https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/places-t ... t_Lake.pdf
I often walk from the Harecastle Tunnel end as indicated on the map, to past the other end to finish up at the Etruria marina further on. Way back in time Westport Lake used to be the site of Port Vale football club, but the ground sunk and it became a tip, it was neglected and polluted. Today there are two lakes, with a path a mile long around them, a fantastic urban regeneration job by the city council using government grant aid in around 2004. It was around this lake that I took the earlier posted Black Swan and Bullfinch pictures.
After doing a circuit of about 1 mile around the lake we headed off along the canal towpath towards the Potteries industrial heartland of yesteryear. We quickly pass the place where I posted the image of the old ‘Bottle Oven’ (pottery kiln) and pass the wharf at Longport heading towards Etruria. Longport wharf is a repair and building facility for all types of canal barges and many can be seen drawn up onto the dry dock area to be worked on.
We soon reach the site of the Middleport ‘Pot bank’ a recently restored working pottery museum adjacent the canal.
We are near to the town of Burslem which grew rapidly in the early 19th century and the demand for wharfage facilities was met by the development of the area between Longport and Newport. By 1823 this new area was known as “Middle Port”. Here a large new wharf had been opened by 1832 called 'Port Vale Wharf’ as it was connected to Port Vale Street.
Pano of the Middleport Working Museum
Next to the Middleport factory the ‘Anderton Canal Company’ purchased the adjacent site to a company called Burgess & Leigh in the early 1890s, here they erected a large warehouse and boat repair yard most of which is still intact. The Anderton works are now used as offices and small manufacturing units and the only remains of Burgess & Leigh that I can find is this old enameled sign stuck into a bank on the opposite side of the canal from the Anderton building.
The wooden structure was a lift used to raise and lower goods from the barges below. It was in a bad state of repair as this image shows:
It was restored around 2008, I am sure it is authentic, but to my eyes the restoration looks too modern, or maybe I just like the dereliction.
More old buildings can be seen along the way with some brickwork actually falling into the canal as can be seen here.
I particularly like this old façade with the big cast iron brackets protruding; no doubt it was part of a lift as seen in the previous image.
In other places the odd ‘bottle oven’ can still be seen, this one is unusually small.
Eventually we reach the marina at Etruria, home of the ‘Black Prince’ canal barge hire company. This formed a part of the 1986 National Garden Festival site which was the second one to be held in the UK and was a great success. There is a nice pub where you can get a meal or a drink and aptly named The China Gardens, named after the ceramics and not the country.
Pano of the Etruria Marina
After a short rest we made our way back again passing barges along the way towards the cafe for a well deserved cup of coffee and a nice view over the lake after around trip of about 6 miles
we don't need canopy's like those Southern Jessie's 
