Overnight the river had continued to fall. Here in Naburn when we woke the mooring bollards were above water again, a good sign, but it was raining and due to continue raining for most of the day. A look at the Viking recorder level and the forecast levels showed that in York the river had just started to level out before it would rise again. We’d guessed as much, but the predicted levels were high again.
The levels recorded below Naburn Lock were starting to show the influence of the tides again, would there be enough fresh going downstream to make it possible to escape during the afternoon and not have to wait for the tide? This was a question to ask the Lockie when we saw him next.
Bollards!
A look at the weir was needed, it was more audible than it’s been in the last few days. The difference of levels on the tidal and none tidal river were visible again, hence the weir making a lot more noise. The downstream pontoon no longer level with the island, still a lot of water crashing around though.
A height difference
The Lock Keeper was hanging around when we returned. We asked what the possibilities were of heading downstream this afternoon a bit earlier than with the tide before the next rise in water really got going. He wasn’t keen on the idea, fare enough.
Rafted boats at the lock
He did say that if the levels remained more or less as they were now then he’d be on duty for the morning tide and be able to pen us down at 6:30am in return for a bacon butty. Well we already knew that the levels would rise again, a carrot dangled then drowned again!
Moreby Hall visible downstream
A wet day followed as the levels gradually rose again.
Tilly is finding it hard here. Being cabin bound is one thing, she kind of copes when in places like Paddington or BUMingham. But here there is nothing to watch through the windows, being hemmed in on both sides isn’t helping her deal with things. Her incessant pleading at the back doors is not helping our mental health either!
Mick popped back to see the Lockie later on. He’d still pen us down if we wanted in the morning, however he wouldn’t recommend it. We already knew this. If we were to go boats would have to move round. Jo is on the outside of us all and is waiting for a friend to help her on the Tidal Ouse. It would be her first time and on a new to her widebeam, so totally understandable. No need to play do-ci-do then.
Watching the film
Mick lit the stove as it was getting chilly. I made a round of mustard and cheddar crackers and then we all settled down to watch The Sence of Ending, a gentle English mystery. Jim Broadbent plays Tony, who receives a letter from the estate of the mother of his 1960’s university girlfriend. He has been left some money and a diary. Who’s diary was it and why won’t his ex-girlfriend, Charlotte Rampling, hand it over to him. What happened after they split up and where have their lives taken them since. An enjoyable wet days viewing.
A lock lampost
The weather forecast is looking up and hopefully we will have several dry days. Fingers crossed the levels start to go down and stay down long enough for us to get to Selby and maybe across the River Aire to Knottingley.
0 locks, 0 miles, 1 wet day, 1 missing boater found, 1 stern gland tightened, 1 greaser filled, 1 red dot boring now, 1 cat climbing the walls, 1 bacon butty passage, 2 boaters staying put, 1.22m minimum, 1.54m at midnight, 1 river on the rise, 2 boaters using shore based facilities, 2 boaters hoping to still have a cat in the days to come, wonder what feline steak tastes like, at least she’d be quiet and we’d have a varied diet.
The voice of Houdini woke us this morning, Mick was to be on the 8:57 train to Scarborough to visit the dentist, so there was no lounging around in bed with a cuppa for him. A peek out of the window revealed that the level had risen again overnight, only what looked like a couple of inches, we’d still have at least another foot before we’d be getting wet feet on the moorings here. Gaugemap was checked along all the tributaries up stream before Mick committed to his journey eastwards. I’d not be too keen on moving Oleanna on my own should the level rise!
Yurck
Today was to be windy, very windy. Tilly and I got on with the normal morning routine, keeping an eye on the other side of the river for the level and being buffeted about somewhat.
On the other side of Lendal Bridge is where all the trip boats get moored overnight, at the tail end all the little red hire boats are huddled up together. I was quite surprised when these had been moved mid morning, then at intervals of 10 to 15 minutes one would pass by. The strong winds which we’d not consider moving in didn’t seem to be a problem for them. Then the trip boats started to do their rounds, adding to the swell on the river.
Rising levels
It was a bumpy morning, a little unsettling so I needed to keep myself occupied. As I was expecting visitors I decided to give Oleanna a tidy and sweep through, not that anyone would be coming onboard, but it did the job of keeping my eyes away from checking the level constantly. A batch of biscuits were popped in the oven and had just cooled off when there were voices outside.
Halfway up
Jaye and Duncan had come for a cuppa and a catch up, other than briefly last night it’s just over a year since we last saw them. If the weather had been more conducive I’d have made refreshments for us to enjoy on the river bank watching the world go by. This was still a vague hope, but was soon replaced with heading into town to find a cafe.
Duncan suggested Spring Espresso on Lendal, a small cafe. They couldn’t move two tables together for us, but we could use two tables which was just fine helping us all to keep our distance.
Yum!
Eggs Benedict with spinach and mushrooms, the poached eggs cooked perfectly, yummy!
There was lots to catch up on, theatre, friends, tenants, our travels etc. which meant trying to eat got in the way a touch.
As we were nearly finished another Scarborough face appeared at the door. Georgie used to work at the SJT and is now a Producer for York Mediale an International Media Arts Festival that is held every year. She spotted Jaye and Duncan and then did a second take when she saw me. It was lovely to see her even if it was very brief as she was meeting with an artist.
Duncan and Jaye
A lovely lunchtime meeting and catch up with good friends. Back at Oleanna the level still looked pretty much the same. More checks on Gaugemap and the Governments river and sea levels site. Looking at the Viking Recorder levels there is a forecast level, this was due to remain steady for a while but later today to rise by half a meter. Because of this when Mick had seen his dentist he cycled to the house, picked up post and cancelled an appointment with a plumber so that he could be back sooner, just in case we needed to move.
The ‘Yay’ train
At 14:24 I got a text message. Mick was on the ‘Yay!’ train. When he worked in York, pre-boating days, he commuted from Scarborough by train, there was a ‘Yay’ train and a late train. Today trains were two hours apart, they may have more carriages but his return journey was quite busy.
