Ledgard flood gates

A poor life this, if full of care........................

FRIDAY. I looked at the mist swirling about a foot above the surface of the river, the distant hills also partly shielded and realised again why we enjoy boating. Different views most days (of which more later…) and the duck proudly showing off her eleven ducklets which are slowly discarding their almost circular shape for one that is more streamlined. A knock on the roof by Keith from Ledgard Bridge boats brought us outside. The glass replacement for the cratch would be delivered on Monday. Whilst we were chatting about boating in general, the other part of the company, Gary arrived with news of our batteries. It was not good. In fact it was very bad. The wonderful people at Elecsol had not dispatched the batteries, which probably went a long way to explain why they had not arrived. They were ordered on Tuesday; the excuse given by Elecsol was – we didn’t realise that it was urgent. Their excuses fit in well with their customer service and despatch department. I think that the expression is something like ‘set a low standard which they consistently fail to maintain’ Ok, end of rant. Right, now we have a decision to make. We need to be at Ledgard boats on Monday morning, but where to go until then. We decided that we like the mooring above figure of three locks near Horbury. Myra nipped into Aldi and the Coop at Mirfield before raiding the chippy. Why are fish and chips so much better up north? Answers please, on a postcard to Harry Ramsden’s. (They need all the help that they can get). We moved off and had a good run to our moorings, the only boat that we met on the move was coming out of Greenwood flood gates, which are very close to the weir boom; I suppose that it makes a change from bridge holes. One boat went past after we had moored, it really is quiet and we are not complaining! Who knows, we nay even be able to carry on with our trip after Monday.

Weather, overcast, dry but few sunny spells.

The 2008 journey thus far: 177 Locks & 291 Miles & 19 Swing\Lift Bridges

Journeys using bus pass: 9

View downstream from Battyeford lock

The waiting game

THURSDAY. We are told that you cannot rely on our British weather. I agree wholeheartedly as I overslept this morning, owing to the fact that it was not raining. The batteries should arrive today, so we are remaining at Ledgard flood gates until then. Myra wandered off to the laundrette with our washing; she returned not only with the washing, but with some wonderful smelling (and tasting) pasties from the neighbouring bakery and on her journey she had passed a proper model shop with model railways therein. I could feel a walk coming on for early afternoon. We walked to the model shop and it was indeed a proper one. There was a customer sitting in a comfortable chair and before long there was a really good three way conversation with him, myself and the owner about railways under way. Myra sat on the floor in a corner and let the boys babble on for a bit. Then as I noticed an Ian Allan locospotters book, the owner and I were comparing notes and reminiscing as Myra was talking to the customer about the west coast of Scotland. We must have been chatting for half an hour; the owner said that he was not really running a shop, more a social club. His overheads were very small (as was the shop) and provided he could make ends meet, then what a nice way to live. (I did not buy anything) As we made our way back to Martlet, Myra and I agreed it was a lovely philosophy. By 3pm we had no phone call, so I backed out of the flood lock and onto the river, turned around and headed up to Battyeford lock to warm up the engine to allow us to have showers. The clean crew then tied up alongside a widebeam barge at Ledgard boats, to be told that no batteries had arrived today. They will telephone Elecsol in the morning and find out where the delivery problem lies. They said that we could stay there the night and we have done just that. It is now raining, but not much.

Weather, overcast, then very sunny and hot, rain showers in the evening.

The 2008 journey thus far: 172 Locks & 286 Miles & 19 Swing\Lift Bridges

Journeys using bus pass: 9

What did you say?

The rain it raineth

Tuesday. The rain was pounding on the roof as I woke up. It had eased off and become showery by 10.25 when we moved off. By the time we had left the first lock, the showers became heavier and stayed that way until we tied up at Batteyford. We walked to DSM ropes during an interval, but then the Scotch mist set in. We stayed inside for the afternoon, waiting for the clouds to break. They never did, so the daily constitutional would have to wait for another day. The batteries have been returning lower voltages each morning, so today I have ordered four new ones from Ledgard Bridge boats; they should arrive on Thursday.

Weather, drizzle with rain showers, moderate wind.

The 2008 journey thus far: 172 Locks & 284 Miles & 19 Swing\Lift Bridges

Journeys using bus pass: 8

Wednesday. Rain had woken me for the second day running. After breakfast, it had reduced to a misty drizzle and then it stopped completely. We caught the bus for Halifax and had an interesting 50 minute journey through various hill top villages with cobbled side streets, and into deep valleys. The views must have been stunning, unfortunately, the mist had reduced visibility to about a half mile. Halifax had some really interesting buildings, and a good covered market hall. We had decided to sample the local fayre, so we tucked in when the bowls of pie, mushy peas and mint sauce (one with black pudding) with mint sauce. They were enjoyable and washed down with tea kept us going until supper. There were charity shops to be relieved of books (we did) and the Yorkshire book exchange where we bough yet more ballast. Returning to the boat in the afternoon, it began to rain. The water level had risen by about four inches and when the rain stopped, we went to look at the stream indicator at Battyeford lock. It was at the top of the orange. We moved off because I wanted to get the batteries tomorrow and not to be stuck where we were. I got it wrong entering the lock and broke one of the cratchboard glass panels on the footboard of the upper gates. More work required. Tied up just inside Ledgard flood gates and guess what – on the stream indicator outside the lock, same piece of river, the level was only just on the bottom of the green. It is reassuring to know that you can rely on the efficiency of BW to help you make the safe decisions when entering river sections.

