Category Archives: Canal and River Trust

Panto Postcard 1. 2021

59.5 hours

Monday morning I was in the theatre early. Time to hunt out my paint orders and old paint I would be needing this week. The dressing room that we normally use for a props office (until the Dame takes it over) was piled high with Panto Post. I found most of my things tucked under a pram in the wings of the stage.

I then met up with the new Producer Suzette who gave me a lift out of town to Alfred Groves and Sons in Milton-in-Wychwood where I would be working this week. A while later Gemma arrived with the advance pieces of set for me to paint. These are the pieces that will be needed early on in the fit up or will end up being high up.

We collected more things from the theatre, like a table chair and ladder. All pieces of scenery were laid out and by the end of the day everything had a prime coat of paint on them. Taxis were booked for the rest of the week to get me back and forth.

Meanwhile up in Yorkshire. Mick did a few things whilst still having use of the car, he’d hoped to be able to buy a new part for the kitchen tap which is dripping again, but one will have to be ordered on line. Once he’d returned the car he and Tilly made ready for the off. Because Bulholme Lock was still being operated by a Lockie he wanted to take advantage of not having to single hand it. He was beaten to it by the gravel barge Farndale, heading back to Hull sitting high in the water. With big beasts of boats now using the waterway it’s wise to find secure moorings as mooring spikes are unlikely to withstand the movement.

Mick descended the lock and headed downstream towards Ferrybridge. More buildings have been demolished around the power station and the old coal wharf is gradually being dismantled. I’m kind of glad I wasn’t there to see it, although jealous at the same time.

Tuesday. My taxi arrived and whisked me out to Groves, the driver I would see several more times this week. Despite it being unseasonably warm I had paint that wasn’t drying! So I spent the day drawing everything out. To aid this I hunted around some skips in the yard outside, nearby carpentry workshops supplied me with offcuts I could use as a yard stick. Fixing a pencil to the end means you can draw from a distance and supposedly get better curves. The only sticks I could find had been oak, a touch heavier than I’m used to, along with the lack of practice my curves were not so good, but that could be sorted with paint.

A short day today as I had a ticket to see The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde at the theatre. Blackeyed Theatre are touring the production for which I have several connections. It was adapted and directed by Nick Lane, the Company Stage Manager Jay and one of the actors Zack are all people I have worked with, they are part of my Hull Truck family. It was great to see the show, but better to see Jay and Zack. We headed to the pub where they were staying for a couple of drinks after the show. I of course took a kettle with me, now I could have hot drinks at the paint shop.

Back in Yorkshire. Mick had moored overnight in Knottingley allowing Tilly to have a bit of shore leave. The river level had risen and the flood lock was closed behind him. Good job he’d come through the day before as it’s a very long lock to single hand in.

Next stop was just below Whitley Lock. He’d arrived as someone else had below, the lock got a touch confused so even though it was almost in his favour it was emptied to bring the other boat up which seemed to sort the problem out. The crew from the other boat helped Mick down. He then pulled up on the visitor moorings and let Tilly out.

Wednesday. At last I had dry paint! I could start to add more. I spent a lot of the day either bending over or on my knees laying in and blending the yellow stonework on Rapunzels tower, both inside and out. It took forever and my knees were not my friend by the end of the day. I did treat myself by starting to add some colour to the Cotswold Thunderbolt pieces. Being able to stand up to do this was a joy, I needed to move the other pieces up off the floor and also get some heat as it was starting to get chilly. The weather had been fooling me and I’d not even thought about heating until then.

It was raining at Whitley. Mick decided that he would leave when they moved up to Tilly, so she got busy outside. Just as well he’d managed to tie up to rings as Farndale came past with a full load of gravel. One of our fender hooks broke and sadly a rope fender dropped into the deep Yorkshire water.

Half an hour later Fusedale the other gravel barge came past fully laden. I suspect Mick knew they were on their way as he’ll have had the VHF radio on. The gravel barges don’t have to drop crew off with the key of power, there are Lock Keepers on duty for them.

Around about midday Mick and Tilly pushed off although they didn’t go very far, just to Heck Bridge as it started to rain. A strange noise from the domestic water pump made him investigate, it had sprung a small leak. He called Laird at Viking Marine to see if they had a 24 volt one in stock and he did. So later in the afternoon they pushed off again mooring above Pollington Lock.

Thursday. A chilly start, I was glad I’d taken my thermals with me to work today. I thought I’d be getting a work placement to help me for a couple of days this week and had planned on standing all the set pieces up with their assistance, but because of all the paperwork and regulations they won’t join me until next week.

Cafes, carpenters, bakeries, chilled medication, all sorts at Groves

The big gas heater above my head sadly doesn’t work, so I put in a request back to the theatre for assistance moving things and some heat. The flats are not that heavy and maybe I could have done them on my own, but one wrong twist and I’d be out of action, so not worth it. John the Artistic Director arrived to help move things about, so much easier with two and now my knees could take a break. Another two colours were added to Rapunzel’s tower and I started to base in one of the houses for the town square.

Mick single handed down Pollington Lock. There is still no mooring along this stretch of water following the breach last December.

Lengths of the piling holding the bank up slipped when the water level was low and parts of the bank have followed the piling splitting away from the bank.

Buoys mark the areas to give a wide berth of up to the New Junction Canal and around the bend where Drax Power Station comes into view (the only power station in the area still with all it’s cooling towers).

Then the right hand bend and past the breach site.

New piling over the big culvert and concrete now have a big rubber strip along the top edge. Two small manholes sit where there were ones before the breach.

A new wooden fence is in place and grass seed is just starting to take hold around the area.

All the big machines, pipes, generators have long since gone.

Past New Bridge 21 you can moor again and further on the almost ruin of a house is in the process of getting a new roof. It’ll be watertight before they remove the bricks and breeze blocks in the windows. Mick carried on past Rawcliffe and through Goole caisson. Both diesel points in Goole had boats moored on them so he winded and returned to moor at the far end. He walked back to Viking Marina to get a water pump. Laird had quite a few and was selling them at a discount price, without a guarantee as several of them had proved to be faulty. If they didn’t work at all he’d either replace it or give you your money back. Mick bought two in case and soon found one didn’t work. Maybe they were a batch lot that dropped off the back of Del Boy’s cruiser!

Not a bad view when I looked up from my work

Friday. A heater was meant to have been left for me to pick up at the theatre this morning, but was annoyingly absent. John would sort it later in the morning. I based in more of the town flat and then started to add extra bits to the ship.

John visited me twice, once with a heater that didn’t work, then with one that did, Hooray!

I then spent the remainder of the day lining in the tower pieces. By the end of the day I had finished several pieces of set, a few just need a few finishing touches which would be better done when they are upright.

I requested to the taxi driver to take me to Sainsburys, I’ve been to most supermarkets this week, so that I could get something in stock for tomorrow. But Sainsburys seriously let me down with very few things I could eat without buying a mass of veg, I tried the Co-Op too and gave up, rewarding myself for a good days work with a chicken doner and chips. These I find are best eaten on a bench, they taste better in the open air! The aroma attracted some company from a local beggar who just missed me putting the box in the bin. Even a very big head nudge didn’t work.