We had a walk around the block so that I could see the new footbridge. Built with social distancing in mind it is wonderfully wide. Built from steel and fashionable rusted metal it does the job well. Mick reckons the bridge would have saved him at least five minutes each way on his commute, so he’d have managed the ‘Yay’ train more often.
Leeman Road sorting office
Some post had arrived at the house for our old tenant, so this needed returning. Handily Leeman Road sorting office still has a late collection even if it’s clock is wonky. As a child it was exciting to climb in the car with Dad and come to post a letter late at night, imagining there to be someone just behind the post box who would stamp it with a postmark, sort it and send it on it’s way to arrive before 8am somewhere.
The bar walls are all one way, I pity the person who lost their coat during their circular perambulation, would they have to walk ALL the way back round to pick up their coat?
As the streets seemed that bit emptier we decided to go a touch further. A patch of unkempt riverbank behind Coney Street needed investigating. Could this be where York City Council could install some pontoons for boaters?
Coney Street used to be THE shopping street in York, now the number of empty shops is scary. A chap disappeared down a slope between WH Smith and Boots, this was where we needed to be. A steep narrow concrete ramp led down to the river, the walls on either side showing grooves from many deliveries.
At the end mesh fencing stopped us from checking out a set of steps down into the river and caged delivery bays now host bicycle racks. The chap came out with his bike, ‘There’s nothing down here!’ Well actually he was wrong. Should anyone ever decide to provide flood safe moorings for visitors in York here would be an ideal spot. Unused river frontage, steps (that would need replacing) and access up to Coney Street along with a very old WH Smith logo.
Waterstones has moved, the public toilets in Parliament Street have been demolished and replaced with portacabins, just as ugly as their predecessors. The pavement along this stretch was surprisingly uneven, up and down. I wonder if there are plans to try to level this out, maybe loose the trees that were planted in the 70’s 80’s, the fountain from then has gone.
Betty’s World Famous Fat Rascals
A glance in at Betty’s tearoom is always a must. They looked busy but could have coped with two more. When we got back to Oleanna the level looked to have dropped just a touch more, ‘max’ on the mooring sign, was now just about above water. We’ll see what happens overnight.
Minstergate and the Minster
0 locks, 0 miles, 2 trains, 1 filling, 2 visitors, 3 more mentions, 2 photos, 1 rising river, 1 dropping river, 1 very blowy day, 2 poached eggs, 1 surprise meeting, 2 lovely hours, 1 wide bridge, 1 top hat with covid visor, 1 solution for York mooring if only the council gave 2 hoots!
Rain overnight, at 2am it was beating down on the roof so hard that we were both woken up. But luckily it dried up during the morning.
The trip boat from the end of the basin started to do runs past us, a little bit quickly or maybe our ropes just needed tightening. We could hear him saying something about 5.30 yesterday and if we’re lucky we’ll see it today. He must have been mentioning the otter, but going at his speed I think the otter would be staying well away!
Ripon Basin
We still require a plumber to replace a boiler in the house, as the quote we got through seems a touch too pricey and one lead on someone to clear the gutters for us hasn’t come off. So sometime was spent this morning on housey things. Then it was time to have a wonder around.
We walked up to the end of the basin and then past a fish and chip shop who boasted that they do gluten free every day. A touch of a shame we were eating out tonight, maybe another time though.
Ripon Cathedral
The Cathedral sits up a hill, currently there is an exhibition in the nave where 10,000 origami angles have been suspended from a large net. These were all made during lockdown by volunteers in the community, each angle represents a dedication made during the pandemic to keyworkers and loved ones. We thought we’d have a look on our way back out of the city, but our ambling route took us another way.
How did that happen, a Pie Shop!
Our route somehow managed to pass a pie shop, Mick simply had to taste their produce, so a pound pork pie was purchased to be eaten over the next few days. I ventured into Holland and Barrett to stock up on brown rice flour to make crackers with, then a couple of puzzle books were required from WH Smiths. A wander around the Yorkshire Trading Company, but we couldn’t remember what we’d said they would have that we wanted, so it can’t have been that important!
The market square today had something missing, the Cabman’s Shelter a grade 2, once movable hut where the drivers of horse drawn cabs would wait for their next fare. A hunt around on the internet suggests the council maybe have managed to get permission from Historic England for it to be taken for much needed restoration work. Here’s hoping so, sadly I didn’t take a photo of it 6 years ago, so here is one from the Historic England website.
The Workhouse now a museum
We then meandered down Allhallowgate. Here the impressive building of the Workhouse sits, not open on Mondays so we could only look at the exterior.
The Jolly Fryer further down the hill has a yellow bike above it’s door, it’s rider seems to have been waiting quite sometime for his fish and chips. Yellow bicycles are a common sight around parts of Yorkshire since the Tour de Yorkshire was started, I think we spotted a couple more today, one perched on the ridge of a roof.
A sign pointed us away from the city centre and towards the Leper Church, St Mary Magdelenes. The original building dates from the 12th century, the Norman doorway on the south side dates from this period. Many modifications have been made to the building through the centuries. A low narrow window on the north wall is where the lepers could receive the sacrament. There is a 15th Century oak screen and a mosaic set in the floor before the alter, but sadly due to extra cleaning that would be required during the pandemic the church was firmly shut to visitors.
Now those are chimneys
Lepers and blind priests were looked after here and in 1544 the hospital became alms-houses and survived the religious upheavals that followed. New alms-houses were built across the road with their own chapel in 1820, these buildings have wonderful chimneys.
We retraced our steps and walked round the back of the cathedral, passing High Saint Agnesgate and finding our way to a foot bridge across the River Skell with a lovely view back to the cathedral.
River Skell
Tilly had been on lookout for the otter, but there had been no sightings. A trial batch of crackers, cheese mustard and garlic were made as the trip boat came back and forth, we were now part of the commentary and recieved numerous waves.
