As Friday was forecast to be wet, wet, wet, we decided to make as much progress as we could today. We meant to leave Worsley early but only managed a 9 o’clock start but there were still very few boats on the move and met less than eight all day.
It was back past the lighthouse, over the Barton Swing Aqueduct, past the Kellogg’s factory and on to Stretford Waters Meeting.
I noticed these containers in a factory on the way for storing Hydrofluoric Acid, notice they are rubber lined as it is extremely corrosive, but I remember it being used in my school metalwork shop for etching patterns on glass coffee table tops!
I can imagine the Elfin Safety Brigade having fits these days, but how else do you learn respect for dangerous processes?
Opposite is a page from Creative Wrought Ironwork by Austin Underwood (my school’s metalwork teacher) showing the coffee tables that were made in the 1960s although he only includes them as ‘a concession to contemporary design’ and doesn’t describe the etching process!
We had thought to stop at Lymm overnight but were disappointed to find the canalside market was already starting to pack up before 3 o’clock so we only took a break for tea & cake and pressed onwards for another couple of hours before mooring opposite Moore Village Stores at 5:00 pm before the rain set in later and continued all night.