Weather, drizzle with rain showers.

The 2008 journey thus far: 172 Locks & 285 Miles & 19 Swing\Lift Bridges

Journeys using bus pass: 9

Anglers, anglers everywhere...................

Sunday. Relaxing after breakfast when we realised that the boat was surrounded by anglers. There was a team match about to take place. The angler in front asked when we were moving off as we were on an allocated peg. The match extended to the river lock so we would be unable to moor up before then. I told him that we were staying put as it was too windy to move slowly past the anglers without ending up in the offside reeds. He accepted that, and became more amenable. The wind was very strong with even stronger gusts, certainly not pleasant narrowboat handling weather. The playing fields were occupied by four cricket matches; I watched the two nearest ones on and off for most of the day; there was some excellent cricket being played and despite the wind, they all seemed to be enjoying the game. The angling match finished at 3.30pm, the one in front of us had 1lb 3oz of fish, but the man two pegs behind us, opposite the lock by wash had 14lb 2oz. He apparently runs the Mirfield angling shop and it was noticeable to us that he had one rod bag and one box, both of which he carried easily. The others all had frames on wheels and loads of gear – perhaps there is a clue there somewhere.

Bank Holiday Monday. The wind has dropped a bit, so away we went, only three locks and a mile and a half to do, the bushes sheltered from the wind except at the top gates of the locks when it proceeded to ‘become variable’ as the shipping forecast would have it. Arriving at our mooring spot, it took me ages to find the locations of the underwater stones and place the fenders to stop the boat banging on them with the gusts of wind. I settled for a lifebelt floating to keep the rear end off the bank and a go-kart tyre submerged at the front. People were working at the distribution depot opposite but the noise was negligible. A few of the long term moored boats from Huddersfield passed us by on their way back home. Tomorrow we will move only to Battyeford as the weather forecast is not good.

Weather, strong, gusty wind both days.

The 2008 journey thus far: 174 Locks & 283Miles & 19 Swing\Lift Bridges

Journeys using bus pass: 8

Huddersfield narrow canal

Sellars engineering tunnel, Huddersfield narrrow canal

Huddersfield narrow, did we say that we were going there?

We walked around the open market with its wonderful cast iron supported roof above all of the stalls. Casting our eyes over the mainly flea market, it was hard to walk away without anything, it was that interesting. We then returned and looked around the covered market, not as good as we had hoped. Myra visited Sainsbury’s whilst I prepared Martlet for the narrow canal. Chimney off for the first bridge, the TV aerial post only just made it. We rode up abruptly on a supermarket trolley at the far side and managed to get off fairly easily. Then we ran the gauntlet of overhanging branches owing to the location of two new BW tugs tied up on a bend opposite. A sharp right hand bend then there it was – Lock 1E of the narrow canal! When the lower gates were closed, Myra discovered there was a problem with the anti-vandal gear on one ground paddle. It could not be released, therefore only one ground paddle would work, and yes, you have guessed, the leakage from the bottom gates was greater than the flow from one ground paddle. Some fiddling then took place and we eventually left the lock. The canal was really covered with rubbish, more than we have seen in Birmingham or Manchester. The next lock had ground paddles so stiff that the long Calder & Hebble windlass was needed. The next three locks were as bad with paddles not working, gates leaking and a general air of neglect. We removed a sheet of Orange safety netting from lock 5E just as a BW man tuned up, so we told him of the problems which he knew about, but they are not allowed to do any maintenance! We struggled up the next lock and picked up a load on the blades as I was leaving. Down the weed hatch, cloth, wire, plastic – you name it, we had it. The pound below lock 5E was low, as was this one. I crawled along in the centre, dragging on the bottom. Passing an overspill weir, I saw that the level was only down a couple of inches. In the next lock, 6E, with very stiff paddles again, the upper pound down 6 or 8 inches. We ran aground in the middle of the pound and rocked ourselves past the obstruction somehow. I looked at the book; a winding hole was above lock 8E. We decided to turn around. Boating is supposed to be enjoyable and this was not our idea of enjoyment. Lock 7E upper pound was down some 6 inches and we left the upper gate open for our imminent return, as we did with lock 8E. I turned Martlet around and headed back. We borrowed 6 inches of the fairly long pound and brought it down the locks with us. We spoke to a man who lives locally and had helped in the restoration of the canal. He was very disappointed in the way that BW have let maintenance slide. He said that in his opinion the main reason for water shortage was that the resevoir feeders to the canal are silted up and should be cleared out.
We did not run aground with the extra water and with Myra on the boat and yours truly on the long reach windlass ( it was hard work for me on two of the gate paddles) we made it to the broad canal with only one more trip down the weed hatch. What a disappointment. In our travels thus far with Martlet, 5057 locks and 9085 miles, this was the hardest of any. We moored, exhausted at Deighton playing fields and sank into a cup of tea. We will think about plan E tomorrow – possibly.

Weather - cloudy start, then hot sunny intervals, strong wind.

