At one point there were four thousand bottle kilns like this around the Stoke area. Now there are 47 left, illegal to use since the clean air act of 1968, but given Grade II listed status to preserve them as a reminder of our past. We are moored right next the these two, and I can see them as I write, so I thought that was worth a rare selfie.

A single firing of a bottle kiln released over fifty tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, not to mention all the smoke and pollutants you get from burning coal. These were part of the Johnson Brothers pottery, which from the 1880s onwards was quite successful in exporting to the United States. You can still find lost of their stuff for sale on eBay. In 1968 the brand was acquired by Wedgwood, and in 2015 they discontinued it.

Today we came all the way back down the Leek and Caldon Canals as far as Stoke-on-Trent. Paula did all the work on the locks and I drove the boat, which gave me a chance to admire the masons’ marks on the lock walls.

Some masons sign the block of stone they are finishing with their personal rune. You can find them on blocks of stone in medieval churches and cathedrals, but apparently the tradition was still going strong in the 18th century when the Caldon canal was build.

We got a rare trifecta today.

It may not look like much, but there are sheep, cattle, and horses all in the same picture. Normally grazing is given over to one, or at most two species, based on the quality of the grass and the nearness to a town with equestrians, but today we got all three at once. Now all we need is a few goats and an alpaca.

There’s some quite interesting street art on the way into Stoke.

Long time readers of this blog may be aware of my theory that sheep prevent graffiti, as you rarely see both of then on the same stretch of canal. Apparently that doesn’t work for black sheep.