After a very long, wet and miserable winter in the UK, it’s nice to be starting out on another year of running and cycling trips. In preparation for the LDWA Hunnypot 100 at the end of May, I need to get some miles in my legs, and hence this 93-mile, 3-day run along the Trent and Mersey (T&M) canal will be good training.

The T&M canal was opened in 1777 (yes it’s been around for 249 years) to link the River Trent near Long Eaton with the River Mersey in Runcorn and thereby provide an inland route between the major ports of Liverpool and Hull. Josiah Wedgwood was a keen supporter of the project as his pottery business in Stoke would benefit from the safe and smooth transport of goods to the north and east. Engineered by James Brindley it was the UK’s first long-distance canal. It comprises 76 locks and five tunnels, including Harecastle Tunnel (1.6 miles long and the fourth longest canal tunnel in the UK), and the Anderton Boat Lift, and the Brindley Bank Flyover Aqueduct.

Flat canal running isn’t for everyone but having spent a lot of my teenage years on or around canals, they have influenced my life; the planning, the self-sufficiency, the nomadic lifestyle are all similar to cycle touring, and more recently multi-day runs. Then there is plenty of engineering with the locks, tunnels, bridges, aqueducts etc. and of course running by water in the countryside is tranquil and close to nature. And from a personal perspective, the T&M canal was the first one that we navigated as a family in our newly purchased ex-hire boat in 1974 (more on this in Day 2), so it is also a trip down memory lane.

So aside from booking a couple of nights accommodation, I have been a bit relaxed about this one, until I took a look at the weather forecast. Oh well, we all have a choice !