Highly recommended
Late afternoon we walked back into the city to Prima to meet up with Robert and Margie whom we’d met in Skipton a few weeks ago. Ripon being only an hours drive for them we’d made plans to meet up again. Prima is their favourite restaurant in Ripon and with an earlybird menu it was going to be reasonably priced, even more so with the Chancellor chipping in a third of the final bill (alcohol not included in the Eat out to help out scheme).
Affogato con Ameretto faces
A lovely evening with them both, two meetings in a month. We all enjoyed our food, garlic mushrooms and a goats cheese and spinach pizza each for Mick and myself, one with gluten the other without. We were too full for pudding, but the Halls had paced themselves better and both opted for Affogato con Ameretto, I know one master carpenter who’d have been chomping at the bit for one of these.
Kirkgate
0 locks, 0 miles, 2 bags flour, 1lb pie, 2 puzzle books, 1 leper church, 1 cathedral, 2 octogenarians, 2 pizzas, 2 melting chilled medications, 4 glasses of wine, 0 otter sightings, 1 tray of crackers, 1 highlight on the tour, 1 green flagged canal.
Mick was off straight after breakfast for our Saturday newspaper, heading up into Woodlesford, returning just in time for 10am and the Geraghty Zoom. Todays topics, dragons, being tongue tied and art patrons. Tilly had been refused shore leave as we intended leaving soon after seeing the family, so to stop her incessant winging at the back doors she and I had an extended game of pen at the dinette. This seemed to do the trick.
A crow at Woodlesford Lock
Before pushing off we emptied the yellow water tank and then pushed over to the water point to fill up. Rubbish was disposed of and Tilly got a fresh litter box whilst we waited for the tank to fill. NB Barley came past leap frogging us. At the time we thought we might catch them up, but then our plans changed.
Bye bye Barley
To reach Selby for our passage up the Tidal Ouse to York we need to do a couple of hours or there abouts a day. Quite a few of the moorings will mean that Tilly will be deprived of shore leave, so we decided to only go a short way today. Our chosen mooring would have all she would want, shady trees for us and the possibility of a barbecue. But this would mean a longer day tomorrow to catch up, not really a problem.
Lock control panel
A chap stood at the downstream panel for Woodlesford Lock pressing buttons. He was there for ages without the gates opening, so I went to see what was happening. He said that Barley had left the paddles up when they left. I assumed he’d meant the paddles at the downstream end. He stood and pressed the gate button, nothing happening, kept pressing the paddle button, nothing. I looked below the lock, there were signs that the level in the lock was higher than below, suggesting that the lock had started to fill itself after being used. A full lock is a safer lock should anyone fall into it and rivers tend to have sufficient water to cope with this.
Us going down
I suggested he tried turning the panel off, removing his key and starting all over again. This worked and the lock emptied. I suggested to use my key on the top panel so that hand over would be easier, the chap agreed. Once in the lock he gave a thumbs up, just after I’d pushed the button to fill the lock the chap at the helm disappeared inside. Through the front doors I could see two of them were making a snack and drinks, they only came back up on deck when the lock was nearly full, admittedly their boat had only wandered about a bit in the lock as it was a gentle filler, but still.
Flowers and weeds
Lots of people have been making comments about the state of the canals since lockdown, towpath cutting, reeds taking over, weed. But today here was the biggest thing I’ve noticed. Woodlesford Lock normally has the grass kept neat as my Grandfather would have liked to see it and the flower beds immaculate. Any dead heads removed and not a weed in sight. But today the grass is long, some flowers are in bloom but all around them is filled with weeds. One can only assume the volunteers who normally look after the area have been shielding.
Tilly preparing to cross the towpath
Below the lock we cruised about a mile to join another boat in our chosen mooring. We winded so as to have the port side to the towpath and tried to get in. A few tries didn’t work, in the end we reversed back behind the other boat and tucked in nicely.
Here the towpath is actually a little bit away from the edge, giving us a grassy area next to us without so much footfall. Tilly got straight to work, rolled in the dust and then headed off into the friendly cover.
I mixed up some sourdough cracker dough and experimented with the flavouring. The last two batches I’d made were rosemary and thyme with parmesan. Today I went for paprika, mustard, garlic and pumpkin seeds. They were okay, but I’d forgotten to sprinkle on some seasalt before baking them. They could have done with a touch more flavour.
Not quite uniform
Then a batch of gluten free rolls were mixed up and left to rise whilst I got on with clearing the roof and preparing to wash the port side whilst Mick listened to the cricket.
Bloomin rusty bits
Under where the plank and poles sit the red bar on the roof has developed some rust spots. So these got some attention before the roof was washed. On finishing the roof the batch of rolls had risen enough to be shaped and left to prove. This was all timed very well with washing down the cabin side which had got extreamly dusty in Calverley.
The barbecue came out and Mick chopped away at the big chunks of charcoal with an axe, they were soon glowing away and ready to cook on. Halloumi and veg kebabs and some pork and apple burgers tonight, all whilst Tilly had extended shore leave. Todays temperatures hadn’t been quite as high as we thought they’d be and by the time we’d finished eating it was decidedly chilly out, no sitting out to watch the sunset tonight.
1 lock, 1 mile, 1 wind, 10am zoom,1 newspaper, 1 empty wee tank, 1 full water tank, 0 rubbish, 1 unkempt lock, 1 twonk head, 0.5 roof clean, 1 cabin side clean, 1 big puddle of oil, 6 more patches of rust, 1 coat fertan, 4 kebabs, 4 burgers, 4 rolls, 4 glasses of wine, 1 chilly evening.
Leaving our very close neighbour for the swing bridge
The voice of Houdini woke us up along with plenty of people already out and about on the towpath at 6. By the time we’d had breakfast and were rolling back the covers two other boats were pulling away from the moorings.
Well that meant there were three of us heading towards Leeds, one swing bridge each and we could leapfrog all the way. Moss Bridge Swing Bridge behaved, it was still a cool morning. Back in 2014 it was stuck hard, no chance of pushing it without the aid of a tractor, which all took some sorting as the bridge is owned by Yorkshire Water and not C&RT.