The 2008 journey thus far: 171 Locks & 281.5Miles & 19 Swing\Lift Bridges

Journeys using bus pass: 8

View from guano moorings

The Loco lift bridge, Huddersfield

The Railway Station, Huddersfield

Huddersfield - home of various architectural gems

We had a short journey planned for today, into Huddersfield and moor on the visitor moorings outside Sainsburys. The locks were the usual wide choice type. By that description, I meant that they were all wide, one of them had both ground paddles working: the other seven had choices, but never all of the ground ones and gate ones in working order. I was reminded of my days bale carting on the farm; every time that I threw a rope around a bollard, it came back with a bale of hay attached, I think I would rather have this than the small gravel at some locks, at least the grass does not scratch paintwork! The broad canal seemed deeper than the 2’6” given in Nicholson which was just as well as Martlet draws that amount when static! The narrow is shown as 3’6”, so here’s hoping. I went under the unusual Loco lift bridge and arrived at Sainsburys moorings, marked in Nicholson, Geoprojects and Pearson guides as visitor. Only they are not. They are now permanent moorers only; anyone else has to use the towpath side with the underwater ledge and piles of canine guano hidden in the long grass. Welcome to Huddersfield! I was stared at by a man who had just got off a boat on the permanent moorings. I waved and was greeted by further staring. Perhaps the family trees hereabouts have less branches than elsewhere. Oh well. We moored up carefully and then went walkabout for the purpose of building spotting. What treasures were in store for us. The Railway station was magnificent, even the statue of Harold Wilson

( sometime president of the Isles of Scilly tourist board) on the forecourt failed to be a distraction. Buttresses boosted the grand appearance of 19^th century gabled roof rooms on many buildings, turreted corners and excellent stonework gave the impression of an effective mixture of the French and Scottish building styles in the same street. The new covered shopping areas were the same bland mixture as any other place, but for me, could not take away the overall style of the place. I was impressed. We had a look around Apsley Wharf Marina chandlery. They had a tin of waterproof grease; otherwise I would have said that it was poorly stocked. Thinking about it; I will say it - it was poorly stocked! AND guess who took my money, yes, the staring man from earlier in this tale. We will move onto the narrow canal tomorrow after a visit to the covered market for fruit and vegetables.

Weather muggy, hot sunny intervals, dry

The 2008 journey thus far: 150 Locks & 274.5Miles & 19 Swing\Lift Bridges

Journeys using bus pass: 8

Avoiding pylons in this area is difficult..............

Made it! The start of the Huddersfield Broad Canal

Remains of Woodside Mills

Enough indecision, here is Plan D

Wednesday. Myra has decided to honour the wash day tradition two days late; the engine was started to enable hot water to stream from the tap thereby taking all the drudgery out of the interesting task in front of her. With the benefit of years of experience, I helped considerably by walking to the riverbank through an interesting wild nature reserve. Across the river at the top of the hill, some workmen were busy erecting a steel fence above a large area that had been recently stabilized above the railway line. The slope was such that they were wearing safety harnesses and each man had another man on the end of his rope. I could have watched them all day. Eventually, having returned to Martlet, I was given permission to proceed and away we went towards Elland. We moored in the basin and Myra went off in search of two excellent pork pies and for our lunch, fish & chips. The butcher had run out of pork pies, but he would put two in the oven for her if she would call back for them after 2pm! How’s that for service, thank you www.ellandfoodhouse.co.uk . We thought that we would go through Woodside Mills lock and moor there, there was a tree lined section of canal and nice. We explored the ruins of the mill and stood appreciating the skill of the masons and all the extra work that they carried out just to make the building look good. I will try to find out the history of the mill when I get home. We also walked up to Salterhebble to have a look at the work done by BW on the Guillotine lock thus far. The inspection was over quite quickly. They have done nothing at all. The whole area is covered by scaffolding as the stone walls of the adjacent road bridge are being rebuilt. We walked back to the boat and decided to think seriously about Plan D. We have decided to telephone Shire Cruisers at Sowerby Bridge in the morning and see what information they have been given. We will then decide whether to wait it out here or turn around and head for Huddersfield.

Boats seen moving 3. All private.

Weather bright sunny intervals, dry, moderate breeze.

The 2008 journey thus far: 131 Locks & 254.5Miles & 18 Swing Bridges

Journeys using bus pass: 8

Thursday. Please join us in welcoming Plan D!. Here is the BW plan of action for Salterhebble lock. Sorry to keep on about it, but it has been important to our plans.
They will remove all the bridge scaffolding and check the free rotation of the main shaft along the guillotine frame top. Should that be OK, they will bring in a crane to raise and lower the gate allowing for the passage of boats. We would have to pass through twice as we planned to reach Gauxholme before retracing our journey. Our confidence in being able to pass twice before something else goes wrong is almost non existent. This is the third time that this lock has broken down this year. We therefore turned around and retraced our steps to Coopers Bridge, passing Mark and Julie headed in the other direction at Cromwell lock, as their plans require them to be in Hebden Bridge soon. We entered new waters by travelling straight on past Coopers Bridge flood lock and onto the Huddersfield broad canal. We tied up near a railway bridge at the rear of an industrial estate in almost complete quiet. When the pile driver had stopped for the night, silence reined – wonderful!

Boats moving 1

Weather hot sunny intervals, dry

The 2008 journey thus far: 142 Locks & 271Miles & 18 Swing Bridges

Journeys using bus pass: 8

Take it away Maestro (Plan C that is.........)

