Bull Bridge to Kirklees Top Lock

It turns out that people who follow us by email might have been getting posts twice. The first one from WordPress when a post goes live and a second later in the day, when for some reason Blogger (where the old blog was) had got hold of the new post and didn’t want anybody to miss it. Mick has done some tinkering, so hopefully peoples inboxes are no longer being filled up with our posts. Thank you to Duncan for complaining pointing this out to us.

Lidl yesterday served some of our needs but certain reserves on board are running very low, mainly wine! So today we needed to press on to reach Brighouse where we can moor up behind Sainsburys, they also have a wider range of gluten free things, so it won’t just be wine!

Mick first popped out to get a newspaper, with breakfast done we pushed off headed back out onto the river then back onto the cut at Battyeford Lock. Here the club looks like they have built themselves a nice new dry dock, it may have been here last time we passed but more noticeable today.

Along the next section we passed NB Blue Moon now heading back to base, it looked like they’d teamed up with another boat. Back out onto the river again turning under Battyeford Hauling Bridge. This is a roving/snake bridge that spans the wide river and would have meant a horse could stay connected to a boat as it crossed over to the other side, the bridge not getting in the way of the towing line. I don’t recall having seen a metal roving bridge before and certainly not one so wide, still not a patch on those on the Macc.

There were movements up at Cooper Bridge Lock, when I hopped off the lock was being set for a small cruiser to come down. Their boat had an alarming list, maybe someone very large was sat on the starboard side. Mum and Dad did what they did bickering whilst their teenage daughter carried on regardless far more clued up than her parents.

A comment was made by Mum, Dad disappeared below to return a short while later saying that someone had left a tap on, there was quite a bit of condensation on the windows. The water was now in the bilges, he wasn’t happy. Now he’d have to find the bilge pump! I think I’d rather know where that piece of equipment was. It looked like the water was what was causing the list, at least the boat wasn’t gaining water so unless it toppled over they should be alright.

We helped them down, then Mick got Oleanna out of their way.Off they went at their jaunty angle heading downstream still bickering away. What a lovely Easter break!

We worked our way up. Coming down these short locks you have to be careful of the cill and the wide walkway on the bottom gates, nudging your way forward as soon as it is clear. Going up so far had been okay, Mick nestling Oleannas bow up against the top gates, but today the gates were slightly different. Two large recesses about six inches deep, one on each side of the centre. There was enough space for Oleanna to drift from the centre line and her bow fender was sitting nicely in the recess. I signalled to Mick to nudge back as the lock was filling. No back! We were now bickering. I could see the potential problem but he couldn’t.

Luckily Oleanna was nudged back and her fender cleared the recess. I could then explain why I’d been so adamant. At the next lock Mick could see the recesses. It seems we’ll have to take as much time going up as we took coming down these locks, we just won’t have to faff so much getting past the gates.

Cooper Bridge Lock was a favourite with a blog reader Heather ( Pedalboats), she hasn’t posted anything for over a year, sadly I think something must have happened to her. I had been really looking forward to meeting her, almost expected her to be sat on one of the lock beams with her dogs waiting for us.

Then up to the junction with the Huddersfield Broad Canal. Last night we’d toyed with having a short detour down to Huddersfield as tonight is the opening night of Mikron’s new show, opening at the Lawrence Batley Theatre. But the only seats left were right on the sides and it wouldn’t be the same watching one of their shows in an actual theatre, they should be watched outside by the canal with a pint in hand. Looking at their tour dates we’ll catch up with them somewhere this summer, further south.

So we turned right, keeping to the Calder and Hebble. We’ve only been this way once before and not in this direction. Having said that Kirklees Low Lock is very familiar to me. Turning off the M62 to head into Huddersfield I would sit in the waiting traffic on the A644 and wonder how long it would be before I would be travelling the canals and actually moving faster than the traffic jam I was sat in. I never saw a boat at the lock, so I waved back today.

Up Kirklees Top Lock and we pulled in for some lunch. This soon became our overnight mooring, we had just enough wine to last us one last evening. The M62 is audible from here, but is just far enough away to be able to forget about it. Tilly did her best to make the most of it, but too many woofers spoilt her fun. I even had to give two greyhounds a serious ticking off, although one of them was a blackhound!

4 locks, 3 flood locks, 3.08 miles, 1 newspaper, 35 degree list, 1 running tap, 2 recesses, 29 photos, 7000 to 2000, 4 glasses left, 17 years, 2 many cables, 2 busy.