31st May 2015
A rainy start to the day and the fact that nothing opened until 10am meant that we left Oliver fairly late. Our first visit was to the Jesse Shirley’s Bone and Flint Mill, the last remaining steam driven potters’ mill in the world. It was a most interesting visit and quite educational. Not everyone knows that 50% of a bone china dinner plate is actually due to ground up bones.
We also had a great time watching twin brothers man handling the Butty Ilford and turning it by hand at the junction with the Caldon Canal.
We did some shopping, including the purchase of a pair of new walkie-talkies, that involved a tour of Hanley, and had a late lunch – about 4pm. The weather had improved a lot so we decided to spend 45 minutes taking Oliver up two locks to get ourselves in a better position for heading off early the following morning for the Harecastle Tunnel.
The Butty Ilford