Monday. We had a look around Brighouse. It has the remains of a fine town about it.
Sainsburys right next to the canal, Tesco a walk across the ring road. If you had wondered what became of the people that ran your local Indian/Asian takeaway after it had closed, I can give you an update. They are alive and well, living and trading in Brighouse. We have never before seen so many restaurants (full take out meal service available) in one small town. We estimate that you could eat out nightly for about three weeks, more if you were prepared to slum it and include fish & chip establishments. We went looking for old buildings and found a couple of pubs near to the railway, good stone bridges and a couple of mills on the banks of the river Calder. One silo had banner at the top advertising a car hand wash, they have a good sense of humour up ‘ere. We asked a helper in a charity shop the whereabouts of the bus station. Ooh, we don’t have one of those do we, she asked her friend who had just arrived. No, not here she replied. Cutting a long story short (!) the bus station was directly behind that very charity shop – clearly an example to shoot down the adage that it begins at home. Very good bakers shop, still selling Yorkshire Ducks (the EC object to the name because they have no duck content) and Scotch pies. Very nice they all were, which is more than my teeth said about the Pork Scratchings – the first bite broke off a piece of a filling, now I will be wearing out my tongue checking that it still has a sharp edge (the filling – not my tongue). Tomorrow it will be bus pass day. Chatted to John who arrived this afternoon on his boat, he works for David Brown pumps at Penistone, a company to which I used to deliver stainless steel castings from Crawley in the early 1980’s. He has a Barrus shire engine and looked at my modified air cleaner, he was also reluctant to pay in excess of £40 for a paper replacement element. Chatting to some residents of the canal basin; apparently the new gearbox has arrived for the Salterhebble guillotine and will be fitted as a matter of priority as the hire fleet operators have been giving BW some grief ( why not a lot!). We will now invoke Plan C, and go back up the canal heading for Gauxholme. Our indecision is final.
We then spent a couple of hours chatting to his lady wife and John on their boat in the evening.

Boats seen moving – Private 1, Hire 1

Weather –overcast with light wind.

Tuesday. At the Bus station we caught the 9.40am to Halifax, where we changed buses for the run to Todmorden. Beautiful countryside, but why do the buses have to cover so much of the side windows with advertisements? It makes your neck ache looking around them to see the view. Wandered around Todmorden, took a few pictures and need to use the toilet. Then we discovered that all the public toilets have 20p coin mechanism on the doors. We obtained directions to the canal and used the BW service facility toilets. Well! We had a picnic sitting next to the canal on a picnic table next to the moorings. Todmorden library was advertising a book sale – Fill a bag for £1. We did, what a good thing that we took some to a charity shop in Brighouse as we would have been overflowing with books. The outdoor market was closed, the indoor market was partly open, we decided to catch the next bus back to Hebden Bridge and spent an hour and a half looking around there. Lots of nice buildings and we will have a proper look when we arrive by boat. Called in at Tesco on the return to Brighouse, then moved off through the lock to the water point and purchased 100 litres of diesel from Sagar marine. I revived quickly owing to the effect of the smelling salts and paid my £88.01. It seems more when you look at the figures in cold print. Just imagine the cost next year; I will put in a petrol engine and run it on malt whisky, I am sure it would be cheaper. We moved up through three more locks and tied up above Cromwell, nice and peaceful and plenty of light.

Boats seen moving 0. Boats arrived at Brighouse basin during the day – Private 2

Weather bright sunny intervals, dry.

The 2008 journey thus far: 128 Locks & 252.5Miles & 18 Swing Bridges

Journeys using bus pass: 8

Brighouse basin 2

Brighouse basin

Wot no Brass Band?

Saturday. It was drizzle when we awoke, drizzle when we had breakfast, and most of the morning. We remained tied to the trees at Knowles wharf until early afternoon. We washed the dust and sticky droppings from the lime trees off the new paintwork on the left side and the left half of the roof. We ran the engine up for 30 minutes as we were moving down to tie up above Cromwell lock which was less than one mile. The new mooring was in the open and much lighter than our previous one, interesting though it was.
Boats seen moving – Private 4

Weather – drizzle, overcast with light wind.

Sunday. The weather was fine and sunny at 7.30 when I made the tea. Clouds were building up as we had breakfast and remained all morning. We moved off after lunch, down three locks into Brighouse and then one more down into the basin where we tied up. The town centre is but a few yards away, inviting exploration for the morning. Tied up in front when we moored, was a boat owned by Mark that we had met at Whaley Bridge last August; so, he came with his girlfriend for a chat and a cuppa on Martlet. They are having to rethink their plans owing to the broken lock at Satlerhebble. We spent a good while catching up with their news and travels since we had last met. We will be dusting off the bus passes for the next couple of days, when we find the bus station we will decide where to go.
Boats seen moving – Private 4

Afternoon weather overcast but dry.

