Wednesday, 23 September 2020

A bit of sun, some boats, and a last walk along the Duke’s Canal

Now for all those wondering where the sunny weather went, here are Andy’s last pictures of an autumn day when the sun shone, and shorts could still be worn.


Yesterday he did the water walk from Northenden Road to Marsland Road, taking in a bit of a boat jam along the way.

The Duke’s Canal is one of my favourites, partly because it takes you into the heart of the city, and because it is full of history.

Added to which during the last decade the land on either side of the canal has and is undergoing a transformation, with the old brown sites cleared and slowly being redeveloped.

But yesterday Andy was less bothered with all that, and concentrated on the boats, the sunshine, and a stroll ……. Unlike today when the rain has adopted that particularly tiresome behavior of coming down not like stair rods, but just intermittently, making everywhere wet, grey, and pretty miserable.


The history of the canal is one I keep coming back to along with many of Andy’s pictures, so I shall close, with an eye of the weather forecast and the hope that by the weekend Sammy sun will be out again and there will be an opportunity to collect some wild fruit from the canal bank.*

We shall see.

Leaving me just to ponder on the intriguing gateway to Springfield Primary School.

In time I will explore its story, for now I note that there is a date of 1906 on the main building on Springfield Road, that it has a fine new addition and of course the grounds back onto the canal.


But I am confident someone will offer up something of its story.


Location; the Bridgewater Canal

Pictures; Northenden Road to Marsland Road, 2020, from the collection of Andy Robertson

*The Duke’s Canal, https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.com/search/label/The%20Duke%27s%20Canal


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