Chorus:
G Em C G
Carrying coal from High Lane to Bosley
Em Am D
Then dropping down through Telford’s lock flight
G Em C G
Passing through Congleton, onward to Kidsgrove
Em D G
Hoping for beers in the Blue Bell tonight
’Twas late in the day when construction started
The railways were coming doom prophets did say
But in only five years the canal was completed
And Macclesfield’s goods could then move on their way
Limestone from Bugsworth, coal mined near Poynton
Twist and silk buttons and cotton from mills
Barrels of felt hats destined for London
In horse powered barges skirting Derbyshire hills
The boom years soon passed and boat cargoes dwindled
Overwhelmed by the railways, the power of steam
Pleasure boats briefly took tourists to Lyme Hall
But the silver strewn highway was a vanishing dream
The route struggled on for over a century
When closure was planned many expressed concern
But some valiant efforts by North Cheshire cruisers
Saw closure abandoned, pleasure boating return
Fibreglass followed the wooden hulled cruisers
Now the steel narrow-boats need fuels to be burned
Coalite for cabin stove, diesel for engine
So the travelling coal boats now have returned
© I H Bruce 2008
This song is a potted history of the Macclesfield Canal which was one of the last canals to be built.
The Macclesfield Canal ceased to carry commercial traffic in the 1960s but through the efforts of
enthusiasts it was not allowed to die.
Carrying Coal