Tormentil narrowboat

New Waters

2009-07-12T15:51:00.000-07:00

A view of Burnley from the 'mile long' (well nearly a mile long) embankement that goes through the town centre

Tuesday was really sunny so Jon was inspired to set off sailing again so went went for new territory from Burnley towards Blackburn.

On the Burnley embankment

I had spotted a likely spot in my handy Nicholsons, short of Blackburn and enough in the countryside not to hear the M65 (the M65 follows the canal for a lot of the time around here). It was also lock free but with 4 of the dreaded swing bridges again on the way.

Gannow tunnel

The day went well, we went through Gannow. This is more or less in the centre of Burnley, it is quite short and has a handle on the side for all the kids to hold on to and lean over for a look through (I did this as a kid).

Gannow-short enough to see the end

Mum told me of when she was younger (about 10 or 11) when she and her brother used to earn pennies by leading the canal horses over the tunnel up the aptly called Boathorse Lane. She also once went on the boat with the men and watched them ‘leg it’ through the tunnel. This was a tale I hadn’t heard from mum before and it was lovely to hear of the canal history from someone who experienced it first hand.

Jon managed the swing bridges OK but they were odd in that you needed a lock windlass to open them. We moored near a bridge and a turning hole (but not blocking it) in the small town of Church, and whilst Mum and I rested Jon went to look for a ‘good’ pub as advertised in Nicholsons (good food in a large family pub). He returned later to say it didn’t do food in the evening anymore so we ate up some leftovers and then went for a walk round the town and then for a drink in the said pub.
What followed was a very surreal experience. Jon bought three drinks (a pint and half and a wine). He sat looking puzzled and said that he had given the barmaid £10 and she had given him 50p in change. After thinking about it he realised something was not right. Beer prices up north are notoriously cheap and anyway they were advertising pints for £1.75. He went back to the lady and queried the price. ‘A pint and a half and a wine would be £5.15 right’
Lady- ‘right’
Jon ‘I gave you £10 and you gave me 50p change’
Lady- right
Jon- no surely not.
After repeating the above conversation the lady added, ‘but there were the other drinks’
Jon ‘what other drinks we’ve only had the three.
Lady- ‘ the other drinks, yes. The tall lady with the blonde hair, she had the other drinks’
Since there were only us three and two customers at the bar this was a bit of a shock. ?was she seeing ghosts.
After a lot of argument and some support form the other customers Jon eventually got a bit more change. We carried on supping feeling a bit mystified when suddenly at 10pm the landlady switched the lights off in the room we were in. The bar lights were still OK for the (still only 2) customers at the bar, so we took the hint and went home to the boat. It was a bit of a laugh but we learnt not to trust Nicholsons when it comes to pub recommendations. They unfortunately change too quickly nowadays.
Wewoke up next morning to a howling gale and heavt rain. Jon had come up with a plan for us to pull the boat backwards for about 50 feet, puch out the front and let the wind turn us around in the winding hole (let it live up to it’s name). We tried this and it actually worked great, the wind did it’s job and at the right time I put Tormentil in gear and off we went back home. Since it was so windy and wet I let Jon do the driving but I had forgotten the swing bridges. Luckily I managed them OK but did get fairly wet walking in between them. Poor Jon spent the whole day out the back driving. We had some very good waterproof geat but he still got wet arms (sleeves not tight enough) and feet (shoes not good enough).

Jon looking wet

But we got home OK and a nice warm shower set him fine. It was a shame about the weather since the week so far had been so warm.

Short break to Foulridge

2009-07-06T09:33:00.000-07:00

lovely field full of buttercups

We finally managed to get a week on Tormentil and had two short trips. We were joined by Paul (PJ) who we wanted to learn the ropes before borrowing Tormentil for a holiday with some other of our friends. Although we are happy for friends to share our enjoyment of Tormentil I think it will be a bit like letting your child go off to school for the first time. I will worry all week about how she will be though I am confident that PJ and friends will be fine with her.
We decided to make for East Marton and the lovely (we thought) anchor pub that we have visited by car and bike but always wanted to go by boat. The trip took us back through the Foulridge ‘mile long’ tunnel, which was just as exciting as the first time (see blog of ). We then had to go up the Barrowford seven locks. We went through with another boat luckily. Jon and PJ did the hard work for PJ to learn how locks work and I had to drive. I must say even though it’s been a few months I was perfect and Tormentil and the other boat went into the locks perfectly together without any scraping or banging each other or the lock sides, and no getting grounded in the pounds between.
We eventually got to close to East Marton and I suggested we moor up where we could since reading Bendigedig recently Else had said there were problems with lack of moorings.