The 2008 journey thus far: 124 Locks & 251 Miles & 18 Swing Bridges

Journeys using bus pass: 4

Moored at Knowles disused wharf

Plan A gets the chop

Friday. Colder start than for a while; looking forward to working more difficult locks (oh yes?) Myra could not produce enough oomph on the end of the handspike to move some of the paddles. I climbed off the boat and she steered for the next two locks. One lock had three BW men greasing paddles, they did that lock for us and then two of them moved up to the next lock, greased the paddles and worked that one as well! Now for the bad news. One of the men told us that his foreman lived next to the Guillotine lock at Salterhebble and that the lock had broken down last night. As they have done no maintenance for the past two years, they have no spares and the repair will need a new gearbox, which may have to be made as a special order. When asked for a timescale for the repair, his prediction was for weeks, maybe a month. We immediately put plan B into action. We would stop at Elland for fish &chips as planned then carry out a strategic review on returning to the boat. The review completed, we turned Martlet around and headed back towards Brighouse, we will go up the Huddersfield narrow canal to just before the summit level and retrace the canal from there. Should the Guillotine be fixed when we come off the Huddersfield, we will retrace our steps and head for Todmorden. If not, then Leeds & Liverpool here we come! We moored up offside about a mile from Elland, at the old loading wharf for Knowles salt glazed pipes, plenty of water depth and lots of interesting broken shaped pipes at which to stare. The ground under the trees was covered in wild garlic, the smell was quite strong, a few bluebells past their best amongst the ferns.

Boats seen moving – Private 3, Hire 2

Weather – cloudy with moderate wind.

The 2008 journey thus far: 118 Locks & 255 Miles & 18 Swing Bridges

Journeys using bus pass: 4

Interesting stonework - Mirfield

Graceful 1847 Ironwork

Where have all the boaters gone?

Thursday. No tea in bed today, as it was sunny with a few clouds building, we moved off to make the most of the weather. We decided to go as far as Battyeford, so Myra had switched on the bread maker, which would leave some battery charging time when the bread was finished. I had topped the batteries up last night, they were very thirsty having been neglected again. They are not easy to get at, and require the use of a mirror and a torch to check the electrolyte levels. The locks on the Calder and Hebble are not easy, but having found a proper local windlass, which is nearly twice the length of a standard windlass, they were easier than previously. They seem to be suffering from lack of basic maintenance, with some only making a level with all upper ground and gate paddles open. Thornhill double locks were prettily situated at the end of a deep cutting which crossed by a high bridge a few hundred yards away. They have a short lozenge shaped pound, interesting as there is an angled turn between them. Good for boating practice. The scenery is becoming interesting with fine stone buildings and mills, nicely weathered and stained with the smoke from times before the clean air acts took effect. Between areas of industry, there are nice interludes of large open weirs and green river banks with some really lovely bridges. The valleys are closing in, but only slowly at the moment. Again, we were the only boat moving for most of today. Tied up between South Pennine Boat Club and Battyeford flood lock.

Boats seen moving – Private 3, Hire 1

Weather – mostly sunny, cloudy with chilly strong east wind.

The 2008 journey thus far: 106 Locks & 247 Miles & 18 Swing Bridges

Journeys using bus pass: 4

Repairs needed No.2

Repairs needed No.1

Six boats a boating

Wednesday. A leisurely start at 8.50 this morning, we had decided to visit the facilities at Stanley Ferry for a shower (each). I took some photos of the original aqueduct, which apparently had Syndey Harbour bridge modelled on it. The whole structure had been beautifully constructed, with pavilions at both ends and ornate pillars all along the sides of the trough. There is a new concrete aqueduct parallel to it which provides a good place from which to take photos. The facilities block had been refurbished and reopened at Easter. I was amazed at the sluice for porta-potti emptying. The inverted funnel with a large surrounding lip was 3’3” off the ground! I had a struggle with the 25kgs of cassette and contents and as usual there was the prestex press and release tap, no hose, how are you meant to clean the surrounding lip? Answers on a postcard please…………….
On to Fall Ings lock which Nigel had warned us about. Myra took over the boat and I did the lock. I could only move the lower gate with difficulty, it was heavy. I opened the ground paddle slowly and as we had been told, it was a fierce one. Moving out of the lock we passed through Wakefield and stopped for lunch just below Broad cut Top lock. There was a narrowboat parked on the towpath outside the car park of the Navigation pub. Some people a too lazy to walk any distance at all. We had finished lunch when we saw a crowd of people at the lock. They were the crews of two community boats, and insisted on us rising in the lock after their first one had dropped. They were a nice bunch and doing a rewarding job; what a shame that BW feel unable to support them financially this year as they have done in the past. It is obviously more important in the eyes of senior BW management to spend £500,000 on a fish tagging project at the Tees barrage. I think that it is intolerable for the fish to be tagged, presumably they will not be given the advantage of a trial and look at the re-offending rates - appalling!
We stopped above Figure of Three top lock, so called because there are two locks close to each other, in a straight line. (There was an abandoned lock leading down to the River Calder, at 270 degrees to the top lock). Myra bought some fresh eggs from the occupants of the Lock Cottage, which they had bought from BW 10 years ago.
Boats moving – three community boats, one hire boat, two private boats – it is getting busy!

Weather – warm, mostly sunny but strong east wind

The 2008 journey thus far: 100 Locks & 241 Miles & 18 Swing Bridges

Journeys using bus pass: 4

BW deny mooring shortage on Calder & Hebble

Woodnock railway bridge and lock

Steam engines!

