C F Riding the wagons as they rattle down the way C G Dove Holes to Bugsworth, day after day C F Lurching from side to side, sparks flying far and wide C G7 C Dangers ignored for a waggoner’s pay Nipper and me stand on the lily-pins Brake hooks in hands for spragging the wheels Thrown at the right time, to stop forty tons of lime Make one mistake and we’re head over heels Men climbing spokes turn the tipplers of Bugsworth Wagons raised high drop their loads to the ground Ironwork red with rust, covered in white lime dust Horse drawn barges leaving – Manchester bound Steering a pleasure boat, enjoying the sunshine Marple to Bugsworth, on a Bank Holiday ‘Nice day’ it is the cry as we greet passers-by Some pints in the ‘Sportsman’ but then on our way All’s quiet and serene as we cruise into Bugsworth Unlike times past with the toil, sweat and din No more the inland port, built for limestone transport The only tipplers now are in the old ‘Navvy’ Inn Fair weather boaters meet in the public bar Beneath faded photos of an industry past Iron rails and tipplers gone, a basin long overgrown Now a heritage site neatly laid out to grass So relax and enjoy the beauty of Bugsworth But raise up a glass to the tipplers of yore To the gangers, the nippers, the lime wagon tippers The boaters and all those who’ve drunk here before © I H Bruce 2009 Bugsworth Basin is a gem at the end of the Peak Forest Canal which would not be available to the modern day boater if it were not for the efforts of the Inland Waterway Preservation Society over the last three or more decades. This song is dedicated to all volunteers who have worked on this site. The 'tippler' was a device for lifting the waggons containing limestone so that their contents spilled out onto the wharf.