A tight fit

 

After a couple of nights moored in Huddersfield and with the pleasure of hook up electric we pulled ropes through rings at 07.50 and headed under this lift bridge. It’s another first for us as all the bridges we have previously done have been swing or lift on one side . We have never seen one like this before where the whole bridge lifts up . Luckily it was electric so it just meant Carolyn pressing a few buttons. This is where we leave the Huddersfield narrow canal and join the broad canal.

We have now reached the first lock on the Huddersfield Broad canal . There are a total of nine broad locks before we get to the junction of The Calder and Hebble Navigation . Although these are broad locks they are only meant for boats that are 57 feet 6 inches long and with Inca being 59 feet long it’s going to be a bit of a tight squeeze. 

As we fill the lock we can see The John Smith Stadium behind us which is the home of Huddersfield town FC .

We need to position our bow in the corner of the bottom gates and our stern in the middle below the top gates and then trying to avoid the cill as the lock empties.We have removed our front and rear buttons (fenders) to reduce our length ,but even so we have to go in to and descend the lock diagonally.

For this first lock of the nine on The Huddersfield Broad we only opened one gate paddle and let the lock empty very slowly. In the end it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be and by the second lock down I found that if I wedged the bow in the corner just as I could see the cill we would be OK. I did get a bit wet though on a few of the leaky locks.

Two and a half hours later and we left The Huddersfield broad and joined The Calder and Hebble Navigation .Dropping down from the canal Carolyn mentioned that this looked like a river and not a canal which of course it is . I love rivers and Carolyn isn’t so keen but as I said as long as it’s not in flood we will be fine.

Turning right and heading towards Wakefield.

Some of the locks on this section look like they need the odd repair or three . I wouldn’t like to get hung up on this.

I like to get close to the weirs on rivers as we pass them so that I can frighten Carolyn a little bit. Needless to say she is not at all impressed and calls me some horrible names…

Only a 4 hour cruise today and we picked up this mooring in Mirfield next to where they are building a new larger Lidl which will be handy for passing boaters. Tomorrow and it should be a good 5 hour cruise on this most enjoyable river to Wakefield.

                                                                                               Happy Days

Never again !

 

After a night moored on the lock landing near the Olive Branch pub we pulled ropes from around bollards at 08.10 with the intention of getting at least halfway to Huddersfield. As we travel down the picturesque Colne valley we pass old mills and factories that are now unfortunately derelict..

If only I had my Gun , it would have been a free supper tonight.

We picked up this mooring at Titanic Mill on the lock landing of 16E after doing 14 hard locks . Titanic mill was originally opened in 1912 the same year that it’s namesake the ship Titanic sank  and then closed 63 years later . It has now been rejuvenated as flats and a health Spa.

We pulled ropes yet again from bollards the following morning at 07.50 and passed this writing on a stone wall . I wonder who the Herb is and why he needs freeing.

We thought our luck was in when we got to lock 15E to find it full and in our favour. With Carolyn on Inca and me doing the locks all was going well as I opened the paddles to let the lock down until I got one almighty shout from Carolyn . Inca had caught on something and as the stern carried on going down in the lock the front was hooked up on something , with the water getting very near to coming in the back and flooding the boat Carolyn was in a right panic. Before I had chance to drop the paddles Inca luckily slipped of what it had got caught on. As you can see in the picture this is a stone built lock and one of them had popped out and our baseplate got caught on it. Needless to say Carolyn was in a terrible state as she thought Inca was going to sink. I immediately rang Canal and River Trust to report the problem as obviously it needed urgent attention before another boat used the lock . CRT said they would ring me back to confirm that action had been taken to repair the lock ,but surprise surpise I have heard nothing.

After stopping for an hour so that Carolyn could calm down we passed this converted mill . It’s always good to see a building like this restored instead of being knocked down.

Nearly in to Huddersfield and this is lock 3E which is a new wide lock which is next to the newly built university.

Between lock 2E and 1E we had to go through this narrow section . Carolyn did mention that maybe we had made a wrong turn somewhere. This sort of tells you how little this canal is used.

At last the end is in sight . In the distance next to this old restored mill is lock 1E and after going through that we will be off The Huddersfield narrow canal.

After a very hard and eventful time on this canal we decided to take a day off and booked a couple of nights on this mooring which has the luxury of hook up electric and the main town centre of Huddersfield only a short walk away.

We are now so glad to be off The Huddersfield canal and out of all the canals we have done this is the only one that we have said never again . The Huddersfield canal society were asking for more boaters to use it ,but to be honest if we knew how bad it was going to be we would have thought twice before doing it . Not only are the lock gates very heavy with paddle gear that that is even heavier. I am nearly 16 stone and it took all of my weight to move some of the paddles and gates. But also the canal is in drastic need of dredging . On most of the lock landings you can’t get any where close enough to drop off crew. There is also a real lack of moorings as the sides are so shallow you can’t get within 4 feet of the edge . At uppermill which is one of the top towns to visit on this canal they have fitted new bollards which are totally useless as there is no way of getting in next to them.To top it all we had two very near misses when we got hung up in locks ,something that has never happened in the last four years and nearly three and a half thousand locks that we have passed through.

