North Portal of the Harecastle Tunnel
Over the weekend I got to celebrate the Potteries Heritage Societies 40th birthday. It was a very interesting event discussing the heritage of the Potteries, from it’s kilns and potbanks to it’s Cathedrals and Canals.
Canals have a special place in my heart, growing up next to the North Portal of the Harecastle / Telford Tunnels on the Trent and Mersey Canal.
What I didn’t know is that there were several more canals in the area that have since been filled in. One of these is the Newcastle-under-Lyme branch of the Trent and Mersey.
The route it followed is still walkable (though you’d have to hop through people’s gardens so don’t) and there is part that is still filled with water in Lyme Valley park.
A super useful and free resource for maps etc that I have found in the past that has also helped before is the site provided by the National Library of Scotland.