Caldon Canal
Pots and limestone
THE Caldon Canal sets off from Stokeon-Trent, now world-famous as the Potteries.
In this area, pots for almost everything, including the original good old-fashioned teapot, were first mass-produced during the Industrial Revolution. The world came to Stokeon-Trent to buy its pots and pans and Stoke offers a priceless peek into the innovative genius of Britain’s pottery businesses spanning over two centuries.
The English cliché, ‘a nice pot of tea’, couldn’t be more at home than here. And it’s still ceramics heaven with living heritage shaping the skyline with historic bottle ovens and museums to visit, yet also offering modern-day factory tours and factory shops galore. Household names such as Wedgwood, Spode and the spotty success of Emma Bridgewater all buzz with the creativity of living heritage.
Opened in 1779, the Caldon was primarily built to transport limestone from Cauldon quarries into the potteries and elsewhere. Famously grimy, the deep attraction of the Potteries whispers from pub names such as ‘the potter’, and buildings that once housed kiln workers, bone burners and flint crushers. This important heritage centre for Britain celebrates names such as Josiah Wedgwood whose pottery dynasty was founded on the canals. Yet this industrial start is deceptive, since the canal soon meanders into unspoilt countryside, blossoming into a stunner.
At Etruria Junction, near a statue of the famous canal engineer James Brindley, the Caldon Canal branches away from the Trent & Mersey Canal. It heads through the last existing staircase lock in Staffordshire at Bedford Street Staircase Locks. After another lock, the canal meanders through Hanley Park under several ornate bridges then follows a similar course to the River Trent as it shakes off Stoke-on-Trent’s outskirts.
Engine Lock is one of the deepest on the Caldon and just beyond, the summit of the canal is reached at the five Stockton Brook Locks, where the Trent Valley hands over to the Churnet Valley. Just before Doles Bridge, a tiny island in the middle of the canal used to be the pivot of a swing bridge for a light railway. The canal curves eastwards past Stoke Boat Club. The basin here was used for transshipping limestone.
The lush greenery and woods of the Churnet Valley now start to wrap round the canal. The views are of open fields, trees and wildflowers line the towpath. At Hazelhurst Junction, the short Leek Branch (appropriately heading to Leek) heads off to the south-east, later crossing back over the main line of the canal on the impressive Hazelhurst aqueduct.
Brindley Mill at Leek is where James
Brindley worked before going on to build so many canals that he is now renowned as ‘father of English canals’.
The canal descends through the three Hazelhurst Locks and curves round under the 1841 aqueduct before reaching the idyllic setting of the Hollybush Inn at Denford. Passing Deep Hayes Country Park, created from a former industrial area, the canal reaches Cheddleton Flint Mill. The Grade II*-listed mill used to grind flint for the pottery industry. The site dates back to the 1250s and has adapted to changing needs. Its flint was a vital ingredient for earthenware being produced in the potteries of Stoke-onTrent. There is a complex of buildings, including flint kilns and two huge waterwheels, called George and Helen.
The canal now descends Cheddleton Locks, and passes the first of the Churnet Valley Railway stations. Cheddleton is the railway’s headquarters and both steam and diesel trains can be seen from the canal. For the next one-and-a-half miles the canal, the River Churnet and the railway run side by side. The views are initially of open countryside, then the canal runs along the edge of Consall Wood so trees now line the opposite bank.
At Oakmeadowford Lock, boaters take perhaps a bit more care, as canal and river merge for the next mile or so to Consall Forge. This narrow section of valley can get closed off if water is high. The surroundings are incredibly peaceful apart from the sounds of birds in the trees, boats passing by, and of course steam trains as they pass (rather dramatically close!)
Consall Forge is where the railway runs right over the canal. The Black Lion pub sucks walkers from the path to enjoy the peace of watching canal boats pass by, but an irony awaits for canal enthusiasts. Suddenly everything changes. People behave differently, waving in distinctive railway code. A steam train puffs its way through trees and waves back like a friendly dragon ruffling the canal. In the 19th century, the steam train caused the canal’s demise, yet now they work together for tourism. The scene lasts a handful of seconds, but that moment which held a steam train and a narrowboat together is thrilling.
Dense woodland closes in as the canal descends Flint Mill Lock. Just past the diminutive low Froghall Tunnel (76yd/69m), the canal ends at Froghall Wharf, a mix of woodland trails and industrial buildings including limekilns. Froghall Wharf used to be busy with boats being loaded with limestone brought on a tramway down from the hills to be taken by boat to the potteries in Stoke-on-Trent.
The first lock and a short stretch remain of the 13 mile branch canal from Froghall to Uttoxeter. Built in 1811, it was usurped by a railway line in 1845.
The Caldon Canal emerges from the busy hive of industrial heritage, and swirls into National Park land on the brink of Peak District terrain. The picturesque dry stone walled villages and glorious leafiness belie the heritage of its hardworking past. And while the steam trains that once took its business still bring a shock to its gentle waters, they both now work side by side as thriving tourist attractions.