The Scenery on many stretches is brilliant and of course the jewel in the crown of this canal is the Standedge tunnel which I must admit I really enjoyed . We spoke to some local boaters in Huddersfield and they said that the canal was re-opened too soon and in a rush . Most of them never go on it and prefer to head down the Huddersfield broad and onto The Calder and Hebble ,well I guess that tells you something . At the end of the day we have done it and it’s another canal ticked off our list.

 

 

                                                                                                             Happy Days   

A few more boat names

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                                                                     Happy Days

A Guest Blog by Abbie

 

 

Hello   My name is Abbie   (other wise know as curly) and I am 10 years old. grumpdad always calls me curly and calls me it on his blog, so most of his freinds on boats only know me by this name.

 

these two are called rosie and jim but instead on this boat they are called rosie and gin,  most names on boats have a twist to them to make them funny

 

We had a swan chase us right at the back of inca  it didnt give up, it wouldnt go away,  and then the folowing day i was sat out the front of inca and we passed  some geese so ………..i made a  goose  noise as we passed them and they attacked the  back end of the boat,  they where attacking the button,  they chased us for ages this happened so quickley and suddenley ……………grumpdad jumped, he was so scared he moved into the semmi,we all thought the bird was comming on board.  THE SWANS AND THE GEESE WERE ALL PROTECTING THERE NEW NESTS 

I can now do all the jobs on a lock by myself but when they are very hard my nan helps me

DOG OWNERS BEAWARE.  READ THIS SIGHN AND DO WHAT IT SAYS   IF YOU HAVE A DOG     CLEAN UP AFTER IT      I have seen many different signs all over the canals on my travels with nan and grumpdad, even one that says There is no such thing as a poo fairy.   I think Dog watch is important  .

 

we stayed in the basin at bugsworth for a few days and I loved it there. We met the man that looks after it and he is called Pablo and he is very nice

 

grumpdad wanted me to empty the toilets out  so i said no thats a BLUES job and I am a girl and I am pink.

Me and Nan went to Buxton on the Bus and nan started to feel sick because it was a winding and a high road but I was alright.

 

We loved are time at Buxton and Nan liked all the shops. We had ice cream and a nice lunch before going back on the bus and nan felt poorly again

 

We went through Standedge tunnel and look how funny grumpdad looks .me and Nan sat inside the boat as we went through and i got a certificate for going all the way to the other side of the tunnel . My Mum is coming to pick me up in a couple of days and i have to go back to school but will be back in the summer holidays

 

grumpdad said that I could do this guest blog as long as i ended it with happy days   Goodbye from Abbie and

                                                                                                   Happy Days

Going down hill

 

After a good night moored next to this sign (which more dog walkers should take note of)  . We pulled pins at 07.55 and cruised the 50 yards to the first lock of the day.

Arriving at the first lock which is 42e we soon discovered that the bottom gate paddles have a restrictor fitted to them so they could only be opened half way.

Not only that but to make matters even worse the next lock had to be filled before we could drop down. This was the same for several of the locks as we went down the flight . Needless to say most of the locks on the Eastern side of the tunnel are just as hard to work as the ones on the West side.

After nearly 5 hours of locking down we eventually picked up this mooring on a lock landing which was on lock 31E . We had been told by Canal and River Trust that mooring in any of the short pounds was not recommended and they said there would not be a problem with using a lock landing as there was very little traffic on this canal. Normally this would be a massive no no and would be frowned upon and it’s something we have never done before.  As it was we never saw another boat for the entire time we were moored here.

This boat came through Standedge tunnel after us and carried on down the flight . They picked up this mooring on the lock flight below 31E and after mooring went to the Olive Branch for a bite to eat . 2 hours later they returned to find that their boat had sunk . It seems that the pound somehow emptied and the boat tilted over . The pound then filled and the water came in to the boat through the doors and sinks inside the boat. After seeing this we were so glad that we moored where we did ,but felt so sorry for the crew of the sunken boat.

There’s something seriously wrong at some of these locks .When the lock above is let down it goes over the towpath on the lock below and as you can see it’s slowly but surely washing the towpath away.

This is another first for us . We have never done a Guillotine style lock before and this one just above the town of Slaithwaite and it needed Canal and River Trust operatives to work it , which meant us having to book our passage through a couple of days earlier.

With the water drained in the lock and Inca on her way out you can see how it works. When the lock is full to lower it all that needs to be done is to lift the paddle that’s built in to the gate. Then when empty the whole gate is lifted up to allow us to exit the lock.

Slaithwaite is one of the only places we have been through where the canal runs next to the main street.

That’s Inca moored just below that Chimney in the distance and it will do us for the night to allow daughter Chloe to come and fetch Curly.

After a great 3 weeks it was time to say good bye to number on Granddaugter Curly .As always it’s a very sad time for us and there where one or two tears . Chloe had a five and a half hour drive from their home in Totnes ,Devon to pick Curly up and she was not looking forward to the journey back . Hopefully for the Summer holidays we should be a bit closer to Devon.

Tomorrow and we push on again towards Huddersfield and hopefully it won’t be too long before we are off this hard working canal and onto The Huddersfield Broad which we hope will be better than the narrow.

                                                                                                                       Happy Days