Last one through
Our bridge was the last one, Ross Mill. I’d just got momentum going when a chap wearing blue came towards me. I quickly stopped the bridge and pushed it back closed to let him across, he was to be our lock keeper at Newlay 3 Rise. One boat was already at the top of the locks and then the three of us heading from Rodley. I had to wait a while to close the bridge, weed causing problems for most of us and numerous trips would be made down weed hatches today.
The last to arrive at the locks we were waved straight in by the Lockie. The other two boats were travelling together and we could team up with NB Barley, as they had been at the locks overnight they were to go first.
Jumping the queue
With two Lockies on hand the staircase of three was descended quite quickly. One of the boys in Blue knows NB Ellis so we had chats about Stanley Ferry and fridge freezers whilst we waited for the chambers to empty from one to the other.
Jenny from NB Barley and I walked on to Forge 3 Rise where another Lockie was expecting us. He was pulling huge amounts of weed out from above the lock and the chambers. Chatting with him it seems that things along this stretch are improving. The large groups who used to come to drink and swim at the locks do so less often, the increased footfall due to new housing developments and a new station seem to be putting them off.
The level below the staircase was really quite low, but whilst boats were coming down the staircase above they wouldn’t let water down. A glance before we emptied the bottom chamber at the levels suggested we might just make it the half mile to Kirkstall Lock, bumping our way along the bottom, so we gave it a try.
Looking down Forge 3 Rise
The Lockie now headed down on his bike to see why the level had dropped overnight. Someone had closed the gates with debris between them, so the water had just been flowing straight through the lock overnight. He cleared things and then returned. By now the bywash was running but more water was needed so he ran water down the flight too.
In the end it took us just over an hour to cross the half mile pound to reach Kirkstall Lock, the weed still a good few feet away from the bank. Once in the lock weed hatches needed to be cleared. Andy pulled out reams of weed whilst Mick pulled out t-shirts and a pair of pants.
New clothes!
We led the way through the next long pound. Under the arched footbridge that straddles between refurbished mills. Past Leeds Industrial Museum, maybe one day we’ll pay it a visit, but not today.
At Spring Garden Lock we waited for Barley to catch us up, their prop attracting so much more weed than ours. Here the bridge across the bottom gates is rotting through nicely, so no access across it. With one gate open, Mick nestled Oleanna behind the closed gate to wait.
Oddley 2 Rise needed setting the last boat through having come up. I emptied the bottom chamber whilst Jenny topped up the top one. Then with the boats in the top lock we lifted paddles. On the other staircase locks along this stretch there have been spillways to channel off excess water, the chambers not having been built to the same depth as each other. But here excess water seems to drain over the top of the bottom gates as well as flooding the surrounding area.
Below the raft boat was moored up on the offside. In the last four years it has continued it’s journey towards Leeds and I’m sure it has been extended by at least a third since we first saw it up near Skipton. An interesting construction built with all sorts people don’t want anymore.
Extension after extension
Once down St Ann Ings Lock we had only one more to descend to reach Granary Wharf, Office Lock.
I walked down, disturbing a chap who covered the spliff he was making when he saw my camera. I was far more interested in a bit of graffiti than his next smoke though.
Leeds
Right up against the canal new building work is taking place. This means that the water point just above the lock is inaccessible as it’s on the wrong side of the fencing. The offside gates have been left just enough room to work them and the foundations of the new building seem to stretch right up to the lock.
Jenny walked round to check on moorings and there was plenty of space for us to swing round onto one of the pontoons. We’d thought about continuing to find some trees for tomorrow, but by now we’d had enough. So a quiet afternoon and evening instead.
Office Lock
Tilly however had other plans. Yesterday I’d taken the opportunity to give her a spot on for fleas, not that I have any! This means no collar for a couple of days, therefore no shore leave. I knew she wouldn’t like it at Granary Wharf so this wouldn’t matter. Normally in places like this and BUMingham I let her out for her to make her own mind up, which usually happens quickly. But today without a collar this was not on the cards. Instead I sat out in the closed pram cover whilst she checked out the surroundings. This outside looked alright, a patch of grass, some tiny trees and a big curved wall that I started to make calculations to climb.Tilly tried any available gap in the cover with her nose and when one looked like she might just be about to squeeze out she was pulled back inside and the back doors closed. She is SO mean!!!
Turning into the pontoons
Yesterday I’d made a quinoa crust for a quiche and today filled it with the left over chicken from a roast, courgettes, bacon and onion. I did a trial custard using eggs and soya cream, this set thank goodness and was quite tasty, much better than previous attempts without proper cream.
Jenny and Andy
12 locks, 3 of which staircases, 3 swing bridges, 7am push off, 4 boats going down, 1 very low pound, 1 sulking cat, 2 t-shirts, 1 pair of pants, 1 hour waiting for water, 1 water point out of bounds, 1 pair molegrips, 1 full water tank, 1 load washing, 1 tasty quiche, 1 noisy mooring for the night.
As we finished off our cuppas in bed this morning we heard an engine start up. Were our neighbours about to head off or were they just using the microwave? We soon saw the lady walking along the towpath and then herd their prop start turning. We got dressed quickly and were out pulling Oleanna along by half a boats length to be just a touch further away from the bend yet still keeping the views. Perfect!
Chats with Clare on BIllky
Breakfast was finished just shortly before the bow of NB Billy appeared around the bend. Last night they had stayed at East Marton so Clare’s daughter could join them for a few days.
We had chats before they carried on around the remainder of the curly wurlys reappearing round the last of the big bends, a final wave. Our bows may cross again this summer as their planned route is similar to ours, but we are slowing down now, who knows we may pass on the Ouse!
Mick had requested a loaf of bread and with a barbecue planned for later I decided to try out a recipe for some dinner rolls made with yeast, not sour dough, to have with some home made burgers. Both types of bread could share the top oven, but mine needed a couple of hours to rise rather than just half an hour for Mick’s.
