2010 my third year on Almyne
Tue, 1 Jun 2010
We spent Tuesday in Todmorden, only to find it was early closing day. This obviously has a different meaning in Yorkshire, for early closing read not bother to open at all.
There were a couple of shops Kath
and Lez wanted to visit so we hung around for them to shop tomorrow.
Wed, 2 Jun 2010 4 miles 9 locks
Left Todmorden a bit after midday with Almyne and Morgana le Fay strapped together leading and Kath and a new travelling companion, David aboard Ngarpi, following us. Now David is a Yorkshire man and has named his boat true to his philosophy. Ngarpi is Swahili for 'How Much!'.
The journey to Hebden Bridge was, for the Rochdale, relatively uneventful but a bit slow. A hire boat managed to get between us and Kath so we let them leapfrog us at the lock. Then a moored boat with no one on board had come adrift and was part way across the canal so I rescued that and re-moored it. By the time my good deed for the day was finished the others had caught up so we waved them into the lock first.
As the locks are a bit further apart on this stretch so walking between locks was not an option. At one lock Ray stepped ashore and held Morgana le Fay on the rope, Lez stepped on, causing the inevitable bit of drift, Lez asked if he wanted her to bring her in closer, he said " No it's an easy step".
I sense a bit of deja vue here, my mind flashed back to the Stratford on Avon - too late - my shout went un-noticed.
Ray up to his knees in water, hanging onto the seat at the back of the boat, while Lez grabbed his arm and hauled him aboard. Good job that the canal is only a couple of feet deep, and at least he didn't catch a jagged edge of the pilings! so no real harm done.
Found good moorings beside the park at Hebden Bridge.
I think that Lez and Ray have fallen in love with Almyne as they have made me an offer and I think I might let her go, after all, I can't tow two boats.
It was barbecue weather so dinner was burgers (interesting Thai Burgers from the butcher in Todmorden) with potato salad eaten at the canal side, and a late evening chatting on the tow path.
Sat, 5 Jun 2010
We had hoped that Kath would be able to do the Calder and Hebble and Leeds and Liverpool, the BW chaps we met thought Destiny might fit diagonally in the locks. Then the chap from the boatyard said 'no chance' 61 foot is absolute maximum. Ray and I got the tape measure out and tried to squeeze Destiny into 61 ft, didn't work, including her fenders Destiny is 64 foot.
Back to plan B. Destiny and Kath will have to go back to Manchester and then up to Wigan from there, where we can all meet up later on. I have to do more of my mission.
Mon, 14 Jun 2010
Got back to Hebden bridge after taking Destiny and Kath back down to Manchester through the Rochdale 18. Collected a waif and stray on the way, a girl called Kate who we have seen several times walking up and down the tow path. It seems that she is going to spend some time with DestinyKath, which will be good while I am not around.
Quite a trip in it's own way and has taken just over a week, but not 'loggable' as it was Destiny not Almyne making the trip.
Tue, 15 Jun 2010 5½ miles 8 locks 2 tunnels
Now to finish the Rochdale. We knew there was a major supermarket at Sowerby Bridge so we stopped off for essential supplies like beer, just before Tuel Lane locks
The lock keeper at Tuel Lane was not only very knowledgeable, but also very friendly.
Tuel Lane lock is now the deepest on the inland waterway network, passing Bath Deep Lock by a few inches at just less than twenty foot drop. It is also unusual in that it has two sets of bottom gates, one pair make it a 60ft lock, the others make it a full length 70ft plus lock. Using it as a short lock except for long boats saves a lot of water.
After the lock keeper helped us through the lock and the tunnel he then followed us and helped us with the last two locks on the Rochdale and showed us where there were some good moorings and even helped us moor up.
Wed, 16 Jun 2010 4½ miles 7 locks
We had planned a reasonably early start today but the fish were biting nicely so we enjoyed the sunshine for a little longer than planned whilst drowning maggots. After both fuelling up it was midday before we left the canal basin at Sowerby Bridge and started off down the Calder and Hebble.
To get into the first lock at Salterhebble there is a sharp right turn, which I almost missed. A couple of boaters who were gongoozling opened the gates for me and in I went. Out the other side and I moored up to help Lez and Ray through. Got them through and through the next lock and then found that the water levels had dropped enough for me to be thoroughly aground. Took nearly half an hour to get me afloat again.
We are developing a system that seems to work. The lead boat prepares the lock, by which time second boat has arrived. First boat goes down through the lock, heads off to next lock, second boat goes down leaving Lez to tidy up, dropping paddles and closing gates behind second boat and she then either rides on second boat or walks to the next lock. This way nobody has to do a lock entirely on their own.
