I had never been to Bollington before. It was this big white obelisk that drew me there. It is called White Nancy and it commemorates the Battle of Waterloo which occurred in 1815. It stands at the north end of a ridge overlooking the small Cheshire town. Climbing up there was the first thing I did after I had parked Clint on Water Street. Then I headed south along The Saddle of Kerridge but in the picture below I took a look back at White Nancy....
Above - that's Water Street. No doubt the terraced houses were once occupied by cotton mill workers. It was cotton that caused the small agricultural village to grown into a substantial town in the early nineteenth century.
Below - on my eight mile walk I snapped this picture of foxgloves growing wild against a drystone wall near Swanscoe Farm. There are thousands of these plants around our countryside just now and they love the support of stone walls...
To service industry, The Macclesfield Canal was dug and engineered in the eighteen twenties. It finally opened to traffic in 1831 but nowadays it is almost entirely devoted to leisure pursuits. The moored canal boat below is called "Little Luv"...
This narrow boat, steered and probably owned by a young woman was moving south to the town of Macclesfield. She made the mistake that so many have made before her just after midday - waving a cheery "Good morning!"
In Bollington, I rather liked the look of this hand-painted sign - principally concerning canal-related services.
Below - Grimshaw Street in Bollington passes under the Victorian canal so you can rightly call the stone structure an aqueduct...
Three and a half hours after parking Clint, I pressed my Hyundai key and soon headed north to the village of Pott Shrigley where I snapped this picture of St Christopher's Church before heading back over the hills to Whaley Bridge and thence to Chapel-en-le-Frith and The Hope Valley...
Sunday June 2nd was such a lovely day. A diamond day of greens and blues and prostrate sheep panting in the shade of trees.
On days like that babies should not die.
What a quaint little town with so many things to see and do.
ReplyDeleteThe town seemed to possess a nice aura but maybe that was partly to do with the sunshine.
DeleteI'm just curious. Does your SWMBO accompany you on these excursions?
ReplyDeleteNo she doesn't Bruce. I walk too far for her and besides I prefer to walk on my own. It has been one of my greatest pleasures. Sadly, my left heel continues to give me discomfort so my walking has been much reduced in recent months.
DeleteBollington looks lovely. I might like to live there if I was British. and if your weather wasn't so cold.
ReplyDeleteBollington felt good. In another life I would have rather liked living there Elsie.
DeleteSorry to hear your left heel is still not right. Nonetheless, you managed a substantial walk in a beautiful area, and had the best weather for it.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely agree with the last sentence of your post.
I need to be careful with that heel . Maybe my days of totally pain-free endless walks have gone for good. I don't know.
DeleteWhite Nancy looks better from a distance. I probably do too.
ReplyDeleteI think I've heard of the Macclesfield Canal in YouTube narrow boaters clips, so it must be connected to the a larger network. It is hard work narrow boating on your own, but some manage it well enough. A yes, Whaley Bridge, definitely a connected canal. It looks like a lovely little town, but does it have a McDonalds?
I did not see a McDonalds there but it has a fish and chip shop and I believe 20 pubs.
DeleteI love canals. Especially repurposed ones now use for leisure with pleasure boats and great walks and cycle tow path routes.
ReplyDeleteIn canal boats the world seems to slow right down.
DeleteI've never been to Bollington, but I have been to Pollington. It's not overrun with tourists.
ReplyDeleteI have also been to Pollington but I haven't been to Wallington or Tallington.
DeleteSo many places left to explore,
ReplyDeleteWhy go to Barcelona, Carcassonne or Arles when you could go to Bollington?
DeleteI don't quite understand Nancy. What in the world would inspire someone who was searching for a way to memorialize a battle to build a giant white cone? Well, there is a lot I don't understand.
ReplyDeleteOther than that, I have no complaints about your walk which looked fine indeed. I bet you slept well last night.
Once White Nancy had a door and you could shelter inside it.
DeleteI'm wondering why it is called "White Nancy"? I couldn't find an explanation.
ReplyDeleteA lovely, quaint village.
I am afraid that I have no idea either Ellen!
DeleteIf my life were just a bit different, I think I could find much happiness in building a narrow boat and cruising the canals of England.
ReplyDeleteSome people live on their narrow boats. It is a slower pace of life.
DeleteWhite Nancy -- what a bizarre name. Do you think it's supposed to resemble a bobbin or some other part of a cotton mill machine or loom? Just a thought.
ReplyDeleteThose foxgloves look better than any of ours! I've decided I like the purple wild ones best of all.
Nobody seems to know for sure why it has that name. The cotton bobbin idea is not one I have seen before Steve but I can see where you are coming from with that.
DeleteWhat an oddly shaped memorial. (Or are there others like it, elsewhere?)
ReplyDeleteBabies should not die and yet they do.
ReplyDeleteThe photos are lovely and thank you for sharing them.
I'm ready to give up on foxgloves, I have not luck growing them, just too cold I think.