I needed to make some seed flour, pumpkin, sunflower and a few sesame seeds got zuzzed with the hand zuzzer and then forced through a sieve. Lots of other flour was added along with psallium husk and yeast. No egg or butter as my beef burger buns would be vegan. Have to say after two hours I was glad to see the dough had risen nicely. Mick’s multiseed loaf did it’s thing too before both were put in the oven. Not a bad result, the boat smelt wonderful, although the proof would be in the eating.
Multiseed loaf and vegan rolls
The sun had come out so I decided to make the most of being outside and washed down the starboard side of the roof and cabin. Blimey it really needed it. The matting that our coal sits on leaves a pretty pattern and around each mushroom vent was really quite yucky. Have to say I’m not sure when I last washed Oleanna, just hope I can get the port side to match soon.
With the cabin washed I decided to have a go at the grab rail. The red paint has now faded and started to go white in parts and I’d wondered if some t-cut might just bring it back, sadly it didn’t work. Red is renowned for this as it is the first colour to fade in sunlight. I never did get round to finishing touching up the grab rail last summer so some patches need some more work anyway. The original plan was to repaint the grab rail after travelling through Standedge Tunnel but that trip has been put off to another year. So I need to get some more paint mixed as somehow the tin we got shortly after Oleanna was launched is not the correct red. When we were in Sheffield last the painter at Finesse gave me the dregs of a tin to keep us going.
Pan
or
amic
Next I turned my attention to the scratches that a broken branch on the Bosely flight had inflicted all the way along the cabin side. Ages ago I’d bought some blue scratch cover. This seemed to do a reasonable job, although it depends on what angle you stand at, but it is far better than it was. The cabin sides just need a polish now. I suggested to Mick that that was a blue job, not a red one. He’s not so convinced though!
Life ring
Mick gave our life ring some new rope. The original rope had given up a little while ago so needed replacing. Should you ever need to use a life ring the rope makes it easier to grab and keep hold of in the water. The ring had a good wash too before going back on the roof within reasonable reach from the stern.
Going for a ride
This evening the barbecue came out despite increasing cloud cover. The big bag of charcoal we bought at Bollington Wharf was opened, Restaurant grade charcoal. I thought it would burn quickly, but it held it’s heat very well.
What a wonderful spot
A while ago Mick had ordered by accident some vacuum packed sweetcorn. We quite often have sweetcorn for a starter, but we won’t be using this type again. Very watery with little flavour.
I’ll be making these again
I added some red onion, whole grain mustard and tarragon to some beef mince for burgers and they were very tasty indeed and almost stayed together on the grill. The buns were very tasty, maybe next time I’ll leave them to rise a little bit more before baking them.
Morning view
With glasses of wine to accompany our meal we enjoyed the view even more. A couple of horse riders hacked through the field below and Tilly was allowed to stay out until we finished. It just started to rain as we were finishing off. No sign of Tilly until I started to call for her, a good distance away her tail shot up into the air. After a whole day of exploration she was exhausted, stumbling as she trotted back to me. In the end I helped her out and gave her a lift back to the boat. A few mouthfuls of food a quick bath and then she was out for the count with in five minutes.
An almost pooped Tilly
0 locks, 0 miles, 7 boats, 9 vegan buns, 1 loaf, 0.5 clean boat, 3 scratches covered, 2 substandard cobs, 4 veg kebabs, 4 burgers, 2 glasses of wine, 1 lovely day in our No 1 Mooring, 1 exhausted cat, 2 Mrs Tilly Stamps of Approval.
Greenberfield Bottom Lock to Keld Well Bend, the Curly Wurlys.
A damp day sadly but we hadn’t planned to go far and it was all on the flat. We pushed off just gone 10 with our post breakfast cuppas in insulated mugs, meaning we’d get going sooner.
Green and very pleasant
The farmers were still out turning the grass and raking it up ready for collection. NB Whistle Down The Wind showed off its steam chimney and water gushed into the canal on a bend, obviously being pumped from somewhere.
After a couple of miles we reached East Marton and the Double Arched Bridge. This is where we moored on our second night whilst on our first hire boat together, not quite managing to reach a mooring where we could walk across the fields to Thornton-in-Craven to a friends house for a meal. A lift had to be provided and we were glad of it after 12 locks and 5 swing bridges that day.
Double Arched Bridge
The Cross Keys pub at East Marton also has memories for me. This is where my best friends Grandad, Grandpa Lee used to bring us to celebrate his birthdays. A long table would be laid out for his 15 to 20 guests for Sunday lunch all ending with Grandpa Lee telling us a shaggy dog story and nearly always getting the punch line wrong having to be corrected by his grandchildren who’d heard it numerous times before. I always give a wave to him as we pass.
The Cross Keys pub up on the hill
We pulled in at the water point just a little further on to top up the tank. I had a walk back to take some more photos of the bridge. I’m considering turning my illustration/painting skills to capturing scenes from our canal journeys to add to my Etsy shop which could do with a bit of a boost. Hopefully if popular this would give us a touch of pocket money whilst income from theatre is none existent.
Maybe a suitable photo
With the tank full we pushed onwards, not much further, with our fingers crossed. We hoped that we could find space at our favourite mooring on the curly wurlys.
Good TV signal round here
The canal sticks to it’s contour and winds round Langber TV mast, first it’s on that side then ahead then the other side, but soon you forget it is even there as the views open up around you.
Wonderful
We could see that there were boats. One along the last straight before the canal ties itself in knots. A cruiser on the end of the bend. A grey boat sat where we thought we’d like to be, we pulled just past it, maybe a touch too close to the bend. I walked round to see what space there might be on the other side. Two boats but a length just in front of them which seemed to be just a touch further from the bend than where we’d pulled up. We pulled round and moored up, hoping we were leaving enough space in front of the first boat so they still had a view from their cratch.
Just part of the view
When asked by people which is our favourite canal we say the Leeds Liverpool. When asked which is our favourite bit, we say the curly wurlys. Last time we came through we didn’t manage to climb the locks early enough in the day to reach here as it was dark.
Time to see what Tilly made of it. Well she had a good sniff around and then jumped on the wall. Yep not bad.NOt bad!!! She just wanted to get her head down and find friends.