By the time we moored for the night we were all totally shattered but 'toad in the hole' with roasted onion gravy and a nice bottle of red did much to restore our spirits.
Thu, 17 Jun 2010 5 miles 5 locks
Today's progress was slow. The combination of warm weather, stiff lock paddles and heavy gates did nothing to encourage a long day. The locks on the Calder are very hard work with Lez doing most of it, although she does tell me that she enjoys it and I should not worry about it. Once we get onto the Aire where the locks are so big we can all fit in (in a line behind each other if we choose), they are also mechanical locks so either there is a lock keeper or you just insert your BW key, push a couple of buttons and job done.
We stopped briefly at Brighouse for butter and flour. After that we headed down to a mooring above Kirklees Top Lock where the fishing was lousy until Ray caught a crayfish on his line. I have a couple of crayfish traps so I dropped them in (baited with dog food) and soon had a couple of dozen crayfish. This is only about enough for one portion but we figure if we leave them in overnight we might get enough for a crayfish dish for dinner tomorrow.
Fri, 18 Jun 2010 10½ miles 11 locks
Before we left this morning we hauled up the crayfish traps and had caught enough crayfish to make a meal for us all so Lez started the day with two buckets full of water and crayfish in the cratch.
Today went like a dream compared to the previous couple, we actually fitted both boats into about half of the locks which meant we didn't have to work them all twice. The locks were a bit further apart which meant we covered more miles and some of the locks were actually a bit easier to operate. We have made it as far as Broad Cut Top Lock which means we only have two more locks on the Calder. The weather was a bit mean, rained on us a lot of the time but only light rain so not too bad. Lez was on mince pie and crayfish cooking duty, so she managed to miss most of the drizzle. She tells me that one of the crayfish made a bid for freedom and she had to chase him round the galley floor.
We made good progress, for the first time in ages. When we moored up above the lock for the night the sun decided to shine at last so we sat outside for a while, Ray and I shelled the crayfish for Lez, who then I did a sauce of tomatoes, onion, garlic and peppers to go with them, followed by rhubarb crumble and custard it made a good meal.
Sat, 19 Jun 2010 3 ¼ miles 3 locks
Windy, which makes travelling less than easy.
By the time we got to Wakefield the consensus was that it made sense to investigate Wakefield and move on tomorrow when the weather is meant to be a little better, so we did.
Wakefield not up to much but I treated myself to some goodies at the tackle shop, which was excellent.
Sun, 20 Jun 2010 13 miles 7 locks
Woken early by the police knocking on the boat, they were looking for someone reportedly seen aboard a narrow boat in the area. It shouldn't be allowed on a Sunday morning.
All the locks from Wakefield to the centre of Leeds are big, very big, at least 140ft long and 17ft 9in wide, we decided to breast the two boats up so that it only takes one person to handle them. It makes us about 14ft wide but we are still tiny compared to the gravel barges. The boats handled remarkably well and it made it a very easy day of travelling. Apart from the first lock they were all automated locks so it was just a question of pushing a few buttons. At some it wasn't even that as there were lots of other boats on the move and it only takes one person to operate a lock no matter how many boats are sharing it. We had five boats including ourselves in one lock. Ray was doing all the steering as Morgana tends to pull to the right but Almyne goes nice and straight but will follow if you change direction.
We have moored for the night near Woodlesford where we have a nice view across the River Aire. We are planning a bonfire for the summer solstice tomorrow so will stay here until Tuesday.
Thu, 24 Jun 2010 4 ¼ miles 3 locks
Monday went into Leeds. I found the free town bus and navigated to the hospital, where I looked for the audiology department to get my hearing aids repaired. That worked, now I can hear almost properly.
We had a very special night, sitting by our bonfire, setting the world to rights and singing songs from about forty years ago. It was fantastic to watch the progress of the sun, even when it was 'dark' it wasn't, you could still see the afterglow moving slowly across the sky until it started to get lighter again.
Long before sunrise the sky was beautifully light, the mist was rising off the river and the world was wonderful. The sun rose in a blaze of glory in an almost cloudless sky with the cloud that there was enhancing the golden glow of the sunrise.
After staying up all night to watch the sun rise there was a lack of enthusiasm about moving on to Leeds.
So moving to Clarence Dock was postponed until today. It was an easy trip, the locks are all mechanised and it wasn't far. For a built up area Clarence dock looks quite good, especially at night.
