Day 1 – Friday 13th August 2004
Hempholme to Goole
Video Part 1: 3.5Mb
Video Part 2: 1.7Mb
Broadband Video Part 1: 10.4Mb
Broadband Video Part 2: 5.5Mb

After driving up on Thursday, there was still lots of work to do on the boat to get it ready. Dad had been working hard putting up the last partitions inside the boat after we lined it out a couple of weeks ago. We were still sorting things out at 11am when we were due to leave! At about 10 minutes past we were off, and Trevor joined us as we passed his mooring below the bridge. Trevor, with his girlfriend, on Summerville was joining us to cross the Humber, and then he was off up the River Ouse. It had been raining all morning but cleared up at about 10:30am, apart from a shower during the afternoon it was dry if a little cloudy.

It was a pretty average journey down the river, at least with the large amount of water in the river from the recent rain, and spring tides weed was not a problem. When we reached the outskirts of Hull, the mobile started ringing. Trevor was getting water in his engine room, he didn’t have any kind of pump, so we lent him our hand pump. We went slowly down the river, and stopped on a barge near Stoneferry. It was not obvious where the water was coming from, it looked like it was coming from under the weedhatch cover, but it was on tight. Near Scots St bridge, we meet a fully loaded Rix barge going up backwards to the oil terminal near Air Street. His crew showed us to pass on their port (left) side, and asked if we were on our own. By the time Trevor had reached them, there was more room on their starboard, so I got some good video of Trevor appearing around the bow.

We crossed the Humber slowly (1800 revs), but we were now very late on the tide, and it turned somewhere around Reedness. We met two coasters at Trent Falls, one was coming down the Trent, the other from the Ouse, but the wash was not noticeable. We found another bearing down on us at Blacktoft Jetty, so I moved to the other side of the river out of the deep water channel to let it past. This did have a bigger wash, but after a couple of splashes it was all over. Soon after, a moving tower block seen over the bank tops meant something larger was on the move. The Agila was going slowly (for him anyway), but the amount of water it was moving showed it was heavy (though not fully loaded). This was a bigger splash on the bow, but the rolling waves following it were annoying, especially while trying to film Trevor take the waves.

Ocean lock came into view, but it took a long time to get in the gates. Trevor had found that the water was coming from under the lip in the weedhatch – later the welding was found to be a bit lacking.

All the normal mooring were full, so we moored on the towpath side, along with all the barges.

Day 2 Saturday 14th August 2004
Goole to Castleford
Video: 2.1Mb
Broadband Video: 6.8Mb

After getting woken at 6am by a sand barge (pushing a pan), I didn’t get back to sleep well, so got up early and took some pictures of all the barges moored along the canal. Trevor wanted to buy some stuff (pump etc), so we moved the boats back towards the docks to visit the two boatyards there. While we were at Viking Marine, Rix Owl moored up alongside another barge nearby. The sun was beating down, so I left Dad steering while I edited the previous days video.

I worked us, and another two boats through Pollington lock. Believe it not, the owners of a centre engined narrowboat came from near Wansford, but had never heard of Hempholme even though they knew Darren at the boat club.

Mum brought Julie (my sister) in the car and we meet them at Whitely lock, just under the M62. Julie was going to stay with us for the first week to do the Rochdale. It was extended a little to take in the Anderton Lift on Monday.

At Knottingly, Trevor still had not be able to reach the Selby lock keeper on the phone, so gave up going up the Ouse. It always floods badly, so it must still be closed.

When we reached Ferrybridge, one narrowboater on the lock moorings said the lock keeper was not letting people through the lock as the river was in the red. The lock was showing a flashing red light, but after investigation (and the fact that two boats came down the river, and through the lock) we realised there was nothing stopping us from using the lock. We had a meal in the pub there (Mum came down to meet us), and then continued up to Castleford.

I spotted several kids running along the bank, if I had realised then I would have put another lump of coal on, but when we reached the old railway bridge at the next lock they started throwing stones. Must have tired them out though as they were running for a good mile, and we were doing 5mph over the ground.

Video: 1.2Mb

Broadband Video: 3.5Mb

We started sometime around 10am, it was sunny but not to hot. Some problem with one of the locks caused me (who was driving) to go up and found out what was happening. Dad could not get a key out – so after pressing a couple of the buttons, pulled the key out within seconds, and went back to the boat! Just like work, this.

Once we got to the other side of Wakefield, we started to need the handspikes one of which Dad had made for Snakeholme lock on the Driffield Navigation. One of the locks near Thornhill were full of kids playing and swimming. Mud was flying about, and one of the kids managed to get some on Julie. She did say sorry mind.

We reached Brighouse quite late, but found a good spot in the basin, though Trevor had to moor alongside.