Mick returned the none working water pump, got another, but doesn’t hold out much hope. He stocked up with food spotting that Exol Pride seems to have a new mooring near the coal tipper. We wonder if this is because it was all getting a touch too busy with the gravel barges also using the same moorings. He topped up with diesel at Goole Boat House and headed back out of Goole to just before New Bridge. Tilly prefers it out there. The unfortunate thing is that just as he was about to pull in he noticed that the engine temperature was rising, it kept on rising. Mick moored up.

The skin tank wasn’t hot, there was little hot water, but the engine was most certainly hot. Was this a recurrence of what happened on the Thames two years ago? Or had the water pump on the engine gone? A phone call to RCR in the morning when he might be able to get a touch closer to a road.

Finished, Rapunzel’s window when it’s cut out

Saturday. Somehow my taxi this morning had been cancelled, I got it sorted and got out to Groves for a bit after 10. I managed to join the Geraghty zoom for a short time whilst I opened up tins of paint. Lovely to see everyone even if briefly.

Time today was precious as it was my last day here and the set pieces would be collected tomorrow. I ended up finishing several other pieces but by the end of the day I had no idea if the roofs for the towers were right or not as I had to leave then drying. Paint was all packed away, my possessions collected together and hopefully I left the place in a reasonable state as I ~~ran~~ hobbled to catch my taxi. My left knee is very much looking forward to doing next to nothing tomorrow.

I could do no more, before my taxi turns up

Mick decided to move to Rawcliffe this morning where there are bollards to moor to and an easier place for an engineer to get to the boat. Oleanna managed to hobble the distance but was getting very hot and bothered as she arrived.

A nice local engineer came out, listened to Oleanna’s woes and history. He doesn’t think it is the pump on the engine, but thinks the system is gunked up again as it did on the Thames. He feels that the system needs a good flush through with a power hose. He thinks that maybe the level of anti-freeze wasn’t correct in Oleanna’s early days and that a flushing out means that we can start from scratch again. We’ll see, Oleanna now has an appointment with a jet wash on Monday, if she can get there!

3 locks, 27.65miles, 1 straight on, 4 winds, 3 water pumps, 1 too hot engine, 11 taxis, 1/3 of the set, 3 heaters, 1 working, 1 lovely space to work in, 3 supermarkets visited, 0 digs cat, 1 scrounging cat, 1 friendly landlady, 2 ex truckers, 1 show, 31 pots of paint, 1 fat knee!

Sad Estate. 15th October

Stanley Ferry to Castleford Cut

No need to rush today, we are on schedule and having pushed on a touch yesterday to get somewhere suitable for Tilly, we were a touch ahead of ourselves.

As we had breakfast a tug came past pushing a skip piled high with brand new lock gates. Stanley Ferry is one of two places in the UK where lock gates are manufactured and refurbished. In an average year around 100 gates are made here, that is a lot of oak! Between November and the end of March sections of the network will close for maintenance, an extensive stoppage list is put together every year with chance to make comments before it is finally published in August. Cruising in winter can take some planning.

Soon followed a crane boat, most probably heading to the same site to off load the gates. We pondered where they were heading and if the skip boat was short enough with the tug to go up the Calder Hebble Locks together, we suspected not, there’ll be some bow hauling out of locks.

The sun was out, clear blue skies and plenty of them now that we are out of the hills. We pushed off pausing for me to work Ramsdens Swing Bridge, I only managed to hold up one cyclist! A chimney sweep sat having a fag break on a roof sunning himself.

Then on over Stanley Ferry Aqueduct and past the workshop.

The big doors were open so we could see inside. Hoists were about to move more gates about inside. Out side piles of gates lay on the concrete, one pile had a constant stream of water running over it, the oak all dark. Presumably this is to keep gates from shrinking as during their working life they will hold back tonnes of water on a daily basis. New baulks of oak sat close by.

No squeezing into locks today, no need for handcuff keys or windlasses. The Aire and Calder requires the Key of Power. Birkwood Lock however never looks like it should be key operated as it’s gate beams of oak have relaxed through the years, it looks like they’d need a good old shove, but no the Key works wonders.

On the lock landing below there were pots of flowers that were past their best, then hand scrawled signs that could have been painted in blood were a big contrast.

Sky sky sky. 180 degrees of it. Chilly but so very sunny.

A short distance above Kings Road Lock is where the proposed route of HS2 crosses on our map, I’m no longer sure if the northern sections of HS2 will happen. Thankfully today there were no huge mounds of earth to spoil the views.

We pulled into the lock landing to empty the yellow water into a container for disposal later. This meant the lock was emptied by a wide beam heading up. We were ready before the lady moved to the top gates to start filling the lock, so I offered to use my key at that end, the console traps your key until the gates are closed. She was quite happy for me to press the button for two seconds to commence the filling, so was I!

Down we dropped in the huge lock, it’s as if those short locks were a figment of our imagination now!

Pink Panther keeps an eye on where Foxholes Lock used to drop down onto the River Calder. Ahead we could see that traffic on the M62 was stationary on the eastbound carriage way, we however were cruising along quite happily in the deep wide water.

A top up of water above Woodnook Lock before we pulled in to descend. This was to be my last lock for a while, the last before I head off to Panto land.

Now back on the river we passed familiar sights Woodnook Viaduct, Fairies Hill Lock, no yellow wide beam moored below it today. At Methley Bridge Boat Yard the boats were still three deep. Welding going on and a great named tug, Chugger-lugs-the-tug.

Towards Castleford Junction, where the Aire and Calder Wakefield Branch meets the Aire and Calder from Leeds and Goole, there is a housing estate going up. I’m fairly sure we’ve been past and seen the Marvin the paranoid android houses before, but now there are even more going up.

Each and everyone of them has the sad furrowed brow, what a sad estate. Did the architect never see how sad they looked?

Left to Leeds, Right to a weir, or straight on to Castleford and Goole.

Straight on for us and through the flood lock. Now where to moor? We need to be here for three days, so longer than the 48hr moorings. We carried on towards Bulholme Lock and pulled in on the south bank just before the edge becomes high.

Was that a ‘Red’ light at the lock? A cruiser pottered about in front of the light. Yes it looked red. Normally the lights on the Aire and Calder are on Amber, self operation. Maybe a gravel barge was on it’s way up? Once we’d moored up the reason arrived in our Inbox.

One of the lower sluices has an object jammed in the gate preventing the sluice paddle from fully closing. This impacts lower lock operation. The upper lock is operational but only operates via the desk in the lock tower and not via the lock side customer operated pedestals which only operate the lower lock.

Actions to investigate and make repairs are in hand but the lock will not be operational via the customer operated lock side pedestals until these are undertaken and completed. To facilitate lockage’s and until repairs have been completed the lock will be operated by a lock keeper on the following dates and during the time periods indicated below. Outside these times the lock will be closed:

Saturday 16^th, Sunday 17^th and Monday 18^th October 2021: lock open from 10am, last lockage 3pm

The lock will be closed on Tuesday 19^th October to allow access for divers to investigate and undertake repairs.