Fri, 25 Jun 2010 7 miles 13 locks 2 swingbridges
We headed out of Clarence Dock about 9.00. The locks on the Leeds and Liverpool have some unfamiliar paddle gear but we soon got to grips with it. Compared to the Rochdale and the manual locks on the Calder these locks seem easy to manage. We have still been travelling breasted up, but may have to stop that soon as the canal gets a little narrow in places and it would be better to be able to take the centre of the channel with both boats. Even today we had a problem at one lock where one gate wouldn't open fully so we had to unhitch Almyne and Lez took her up into the next lock as I had already walked on to set it ready for everybody. The run out of Leeds didn't seem too bad, The graffiti would have put me off the idea of stopping overnight anywhere but the canal doesn't seem to attract the sort of rubbish we encountered on the way out of Manchester. We did spot a couple of supermarket trollies near Morrisons.
We are aiming to get to Keighley by Sunday so that we can use the launderette on Monday. There are time restrictions on some of the locks because of the water shortages. The fishing here seems good but as long as we can get away by lunchtime tomorrow we should get a decent bit of cruising done.
Sat, 26 Jun 2010 5 miles 5 locks 8 swingbridges
Now we are heading up over the Pennines back towards Lancashire. I have decided that I like the architect of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. Instead of a lock every mile or so, these locks are grouped together so you get a few lock free miles then a staircase style lock. These locks are designed so that the top gate of the bottom lock is the bottom gate of the next lock. This means that three locks only have four gates not six. this makes travelling much easier, or it would if not for the swing bridges. Our smooth, semi lock-free passage is interrupted on a regular basis by swing bridges.
We are now out in the countryside, although tomorrow we will pass through Saltaire and Shipley, hopefully reaching the outskirts of Keighley at Riddlesden. We had an mostly uneventful day, met up with Narrow boat Phoenix and shared locks and swing bridges with them until Ray knocked their stern rope into the water as he got off at a bridge, Lez still had Morgana in reverse to slow her down, and the rope ended up round the prop. We bow-hauled Morgana past the swing bridge then moored to sort it out. Phoenix carried on alone. It didn't take long to sort out but as it was nearly four o'clock we decided to stop for the day. This is a very pleasant spot looking across the Aire Valley. Lots of fish to catch, including some really big carp. We caught lots of small fish but aren't really equipped for big carp so we just enjoyed seeing them swim past.
We spent Tuesday in Todmorden, only to find it was early closing day. This obviously has a different meaning in Yorkshire, for early closing read not bother to open at all.
There were a couple of shops Kath
and Lez wanted to visit so we hung around for them to shop tomorrow.Wed, 2 Jun 2010 4 miles 9 locks
Left Todmorden a bit after midday with Almyne and Morgana le Fay strapped together leading and Kath
and a new travelling companion, David aboard Ngarpi, following us. Now David is a Yorkshire man and has named his boat true to his philosophy. Ngarpi is Swahili for 'How Much!'.The journey to Hebden Bridge was, for the Rochdale, relatively uneventful but a bit slow. A hire boat managed to get between us and Kath so we let them leapfrog us at the lock. Then a moored boat with no one on board had come adrift and was part way across the canal so I rescued that and re-moored it. By the time my good deed for the day was finished the others had caught up so we waved them into the lock first.
As the locks are a bit further apart on this stretch so walking between locks was not an option. At one lock Ray stepped ashore and held Morgana le Fay on the rope, Lez stepped on, causing the inevitable bit of drift, Lez asked if he wanted her to bring her in closer, he said " No it's an easy step".
I sense a bit of deja vue here, my mind flashed back to the Stratford on Avon - too late - my shout went un-noticed.
Ray up to his knees in water, hanging onto the seat at the back of the boat, while Lez grabbed his arm and hauled him aboard. Good job that the canal is only a couple of feet deep, and at least he didn't catch a jagged edge of the pilings! so no real harm done.
Found good moorings beside the park at Hebden Bridge.
I think that Lez and Ray have fallen in love with Almyne as they have made me an offer and I think I might let her go, after all, I can't tow two boats.
It was barbecue weather so dinner was burgers (interesting Thai Burgers from the butcher in Todmorden) with potato salad eaten at the canal side, and a late evening chatting on the tow path.
Sat, 5 Jun 2010
We had hoped that Kath
would be able to do the Calder and Hebble and Leeds and Liverpool, the BW chaps we met thought Destiny might fit diagonally in the locks. Then the chap from the boatyard said 'no chance' 61 foot is absolute maximum. Ray and I got the tape measure out and tried to squeeze Destiny into 61 ft, didn't work, including her fenders Destiny is 64 foot.Back to plan B. Destiny and Kath will have to go back to Manchester and then up to Wigan from there, where we can all meet up later on. I have to do more of my mission.