Not bad
The afternoon stayed damp. My starter stayed flat. I’m running out of brown rice flour and am getting a touch disillusioned with it. I fed it one last time and decided to use the discard to make some crackers. A good amount of fresh rosemary and thyme went into the mix along with a scattering of sea salt. The result was really quite tasty and certainly crunchy. I may be making more of these!
I’d found a pack of gluten free pizza dough in the drawer the other day, so that was used instead of a sourdough base. It was okay, but lacked much taste and was only a vehicle for the ham, caramelised red onion and goats cheese topping.
Crackers
We also finished watching the second half of Amadeus from the National Theatre. Salieri and Mozart were great performances. It was enjoyable but I really wished I’d been sat in the theatre as there were obviously things happening just out of shot that I’d like to have seen.
Three boats came past. Two hire boats who we thought had managed the bend well, so we looked away. Then a big bang followed by a 58ft 6inch scraping noise all the way along our rubbing strakes. The boat in front of us was a touch more peeved than we were, shouting out their hatch as the scraping noise continued for another 50 odd foot before the tiller was pushed over, as the hire boat ended up facing into the off side bank. They were being followed by another boat who had been managing to hold their course well until they had to slow down. Mick offered tiller advise which helped. They were both just heading to wind, but luckily they returned with out making contact.
Today there has been a flurry of emails regarding Chippy Panto. So far there is no news. The government have only given the entertainment industry aspirational dates for reopening to full houses. Under current guidance Chippy would only be able to have 40 to 75 in the audience, not enough to cover the cost of opening the building for the day and all the additional cleaning required between performances. Along with audience safety there is also the safety of the acting company and creative staff both on stage and off in such a building. It may be that all entrances have to be from SL and all exits SR and no audience participation! Not quite panto.
The doors currently remain firmly closed to help preserve the theatres future for years to come. The Governments rescue package still has no guidelines as to how it will be distributed and whether it could be used to guarantee the show. We all carry on waiting.
Houdini our original second mate
On a much lighter note, the title of todays blog. Six Years ago today we climbed into our Peugeot 207SW dropped keys off to our house with the rental agency in Scarborough and headed to Sowerby Bridge where NB Lillyanne (Lillian) our bright yellow boat had been waiting for us. Houdini our second mate did not know what was happening and found a shelf in the wardrobe very comforting for the first few days. So six years ago we set out for a year afloat and we’re still here, on our favourite mooring. Not a bad way to celebrate, well we’ll postpone the celebrations till tomorrow when hopefully the weather will have improved.
Our mooring here on the 3rd September 2014
0 locks, 3.78 miles, 1 double bridge, 1 full water tank, 1 wave, 1 damp day, 0 sourdough pizza, 1 boring doves pizza, 32 tasty crackers, 0 news about 0 news, 1 woofer stand off, 360 degree views, 6 years.
Foulridge Wharf to GreenHill DonkeyRose Bush Mooring
Foulridge Wharf
My sour dough starter might have been left a touch too long between feeds in the fridge. I got it out a few days ago and have been doing my best to encourage it to bubble up. I’ve reduced the size of it to help with flour consumption, keeping the ratios the same as before hoping for little discard. But it’s sleepy so I’ve had a discard jar on the go. I won’t be baking bread or pizza until it bucks it’s ideas up but the discard does make good pancakes! Add a few blueberries and well, yum.
Pancakes!
Our Sainsburys delivery was half an hour early, which we didn’t mind and the only thing missing from it was the price of one box of wine, we got the red wine we just weren’t charged for it, Bonus!
Stocking up
As I worked my way through sorting the shopping Mick topped up the water tank as our long hose reached the tap from our mooring. The Billy crew had come through the tunnel this morning and had enjoyed a breakfast at the Cargo Cafe. We’d considered one ourselves, an evening meal a few years ago had been very nice, but pancakes needed to be made so as not to waste that sour dough discard.
NB Billy came past, leapfrogging or hopscotching us again. I suspect we’ll be passing them tomorrow.
A load of washing finished in the machine and it was time to leave our neighbours, a grey boat who likes to run his genny and engine til quite late and NB Elvira who it turns out reads the blog, Hello!
Lancashire
Our cruising will slow down now, there are more moorings to choose from and views to enjoy and hopefully people to catch up with. So we checked our map and chose a mooring we hoped would be free.
Busy at the pooh plant
The sewage works that sit a short distance away is having major work done. The round settling pits look to have gone and there were diggers, all sorts on site. Wagons had been passing us at the wharf every hour or so for the last day. Yorkshire Water are upgrading their waste water treatment processes, enabling them to remove more phosphorus from the water before it heads back into rivers.
Mick in Lancashire, Pip in Yorkshire
At Bridge 149 we looked over our shoulder, a sign welcoming you to Lancashire, we were almost at the border. A stream coming down from the hill is the border and a white sign marks the place.
The border sign behind us
This border has moved around through the centuries and it wiggles around quite a lot here too, but we class this as the Border. Back in Yorkshire by boat after more than a year.
Yorkshire
Another half mile and we kept our eyes peeled for the mooring. Mick spied a couple of bollards on a high wall, that was it. We pulled in carefully so that I could get the bow rope around the first bollard, a pesky rose bush in the way made this a touch difficult. To get the stern in an Andy manoeuvre was called for, but this would have been quite painful for me and the cratch cover. We managed to get close enough into the side and then the sheers came out to do a bit of pruning, the bow rope could then be tied up.
Spiky mooring
A quick check for feline hazards, none other than a lot of bikes, the doors were opened and Tilly set free for the afternoon whilst the sun did it’s thing drying the washing on the whirligig.
Different play mates today. A donkey to ride on and some geese who had funny noses. She thinks they are Swan Geese, but that doesn’t make sense. Anyhow, none of them minded me sitting on the wall watching them, although they were a touch rude sticking their tongues out at me every now and again!
On the cat walk
This outside has several catwalks, all at different levels. These turned out to be quite useful when woofers came by, they could smell me but not see me! There were also some holes which needed me to stick my arm down, but I didn’t find anyone or thing there.
