Harecastle

Another view of the southern portal of Harecastle Tunnel on the Trent and Mersey Canal in Staffordshire.

In the background on the left you can see the portal to Brindley's original 1777 tunnel, which is no longer navigable.

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Consall Forge

Consall Forge is a surprisingly remote place on the Caldon Canal in Staffordshire. It is many miles from the nearest road, by means of a narrow track. It does, however, have a station on the North Staffordshire Railway (Churnet Valley Railway).

The Black Lion Inn, seem behind the railway, is a must for boaters stopping here overnight on their way to Froghall.

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Harecastle

The southern portal of Harecastle Tunnel, on the Trent and Mersey Canal near Kidsgrove, Staffordshire. Built by Telford in 1827, this is the second of the two tunnels. The first is no longer navigable. In the 1950s, a fan house was built over the southern portal to extract engibe fumes from the tunnel, as there are no ventilation shafts.
The tunnel is said to be haunted by the Kidsgrove Boggart or "Kit Crewbucket".
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Leek Tunnel

Leek Tunnel on the Caldon Canal in Staffordshire. This short 130 yard tunnel is on the Leek Arm of the Caldon Canal. Part of the tunnel had to be re-lined and it was closed for a long time. An industrial estate has been built over the final half mile of the branch into Leek.
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Etruria

Alongside the Trent and Mersey Canal, between the second and third locks up the Stoke flight, stand these pottery kilns.

The two bottle kilns were built in 1887 for Thomas Twyford's Cliff Vale Pottery, Etruria. The listed kilns have been preserved while most of the disused pottery site has been cleared. Only the two kilns and the buildings fronting Shelton New Road survive.

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Penkridge

The Cross Keys Inn is alongside the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal next to Filance Bridge in Penkridge.
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Tixall

Tixall Lock on the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal, opened in 1772. This is the first lock encountered after leaving the Trent and Mersey Canal. Half a mile south from nearby Tixall Bridge, good walking is to be had around Milford Common at the northern end of Cannock Chase.
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Harecastle

The northern end of Harecastle Tunnel, Kidsgrove, Staffordshire.

On the right, the entrance to Brindley's original 1777 tunnel can be seen. This original tunnel is disused and is blocked by rock falls.

The present tunnel, designed by Telford, was opened in 1827. It originally had a towpath running through, but has now been removed. It is 2675 metres long - around one and two third miles.

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Meaford

Meaford House Lock, the middle of three locks at Meaford, on the Trent and Mersey Canal in Staffordshire. Meaford is just over a mile north of the canal town of Stone. The bridge is a turnover bridge, where the towpath changed sides without the need for the horses towing the boats to be detached from the towing lines.

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Hazlehurst

The top lock at Hazlehurst, on the Caldon Canal in Staffordshire.

There are three locks at Hazlehurst, descending from the canal's summit level towards Cheddleton and the River Churnett. Above the locks is the junction with the Leek branch, which swings across the main line below the locks by way of Hazlehurst Aqueduct.

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Etruria

Looking towards the top lock on the Trent and Mersey at Etruria in the Potteries. Beyond the top lock is the canal's summit pound which continues through Harecastle Tunnel. Just above the lock is the junction with the Caldon Canal.

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Colwich

Colwich Lock is on the Trent and Mersey Canal in Staffordshire about 1.5 miles south of Great Haywood Junction. It can be a bottleneck at busy times, with queues forming.

The West Coast Main Line railway passes nearby, with the branch to Stafford and Crewe crossing the canal just beyond the lock.

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Froghall

The trip boat Birdswood moored up at Froghall, at the eastern end of the Caldon Canal, Staffordshire. Beyond the bridge arch is the junction with the Uttoxeter Canal, with the newly restored Lock 1 descending to a new mooring basin.

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Wolverhampton

The Wolverhampton flight, from the BCN to the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal, descends 21 locks in 2 miles. The railways cross and re-cross the canal. Lock 11 is just before the low level rail bridge and the Stour Valley Viaduct.

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