Tuesday. I had telephoned River and Canal Rescue yesterday, as a result of my failed attempts to seal the pressure cap on the thermostat housing of our Shire engine. As promised, they arrived on the dot at 10am, with a new pressure cap. A small modification and the replacement was fitted, tested and worked a treat. An efficient, friendly, family run organisation. I do hope that they can resist the temptation to grow larger and possibly loose that family feel. A brief stop to empty the rubbish container and allow gravel barge Farndale H to pass us; then onward to pastures new, we went straight on after Castleford flood lock and headed for Wakefield. Well proportioned railway bridges, most sadly disused, graced our journey up to Woodnock lock where lunch was taken at the top. No narrowboats on the move today apart from one that passed after we had finished and moored above Kings Road lock.
The occupant of the lock cottage is a professional builder of model railway engines and kindly showed me his workshop and his current projects, including a 5” gauge model of an A4 pacific. His models are a testament of his high precision craftsmanship; they are spirit fired live steam locos with radio control. They look wonderful.

Weather – warm, mostly sunny but strong east wind

The 2008 journey thus far: 91 Locks & 233.5 Miles & 18 Swing Bridges

Journeys using bus pass: 4

Tanker - Rix Owl

Back with the commercial traffic

Monday morning. The mist was hanging on the water surface, and the distant trees were partly obscured making the colours subtle and subdued; if only I was a watercolour artist! It was only two miles to Bank Dole lock and the climb back to the level of the Aire and Calder. The river Aire had, overnight, gone down more than 4 inches on its already low level. I will be relieved to be back on the system as we were scraping lightly on the bottom all the way out of Beal lock cut. As Martlet was rising in Bank Dole lock, I called up Ferrybridge lock and was told to watch out for Rix Pheonix, a tanker, which was heading also through Ferrybridge. I waited in the lock cut until Phoenix had passed by and then followed. The sun finally broke through the haze and the weather became very hot. I took photos of the old A1 road bridge which has good memories of journeys across it with my parents and of one with Myra and my Dad. The Aire upstream of the large power station is beautiful, with heavily wooded banks and bushes growing up on the now silent and landscaped bings, a memorial to the millions of coal hard won from deep down under the Yorkshire soil. It is sad to see the unused ‘Tom Puddings’, the compartment boats used to transport coal to Ferrybridge powers station, tied up alongside the unloading gear. The tippler could lift and partly invert them to discharge their coal onto a conveyor. Another transport job which was ideally suited to water, now no doubt increasing the pollution and lorry movements on our already overcrowded roads. (Sorry Phil!) The high railway bridge came in view with Bulholme lock close afterwards. We stopped for water above the lock, but the water point had an internal hose adaptor fitted to the only outlet, we carried on to Castleford where we filled up. We moved to the visitor moorings, passing by the Hargreaves maintenance depot with the push tugs (used with the Tom Puddings) all tied up and quiet. Pause for reflection and tears if required for maximum effect. On arrival at the moorings, we chatted to Paul and Heather on Roxanne, and ex-Black Prince hire boat. They are from Melbourne (not the Derbyshire one, the antipodean place) and are 18 months into a 5 year plan to explore the waterways of England. They parked their outdoor chairs next to Martlet and there we all stayed until supper. Phase two occurred when a very enjoyable evening was spent on ‘Roxanne’.

Weather – very warm and very sunny.

The 2008 journey thus far: 88 Locks & 229.5 Miles & 18 Swing Bridges

Journeys using bus pass: 4

Tunnel wood

Beal weir

Summer is acummin in

At lunchtime last Friday, we left Selby basin and moved towards West Haddesley and the river Aire, tying up at Gateford landing. It was such a beautiful place and so quiet; we spent Saturday and Sunday there.

The landing consisted of a stone wall leaning back toward the bank and was built to enable barges to be loaded with sugar beet. People walking by stopped for a chat, they were surprised to see a boat moored up; a lot of them told us that not many boats stop there.

We walked around Tunnel wood and wondered how it came by that name. The ground was covered in bluebells, it looked lovely. Myra had walked around it in the morning, when the banks of the ditches were covered in Primroses that really stood out against the other vegetation; in the evening they did not look quite so good. On the Sunday, we untied and left after dinner, the next bridge that we passed through was called Paperhouse Bridge.

It was named after a farm nearby where barges would unload and reload various cargoes and when the work was done, the farm occupants would read the newspaper to the bargees.

Onwards and through the flood lock and out onto the river Aire for the four mile trip against the stream to Beal lock. Moving away from the pontoon the stream was hardly noticeable, it had lost a lot of power since our outward journey last Tuesday. Very few boats moving over the weekend, lot may it remain that way! Very enjoyable evening run watching sheep and lambs, including two black lambs, along the banks. Moored on the pontoon at Beal lock at 8.20pm under a lowering sun which was slowly making orange tints over the trees and meadows.

Weekend weather – very warm and very sunny.