Our mooring for the night
With my flattish starter not rising enough for pizza I popped a gammon joint in the oven to bake, thinly sliced potatoes for dauphinoise, a kind of Christmas Eve meal to celebrate being back in Yorkshire.
One clean and tidy drawer
0 locks, 1.54 miles, 1 full water tank, 1 load washing, 1 clean pooh box, 3 boxes, 1 free, 11 bags shopping, 1 rendez vous arranged, 80% hire boats, 5.5 hours, 5 swan geese, 1 chocolate donkey, 1 happy cat again, 1 cupboard and 4 drawers cleaned and sorted, 0 bin bags needed for a year, 2 happy boaters back in Yorkshire.
Scotsman’s Flash to Haigh Golf Club, Leeds and Liverpool Canal, Main Line
The view yesterday hadn’t really been worth lining up with our galley window. The bank being really quite high meant that even when stood up on tip toes the view of the flash sat behind the towpath.
Poolstock Bottom Lock
We tip toed around the goose pooh and pushed off reaching Poolstock Bottom Lock a little before 8am. These locks are locked overnight to help conserve water levels in the Wigan area. We’ve come across one of the pounds being very very low before in Wigan, the wait for C&RT to fill it sufficiently for us to scrape along the bottom took into the afternoon and Mick even managed to polish some of Lillian’s mushroom vents whilst we waited. This morning the locks were unlocked and waiting for us, plenty of water about.
Could that be Billy
By 8:20 we’d ascended the two locks, clicking the anti vandal locks back on at each paddle. At Wigan Junction we turned right, a quick look to the left and we could see crew working the lock, this was likely to be NB Billy who we had a rendez vous with just around the bend.
First of the 21
Last night on the Wigan Flight Crew page there was mention of another boat moored below the locks and four facing the top of the flight, possibly waiting to comedown this morning. We pulled in behind NB Merganser and I walked up to chat with the Lock Keepers. We had arranged to share the locks with NB Billy, but Billy is a historic 62ft long boat and the Wigan flight is a maximum of 62ft, would it be wise for us to share with them? In some locks they might need to go a touch on the diagonal meaning one boat at a time. The Lockies suggested we shared with NB Merganser and they’d let NB Billy know what was happening.
Going up
Four young lads stood by the bottom gate, were they here to help or hinder? One Lockie said he knew a couple of them and they were alright. The lady from Merganser (Lindsay) said that they had helped a single hander yesterday and he couldn’t stop singing their praises. So all of a sudden we had six crew and other volunteers about too.
Heading to the next
I stayed around as the lads closed gates and lifted paddles, the oldest suggested he was a volunteer, he certainly knew about each lock and which ones to take extra care on, he’d trained up his two brothers to help and it was the forth chaps first day with them. He had a meeting to go to so wouldn’t be around all morning. Once the boats were rising the lads walked up to the second lock to empty it ready for us. With the gates closed behind us I lifted a paddle for NB Billy who was just appearing behind us with quite a few blue topped volunteers in tow.
The railings around the house suggest mooring round here wouldn’t be a good idea
At the second lock the lads closed gates and lifted paddles, with the boats past the cill I was happy to walk on to the next lock to set it. The older chap headed off back down the flight leaving his crew with us. As Mick came into the third chamber we conferred regarding the help on hand and just so long as either Lindsay or myself stayed with the boats the extra assistance was very welcome. The lads were great at setting locks, opening gates etc, but if something went wrong would they know what to do?
Not much white left on my gloves now
Well that was the last we saw of them, we could see they were setting ahead for NB Billy, but we seemed to have lost our extra pair of hands. Never mind, we soon picked up an official volunteer on a bike with a life jacket who just headed on up the flight ahead of us setting the next locks.
Woofer second mate
Lindsay and I worked the locks whilst Mick and John moved the boats. Lock after lock after lock, all the time Dixie (?) their dog sniffing around and taking note.
Ground paddles
Gates with winding gear were new to Lindsay as were the box ground paddles (do these have a name), I warned her about the clough ground paddles they’d come across the further they got towards Leeds.
The men chatted away at the stern whilst us ladies caught little glimpses of conversation as and when we could hear each other due to the water. They have been moored at Aqueduct on the Middlewich Branch this winter. Out for three weeks they are hoping to reach York and then head south on the Trent and move to Dunchurch Pools Marina near Rugby. They had left Aqueduct last Friday and come down the Trent and Mersey working their way through 9 locks compared to our 91! No wonder it’s taken us a touch longer!!
Swapping
On reaching Lock 77 we were told by John, on his bike, that we’d we swapping with boats coming down hill in the next pound. You could tell by the amount of water coming down the bywash here that they wouldn’t be the only boats we’d encounter.
Swapping at 75
Between 76 and 75 we did this again, two single handers with several volunteers assisting. This was handy as it meant more people to hold the towpath side bottom gate slightly open. If this gate goes back into it’s recess it is a right bugger to get out to close the lock again. Add into the equation social distancing! Lending a hand to close a gate right now is almost pointless, because if you stand 2m away and pull the gate all your effort is minuscule compared to being able at the end of a beam.
John warned us of the next few locks which would need to be filled quickly as the bottom gates leak and the pounds above are short, so taking your time means you run out of water. With Mick and John warned to stay well back we wound the ground paddles up and then cautiously the gate paddles.
John
Frothy locks
Not being able to see what the water is doing from your gate paddle is a touch concerning, but Lindsey and I watched out for each others, a nod for more water, a hand up to stop. This worked pretty well.
Dinosaur!
One top gate was more than just a waterfall. As both boats came in the bows got a good wash down. Glad we’d elected to have the cratch cover closed (normally open on narrow lock to save them getting torn). Once up both boats had to retrieve bow lines that had been washed off gas lockers into the chamber.
Looking down hill
Now we appeared to have picked up another crew member an octogenarian with a walking stick who insisted on the chain being wound a certain way on one of the gates and then walked up to open the next gate for us. I did my best to keep my distance whilst he insisted on helping to pull a gate closed.