Mon, 14 Jun 2010
Got back to Hebden bridge after taking Destiny and Kath
back down to Manchester through the Rochdale 18. Collected a waif and stray on the way, a girl called Kate who we have seen several times walking up and down the tow path. It seems that she is going to spend some time with DestinyKath, which will be good while I am not around.Quite a trip in it's own way and has taken just over a week, but not 'loggable' as it was Destiny not Almyne making the trip.
Tue, 15 Jun 2010 5½ miles 8 locks 2 tunnels
Now to finish the Rochdale. We knew there was a major supermarket at Sowerby Bridge so we stopped off for essential supplies like beer, just before Tuel Lane locks
The lock keeper at Tuel Lane was not only very knowledgeable, but also very friendly.
Tuel Lane lock is now the deepest on the inland waterway network, passing Bath Deep Lock by a few inches at just less than twenty foot drop. It is also unusual in that it has two sets of bottom gates, one pair make it a 60ft lock, the others make it a full length 70ft plus lock. Using it as a short lock except for long boats saves a lot of water.
After the lock keeper helped us through the lock and the tunnel he then followed us and helped us with the last two locks on the Rochdale and showed us where there were some good moorings and even helped us moor up.
Wed, 16 Jun 2010 4½ miles 7 locks
We had planned a reasonably early start today but the fish were biting nicely so we enjoyed the sunshine for a little longer than planned whilst drowning maggots. After both fuelling up it was midday before we left the canal basin at Sowerby Bridge and started off down the Calder and Hebble.
To get into the first lock at Salterhebble there is a sharp right turn, which I almost missed. A couple of boaters who were gongoozling opened the gates for me and in I went. Out the other side and I moored up to help Lez and Ray through. Got them through and through the next lock and then found that the water levels had dropped enough for me to be thoroughly aground. Took nearly half an hour to get me afloat again.
We are developing a system that seems to work. The lead boat prepares the lock, by which time second boat has arrived. First boat goes down through the lock, heads off to next lock, second boat goes down leaving Lez to tidy up, dropping paddles and closing gates behind second boat and she then either rides on second boat or walks to the next lock. This way nobody has to do a lock entirely on their own.
By the time we moored for the night we were all totally shattered but 'toad in the hole' with roasted onion gravy and a nice bottle of red did much to restore our spirits.
Thu, 17 Jun 2010 5 miles 5 locks
Today's progress was slow. The combination of warm weather, stiff lock paddles and heavy gates did nothing to encourage a long day. The locks on the Calder are very hard work with Lez doing most of it, although she does tell me that she enjoys it and I should not worry about it. Once we get onto the Aire where the locks are so big we can all fit in (in a line behind each other if we choose), they are also mechanical locks so either there is a lock keeper or you just insert your BW key, push a couple of buttons and job done.
We stopped briefly at Brighouse for butter and flour. After that we headed down to a mooring above Kirklees Top Lock where the fishing was lousy until Ray caught a crayfish on his line. I have a couple of crayfish traps so I dropped them in (baited with dog food) and soon had a couple of dozen crayfish. This is only about enough for one portion but we figure if we leave them in overnight we might get enough for a crayfish dish for dinner tomorrow.
Fri, 18 Jun 2010 10½ miles 11 locks
Before we left this morning we hauled up the crayfish traps and had caught enough crayfish to make a meal for us all so Lez started the day with two buckets full of water and crayfish in the cratch.
Today went like a dream compared to the previous couple, we actually fitted both boats into about half of the locks which meant we didn't have to work them all twice. The locks were a bit further apart which meant we covered more miles and some of the locks were actually a bit easier to operate. We have made it as far as Broad Cut Top Lock which means we only have two more locks on the Calder. The weather was a bit mean, rained on us a lot of the time but only light rain so not too bad. Lez was on mince pie and crayfish cooking duty, so she managed to miss most of the drizzle. She tells me that one of the crayfish made a bid for freedom and she had to chase him round the galley floor.
We made good progress, for the first time in ages. When we moored up above the lock for the night the sun decided to shine at last so we sat outside for a while, Ray and I shelled the crayfish for Lez, who then I did a sauce of tomatoes, onion, garlic and peppers to go with them, followed by rhubarb crumble and custard it made a good meal.
Sat, 19 Jun 2010 3 ¼ miles 3 locks
Windy, which makes travelling less than easy.