Bulholme Lock is big, but it also has, like many others around here, an extra section to make it even longer. These stem back to when Tom Puddings transported coal around the area. So even though the bottom gates of the lock cannot be made water tight, the middle gates (in normal operation the top gates) are, so they can be used as the bottom gates instead. The extra gates which are rarely used can only be operated by a lock keeper in the tower, hence reduced working hours.

Tilly was given four hours! There was a bit of coming and going at first, but then she vanished out of sight for a couple of hours. That’s more like it!

As the sunset, planes flew over and boats lit their stoves, sending up plumes of smoke. Just a shame someone had got their genny going. Even more so when it didn’t stop until around midnight!

3 locks, 1 flood lock, 6.21 miles, 1 straight on, 1 swing bridge, 1 cyclist, 1 boat helped up, M62 stationary, 14 day mooring, 0.5 half broken lock, 2 many sad houses, 1 happy cat, 1 annoying boater somewhere over the other side who needs new batteries!

https://goo.gl/maps/auWZtgb7zUWRd2qb8

Breathing In. 13th October

Aspley Basin to Wheatley Bridge 20, Calder and Hebble Navigation

Up early for us, breakfasted whilst the final load of washing was making the most of the electric hookup, then we pushed over to the service block. Someone already had a hose linked up to the tap, but that didn’t matter we could wait. Our main reason for being there was to make it easier to pick up our Click and Collect from Sainsburys. Mick headed off with the bike to collect it across the car park and was back very quickly.

The tap was now free so we topped up with water, disposed of any rubbish as the shopping was stowed away. Time to push off and say Goodbye to Huddersfield the largest Town in the country. I’ll be back in February, but sadly not by boat.

The Turnbridge Loco Lift Bridge was opened in 1865 replacing a swing bridge. A combination of chains, wheels and counter weights lifts the bridge deck vertically. Originally it was operated with a windlass, but since 2002 it has been electrically powered. I got my Key of Power out and waited for a gap in the traffic before turning it to release the barriers. Once they had been moved I pressed the button to lift the bridge. What look like big counter weights actually house all the chain required for the bridge to rise and fall. Today I managed to stop 8 vehicles.

The pootle out of Huddersfield isn’t the most picturesque, light and not so light industry sit alongside the canal. Gas Street Bridge always has a strong aroma around it. Then we passed my second choice hotel in Huddersfield the Travelodge. From here you get good views of the railway viaduct before the recycling plant, I prefer the view of boats from the Premier Inn at Aspley.

Then the first lock of the Huddersfield Broad Canal. Opened in 1776 it linked the Calder Hebble to the centre of Huddersfield and later to the Narrow in 1811 creating a trans-pennine route. The long narrowboats that could climb over the Pennines could not use the shorter locks of the Broad canal. Goods were transhipped at Aspley Basin but the canal was overshadowed by the Rochdale Canal, which had broad locks that could hold two narrowboats.

Today the Broad canal is listed as being 57ft 6″ long by 14ft 2″ wide, but C&RT also say that narrowboats of 60ft can navigate it by going diagonally. Six years ago we managed the trip in Lillian (NB Lillyanne). Going downhill in an over long boat you have to take great care to position your boat in the right spot. Last time lock 8 proved to be a touch tight for Lillian and we had difficulty positioning her so as to be able to get her bow past the closed bottom gate and out. This is why we had Oleanna built a foot shorter and with the aid of a bow thruster to help her clear the bottom gate without use of a rope or pole. So today we knew we’d be alright, yet we still had to take care.

For each lock we did the same. Oleanna was brought in, her bow brought as far forward as the small walkway allows and she tucks into a corner. Then the stern is taken over to the other side, this works on Oleanna. With Lillian ( a foot longer) we had to have her stern more towards the centre of the lock this giving a few more inches as the cill is curved.

I then stand above the bow and gradually lift the paddle whilst Mick keeps an eye on the stern and the cill. With Lillian we took this very slowly as any chance of the stern sitting on the cill could mean she would sink. As the boat lowers you can move her forward under the walkway a touch. Then once Oleanna’s stern had safely passed the cill I walk round to the other side and lift the paddle there.

Once the water is level with below I then open this gate. Now Mick moves Oleanna’s bow past the still closed gate and can escape. Just to do it all over again at the next lock.

The paddle gear is different to most as there is no visible brake on them. You wind the paddle up and just stop where you want to. Then when you want to lower it you just need to give it a little bit of extra umph to get it moving and the brake comes off.

The gate paddles can be fierce and send a jet of water down the lock. But then several of the locks had quite a few leaky top gates, so much so Mick had to shelter behind the back doors to keep himself dry.

Two chaps from C&RT were getting ready to jet wash around some of the locks, they said they were slippy and with winter maintenance happening soon they were giving the stone work a good clean.

The next lock is currently closed to widebeams as the off side gate has been damaged. The face of it now covered with a sheet of timber and the gate is tied with a cable to prevent anyone from opening it.

Colne Bridge Lock dropped us down into the final pound of the Broad Canal. This is the pound that has been loosing water over the last few weeks. We’ve seen photographs of it just about empty, but thankfully today there was water, it was still low but enough for us to head to Lock 1.

The last of the Huddersfield locks, Cooper Bridge Lock 1

Here we would leave the Huddersfield Canals behind. Lock 1 and Bridge 1.Time to join the river, checking the level board first.

We came from the right through 180 degrees

After a hand brake turn onto the Calder Hebble we pulled in for lunch, then got ready for another short lock, a second Cooper Bridge Lock, this one number 16 not 1.

Time to use our Hebble Spike to help fill the lock. The spike is made from hard wood and is used to gradually wind up the paddles. There are windlass operated paddles too, but more water was needed to help level the lock to open it.

Now we had stretches of river followed by lock cuts. The next lock being Battye Ford Lock, here we knew we’d be able to breath and have a four course meal and still fit.

Through Ledgard Flood Lock it was time to find somewhere suitable to stop, hopefully where Tilly could go out. The first mooring by Lidl has a road running alongside. We carried on to just after an old railway bridge and pulled in, we almost go into the side.

Here there was bracken and some friendly cover before three layers of fencing designed to keep animals out. Well Tilly was soon seen on the other side, it was hardly taxing!

A few angles needed checking for the panto set builders then it was time to put the Wednesday roast in the oven, a medium chicken which turned out to a large in disguise. We’ll be eating a lot of chicken for the next few days.

11 locks, 3 flood locks, 6.32 miles, 1 click and collect, 1 lift bridge, 8 held up, 10 skimpy locks, 1 hand brake turn, 1 giant lock, 3 fences, 1.75kg chicken, 2 fat contended boaters.

https://goo.gl/maps/jGM7BY6PbXbR1Uiv7

Charging Down.11th October

Lock 9E to Aspley Basin, Huddersfield

Mick wanted another go in the engine bay this morning to see if he could free what remained of the cable around the pulley on the alternator. I in the mean time sat down to hand write the post you read yesterday so as not to forget things. I’ve discovered that hand writing is actually a touch quicker than tapping the words out on a keyboard, I tend not to re-read everything several times. If only the words would now leap onto the computer for me, I’m going to try dictating them into Word when we have power restored and see how that goes.