Video: 3.3Mb

Broadband Video: 9.9Mb

By the time we had reached the Salterhebble locks the sky was looking dark. The guillotine had just raised, and I followed Summerville into the lock. By the time I had got through the bridge it was a huge downpour, so once through the lock we moored up. After the storm we went to see if Trevor was ready but he said the engine mounts had come loose. He had called the local Vetus supplier in, but we had to leave him as we were on a tight schedule.

We were booked for summit passage on the Tuesday, but we knew by now we could not make it, so Dad re-booked it for Thursday as Wednesday was full.

We went up the rest of the locks on our own. When we reached Sowerby Bridge, some first time hirers were hanging around the lock, but they let us through as they were waiting for their friends.

Once through the first lock it started to really rain again, and with a load of water coming down the cut from the empting of the 20ft deep Tuel Tunnel Lock, we just hid in the boat until it stopped. I managed to push one of the gates open with the boat, and we were ready for Tuel lane. Three whistles meant the lock was ready, so off we went. The lock keeper was really bossy, giving instructions on passing the whole rope around the pipes in the lock side, and to hold on to the rope instead of tie it off. The rain started again, and it just kept getting heavier and heavier. When we reached the top of the lock, it turned out that the lock keeper was expecting the two hire boats, and complained that we should have come up to meet him. The problem was that Dad had talked to the boatyard man at the bottom lock, who said he would ring ahead and let the locky know about us!

Once out of the lock, I stopped under the next bridge, and waited for the rain to stop. I didn’t even moor up, as I’d rather have to hold the boat in the dry, then get wet! It had nearly stopped by the time the hire boats were near the top of the lock, so we continued.

We got to Hebden Bridge quite late that day, it was already dark.

Video: 1.7Mb

Broadband Video: 3.4Mb

After looking around Hebden bridge, and doing a little shopping we started for the lock, which for some reason had been left empty with gates open. Another boat decided to join us, and so we continued up together. They left us at Todmorden, and after Julie and Dad had had their fill of shops we continued.

Locks came and went, it all seemed like a continuous line of them, but not really lumped close enough together to really get going. It was getting dark by the time we reached the second to last lock, and was as good as dark when we tied up at the bottom of the summit lock.

For a change – and a rest – we went to the pub. I think Julie was desperate for alcohol by this time.

Video: 1.7Mb

Broadband Video: 3.5Mb

We got up early in case the lock keeper said we could go through. He said that there were some extra late boats coming the other way, and we could use the lock. After OK’ing it with the head office, we waited for them to arrive. It was dry, and in fact nearly sunny, so I grabbed my stills camera, put on my walking boots (they don’t get much use), and started walking up the nearest hill. I took my GPS PDA which had an OS map on it, so I could see where the footpaths were, and it worked well just in my pocket – taking it out when I needed it.

There was a track to the top, and it started off quite good if still water logged from the previous days wetting. It was not until I was half way up did it deteriorate, and so I decided to walk along side it instead. At the top, the map showed the path splitting. I wanted a good picture of the canal, but first I wanted to look down this curious path cut into the rock. Following it found myself in a small hollow with a cliff, and a pond. It felt very isolated, and looked the perfect place for an ambush, so I got out quick!

After finding a good bit of hill I took loads of pictures as the two boats in front of us made the short passage between the two top locks. I thought I would go back another way, but unfortunately the path was unmarked, and crossed through the middle of random fields, and streams. I finally found my way back to a road after seeing a Royal Mail van. An absolutely beautiful place, if a little wet. I would recommend a walk in these hills.

We took the empty lock after the other boats had passed, and the lock keeper started raising the top paddle. Then someone came wondering up, and after a brief talk to the lockkeeper we were on our way back down the lock again! Another boat had just turned up on the off chance of getting through a day early, so they joined us on the journey.

The family lived in an old lockkeeper’s house on one of the Cotswolds canals, and the husband was quite high up in the restoration society.

We shared all the locks to Littleborough, except the two locks which have been on a diet, and required us to go through individually

Dad, and Julie had just returned from looking around Littleborough when the skies opened, and not just one, but two thunderstorms passed. We thought we would stay there the night since it was safe, and it got a bit rough further down.

Video: 1.4Mb

Broadband Video: 4.4Mb

It was an easy run down until we got to the other side of Rochdale, where, while Dad and Julie were getting a Mc Donald’s, BW called. A landslide further down the canal at Slattocks was stopping through passage, and she wondered if we could turn around and go back. After explaining just where we were going, and that it would be difficult, she mentioned some boats had got through, but after a surveyor had looked at it, it may be closed.

We got a move on, and at the top of Slattocks a bloke on a liveaboard, said they had closed the canal. We thought we would continue down just to force the point across even if we had to come back backwards. The bloke off the liveaboard got on his bike to see if he could get through, but we continued down anyway. After a couple of locks a BW man came walking up and asked us to wait for the other guy. We went down together, and were the last boats through before they closed it – original for four weeks. It’s still closed now (11 Sept) as the landowner is not letting them have access, it being one of the few bits not owned by the Waterways Trust.