Fantastic view from the moorings.

It had been a lovely day so we were very hot, tired and thirsty so decided to walk up to the Anchor for a drink. It was a longer walk than I had thought but as Else had said there were no moorings any nearer except where the banks were very high and full of nettles and small bushes, so we stayed put. We had a couple of lovely refreshing drinks and checked that we were OK for dinner without booking (it was a Saturday). The trip back to the boat to change for dinner (we were pretty hot and scruffy) seemed shorter and then we returned to the Anchor. We had been here before when it was full of locals and had some great home made food (their pie and peas was wonderful), however unbeknown to us it had changed hands. The food luckily was fine but the service left a lot to be desired. Mum and I had Mussels as starter which was supposed to come with bread but didn’t. When the waitress (the manageress if fact) came to clear the plates I just mentioned that a bit of bread would have been nice, her reply was a bit gruff and seemed to be ‘Oh well I don’t know how you can eat these things I can’t stand them’. A bit of a surprise I must admit. The main course took ages but was again OK. As she came to clear up again we said that the food was fine and we were too full for puddings. Her reply ‘well you’d be lucky to get any now anyway and the chef is very busy’. Not the best way to sell your business I would say. They weren’t that busy but to be fair (though I don’t know why) she was short staffed and was having to run the bar as well but still no excuse.
The ambiance has also changed and things like her ?husband was there but I never saw him help with anything-just chatting to the customers and also one (male) customer had a small child(still in nappies) with him and he was sat at the bar with her and at one point had her sitting on the bar. I think he was a relative of the owners since they never said anything to him. At nine he made to go outside muttering something about the 9 o clock watershead. I may be old fashioned but I don’t think babies should be sitting on bar stools in pubs until 9 at night. I don’t think we shall return for a while.
However, our moorings were great, quite a community of boats moored on the opposite shore and a few had joined us on the towpath side. We all managed to get safely aboard (several drinks too many). Next morning PJ discovered that we were moore on top of a small aqueduct with a small river running under the canal. On investigation we found the bottom of the aqueduct and it was a small engineering delight. In the past they seemed to take pleasure in building something lovely where only a simple structure was really needed. A good photographic opportunity.

A tiny river under the canal with a beautiful curved bridge above it.

A view from the other side.

We spent the Sunday returning to Reedley with PJ doing all the driving this time to get more experience. He managed well with only a few bumps and scrapes (same as most beginners I would say) and did manage a perfectly controlled docking when we got back home- the best I’ve seen so far (sorry Jon) although PJ did say he was only following Jon’s instructions.

PJ doing the driving with Jon supervising

It was such a lovely evening that we had a great al fresco meal with lots of celebratory wine.
We had a relaxed Monday and saw PJ off and took Mum home.

Marrakech Express

2009-06-05T09:29:00.000-07:00

I haven’t blogged for a while as I have been busy and have been away to exotic Marrakech for a week. This is nothing to do with boats but it was fun and different (although I was there for a couple of days last year too). I like Marrakech it is a busy city with not too many hassles (you just have to learn to say no to the street vendors and people who try to clean your shoes, sell you bangles etc) but Morocco overall has improved for tourists in the last few years and now seems a good safe place to go. I went for work (not bad being paid to go somewhere nice) but the downside was I had to spend most of the time at the University listening to lectures still they were mostly on a subject that I am interested in (Vertebrate Palaeontology-fossils to most). I had to give a talk too which is what had been keeping me busy for the last couple of weeks.

All very serious.

Typical Marrakech biuldings

The weather was hot and got hotter during the week up to 32C. This was good aclimatisation for my return last weekend when we had such great weather in England. I had half a day to sightsee and managed to get to the Jardin Majorelle which was a lovely quiet rest from the heat. These gardens mix architecture, colour and plants and I got some good pictures.