Mick beavered away at the back. First the remaining cable was prised out from the pulley, Hooray!!! Then he fitted the new belt to the alternator. On Saturday morning he’d been a touch cautious about this, RCR could have done it if the cable hadn’t been a problem. But having spent quite a bit of time up close with the beating heart of Oleanna over the last couple of days he felt that he was more than capable. By 11 am the engine was started, things checked over in the engine bay. Inverter was turned on along with the fridge, everything sprang back into life. We had POWER again!

With plenty of time to make it down to Lock 1E for 3pm it had been a morning well spent. Once the batteries had had a little boost the dish washer was turned on, now very full. The covers were rolled back and I set off to walk most of the rest of the way down into Huddersfield.

The character of the Huddersfield Narrow Canal now changes, far less leafy, more old mills, roads and the railway. Industry the reason for the canal existing in the first place. Businesses were proud of themselves when mills and factories were built, carving their names in stone, building their names into the brickwork, established dates forever.

At 8E there was at last a walkway over the top gates. I soon worked out that this was because there was no other way to get to the offside, despite there being a bridge just below the lock there was no means of getting to the gate that side. Time to walk round the lock the other way time and time again. The beams overhang the bridge below, the beams having been shaped round it. This does mean that the final push closed of the gates can be done from the road, saving one trip all the way round the lock, no walkway to jump from one gate to the other here on the Narrow.

A boat! I was so surprised I didn’t manage to get it in focus!

Between 6E and 5E the level was down, was this to be the start of our water worries? I walked on ahead, safer that way so as not to have to launch oneself off the boat if you can’t get into the side. Up ahead I could see a boat coming towards us, they must have come up 1E at 9am. They loitered for Mick to come through a bridge and there was time to chat. The level between 1 and 2 had been very low, they’d only just made it. I warned them about Lock 1W and how much of a b**rd it was.

NB Bridge Street was one of the boats we saw a lot of in Nantwich last year during lockdown 1. We also saw them somewhere near Fradley earlier this year. I said they’d recognise the boat when they passed. They did and asked Mick how Tilly was.

The bywash certainly wasn’t flowing at lock 5E, the lock needed just a touch more water to level out, a C&RT key was required for the locks on the paddles, that of course was onboard.

Down under the very tall viaduct which helps connect Huddersfield to Sheffield, the trains too high up to get in a picture as they cross.

Down 4E and then the long narrow channel past new University buildings. The position of Lock 3E has been moved twice. Factories had been built upstream of the lock and Lock 2E after the canal had been abandoned, they were built on the line of the canal and thus blocked it. The solution was to relocate the lock upstream of the factories and have a tunnel built under the factory. Eleven years later Sellers Engineering relocated to a new site, enabling Lock 3E to move a second time, nearer to the original Lock 3E. The section that had been the tunnel was now brought to the surface and is the narrow channel leading to the new lock. Link

Dropping down 3E you have to get back on your boat as there is no land access to Lock 2E. This is where we met NB Jubilee six years ago. They were just arriving at the empty Lock 2E and it was in their favour. We pulled in on the lock landing awaiting our turn. As the lock filled and NB Jubilee rose the rapid level drop above the lock caused Lillian to go on such an alarming list we dropped the paddles very quickly!

Today we had no problem as no-one was coming up the lock. We dropped down, Mick picking me up again and headed on down to Lock 1E through another tunnel and the old Lock 2E. I remembered Frank and myself having to go to the front of Lillian to help raise the stern on this pound, it also made it easier to get off the bow as the stern would not get into the side.

Today the pound looked a touch low so I replicated what I’d done six years earlier, hopping off the bow to tie Oleanna up. Lunch was had at a jaunty angle whilst we waited for 3pm and the chaps from C&RT to come and open the lock for us.

Discussions on various forums have been that the University alongside the canal here was able to use water from the canal to cool things, the warm water then being put into the river, thus explaining why the pound above Lock 1E is quite often so low. Mick spotted someone wearing blue outside so popped out to see if it was C&RT. It wasn’t, but was a chap who knew about the water at the University. No water is taken from the canal, there wouldn’t be enough for their needs in that pound as the level is always so low!

At just gone 3pm a van arrived with two C&RT employees. One chap told Mick how to move Oleanna into the centre of the canal, he knew everything, apart from how our boat reacted. Mick however did get Oleanna lined up with her bow close to the top gates so that the lock could be filled. Then he nudged backwards so we could open the gates and bring her into her last lock of the Huddersfield Narrow Canal. Another tick off the list of waterways for Oleanna.

We’d started at Bridge 111 and Lock 1W, we were now coming off the Narrow at Lock 1E and Bridge 18! The bridge numbers continue onto the Huddersfield Broad Canal to where it meets the Calder and Hebble. Under Wakefield Road Bridge, slowly, we popped out at Aspley Basin.

First thing was to top up on water, dispose of rubbish at the C&RT services. Then we pushed over to the diesel point at the marina to wait for the chap who would be with us after 4pm. When he arrived we were given the option to stay on the diesel point and be able to plug in or move up to where there would be no hook up, but it would be free for 72 hours, there after it would be £8 a night. We wanted to be plugged in so as to make use of the washing machine and at £10 a night including power we could run the machine as much as wanted and gorge ourselves with light, charging everything within sight.

To celebrate our arrival and power being restored, we headed over to the okay Aspley Table Table for some reasonably priced food. If I hadn’t just spent the last three days walking all the way down from Marsden, then we’d have headed into town to the Chilli Lounge for a curry, but my legs really didn’t want to do any more steps.

8 locks, 83ft 6″ descended, 2.54 miles, 1 last tuft of wire, 1 belt, 1 alternator working again, 1 boat with POWER! 1 jaunty lunch break, £10 incl, 3 loads washing, 2 loads dishwasher, 1 gammon, 1 chicken breast, 0.5 rack of pork ribs, 2 glasses of wine, 1 narrow canal completed and I got to work every lock this time, well apart from the guillotine bit! 0 shore leave!

https://goo.gl/maps/nNvmeo8VP8LCw4LL8

Leaks Big Leaks, Leeds Liverpool Breach 2, 14th October

Over the last few days there has been plenty going on at the Leeds Liverpool Canal breach. A dam has been put across one bridge hole and I think stop planks have gone in on the other side of the breach. There is a lot of footage available on Youtube. Here’s a link to some drone footage.

A group of lads also went down to where the dam has been put in. Their theory, before they got there, was that the water was going down into a disused coal mine. Bare with the swearing, they get quite a bit of information about the collapsed wooden culvert that has caused the breach. They then go to explore the breach site and below it. I do not condone their actions, but it is quite interesting to see below the canal.

Several boats have been affected including NB Mr Blue Sky, the boat we shared locks into Manchester with a couple of years ago. I so hope the boat is safe along with others that have been caught up. Sections of the canal are now getting water back in them and boats are being re-floated. Other sections will take a while longer as water needs to be pumped round the breach site to reach them. is now cut off. Refloating those boats will take longer.

The Leeds Liverpool isn’t the only canal with problems.

Down on the Grand Union Canal the levels dropped between Copper Mill Lock and Cowley, a C&RT notice was put out yesterday with an emergency navigation restriction. On Tuesday night Widewater and Denham Deep Locks were closed due to low water levels. Several boats have sunk because of this in the marina there.

