Macclesfield.

As we didn’t think we would take Oakfield up the Macclesfield Canal this year, we cheated and went to see the town by bus. It was a bit hair raising sitting on the top of the double decker bus around all the twisty lanes and we got held up for 40 minutes in road works.

    

We paused at Congleton which is also known as ‘Beartown’ I think. Anyway we saw a variety of large sitting bear statues at the road junctions. Macclesfield sits on the top of a steep hill and the bus just about made it up to the tiny bus station on the edge. There is a museum in this large, pillar fronted building with a Tourist Information office next door where we obtained a street map. I think the church was sandstone, it was difficult to tell as it was a bit black.

   

After perusing the shops we made our way downhill towards the canal. Some of the side streets still have their cobbled surfaces. The town did have a bit of a tired, run-down feel about it although it was bustling with people. We passed these old 1895 Almshouses en route to the canal.

   

We walked along quite a stretch of the canal which was a bit wild and unkempt. The only item of interest we could find was this old Silk Mill with a boatyard alongside it. As we couldn’t find anywhere to have a snack we returned into town to look. We found a very homely little cafe right next to the bus station. From our table by the window there were sweeping views across the valley to the hills in the distance.