The nearest thing to boating- some turtles laze by the side of the water

The last night of the conference we had a special dinner laid on. We went to Chez Ali which is like a walled fortress outside Marrakech. Inside, a large compound is surrounded with about 30 rooms set out like tents in which you dine. There were about 80 of us so we filled one room (that gives an idea of how many people they can get in). The whole thing is really cheesy and a touch of tourist tat but great fun (especially after a drink or two which is available luckily).

Various small groups of singers and dancers come through the tents to entertain you whilst you are eating the mainly ‘moroccan’ food. This was soup, followed by half a roested lamb that you all picked from (very tasty though) then a chicken tagine (sort of stew) with lots of couscous and vegetables. I thought the food was tasty but not much of it and desert was a large bowl of mixted friut (very healthy though). After dinner there was entertainment in the central corral with Berber horse riders shooting guns (with blanks I presume), trick riders and the dancers, singers and a camel of course wandering round the ‘ring’ and it finished with a short firework display.

Berbers riding and shooting

All great fun and and nothing like I have seen anywhere else.

The next day we did what all geologists enjoy and went out 'into the field'. We visited the local phosphate mines and looked at some interesting cliffs and collected some nice fossils. It was very hot though and reaching over 100F so we were happy to get back into the air conditioned coach.

These really are interesting rocks honestly.

Still the phrase mad dogs and Englishmen (though in this case it is mad dogs and geologists since there were also french, german, danish americans and brazilians involved) comes to mind.

The last day we managed a bit of retail therapy. Last year I went one evening to the main souks in town. These are a must-do, at least once, but you really do get hassled every step by each stall holder to buy something. It’s all part of the system and mostly done with a smile and you can haggle but it can get a bit wearisom if you are not wanting to buy (since you can’t buy everything).
This year I went instead to the Gallerie des Artisans which is like a small shopping arcade with little shops. They sell most of the tourist things like lamps, carpets, shoes, carved animals etc and also original artwork. It is very pleasant and no-one hassles you. You can move at your own speed but there is no haggling and prices are slightly higher but so is the quality. I did succumb and bought some silly moroccan slippers (bright red leather with sequins on!).
After that it was time to come home where I was pleased to find it was nice and warm.

Next week though we are back up north for a week on the boat. I can’t wait to get there and we hope to have a nice two day trip out in Tormentil. So it will be back to boat inspired blogging.

The Great Adventure day 8, Thursday 16th April, Journey's End

2009-05-19T11:40:00.000-07:00

Set off about 9 from the double arch bridge (number 161) and had a nice drift to Greenberfield locks. We are still going upwards in the locks. The wind was even stronger today and I had a lot of trouble keeping to the middle between the locks. When the locks are close enough I have learnt to stay within the exit gate area out of the wind until Jon gets the next gate open, then a quick powerful dash into the next lock. It works great until there is someone coming out of the next lock or waiting to go in the one I’m exiting. We drifted on and passed the Anchor pub at Salterforth. I really recommend this one. We have been here several times by car and it has a great local atmosphere especially on a Sunday lunchtime and the food is good. There is a lovely log fire burning in winter too. Unfortunately it was mid morning so we didn’t stop but I am really looking forward to coming back this way soon. I made a note of the time so I can see how long it will take us from Reedley and whether we can do it on a short weekend.
We got to the Foulridge Tunnel and pulled to the side to wait for the lights, someone had just come through and said there was a lot of debris at the other end, so he was clearing his propeller. Just as we had tied up the lights turned green so we leapt on again and set off through the tunnel.

green light for the tunnel

Honestly the tiny, tiny white speck is the other end

This is a long straight tunnel 1640 yards long and you can just see the pinprick of light at the far end as you go in. Before they put in the traffic lights you had to wait for a while peering intently down the tunnel to see if there was anyone coming through since it is only wide enough for one boat. The traffic lights make it slightly less adventurous. Still it is very atmospheric and the rivulets of water run across your face like icy fingers from out of the dark. Last time (25 years ago) we turned all the lights off for a few seconds and it was really creepy. This time we all stayed up top at the back and enjoyed the experience.

Stalactites on the side wall.

The air shafts are quite wide and I recommend that you do not look up as there is quite a lot of water pouring down them, I learnt to put my hood up when passing below them. They are covered in grills and there is a footpath over the hill to them. I wonder how many people make the effort to go and look at them. We have cycled this towpath several times in the last few years but never realised that you could get to the airshafts. Next time we will go and have a look and see if we can see any boats passing below. It takes a good 30 to 40 minutes to get through the tunnel and you emerge blinking into the light.