Then on the Huddersfield Narrow Canal yesterday a significant leak had been discovered between locks 14W and 15W, where we had been moored last Tuesday. Today a method of repair has been established and repair works will happen over the weekend.

On this side of the Narrow someone has left a paddle up at Lock 14E. This doesn’t sound too bad, half emptying a the pound above. The eastern side of the Huddersfield Narrow has limited water resources and the refilling of this pound will have a knock effect to the lower end of the canal.

Not a good time on the canals at the moment.

No One Can Hear You Scream! 8th October

….. to Marsden Pipe Bridge

Straight away we had a request from Trevor at the helm to adjust our tunnel lamp, to point it straight ahead. Mick did so, then we didn’t hear another word from Trevor for almost two hours.

Last time we’d both been on the back, our volunteer/guide gave us a fascinating running commentary as well as guidance to Mick at the helm. So much history and interesting facts was passed onto us. Sitting at the stern meant there was a limited amount you could see though. My photos were pants!

Sooty brickwork from the days of steam trains

This time sat in the bow I had my camera on handheld intelligent night auto mode along with the camera on my phone, both fully charged. Our volunteer Trevor, had turned out to be the author of a book all about The Standedge Tunnels (available from here), he’d become a member of the Huddersfield Canal Society in 1976 so if anyone knew their stuff about the tunnels he did. Just a big big shame there was about 50ft between us all. We did however buy a copy off him which he signed for us before entering the tunnel.

There are four tunnels in all through the hill, the canal being the first to be built and it was then used to remove the spoil from the construction of the railway tunnels, two of which are now disused. Each tunnel is connected, walkways cross above the canal, and the support van drives through another alongside.

The railway tunnel crosses over the canal twice through the hill and when a train passes mist collects in front of you which then gets dragged away with the motion of the train, quite eerie!

At the western end the tunnel was extended when the last railway tunnel was built, so you start off in a brick arch, then a flat roofed section.

All the way through different surfaces surround you, it’s like being in a 1970’s DR Who set at times, except this isn’t made from polystyrene!

Brick arches.

Bare rock that was blasted away, the drill holes for the dynamite quite visible towards the eastern end.

A mixture of rock and brick, sometimes brick above, sometimes below.

Then the creepier sections where concrete has been sprayed onto the bare rock to help stabilise it. This is very Dr Who or Star Trek, Captain Kirk would have set his phaser to stun! The spraycrete was done during the restoration of the canal.

At times the tunnel twisted in front of us, dug out from the ends and from the bottom of shafts the tunnel went off course several times. There are now several S bends

Other places big bolts have been drilled into the rock face to hold it all back. The ends painted yellow so you can see them better, or know when one of them is going to scrape down your cabin side! There are numerous places where the sides of the tunnel look to jut out further then the gunnels of your boat!

I believe there are four wide sections, passing places. These tend to have wider brick arches helping to support the roof line. When boats were originally legged through the tunnel, it took four hours, this is where the boats going in different directions could pass. But the boatmen meeting elsewhere in the tunnels would refuse to go backwards to the next passing place, so two way traffic was abandoned. Official leggers were employed with traffic going in one direction for four hours before the direction changed. This then led to queues to get down locks at either end of the tunnel.

Numerous gaps go off to the sides, some marked as exits, others marked with no exit.

As you approach each of the four adits a security light can be seen on the tunnel roof. Motion activated, the lights come on, a ticking noise can be heard as we passed. Apparently Tunnel Control would be able to tell that we’d passed each adit because of this. However not calling in would mean we didn’t know if there was a problem up ahead.

Walkways from the old rail tunnel to the new

The tunnel was built with quite a few air shafts. None of these can be seen now, well some are around 500ft deep! But you certainly know when you pass under most of them as this is where the water tends to get in. The further east we got the more water cascaded in. Waterproof coats did a good job, but when a flood hits the locker you are sitting on you also need waterproof trousers or better still a swimming costume! I got soaked twice and stood up for the last one, but still I was soaked through to my knickers!

But how was Tilly faring? I was glad we’d kept her confined to our end of the boat. I could see her most of the time and she could see us too.

Well who stole the sun?!

I’m kind of used to bridges stealing it, although I do tend to duck when that happens. Tunnels are worse as they usually time their theft of the sun with me requiring to use shore based facilities, very inconsiderate! Yes I know I can see in the dark but I’d rather not have to when visiting my box.

Apparently Tom moved this tunnel once, before I came to be second mate. He bumped into it two times, She is quite proud of that. But today they were not where they should have been, I could see them, slacking at the front! They’d left it to Hard Head Tom to move the outside today.

BUMP, scrape, BANG!!! I sat on the floor not wanting to see what Hard Head Tom was doing to the outside, well lets face it I was really the only one who could see everything properly. BANG!!! How many more times!

I screamed at She and Tom to go and sort it all out, but they couldn’t hear me. Maybe I could do something? But black stuff was over the emergency bathroom gap, how was I meant to escape if I needed to!

BANG BIFF Scrrrrrrapppe!

In the end I decided that there was nothing I could do but to curl up on the bed and pretend everything was okay. Maybe this was going to be it for the rest of our lives! I certainly didn’t sleep. Who’d be able to sleep with no sun to warm your back and all that noise!

As we approached the last adit I could see the lights from the trip boat ahead, quite a distance off.

A torch light was flashed from the adit. John, the volunteer who’d driven through in a van was waiting for us. He informed us that the trip boat was in the tunnel, but we should just keep going.

After at least a year of my life Tom came through the bedroom, he had a hard head to put on too. Gradually the sun fought it’s way back into the cabin pushing away the tunnel. I could tell Tom was back moving everything, it got quieter and lighter.

Mick had walked through for the very last part of the tunnel. This was so that the boat could be stopped at the tunnel portal to hand all the safety equipment to shore with ease. A plastic crate of first aid, life jackets and a large fire extinguisher were handed ashore. Just a case of retrieving the light from the bow.

We pulled in to where the little shuttle boat moors, it had just headed to the top of the locks to drop people off near the station.

Time to thank Trevor who admitted he’d bumped Oleanna a couple of times! There was nothing to see on the port side, but then he did favour starboard side in the tunnel.

As we pushed off past the visitor centre a train sped past and into the rail tunnel, the sun shone brightly, as much as the tunnel is fascinating it was good to be back in the light.

We pulled in at the top of the locks, the first stretch a touch shallow for us so we hoped that further towards the lock would be better for NB Idleness. A quick check up and down the starboard cabin side of Oleanna, a couple of lines which when rubbed vanished. Our passage may have been a touch noisy at times, but other than a couple of new scrapes on the gunnels there was not one scratch. Thank you Trevor for looking after Oleanna, maybe I should have repainted the grab rails earlier in the year after all.

Time to check on Tilly, get changed and have lunch. All was fine with our little thug, who within half an hour of arriving used her on board facilities. Well I couldn’t hold on any longer and you weren’t letting me out!

What a great day. Thank you to all the volunteers who make the passage through the longest, highest, deepest tunnel on the network possible.

