Thu 19th
May Huddersfield to Golcar Brook
The
forecast for Saturday was wet, so we decided to leave Huddersfield today to avoid
boating in the rain. We would spend the
wet day in Slaithwaite.
We visited
the facilities block, and while James was doing the necessary, Hazel went to
Sainsbury’s for the fresh items we needed.
Aspley Basin
Alan’s boat by the Aspley pub
We saw
that Alan was on his boat, so we crossed the bridge to say farewell, and to
give him a Bible.
James took
the chimney down, as we anticipated some low bridges, and we set off on the
Huddersfield Narrow Canal. The lock dimensions here are 70ft x 6ft10in. The
Broad Canal dimensions are 57ft6in x 14ft 2in.
So wide boats could not use the Narrow Canal, and standard narrowboats
could not use the Broad Canal. Aspley Basin was used for transhipment of goods,
and there are some interesting warehouses in the area.
Huddersfield Warehouse
Lock
numbers and bridge numbers are unusual on the Huddersfield Canals. The locks on the Broad Canal are numbered
from 1 to 9 from Cooper Bridge to Huddersfield. Then the numbering starts again
with 1E to 42E from Huddersfield to Marsden. The first lock after the tunnel is
32W, down to Ashton Lock 1W at the Manchester end of the canal. The bridge numbers start at Cooper Bridge (1)
and continue straight through, finishing at Ashton (111).
The first
part of the Huddersfield Narrow goes close to some of the university buildings,
before moving into more industrial zones.
The first pound was very shallow and we were scraping the bottom.
Lock 1E
Leaving Lock 1E
Shallow
There is
then a very narrow section, incorporating an old lock that had to be moved to
keep the canal at a lower level, in order to go under some modern buildings.
Narrow section
The old lock
We passed
a sign instructing us to put on our tunnel light, which we did, but it was
unnecessary as there was plenty of light. There was also a sign at Bates Tunnel
telling us to check if someone is using the next lock, but there was no means
of doing so as there was no towpath in the tunnel that leads to the lock.
Approach to Bates Tunnel
After the
tunnel, the new lock is quite deep. The paddle gear is on the opposite side to
the lock beam, and there is no footway across the top gates, so the poor lock
operator has to walk round all the time.
Coal Wharf Lock 2E
Paddle gear opposite the lock beam
There were
two further signs. One gave a phone number to ring in case of low pounds. We took a photo just in case. Another told us we needed to book a passage
through lock 24E as it was faulty. We
rang up and booked it for Monday at 10am.
The locks
came frequently, and we climbed through a valley surrounded by industrial
buildings and occasional woodland, with steep banks, following the river Colne,
and accompanied by a railway high above us.
Lock 5E under a railway viaduct.
Lock 6E quite deep
Lock 8E with lock beams extending into
a road
When we
reached lock 9E, we could not get in to the side as it was shallow. James got
out from the bows in the lock mouth and discovered that two pounds above were
very low.
Dry pound above 9E
He rang
the phone number and a C&RT employee arrived within 30 minutes. He told us
there was a boat coming down, several locks up, and that he had been running
water down from Slaithwaite for two hours.
After an hour the pounds were deep enough for navigation and the
oncoming boat, Tranquillity, came
down first, bringing some more water with them.
Gabriel then moved into the
lock and we were able to proceed without further incident.
Finally into lock 9E with some help
from C&RT
A wooded section
The valley
widened out after lock 15E, and we stopped for the day in sight of the huge
Titanic Mill, built in 1912, and now used as a leisure spa resort.
A pleasant scene by lock 15E
Moored near Titanic Mill across a
meadow
15 locks,
4 miles
Fri 20th May
Golcar Brook to Slaithwaite
James went
on an early walk to find dippers in the river. He saw some last time in 2007,
but no luck today.
We set off
for Slaithwaite hoping to avoid rain.
16E was our first lock. At 18E we found some lovely bluebells, but
alarming leaks in the lock walls.
16E first lock of the day
Leaking lock walls at 18E
Bluebells and leaks
Bluebells
Approach to 18E
We thought
we had five locks to reach the visitor mooring, but we found it was above lock
21E, not below as Nicholson has it. So we had six locks instead. The new sanitary
station was level with 22E.
Narrow approach to 21E, our last lock of
the day
We explored
the village – there are more shops than we anticipated or remembered, including
a new Aldi. Lots of cafes, a few pubs,
and some takeaways.
The canal
goes through Slaithwaite in a narrow channel alongside the road, which makes an
interesting feature for the village. They all have accents up here, and they
call the place Slawit.
We found Rosalan moored above 23E, but locked up.
We assumed they were lined up for passage by appointment through guillotine
lock 24E at 4pm but we found out later when Andy came to visit us that they had
planned to go at 10am this morning, but the two pounds above 24E were dry. They had been promised a passage through the
following morning (Saturday, when they don’t usually operate). There was also a boat above the dry pounds
waiting for a passage down.
Our
appointment here is for Monday at 10am. There are twenty more locks between
here and Marsden, so we would like to break the journey on Monday evening,
arriving in Marsden on Tuesday, ready for our meal out on our wedding
anniversary. On Wednesday we go through
the tunnel.
6 locks, 1
mile
Sat 21st May Slaithwaite
The heavy
rain that was forecast duly arrived, just as we were thinking of going
shopping. We had an early lunch instead
and wandered up to Aldi when it eased.
Inspired by a cafe offering cream teas, we bought some scones and
clotted cream, and had cream tea with lemon curd instead of jam.
Rosalan
must have gone through the guillotine lock, as we saw two boats come down. One moored near us, and the other went on
down the locks towards Huddersfield.
Heavy rain
on and off throughout the day
No boating
today. No photos either!
Sun 22nd May Slaithwaite
The rain
had stopped and the sun was shining this morning
Visitor mooring in Slaithwaite
We went to
find the Anglican Church for their worship and communion service at 1030. It was very traditional, with well known
hymns played on the organ. The vicar and a lay reader or server, both in robes,
took the service between them. The talk was about the trinity, probably because
it was Trinity Sunday. The vicar left
before the end, presumably to go another church service somewhere. These
multi-church parishes are a challenge.
We had a warm welcome over coffee afterwards. We then went to the Shoulder of Mutton pub
for a Sunday roast.
Inside St James Church in Slaithwaite
After the service
The church and the pub
We took a
few photos of Slaithwaite in the sunshine. It is remarkable how the canal has
been restored through the village, including four locks and a winding hole.
The narrow cut through Slaithwaite
Above Lock 22E
Winding hole Slaithwaite
In the
evening we returned to the Shoulder of Mutton, where we had discovered there
was an open mic event. We sang four
songs which were fine, but most people in the pub were not there for the music.
The leaders of the event sang a lot of Johnny Cash songs.
Open Mic at the Shoulder of Mutton
No boating
today
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