Since the last post we’ve travelled the length of both the Calder
and Hebble Navigation and the Aire and Calder Navigation and we are now moored
right in the centre of Leeds at Clarence Dock.
The Navigations along the rivers Calder and Aire consist of
stretches of canal and lengths of navigable river which are wide and obviously
flowing which makes for some fast sections going downstream and slow ones going
up. On Friday morning the lock keeper at
Sowerby Bridge let us down the very deep Tuel Lane
Lock and even helped us down the two following locks which was very generous of
him. This took us off the Rochdale Canal,
which we have followed from Manchester,
down onto the Calder and Hebble. This
navigation had some interesting problems in store for us. First it has some lock paddles which can only
be operated by a spike. A spike consists
of a length of wood cut with a squared end which you insert into a wheel to
turn it to open the lock paddles to let water in or out. So it was a case of first fashion your spike
and then use it.
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Cutting the square end - or fettling as they say up here |
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Using the spike to operate the paddle |
The next problem with this navigation was the size of the
locks. We had read that they would allow
boats up to 57 feet long and there was some talk of taking longer boats. Our two boats are both 57 feet long. So we drove into the first lock with two
boats side by side and let the water out to drop down. We then found that it was impossible to open
the lower gates:
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Tight at the bow - David is trying to lift the fender, but that did not resolve things |
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Tight at the stern too |
The only answer is to put a single boat diagonally in the
lock even though the lock is 14 foot wide and that usually means wide enough
for two. Many boats round here are 55
feet long and we now understand why.
Sorting out this lock and refilling one pound where the water was only
knee deep delayed our journey, but after a while we moved onto the part of the
navigation where river sections alternate with canal sections. The key is to get off the river before you go
over the weir!! After our canal
travelling it was novel to be on a big wide river again.
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Wide River Calder - crossing under the M1 |
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Coming into Wakefield - note Pas Meche turning onto the next section of canal |
It reminded us of our days on the Thames.
We
travelled through Wakefield
and on to Stanley Ferry where the canal crosses the river Calder on an
aqueduct built to the same design as the Sydney Harbour Bridge, albeit 100 years before the latter.
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Stanley Ferry Aqueduct |
We saw a wonderful rainbow here crossing the sky from one
side to the other – giving access to two pots of gold.
From Stanley Ferry it was a short day to Lemonroyd to the
South East of Leeds first going downstream on the Calder to Castleford and then
turning upstream on the Aire for a few miles.
David and Victoria had arranged to finish their journey with us at
Lemonroyd and Pas Meche now has a permanent place in the marina just above the
huge lock there.
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Lemonroyd Lock |
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Pas Meche in her new home |
This lock, which is electrically operated with a key, is so
large because giant barges full of oil come up here from Immingham on the
Humber estuary to a storage depot for onward distribution by road around Leeds. We had
hoped to see one of these barges but it was not to be. The advice around here is not to moor using
mooring pins because the wash from these barges can pull them straight out.
After a day not boating yesterday we left Lemonroyd for the
short cruise of around 6 miles into Leeds. The last mile or so was against quite a
strong flow of the river Aire and then up the final lock turning acutely into
Clarence Dock where there are a few visitor moorings.
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Manoeuvring in Clarence Dock |
We’ll probably stay in Leeds a couple of days before we set
off up the Leeds and Liverpool Canal into the Dales and ultimately back to the
fringes of Manchester
once more.
Wow,your photos look wonderful. I hope you are both having a wonderful time!
ReplyDeleteChristine Haughton