By the time we got to Wakefield the consensus was that it made sense to investigate Wakefield and move on tomorrow when the weather is meant to be a little better, so we did.
Wakefield not up to much but I treated myself to some goodies at the tackle shop, which was excellent.
Sun, 20 Jun 2010 13 miles 7 locks
Woken early by the police knocking on the boat, they were looking for someone reportedly seen aboard a narrow boat in the area. It shouldn't be allowed on a Sunday morning.
All the locks from Wakefield to the centre of Leeds are big, very big, at least 140ft long and 17ft 9in wide, we decided to breast the two boats up so that it only takes one person to handle them. It makes us about 14ft wide but we are still tiny compared to the gravel barges. The boats handled remarkably well and it made it a very easy day of travelling. Apart from the first lock they were all automated locks so it was just a question of pushing a few buttons. At some it wasn't even that as there were lots of other boats on the move and it only takes one person to operate a lock no matter how many boats are sharing it. We had five boats including ourselves in one lock. Ray was doing all the steering as Morgana tends to pull to the right but Almyne goes nice and straight but will follow if you change direction.
We have moored for the night near Woodlesford where we have a nice view across the River Aire. We are planning a bonfire for the summer solstice tomorrow so will stay here until Tuesday.
Thu, 24 Jun 2010 4 ¼ miles 3 locks
Monday went into Leeds. I found the free town bus and navigated to the hospital, where I looked for the audiology department to get my hearing aids repaired. That worked, now I can hear almost properly.
We had a very special night, sitting by our bonfire, setting the world to rights and singing songs from about forty years ago. It was fantastic to watch the progress of the sun, even when it was 'dark' it wasn't, you could still see the afterglow moving slowly across the sky until it started to get lighter again.
Long before sunrise the sky was beautifully light, the mist was rising off the river and the world was wonderful. The sun rose in a blaze of glory in an almost cloudless sky with the cloud that there was enhancing the golden glow of the sunrise.
After staying up all night to watch the sun rise there was a lack of enthusiasm about moving on to Leeds.
So moving to Clarence Dock was postponed until today. It was an easy trip, the locks are all mechanised and it wasn't far. For a built up area Clarence dock looks quite good, especially at night.
Fri, 25 Jun 2010 7 miles 13 locks 2 swingbridges
We headed out of Clarence Dock about 9.00. The locks on the Leeds and Liverpool have some unfamiliar paddle gear but we soon got to grips with it. Compared to the Rochdale and the manual locks on the Calder these locks seem easy to manage. We have still been travelling breasted up, but may have to stop that soon as the canal gets a little narrow in places and it would be better to be able to take the centre of the channel with both boats. Even today we had a problem at one lock where one gate wouldn't open fully so we had to unhitch Almyne and Lez took her up into the next lock as I had already walked on to set it ready for everybody. The run out of Leeds didn't seem too bad, The graffiti would have put me off the idea of stopping overnight anywhere but the canal doesn't seem to attract the sort of rubbish we encountered on the way out of Manchester. We did spot a couple of supermarket trollies near Morrisons.
We are aiming to get to Keighley by Sunday so that we can use the launderette on Monday. There are time restrictions on some of the locks because of the water shortages. The fishing here seems good but as long as we can get away by lunchtime tomorrow we should get a decent bit of cruising done.
Sat, 26 Jun 2010 5 miles 5 locks 8 swingbridges
Now we are heading up over the Pennines back towards Lancashire. I have decided that I like the architect of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. Instead of a lock every mile or so, these locks are grouped together so you get a few lock free miles then a staircase style lock. These locks are designed so that the top gate of the bottom lock is the bottom gate of the next lock. This means that three locks only have four gates not six. this makes travelling much easier, or it would if not for the swing bridges. Our smooth, semi lock-free passage is interrupted on a regular basis by swing bridges.
We are now out in the countryside, although tomorrow we will pass through Saltaire and Shipley, hopefully reaching the outskirts of Keighley at Riddlesden. We had an mostly uneventful day, met up with Narrow boat Phoenix and shared locks and swing bridges with them until Ray knocked their stern rope into the water as he got off at a bridge, Lez still had Morgana in reverse to slow her down, and the rope ended up round the prop. We bow-hauled Morgana past the swing bridge then moored to sort it out. Phoenix carried on alone. It didn't take long to sort out but as it was nearly four o'clock we decided to stop for the day. This is a very pleasant spot looking across the Aire Valley. Lots of fish to catch, including some really big carp. We caught lots of small fish but aren't really equipped for big carp so we just enjoyed seeing them swim past.
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