The 2008 journey thus far: 85 Locks & 220.5 Miles & 18 Swing Bridges

Journeys using bus pass: 4

Day trip to York

We bade farewell to Nigel this morning as he was travelling to Naburn initially and possibly on to York. The lockie had told him that flood was at 8.49am, but it had been a bit early for the last two days. Nigel was called into the lock with another boat, the outer gates opened at 8.40am and he was away. I took some photos for him; as a single handed boater, he does not have many of himself. Walking back to Martlet, we chatted to the crew of a community widebeam boat who were waiting for their party to arrive. They offered us a cup of tea which we accepted gratefully and resumed our chat on board. As today was a Bus Pass day, we had to catch the York bus at 9.37, which we did with time to spare. The bus passengers comprised three fare paying and about a dozen freebies as we started the journey. We went through two interesting looking villages; then we soon entered the southern suburbs of York, which had some nice terraces and good buildings. The bus dropped us off just north of the river Foss, almost in the centre of the walled city and some 200 yards from Clifford’s tower and the Castle Museum which was ideal; as these were the reason for our visit. Clifford’s tower was interesting, the views and the weather made the climb to the top really worthwhile. We enjoyed today’s Castle museum visit; as we had our last one some 32 years ago. We spent just short of three hours today and we think that we had seen it all.
Weather today – very warm and sunny.

The 2008 journey thus far: 83 Locks & 216.5 Miles & 18 Swing Bridges
Journeys using bus pass: 4

York Minster from Clifford's Tower

Selby basin 'Improvement'

On the waterfront...........

Shafts of sunlight were playing on the cabin walls as I awoke today. A lovely start, we had but 5 miles to go with no locks and only one mechanised swing bridge at the Selby basin entrance. We cast off closely followed by Nb ‘Free Spirit’ with Nigel in charge. We were soon accosted by a protective swan, he pushed against the hull as we went past and just for good measure, had a peck at the back end. We eventually saw his mate on her nest some half mile further on, perhaps he was just out looking for trouble. A heron was using the boat to stir the fish up for him and did about a mile of ‘circuits and bumps’ before catching one and swinging away behind us like a flying creature from Jurassic Park. The moorings at Burn Bridge remain in existence, which is more than can be said for the pub that was nearby, all shuttered and fenced off, the first change that we would see today. On the outskirts of Selby, we could see a man walking a Jack Russell and another small unidentified dog. The identity was soon revealed – it was a cat! Looking back, there could be no doubt that all three were together as the cat continually ran to keep up with the others. We kept a good lookout, but saw no old ladies with budgies or canaries on leads.
Myra operated the swing bridge and I followed Nigel into the basin. One boat only was tied up so we had a choice of moorings. My word, what a change we saw; the old warehouses on the town side had been replaced by two 4 storied buildings divided into flats. The lockie sadly told us that they belonged to a housing association, that they were occupied by a lot of people that you would not choose to have as neighbours. The Police were always around, his house was now overlooked on two sides and his television signal had really deteriorated.
As far as we were concerned, the flats now completely dominated and changed the nature of the basin area for the worse. So much for conserving the heritage of the waterways. We wandered around Selby making a few purchases in the small market outside the Abbey and stocking up with Bus timetables, for tomorrow we head (by road)for York. We had a walk along the riverbank after supper and on our return, were invited for drinks aboard 'Free Spirit' which I am pleased to report dutifully lived up to it's name - thanks Nigel!

Weather today – very warm and sunny.

The 2008 journey thus far: 83 Locks & 216.5 Miles & 18 Swing Bridges

Has summer arrived?

Leisurely start at 8.35am, having watched Humber Princess and then a push tug/ sand barge combination pass our mooring. The Pollington lockie has to drive to the next lock at Whitley and see them through. The self operation of Pollington lock is not available owing to a top gate not sealing properly; it has been broken for months. Fortunately for us, there was a relief lockie able to see us up the lock before he got on with his day’s work. We have found that the BW men on the ground are pleasant and helpful, let down by insufficient resources and poor management. Travelling in bright sunshine, on an empty canal. We stopped at Whitley lock to have a shower, which is shown in Nicholson’s book. Another typing error – no shower; I was filling up the water tank with a dribbling hose and after 30 minutes, the tank was still not full, so we moved on through the lock and away. Approaching the Jolly Miller moorings, a narrowboat pushed the bow off and seemed to hang across our path for ages before putting on a few revs and moving out of the way. The boat behind did exactly the same! Why don’t they just look before pushing off, the second one had to put a lot of revs on as by now we were almost on top of him, they were the first boats we had seen since leaving Pollington. Passing Kellingley colliery it was nice to see one that is still working: nothing moving by canal of course, but by lorry and a good amount by rail. Onwards to Bank Dole lock and the drop to the river Aire. We met Nigel who was just leaving the lock, boating on his own; he set up and waited at Beal lock for us. We returned the compliment at West Haddesley, where we both moored up. He had kindly donated a spare Calder and Hebble handspike and in the evening, we shared some Sloe gin and exchanged information about our trips: Nigel to Ripon and ours to Sowerby Bridge. It was a pleasure chatting to a proper boater.

Weather today – very warm and sunny.