0 locks, 3.76 miles, 1 tunnel, 3 miles underground, 1hour 48 minutes, 1 more wonder of the waterways for Oleanna and Tilly, 3 boats, 3 volunteers, 2 crew in the front, 2 soaked boaters, 17 years, 1 screaming cat, 2 nav lights in tact, 2 more scrapes on the gunnels added to the 5678 which were already there.

https://goo.gl/maps/qbzszmzTKAy1D1p9A

Heading Into The Dark. 8th October

Diggle to …..

The alarm was set and we were up and about having breakfast ready to push off in plenty of time. It seemed like it was going to be a rather nice day, not that we’d notice it in the tunnel!

We moved up to the west or south portal of the tunnel at 9am, the gates already open and waiting. Time to fill the water tank to help Oleanna sit as low as possible in the water for her trip through. Once she was full we pulled her back from the water point (much better pressure than at the slow tap at Wool Road).

This morning there was one boat heading east to west, they most probably set off at 8:30, so there was still plenty of time to get Oleanna ready for her trip, the first boat at our end wouldn’t set off until 11:30.

Yesterday evening the boat that has been following us arrived, this morning they had called Tunnel Control and managed to change their passage booking for Monday morning. The rush to return to their mooring is due to a relative being very poorly, they were hoping that the chaps at the tunnel today would be able to add them to todays passages. However no body was here but us. The volunteers wouldn’t turn up until nearer 10:30, so they headed back for breakfast.

Yan and Kim soon joined us on NB Idleness pulling in behind.

The cratch cover was removed and stowed inside. Then the pram cover and frame came off and slotted in behind the dinette table. Tilly’s Escape Pod was zipped together ready should it be required. The gap at the bottom of the bathroom door into the main cabin was taped up with gaffa, meaning we’d be able to contain Tilly to one end of the boat. I hoped this would be enough as on the tunnel guidance it suggests all pets should be restrained inside your boat, if they won’t be able to handle the tunnel someone should take them over the top. Tilly’s Escape Pod is a favourite place for her, until the door gets closed! This would freak her out more, so I hoped we’d done enough.

Brushes and hooks were laid in the gutters on the roof. All but the strawberry plants from the well deck were moved inside into the shower to give us more space at the front. Mick decided to wait to see what the volunteers thought before removing our nav lights, not wanting to break the seal between them and the cabin side, helping to keep rust at bay.

At around 10:30 a C&RT van arrived, the chaps from NB Faggle Three went up to chat with them and explain their situation. They then headed off to get their boat to be measured. If it fitted then the volunteers would accommodate them.

Soon a tunnel light appeared at the portal the west bound boat with a well deck full of people, a volunteer and helms person at the stern. They all looked a tad wet!

Out came the official measuring stick, a large aluminium L shape. Oleanna had her vital statistics taken. To the top of the bags of coal she was 5ft 10″, across the cabin top 4ft 11″ and draught 2ft 4″. She passed! Mick asked about the nav lights. It was suggested that it was best he removed them rather than the tunnel! NB Idleness was measured, she passed. By now NB Fraggle Three had pulled up. Her vital statistics measured and passed too.

Yan, Kim, Mick and I had conferred, if the extra boat fitted then we would let them go first as they were hoping to make it as far as Slaithwaite today, this would give them at least another hour and a half, we would be stopping in Marsden for the night.

The chaps rushed to take the pram cover off their boat and pulled up to the water point where their volunteer loaded all the safety equipment on board, handed out high vis and hard hats and they were off, into the tunnel.

Next a discussion as to who would be at the helm of Oleanna for the trip. Last year the volunteers were not working and only one boat could go through the tunnel in each direction a day, helmed by a C&RT employee, all crew on board had to be sat at the bow. This year the volunteers are back, two boats in each direction, three times a week. It is up to the volunteer whether they can socially distance themselves on your boat. 2m distance had been reduced to 1m in September. If there wasn’t the space they drive. For NB Idleness with it’s trad stern there was no question, but Oleanna being a semi trad?

The volunteer said he would drive her through, but he also quite fancied Mick doing it too. Mick had been quite looking forward to being able to sit in the bow and actually see things rather than concentrating all the way and not getting chance to look round.

Decision was made Trevor would be at the helm. This however meant that we wouldn’t be able to do the usual stops at the safety adits to call through to tunnel control. John another volunteer would have shadowed NB Fraggle Three through by van in an old railway tunnel, he would wait for us at the last adit to check on us.

Here we go (thank you Yan for the photos)

Tunnel control were consulted and we were given a time to enter the tunnel. Kim and Yan had another cuppa and a bacon butty, they would have to wait for at least 3/4 of an hour after we’d gone in, maybe more as their volunteer had taken the first boat through and needed to returned by van for them.

Our gas was turned off at the bottles. Extra lights were put on the hatch and gas locker. Mick was given a hard hat and high vis just in case he needed to take over at the helm. We popped our life jackets over our waterproof coats, untied and at 12:20 we pushed off into the dark.

POWER! Leeds Liverpool Breach 11th October

Over the last couple of mornings Mick has been in the engine bay trying to solve our power problem. This morning he succeeded in getting things working again. Hooray!!! The lap top now has 100% power.

We’ve been able to keep moving so there is plenty to write about, well most of it is written in long hand so I didn’t forget it. Plus there are hundreds of photos to sort through so it will take some time to catch up with ourselves whilst still moving!

In other news however there has been a breach on the Leeds Liverpool Canal. Yesterday afternoon the following C&RT notice came through

A closure to navigation and towpath is required between Bridges 109 (New Barn Bridge) and 110 (Aspen Bridge) on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal in Rishton, while our engineers investigate significant leakage through the bed of the canal.

Due to the volume of water loss, please be advised that water levels between Barrowford Bottom Lock (No.51) and Blackburn Top Lock (No.52) may be affected and lower than normal. We advise against unneccesary travel through this area until repairs have been completed.

Then this morning it was followed with this

Our teams have been working throughout the night to try and stabilise the significant leak between Bridge 109, New Barn Bridge and Bridge 110, Aspen Bridge, Rishton on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal, unfortunately, during the early hours of this morning the canal bank has breached.

Dams are currently being installed onsite and our teams are organising a method of repair, including pumps to be able to pump water over the affected area to maintain a feed to the lower section of the canal.

To help conserve water in the surrounding areas, the following Lock Flights are closed:

Barrowford Locks
Blackburn Locks
Johnsons Hillocks
Wigan Flight

Another update will be put out tomorrow. This all seems very familiar to us. We obviously really feel for those affected and hope there is a speedier solution than there was on the Aire and Calder. We’re also glad we decided against going that way just over a week ago.

Consulting With The Tunnel. 4th October

Murrys Winding Hole to opposite Tescos………

Two years ago we crossed the Pennines from east to west via the Rochdale Canal with Clare and Graeme on NB Mr Blue Sky. Last year we crossed via the Leeds Liverpool visiting friends and family in Skipton and Leeds. Earlier this year we dodged the hills by taking the route south via the River Trent. There is one other route which we have only done once before, six years ago, the Huddersfield Narrow and Broad Canals.

Recently all routes have had their problems. Lock floors, stuck boats, lack of water etc etc. The Huddersfield Narrow has problems with water levels towards Huddersfield on a good year, but this year those problems have been greater. Then over the last month the bottom end of the Huddersfield Broad Canal has been found to be empty on several occasions.

