RIVER WHEELOCK, SUMMER 1967

Middlewich, as we all know, is surrounded by beautiful countryside. In fact a recent trip to Northern Ireland, and the border country around Armagh and Monaghan, served to confirm what I have always maintained - that Cheshire is more than a match for Ireland when it comes to lush, green scenery.
Among our collection of Middlewich slides are a few showing the attractive outskirts, which I used to include in slide shows for purposes of contrast.
I never took many such views, as the strange square format of Instamatic slides never really lent itself to landscapes, but here's one of them, taken in the summer of that year which people of a certain age remember with affection, 1967 (it was not a long, hot summer, according to records, but damp, cool and dull. A typical English summer, in fact).
Our slide shows the River Wheelock flowing along its valley at the bottom of a steep slope leading down from  houses in Mill Lane, off  Nantwich Road (which is why my Uncle's house, 'Three Willows',  had, and has, a terraced garden -see here. The river runs at the bottom of that garden).
To the left of the picture can be seen the strange flecks of foam always found around the weir which is out of shot to the left. The river here has that musty, earthy smell that some rivers, including the Thames in London, seem to have.
Note that, as we've mentioned before, the word Wheelock is pronounced with the long 'ee' as spelt. 'Willock' is reserved for the village.