The 2008 journey thus far: 83 Locks & 211 Miles & 17 Swing Bridges

Bank holiday muggy

Boating again, moved off at 10.20am in very hot sun, which would become hazy and muggy quite soon. One boat coming towards us at the first swing bridge; I went through and Myra held the bridge for him. At the next lift bridge, an oncoming narrowboat returned the compliment; back to good manners, as boating used to be a few years ago – lovely !
As we neared Sykehouse lock, the entry light was at Red. Stopping at the lock moorings, we could see why. There were seven boats rising inside; they were returning to Strawberry Island at Doncaster. BW man the lock at busy times, this was one of them. Myra walked to the next two bridges, one swing and one lift, having gone through the last one; we moored up for lunch on the end of the long moorings for the lock; which left enough space for at least two narrowboats. A steady stream of boats began arriving as we moved off. When we approached the river Went aqueduct just before the Aire and Calder canal, a cruiser waited for us to come through the reduced width part; by the time we arrived at the other end, five more were waiting. We were glad that they were all going in the other direction, as we know that mooring spots are few on the Aire and Calder. We turned left at the junction and just over a mile later, arrived at our stopping point, the lower Pollington lock moorings. While Myra wandered off to see what was happening at the lock; I made up two sets of extended fenders for use in the locks and on the large section piling. I used cable ties and joined two rope fenders end to end. It will be interesting to see how long they last. Just after sunset, the Tanker that Myra had been told would be arriving put in an appearance – Rix Owl. All the crew waved, they tied up at the lower lock gates and will be penned through at 6am.
Weather today – muggy, very warm (at last!) and dry.

The 2008 journey thus far: 78 Locks & 197 Miles & 17 Swing Bridges

Tanker - Rix Owl

 

Conga line boating

Today, a more accurate name for our weekend mooring would have been Clapham Junction.
I was keeping count of the number of boats moving but by 10am I had given up. There were groups of 5 or 6 boats coming from Bramwith lock, making the 270 degree turn and heading up the New Junction canal; other groups from Barnby Dun direction making for the same canal. We walked along the towpath into Barnby Dun, stopping to pass the time of day with a man painting a widebeam boat on behalf of a friend. Continuing, the lift bridge was manned by a BW employee; what a good idea, at busy times, it will help boaters and reduce the delay for road traffic. They must have a few employees left up here, yesterday,there was another one cutting the wide grass areas bothsides of the canal. Having found the SPAR shop and purchased a paper, we looked along the small parade of shops. There were people going into the furthest shop, which turned out to be fish and chips. A quick time check revealed that my stomach was indeed synchronised – it was 12.35pm. Having paid the requisite sum of money, we retired to the canal side seat by the lift bridge and enjoyed the best piece of Haddock we had eaten for some while. As we were finishing, the owner of the aforementioned widebeam boat stopped for a chat. He was fitting it out and was looking for ideas. He accepted an invitation to look over Martlet during the afternoon; he duly arrived accompanied by his wife Lavinia and they spent a couple of hours chatting and bouncing ideas to and fro. He has a lot of boat to fit out; but living in the village, he is nearby for working on the boat. Their idea is to have a break, perhaps take the boat to York whilst camping inside to get an idea about final placing of bulkheads and fittings. We wish them luck!
Weather today – periods of warm sunshine, dry but a moderate, sometimes strong wind.
No boating, engine run for battery charging.




The 2008 journey thus far: 77 Locks & 189.5 Miles & 11 Swing Bridges

New Junction mooring

 

Porta Potti

I am amazed that the subject of toilets has not yet appeared in this blog; this will be rectified immediately. Today, we went all of one mile back to Barnby Dun bridge where the BW facilities block is situated, to empty the Porta Potti. We ended up chatting to a man walking his dog; then to a member of the Strawberry Island boat club. He had come to operate the bridge as a BW tug was delivering a redundant hopper purchased by the club. When the tug arrived, Myra did the bridge while he and I stood chatting; he was a bargee in this area for 35 years and has recently changed his narrowboat for a sea going boat. One of his main reasons is that the people on the canals are becoming less friendly and helpful with each year’s passing. We have said the same thing, on the main canal system we tend to move off early and tie up early to avoid most of the ‘new boaters’. Back to the New junction, mooring up where we will stay until Monday. It is hard to believe that this rural mooring is 5 miles from the centre of Doncaster. Weather has been sunny, hot, and cloudy intervals.
Lots of boats moving about today, most of the occupants giving us a friendly wave as they went by.

The 2008 journey thus far: 77 Locks & 189.5 Miles & 11 Swing Bridges

Yesterday

May Day! Not the nautical cry for help, but the beginning of another month. We celebrated in the traditional manner of the English, and went to the laundrette. We passed by a pub and I thought that it was worthy of a photograph. A personal view of how a pub should look, an honest building, bearing a sensible name and reminding me of the style to be found in most towns before breweries imposed the new designs on us all. End of rant……….
Leaving the Doncaster town mooring we had just passed the Strawberry Island Boat club when the familiar smell of diesel wafted around us. The canal was covered again from bank to bank, lasting for some distance; there was a gap of sorts and then more diesel until we reached the tractor plant when it finally petered out. This part of the canal can have a large industrial plant one moment, turn a corner and there are fields and trees, around the next corner and another industrial plant. It has variety in abundance, and could be the reason that it appeals to us. Through Long Sandall lock and then Barnby Dun lift bridge: better to pass through in this direction as the control pedestal is on the far side. That means you do not have to cross the stream of cars driven by the motorists that you have delayed by raising the bridge. One mile further, the Sheffield & South Yorkshire canal forks right for Keadby and the Trent; the New Junction canal forks left for Leeds and Selby. We tied to the left hand bank short of the fork where the canal is wide and very peaceful. One boat on the move, it is really quiet around here; it may change over the bank holiday weekend.
A dry but overcast day.


The 2008 journey thus far: 77 Locks & 187.5 Miles & 11 Swing Bridges

Traditional Pub Architecture - Doncaster