Canal side rambles

I'm not a great lover of the Crewe area as it has too many associations with tedious meetings. And it's flat! Which isn't a bad thing in itself, but the area isn't complemented by the big skies so commonly associated with other flatlands such as East Anglia. So it was a very pleasing discovery to find that the Mersey and Trent canal which runs close to the town is actually a delightful oasis of historical, industrial charm. Walking along the towpath, it isn't hard to drift back 100 years and imagine the horse drawn barges transporting their cargoes of coal

Crewe Station

Crewe Station.  A characterless, soul-less place.  As one who has sat on the miserable, drafty platforms for hours, it’s understandably difficult for me to conjour up colourful images of expectation and excitement common to those embarking on an adventure.  But surely the heartfelt emotion from thousands of leave takings and arrivals should have seeped into the walls and permeated the consciousness of the modern traveller? Perhaps.  But if it has, it hasn’t resonated with me. I suspect that transitory nature of trains and passengers merely passing through on their way to other more exotic destinations, has defined it ultimately as cheerless