason Burnham
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
