There is no doubting that messing about on the water has an attraction, and even coined a song.*
Of course, for most of us it is less messing with a boat and more just a stroll along the towpath of a canal.
All of which I know is an unsubtle and laboured lead into to two of Andy Robertson’s pictures which he took on a recent walk along the Bridgewater Canal.
Not for him the idyllic tramp along a stretch of water bordered on both sides by fields, broken only by bird song, instead he was heading doggedly towards town, having passed Stretford.
It is a stretch of the canal that can still give the allusion of a rural stroll, but hidden behind the vegetation are industrial units while poking above the trees are set of flood lights, quickly followed by the chimneys of Kellog’s.
But then a similar trip out during the 19th century would have encountered a similar mix of fields and factories.
In 1850, by the time Andy had reached Cornbrook he has passed the Cornbrook Chemical Works, taken in a saw mill, the Commercial Fustian Mill, before reaching the full range of industrial buildings at Castlefield.
The remnant of which Andy will present to us in the fullness of time.
Location; the Duke’s Canal
Pictures; the Duke’s Canal, 2020 from the collection of Andy Robertson
*"When the weather is fine you know it's the time
For messin' about on the river
If you take my advice there's nothing so nice
As messin' about on the river" *Messing About on the River, Tony Hatch & Les Reed.
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