After what seemed to be weeks of wild weather through a  wet, windy and unpleasant January, February started with a bright spell. The forecast was promising, and on the day a cold, clear blue sky promised my favourite sort of winter day. I had plans to make a longer trip in my outlander, and so was soon on the road over the Pennines to Buxworth Basin, where one arm of the Peak Forest canal starts. This is an interesting place, once one of the largest ports on the canal network, an interchange between a tramway from quarries at Dove Holes and barges that would carry limestone and lime to the industrial centres of the North-West. It has been extensively renovated, and the remains of  the tramway, wharfs and lime kilns can be explored on foot and on the water. I put in to the canal basin by mid-morning, the sheltered waters still iced over after a sub-zero night. A group of school children were making slow progress in rafted canoes, enjoying breaking the ice with their paddles. Continue Reading