We continued down to Chadderton together, and arrived at about 7pm. Julie’s friend Sarah, and her husband came to visit as they live in the area. We had a reasonable takeaway from the curry house just a few yards down the road as the pub was not doing meals.

Video: 1.6Mb

Broadband Video: 5.2Mb

We had to be at lock 65 in time for the days passage, but as Dad seem to think it was another lock we had to be at, we were late. As it happened it didn’t make any difference as just a couple of locks down from Chadderton the lift bridge had become stuck. Our Cotswold friend had his key stuck in the control panel for an hour before he got it free when BW came to fix it. When we arrived it was just dropping after being up stuck open all this time! I think most cars had given up, but people walking said it was over an hour and half walk to go around.

BW raised the bridge manually (i.e. they controlled the hydraulics without the electronics). The barriers came down silently, and then the bridge raised on four rams at each corner.

It rained all that day, and as we worked our way down to Manchester the canal had more and more water in it. At one point the water was draining down paths onto the road, and apparently one poor women’s kitchen gets flooded 12 times a year! It was so deep in one place that even with my walking boots on I could not get down the towpath, so had to go via the road. I was going to run some water down at the next lock, but it was a long pound, and it was fine once I’d got half way down the canal, so I assume the land had subsided.

We reached Piccadilly Basin some time around lunch time, at which point it stopped raining, typical! At least Julie was happy, as she wanted to walk around the shops. I managed to find a WiFi hot spot that was connected to the internet, and downloaded a IfranView plug-in to rotate jpegs losslessly.

We wanted to go to the cinema, so after moving the boat nearer the other boats, that were staying for the night, we went to see the brilliant I Robot, with Will Smith. Dad, and some of the other boaters had been talking to the local bobby, who said he would keep an eye on the area over night, but at about 3am two blokes shouting and arguing about having relationships with the same woman came down the path. One was pushed into our boat by the other, and then the other pushed him into the other boats. I think it was just a show, but I’m not sure why.

Video: 1.4Mb

Broadband Video: 4.7Mb

We noticed a boat coming down the Ashton going down the Rochdale 9, so we joined them. It was a nice run down, now that the rain had stopped. Julie wanted to check her bank accounts, so again some elses Wifi connection was borrowed. We went through at least three different hotspots down the 9, and I even managed to email my friends at work with an update, and a picture.

By the time we finally got near to the Runcorn arm we had decided to take a run down it. Just as we turned at the junction about 15 kids from the neighbourhood were throwing bits of security fencing in the ogging. They then started throwing mud, and stones at the boat. Dad called the police, but after getting cut off two times, managed to get to someone, but they were obviously not interested, even after telling them we had the kids on video!

The fishermen down the arm looked at us like we were the only boat all day, and how dare we interrupt their fishing. One asked “Is there any others?”.

We reached the end, turned, and moored up near the flyover bridge. There were a couple of people on the boat club bank, who mentioned we could moor up on their side over night. We had a look down the old Runcorn locks, and then moved the boat over for the night.

Video: 1.8Mb

Broadband Video: 5.5Mb

An easy virtually lockless run down the Anderton was just what we all needed after the Rochdale. We had to wait a few minutes at Preston Brook tunnel, but it gave me a chance to take some pictures, and find the first Trent and Mersey milepost just above the entrance to the tunnel.

Julie was unimpressed with the height of the stop lock. I don’t think she had noticed until after she had raised the top paddle! When we arrived at Anderton there were no free slots until the next day, since it was nearly teatime it was not a problem. I went to get some “takeaway” chips from the pub while Julie cooked some of the half a ton of steak Dad had bought while shopping earlier in the week.

Video: 1.9Mb

Broadband Video: 6.3Mb

We were booked at 10am, not the normal time, but one of the caisons was out of action, and they were trying to fit in as many movements as possible. Apparently a load cell was out, and were originally expecting it fixed on Tuesday, but now it was going to be Thursday. A dry run to Northwich ensued, and Dad and Julie looked around the town while I did some more editing as I was running out of space on my tapes. Once back, we continued up to Vale Royal locks, and had a distant look at the landslip still there. On the way back Julie wanted to have a look at a bit of old river which was converted to a nature reserve. It shows it going quite a way on the map, but after the first corner it becomes a solid run of weeds. I turned the boat at the end, but I still got showered with Maggots from kids fishing at the end. If it were not for boats it would all be solid, but I could not be bothered to say anything as it started to rain. Again the brolley came out, and I stayed under it while we worked through Northwich Lock. After emptying the toilet at Northwich (still in the rain), Julie wanted to go back to a shop and buy a nodding sheep she had found for her boyfriend. By the time we had reached the bottom of Anderton again it had stopped raining, and was dull and overcast like the morning which meant any fill in filming I did would match. We returned back to the moorings above the lift near the car park.

Mum came to pick Julie up here, so it was just my Dad and me again. After Julie had gone home we contined down the canal to near Lyons Salt Works.