This is the highest part of the canal around here and the next locks at Barrowford are now downwards (coming from Skipton direction of course). There are seven locks close to each other at Barrowford so it was back to the sytstem of hovering within the gate area. At one of them I had to try to hold in the pound. A strong wind was blowing me to the non towpath side and there was also a strong current flowing down the overflow by the side of the lock and taking me towards it. Mum and I panicked a bit but I decided it was best to go into the trees and hold on rather than onto the overflow. Eventually I got off the shallows and made a dash into the lock with no harm done. This canal boating is not as much fun as it should be when there are strong winds, but we were into the home run and wanted to press on.
The last run from Barrowford to Burnley is lockless and with no swing bridges so a delight usually. We were doing great and only a few bridges from home when we got a rather loud scrape and bang as we were going under a bridge. We had run over something probably a supermarket trolley no doubt. A few seconds later Jon realised he had no steerage, Luckily I had spent some time looking at the notes on running the boat that Nigel used to give to the hirers (and had left us a copy) The page headed ‘help I have no steering’ explained with nice hand drawn pictures that the rudder had jumped out of its ‘cup’ and that we could put it back by lifting the tiller and wiggling it. Meanwhile we had drifted into the shallows. We were so close to home it was really annoying. Much lifting and wiggling later and still it wasn’t fixed. Even with two of us it was too heavy to lift and manouvre properly.
A sudden flash of inspiration came to me and I rushed off to get the ‘hand spike’- that lovely short, strong piece of wood used to open the paddles on the Calder and Hebble locks. I had since been using it to fend us off almost everything from lock sides to bridges. We put it under the tiller cuff and lifted and behold the tiller dropped straight back into its rightful place. Phew!!. We punted off the shallows and set off in relief for Reedley Marina just around a couple of corners.

first view of Reedley Marina from the canal.

Under the eye of everyone Jon tried his best to manouvre in gracefully and back us into the berth. However the strong wind straight across the marina put paid to that and in the end we pushed and shoved very inelegantly and got in front first. At least we didn’t hit anyone. I decided that I prefer front-in since that means that from the lounge we are looking at the canal and countryside and not the boats at the other side of the marina.

Tormentil berthed with Jon and Irene (ali's Mum) looking pleased.

We were all exhausted and because it was grey and drizzly we decide to save the champagne until Saturday when we hope to celebrate our arrival with some family and friends.
My lovely cousin Kathy again came and drove Jon all the way back to Sowerby Bridge (only 40 minutes by road) to get the car and we had a late dinner on board.

12.5 miles and 10 locks today
According to canal planner the whole journey was 96 miles and 84 locks.

The Great Adventure day 7, Wednesday April 15th, To Skipton and beyond

2009-05-18T09:05:00.000-07:00

Up early and off by 8.30. We still have the swing bridges and today the wind has started up. I didn’t realise how difficult it would be trying to manoeuvre 57 feet of steel in the wind, holding it midstream whilst Jon tackled the bridges was very hard, and at one point I couldn’t even get the boat away from the side as she just kept being blown back in. Poor Jon had to shut the bridge and come and help. He then worked the boat as I worked the bridge, luckily that one was OK so I could manage it. We passed Snaygill Boats on the way to Skipton, they were probably responsible for all this as we hired a boat from them all those years ago and still remember enjoying the trip (apart from the swing bridges which I remember me doing last time and they were still just as much a pain).
Skipton was quite busy with lots of boats moored up or moving around. I spotted my first blogger as I saw Mr David moored up, I thought that was great.

First mention of Burnley, should be home soon.

From Skipton the canal goes through some of the loveliest countryside possible to the top of the pennines and through Gargrave. Up here the wind was quite fierce so it took a lot of concentrating. Here we did the last swing bridge too, GREAT!!.

The pictures don't do justice to the scenery as it was quite grey and drizzly but still magnificent.

