The Big Cruise Day 45: The Canal was here first

The Trent and Mersey Canal was the first substantial canal in the Country (or anywhere?). Its main purpose was to bring raw materials into the Potteries and to safely transport the valuable products from Stoke-on-Trent to the sea ports and then all over the world. Prior to the Canal, breakages were common as the only transport was over rutted roads in carts or on pack horses. Josiah Wedgwood and his business contemporaries knew what they were doing. This canal set the standard for the canal mania which followed

Sobering to think that this picture is of that very Canal, virtually unchanged. The railway came nearly a hundred years later and had to be routed without affecting the waterway.

And so, as we descend the hill once more through Stoke-on-Trent, this lock lowers us about 10 feet before we pass under the massive railway bridge, appropriately decorated.

Note the mug on the boat roof, handy for the crew to take the occasional sip. It was probably made in China!

[Explanation: Big Cruise Blips begin on 9th April [u](where there's an introduction)[/u] and last nearly 8 weeks with a break in the middle. I am catching up with the back-blipping]