The C&RT stoppage notices that come from this area are far more informative than you normally get, they explain what has happened and what measures are being taken to rectify the situation. However what we wanted to know was, was the situation going to improve or would Oleanna be stuck in Huddersfield all winter if we went that way.

I think we’re going to see a lot of the chap on the right

The amount of work needed to reach the summit, the tunnel passage and then working down the other side is more for those who like a challenge than those who prefer a life on the flat with a glass of wine in hand. Before we committed to this route we wanted to talk to someone on the ground with local knowledge. For the last week Mick has been trying to call Standedge Tunnel Control to speak to someone, but with no luck. Today however was different he got through.

This year the canal has suffered more from the lack of water as one of the reservoirs has been drawn down for inspection and maintenance (several others on the system have also been lowered). But the rain we are having has been doing a good job of filling the canal up. The chap sounded positive, which is what we wanted to hear. Decision made before we’d even got out of bed this morning. Huddersfield Narrow it is!

About a month ago we’d booked our passage through Standedge Tunnel and our cruising has been planned for us to reach Diggle portal the day before. We have also booked a ranger to assist for a day on our descent from Marsden, then you also have to book for Lock 1E to be unlocked to let you out the bottom and into Huddersfield.

Time to get moving!

A boat came past, possibly the boat that had followed us down Marple yesterday, at speed. They then met a Black Prince hire boat at the next bridge, we just waited for both boats to pass before untying. The Black Prince boat might just arrive in time to start the flight before midday.

They’ll need warp drive to reach the locks in time!

Soon after pushing off ourselves we were approaching a big bend when the bow of another Black Prince boat came charging round it. Thankfully it seemed that the person at the helm had some experience as we narrowly avoided a collision. If they could keep their speed up we reckoned they would miss the locks by about ten minutes! Not good if you are trying to the Cheshire ring in a week!

We pootled along at a reasonable speed through the long winding wooded valley. A chap was blowing leaves off his astro turf. Maybe it’s best to keep on top of such things, but what a never ending job!

Under the M67. Was this the face of a local graffiti artist on the wall here? Was this going to be the local ‘Ghost’? It was, we were to see plenty more pupilless faces today.

We caught the boat ahead of us up at Duckingfield Lift Bridge. Here you need an anti-vandal key, or handcuff key to get the lock off the mechanism and they hadn’t got one. The chap was tinkering with the lock as the lady knocked on a boat to see if they could help. We pulled in for me to hop off just as they got the lock unlocked. At least it saved me doing all the winding, but I did make sure it was locked back up once it was down again.

Mick asked them which way they were going. ‘To Ancotes’ was the reply. He pointed out that they would need a handcuff key for the locks. But the lady said they wouldn’t be doing the locks today. They’d still need a handcuff key no matter what day they were doing them.

They turned left at the junction, we turned right onto new waters for Oleanna and Tilly. Under the Asda Tunnel and out passing moored boats and three flying ducks.

Then on towards Bridge 111, the first of the Huddersfield Narrow Canal, just below 1W Ashton Lock, the first lock of the canal.

Broken even with the price tag still on it!

Now six years ago we’d just bought ourselves a long reach aluminium windlass. I was nursing my lack of little finger so was at the helm, off went Mick to set the lock. He soon returned with the brand new windlass in two pieces! The advantage of the longer reach no longer available he struggled with a standard windlass. A while later we replaced the broken aluminium windlass with a long reach one made from steel, now my best friend.

Today it would be me working the locks and 1W made itself known quickly. The lock was full so I went to empty it. The towpath side paddle being extremely stiff took some work. A couple of clicks, then adjusting the position of the windlass to give me more umph! Eventually it raised. I then tried the off side, this just slipped every half turn, so I left it closed. The gates were stubborn too, one side with a cranked beam. If this was to be the case at every lock we were going to be working hard for the next few days!

Plantation and Tame Lock were much easier. Hills just in view ahead and old mills alongside the canal.

The River Tame aqueduct took me by surprise, I nearly had to do a Giles as I’m not too keen on having nothing on one side of the boat!

Now we cruised through overgrownness on both sides approaching Stalybridge. Railings and lamp posts hide in amongst the sideways trees. At one time someone thought the canal would be a popular place to walk, it is but only on one side, the other left to grow over and collect rubbish.

The canal was built over 17 years, originally opening in 1811 Standedge Tunnel being the last stretch to open. For a while the canal was profitable being a shorter route connecting Manchester to Leeds than the Rochdale, but bottlenecks were created at the tunnel where it took four hours to leg a boat through! In 1845 the canal was bought by the Huddersfield and Manchester Railway Company who’s route was to follow the canal up the Tame and Colne Valleys. Standedge Tunnel was used to remove the spoil when they built the railway tunnel. Once the railway was open there was no need for the canal which fell into decline and ended up closing in 1944.

In 1974 the Huddersfield Canal Society was formed with the aim of re-opening the canal. Whole sections of the cut had been filled in, built over and several bridges had been removed. Volunteers with the support of local councils worked hard and by the 1990’s all sections that had not been filled in were restored. The Huddersfield Canal Company was set up to co-ordinate the reopening of the remaining sections, one of them being a half mile through Stalybridge which had been filled in and partly built over. But in May 2001 the canal was reopened. Plenty photos of the building work here.

Lock 4W is more or less where the major works in Stalybridge started. A whole new lock was built with it’s approach under a road. I’d remembered this and the railings which meant dropping crew off to work the lock had to be done at the start of the tunnel/bridge.

The bottom gates were problematical to close. In fact after pushing and bumping the gates there was still a six inch gap between them. We tried adding water pressure to the equation, but all that was going to do was deplete the pound above. The paddles were closed, gates reopened, Mick tried prodding around with a boat hook but the water was too deep. The gates closed a touch better and water pressure did the rest of the job for us, up the 11ft 1″ Oleanna rose, the pound above looking a bit short on water.

I walked ahead and dropped the water from 5W which aided our need to get over the cill. Mick decided to leave the ground paddles open until Oleanna was safely across the cill, this would help water move around her should I have needed to let more water down. Once clear of the gate he then dropped the paddles. As on quite a few of the Huddersfield Canal Locks both ground paddle mechanisms are on the same side as the gate beam, handy as there are no walkways over the top gates.

We had a similar problem at 5W with the gates closing. An extra nudge and water help again. Now we could see the Civic Hall and the hills behind as we made our way through the new cut to 6W.

Up at lock level there is masses of paving everywhere, a municipal feel to the town centre, all revamped when the canal came back through town. Once exciting I’m sure, but now it feels just a touch soulless. An art installation sits near the lock, Holy Trinity and Christ Church a little behind it. Then once up through Lock 6W Tescos takes over, car park on both sides of the canal. We pulled in where another boat was moored right opposite the checkouts. The chap on NB Texas Star had a very pretty dog and he was trying his best to get a coat of paint on the back of his cabin just as it started to really rain.

After a late lunch we put together a big shopping list, enough supplies to get us into Yorkshire. This must be the closest we’ve ever moored to somewhere you can leave your trolley and get your £ coin back. The only problem is the railings between the car park and boat. I passed the shopping through and Mick popped them on the boat. It was then either a walk round for me or a scramble through the railings.

