Huddersfield Broad Canal

 This is a shorter post than normal but it mainly covers one day (Tuesday) coming up the Huddersfield Broad Canal to reach Huddersfield preparatory to going on over the Pennines on the Huddersfield Narrow Canal. The clue is in the names. A westbound boat up to 57 foot six inches long and up to 14 feet wide can reach Huddersfield but beyond that a boat is limited to 7 feet wide but can be 72 feet long.  Odd but true and dating back to the making of the canals. So here is the story of the Broad and this piece ends with some bad news. Read on:

 

Having come a very short way downstream on the River Calder from Cooper Bridge Flood Gates we came under this big road and moored on the right just before the weir to enter the first lock of the Broad.

Leo is nominally 57 foot long but we're never sure whether or not this includes the fenders at the bow and stern. In this picture the bow fender is on the cill at the front and this shows how little room there is to spare. It is not easy to get the gates closed behind the boat. At one lock we got the bow fender caught under a projection on the lock gate and only swift action by Helen stopped us taking the front of the boat under as the water rose which could have meant a capsize. So you have to watch the bow and also the stern as there is a walkway overhanging the boat at the back too!  Tricky.

And here we are, having succeeded with the 9 locks, coming into Huddersfield. We think the tall chimney is on a waste incinerator.

This curious lift bridge is called the Turnbridge Loco Lift Bridge. Fortunately it is electric powered and works with a turn of the key.

This view was taken looking back from our mooring in the centre of Huddersfield. As you can see it is opposite Sainsbury, but it is still quite a walk round to get there!

And this is the view looking forward to Aspley Basin where the Broad meets the Narrow. The tower on the hill is the Victoria Tower and features on the opening titles of our local BBC TV news. So we had to visit it!

This wonderful classical building is Huddersfield Station. It must be the best railway building anywhere.

Hopefully you will recognise this chap. Harold Wilson was MP for Huddersfield and our prime minister.

This is the first lock 1E on the Narrow Canal and you can see that it has a problem. The lock leaks badly and so you have to book to go through only on Tuesdays and Thursdays when CRT will remove the stop planks and use the lock for you. It will then be sealed again after use. More about this below.

Yesterday we made the effort and climbed Castle Hill and went up the Victoria Tower on top. The views were good but the air was a bit hazy so not as far reaching as they might have been. This photo was taken with a long zoom from the top of the hill and the arrow shows where Leo can be seen, albeit in the shade.

There was lots of ragwort on the top of the hill providing a brilliant splash of colour and frequented by Small Copper butterflies.

And here is the Victoria Tower built to commemorate Queen Victoria's diamond jubilee though not finished until 1899, two years late. It is only open some days and we were lucky to go up the 138 steps to the viewing gallery at the top.

And so to the bad news. Having spent Wednesday climbing the hill (and visiting the Tolson Museum), we were hoping to go through lock 1E as booked and go on our way up the many locks towards the Standedge Tunnel at the top. When we got back from our walk, we had a phone call from CRT telling us that the Golcar Aqueduct further up the canal was leaking so badly that they had closed the canal and cancelled our booking for the first lock.

So today we have been doing odd jobs on the boat and tomorrow we plan to get the train to Marsden (near the tunnel) and walk back to Huddersfield along the canal. We are expecting another bulletin tomorrow afternoon on the state of the problem and when it will be fixed so we will have to make some decisions then.  Oh dear!