Helper
Closed pub for sale
The count down to the top was now in full swing, arms, legs and backs starting to complain a touch, was now a good time for a muffin? Yes but we’d forgotten to bring them outside with us and with all doors locked it was a touch too much effort to get them.
The end in sight
Two left to go and we had helping hands again from the volunteers. The penultimate lock has top gates that really don’t want to stay shut, so as we closed them a paddle was quickly opened to set it for NB Billy now only a couple of locks behind.
Lock 65 Bridge 58
The top lock 65 takes time to fill, the amount of weed sitting above the top gates is not wanted in the flight or adding to problems with gate paddles so only ground paddles are allowed. This does mean you get the chance to chat with the chaps. As John and Lindsay were going to head straight off and we were after water they pulled out first.
Mick, John and Lindsey
We may see them again as the Barrowford Flight is currently out of action up to the summit, but they are likely to zoom on ahead with places to go and miles to cover, whilst we take our time. It was lovely sharing with them.
Bye bye
We pulled in at the services, set the water going, collected rubbish for the bins and emptied the yellow water making use of the elsan.
Billy coming up
As we finished topping up NB Billy rose in the final lock, the young crew having a ride in the large well deck as the volunteers wound the paddles. Thanks all round for the crew, although I think the lads were hoping for more than just a handshake!
Extra passengers
We pushed off again aiming for a mooring we’d stopped at in 2014 on Lillian the night before we decended the flight. A quick check of Waterway Routes and Paul confirmed it’s location with a big M suggesting there would be armco to aid our mooring.
Heading for the big M
A restful afternoon with Tilly avoiding walkers and cyclists and the occasional golf ball being teed off across the way.
We should manage that by the end of August
During the morning I’d been sent a link for The Garden. When I’d first chatted to Lynda regarding the show over a year ago, her producers brief was that they wanted the show to be ‘Lovely’. Since then lots has happened and the play has been re-imagined into the Lockdown Edition. I know I’m biased but it certainly has turned out to be ‘Lovely’. The thought of all the actors recording their lines on their phones at home, Firielle under her duvet to soften the sound and then sending them in to Amy (director) and Penny (digital production) who have put images to text to sound to animation to music (a lovely song by Rhiannon Scutt) to my illustrations. Lovely.
Winter in The Garden
23 locks, 4.5 miles, 1 right, 1 left, 1 swap of partners, 4 going down, 3 up, 4 lads, at least 5 volunteers, 1 bike, 1 woofer, 1 dry day, 1 broken down cruiser, 2 locking pals, 1 full water tank, 1 empty wee tank, 0 rubbish, 6 covid handshakes, 4 tasty muffins, 1 friendly cover mooring, 1 lovely production, 2 pooped boaters, 215 foot 6 inches higher.
With drizzle in the air we took our time before moving this morning and with hindsight we should have let Tilly dictate what time we left, but it’s rare we let her out on mornings we want to move.
Things dried up a touch so we pushed off around 11:30 with the intention of reaching Scotman’s Flash, leaving the two Poolstock Locks for Tuesday morning as we’d rather not moor overnight below lock 85.
The green way ahead
The canal is a bit samey samey. Wide with concrete edges that seem to have moved through the years, some downwards and some inwards due to mining subsidence. All the route is green, very green, so green that there are very few views to be had through the trees, just the odd glimpse of water.
Where the lock gates used to hinge
There were a couple of boats at Dover Locks where two locks have been removed, the gate recesses still visible where the cut narrows.
Wasn’t that here last time?
A toppled branch now seems quite settled halfway across the canal, I think we chopped a chunk out of this when we were on our way to Liverpool a few years ago.
Are we in the jungle?
Now the banks are high and so over grown. Fat greenery at the narrows where bridges once used to be make the canal look like it is a narrow waterway. Ferns, brambles all sorts, we were just waiting for a yodel and then for Tarzan to swing into view.
Moss Bridge
Through Moss Bridge we could see the large flash of water stretching out towards Wigan, sailing boats lined up on the shore. There was a gap in the over growth so we pulled in, then adjusted ourselves so that the galley window would have a better view, all the time avoiding the mountains of goose pooh.
Not a bad view
A gaggle of Canadian and Greylag Geese suddenly made a dash for it as a lady walked up to them. They were heading in her direction despite the two dogs on leads, they knew what she had in her blue plastic bag was going to be tasty.
Quick she’s here!
The towpath is quite wide, we both took it in turns to have a look over the other side. We’d expected there to be a bank of some sort which trees grew out of before the waters edge. But no it was a sheer drop. A conferring H&S huddle was had, verdict sadly for Tilly that it was an incident just waiting to happen and with the water maybe 10 ft below the top of the wall, we’d not be able to assist should some footing on the trees go wrong, No shore leave today!
Too high should any tree climbing go wrong!
During the afternoon I scanned the sketches I’d done yesterday and wrote a lengthy email to Vanessa with my suggestions. I also had queries for The Garden regarding what materials I’d used for my illustrations, so that this could be added to the audio description.
Lock muffins
Then a spot of baking, a sugar rush might be needed tomorrow on the locks, so I made a half batch of blueberry muffins.
Access to notes from the Wigan Flight Crew were read and a link sent to my phone. One of the crew has complied handy notes for ascent and descent of the locks, so I should know which locks on the flight have troublesome gates and when to use all the paddles and where not to. Apparently above the top lock there is lots of weed at the moment, so it’s best not to use the gate paddles as the weed would be sucked through and clog the grills, luckily this lock has newer gates so holds it’s water well.
A Dover lock bollard
As the evening progressed numerous groups of teenagers walked by all heading in the same direction. None of them came back, maybe there was a big party happening somewhere, at least we couldn’t hear it if there was.
0 locks, 3.78 miles, 1 grey day, 1 green cruise, 0 Tarzan, 10ft wall of death, 1 bored cat again, 6 muffins, 5 sketches, 1 day until The Garden goes live, 5 years an amputee.