This afternoon we’ve had the following through from C&RT

Huddersfield Narrow Canal – Water management information
Starts At: Lock 1 East, Stanley Dawson Lock
Ends At: Standedge Tunnel

Monday 4 October 2021 14:30 until further notice

With the support of the EA, during the 2021 boating season we installed a temporary river pump at Britannia bridge, in Milnsbridge, abstracting water from the River Colne into the Huddersfield Narrow canal to aid continued navigation on the canal. We have unfortunately been unsuccessful in gaining an extension on this abstraction from the EA which we had hoped would continue until the end of the 2021 boating season, so as of 30^th Sept 2021 we have ceased abstraction for this year.

The canal is currently looking healthy and we are relying on supply from our reservoirs, natural feeds and of course wet weather to maintain water supply, with the recent rainfall proving beneficial. The local team will continue to do their best to manage water levels in order to support safe navigation and if we are faced with the need to implement restrictions or closures, we will update the notice accordingly.

At least the rain is doing some good to the east of the Pennines, here it has stopped us from heading out for an explore, instead we stayed by the stove keeping dry and warm. Outside it was someone’s birthday, maybe they were having a car park party! Thankfully they quietened down after a while leaving us with the car park lights and the very raucous Canada Geese!

Today we have learnt something that we’ll never forget. Did you know that a Moorhens skin type is fur ?! No we didn’t either until we were checking what juvenile Moorhens looked like. Check this link if you don’t believe me!

6 locks, 61ft 3″ climbed, 5.89 miles, 1 lift bridge, 1 boat held up, 1 right, 2 canals, 1 Asda tunnel, 6 furry Moorhens, 1 pretty woofer, 6437 giant spiders, 1 car park mooring, 1 box, 2 bottles wine, 1 trolley almost to the boat, 1 very damp evening, 0 shore leave.

So our route today

Murrys Winding Hole to opposite Tescos, Stalybumbridge, Huddersfield Narrow Canal

https://goo.gl/maps/7urH5f7JMhsms2NQA

Wotsit! And A Missed Decision, 3rd October

Marple Junction to Murrys Winding Hole, Lower Peak Forest Canal

A chilly morning, mainly due to letting the stove go out so that Morag could sleep on the sofabed last night. The stove is a touch too close for duvets in the middle of the night! The central heating soon took the edge off.

After breakfast it was time to say goodbye to Morag, she was heading off to see her son who is studying at Manchester University and it’s his birthday tomorrow. It was so lovely to have her to stay and have a proper time for a catch up.

The covers were rolled back, waterproof trousers put on, we were ready. Two volunteers were by the top of the Marple flight. One chap, Rob, had been there at 8:30 to unlock the locks, he’d had a long wait for his first boat, us, at just gone 11.

The other chap, who’s name I didn’t catch, walked on down the flight, topping up locks where needed and opening the top gates. This meant my steps for the day wouldn’t include going backwards and forwards between locks.

We soon got into a rhythm. Rob closed the gate behind Oleanna, I walked to the offside and lifted a paddle, then Rob would lift the towpath side. Occasionally we swapped sides.

Many of the bottom gates overhang the narrow bridge below, so the gates tend to be easier to push from down there, but only if you are tall enough! I thankfully am just within the useful height range.

There was plenty of water coming round the bywashes, most probably because most of the locks were already full, so any water we were adding went straight round.

Rain came and went, sunshine did the same but for shorter periods. The weather hadn’t discouraged walkers up the flight. By Lock 13 two lads were eating snacks on the steps, then they rushed through the boatman’s tunnel to the bottom of the lock as Oleanna came out. I took the more convoluted route down steps to the horse tunnel under the main road.

The lock that was rebuilt a few years ago is now weathering in, the new dry stone wall alongside the towpath now the only clue to the works that went on to rebuild the bulging lock sides.

With Lock 9 being open ready and waiting for us we dropped lock 10, the level in the intermediate pound rising almost to the top of the lower lock. Rob spotted that the overflow there was blocked, not helping on a pound that can easily overfill. Here we were surrounded by numerous eager gongoozlers all over hanging the lock sides and keen to help push gates.

At Lock 8 Rob headed off down the flight, it was 11:50 and time to go and lock the gates on the bottom lock at midday. So we were left to work the next few locks on our own, no hardship.

A young lad ran up to see what was happening, obviously wanting to help but a touch too shy to ask. He was very quickly recruited and despite his height disadvantage he was able to open and close the gate from the lock top, with me reminding him to keep an eye on where he was putting his feet as the edge of the stonework got closer and closer.

Lock 7’s top gate was closed but had a paddle raised for us. The level looked equal, but obviously not quite! No matter how much I pushed and bumped and pushed it just wasn’t going to shift. Where were all those keen helpers now!! Nowhere to be seen. I tried to be patient, but it simply wasn’t going to help, the lock had reached a point where the same amount of water was leaking out through the bottom gates as was coming in at the top. Eventually a dog walker was recruited to help, that extra bit of force making all the difference.

Rob and the other volunteer reappeared at Lock 5. They’d had a ping on the whatsap group for the locks and another boat had just started down the flight ten minutes before it was due to be locked. Rob stayed with us as the other fella walked back towards the top.

Rob was a very chatty chap. You could tell he’d not been volunteering long as he’s not fully realised just how loud you have to shout across a lock as it empties or fills. He started in May, his enthusiasm for gaining knowledge about the locks is commendable. Originally from Whitley Bay he used to walk the beaches there, but recently he’d found himself in Manchester walking the canals, so he managed to volunteer and here he is. Apparently last year there were four volunteers on the flight on Sundays, but this year it started off with just one, him, the old volunteers having gone elsewhere.

At Lock 1 he suggested I climb onboard and he’d work the lock, the gates needing to be unlocked and locked again. We thanked him as Oleanna dropped in the lock, the noise from the pissers from the lock walls taking over.

Now across the aqueduct, no chance of doing a Giles today, there were photos needing to be taken especially as the sun had come out, now we’d finished the locks!

Up ahead a boat was coming towards us, they’d missed the locks, but turned out to only be a day boat anyway. They were soon followed by a second day boat near Hyde Bank Tunnel where we pulled into the side to let a third boat through. This was a charity boat that would also wind once it had crossed the aqueduct.

This is when we realised that we’d forgotten something! Today at the top of the flight we were going to make our minds up as to which route we’d be taking across the Pennines. With lock closures and lack of water around the north our choices have been fluctuating almost daily and we’d obviously rather not get stuck. Maybe we’d allow ourselves another day before our final decision had to be made!

We carried on, pulling in on a length of armco before Bridge 9, the rain starting in earnest again, just as Tilly went off to explore. In one lull between showers Mick made use of the new chimney brush. The wire handle a touch shorter than the old one. Maybe we can fix the two handles together adding another 9 inches to it’s length. Once the chimney was swept the stove was lit. The temperature inside also rose with the assistance of the oven being on for a roast chicken.

16 locks, 208ft 9″, 4.33 miles, 2 tunnels, 1 left, 1 wave goodbye, 1 enthusiastic Rob, 1 very wet flight, 3 boats on the move, 4 hours shore leave, 1 happy cat, 9 more inches needed, 1 cheesy wotsit on the cratch.