It rained all morning, so we waited until lunchtime to head into Macclesfield. There’s a very nice public mooring on a floating dock, so we pulled up there and walked into town. It started to drizzle again, so I don’t have any pictures for you, apart from a couple of one of Macclesfield’s iconic spots: the 108 Steps.

It’s a staircase passage connecting two roads. It even has a triangular side street off it.

That looks like perspective gone wrong, doesn’t it?

Alfred Hitchcock missed a chance here. After the success of The 39 Steps, based on the novel of the same name and entirely different plot, he could have filmed a sequel in Macclesfield called The 108 Steps.

Of course, South East Cheshire is not the most romantic place, so for the purposes of the movie Macclesfield would have had to move to Morocco or the South of France. Instead of silk weaving the main industry would have to be something like submarines or airships, and Mill Street would be lined with sidewalk cafes and Arab street merchants. Hitchcock could have put Macclesfield on the map, albeit in the wrong country.