We passed through the six Gargrave locks on our own which was hard work for Jon. We tried to help a grounded hire boat but couldn’t get them off the side and as we left they had managed to get stuck across the canal, blocking it completely. They hoped that as people came through the next locks the water level would rise and help them out but the next locks were quite a long way away. We carried on and stopped just before the Bank Newton locks for lunch as we were quite tired by now and lunch on the move didn’t appeal. As we set off to do the Bank Newton set of six locks we luckily teamed up with another boat driven by Sharon and Alan. It was great fun going through the locks together side by side. I thought later we should have tied up together as this would have been easier and prevented some of the scraping as one or other of us tried to get alongside in the locks. They told us that the stuck boat had taken about an hour to clear and some BW chaps had brought other boats along to pull them off the banks and get them going again, it held everyone up for a while. We made it through the Bank Newton six locks in about 2 hours so that was good going.
We stopped at East Marton as we knew the Cross Keys pub was good. We have only ever been here by car and it was great to be able to arrive by canal, something we had dreamed of doing. We topped up with water and settled down for the evening. There is a lovely double bridge over the canal right by the pub.

Masons' marks on the bridge

East Marton private moorings with the Cross Keys on the hill behind

There is a steep path up to the road by the bridge but the best way up to the pub is back along the towpath to the previousl bridge (about 300 yards) and up a lane by a stables. Halfway up there is a great view of the moored boats (unfortunately we didn't take the camera this time.)

A few well deserved pints in the Cross Keys (they also do good food but we already had some in the oven) and then home for lamb chops and stuffing-lovely.

11.5 miles, 12 locks and 7 swing bridges.

The Great Adventure day 6, Tuesday 14th April. The famous Bingley five rise.

2009-05-12T12:24:00.000-07:00

The famous five rise. (me mum and Fran are walking up on the left to see what is going on)

Despite my worries we had a quiet night with no disturbances. We managed to get off at 9 and met up with Fran and Mike who amazingly are also berthed at Reedley Marina in Burnley (where we were heading), unfortunately I can’t remember the name of their boat, but it has a lovely picture of a wildcat on the side. It was great to be with them as we had to tackle the Bingley three and five rise staircase locks today. I was looking forward to this as the last time we were on a narrowboat we went as far as Bingley but didn’t do the locks.

parked up waiting to go through.

large boats look small coming out of the locks

both boats in the first lock

The lockkeeper looking very relaxed.

We worked well at the three and five rise, Fran and I worked one side whilst the lockkeeper did the other. We needed both of us as some of the lower paddles were extremely difficult to turn, I am sure I wouldn’t have managed them on my own. It took us about 2 hours for 10 locks which was pretty good going. Mum stayed on board through the locks (she had said she didn’t fancy being on board as it would be scary) and she thoroughly enjoyed it sat at the back chatting with Jon and Mike. On we went with endless swing bridges. Fran did most of them as she was walking but several were very hard and Jon had trouble with several that he did. We stopped at Silsden as we had arranged to meet up with some friends, Joan and Ken and Fran and Mike carried on. Joan and Ken had wanted to see the Bingley locks but we got there too early for them. We stopped for tea and cakes on board (thankyou Joan) and they came on with us for about a mile for the fun of it and then walked back to their car.

Wildlife, a gaggle of geese and a black swan.

The Leeds and Liverpool looking picturesque

We eventually stopped at 6.45 at Bradley near the swing bridge (of course). We had a super meal in the Slater’s Arms (up a bit of a hill but well worth it-sorry can’t find a web link) and Bradley is a nice village.
Home by 9.30 and an early night.
11 locks 12.5 miles and 21 swing bridges!!!

The Great Adventure day 5, Monday 13th April. New crew.

2009-05-11T11:05:00.000-07:00

Leaving Leeds

Back to business today. We managed to be up and going by 8.30. We had triple and double locks to contend with and got to Newlay for a change of crew by 12.45. We had several phone calls to my cousin Kathy who was bringing our new crew member (my mum). Neil and Karen have to leave us to go back to work. Eventually we worked out that we should all get to Newlay at about the same time so that was fixed as the rendezvous (a pub near the bridge). Unfortunately we couldn’t moor by the bridge as the moorings were covered by loads of kids in canoes (a bit of horn blowing went on here as we were much less manouverable than them). We caried on to try to moor but the whole place was full of boats. Eventually we stopped by the towpath, but since it was very busy with walkers and all sorts of people we decided to leave Jon on board. Poor Karen and Neil had to carry their baggage back the half mile and down to the pub. My cousin (well her boyfriend it turned out) had kindly offered to take Neil and Karen back to Sowerby Bridge to pick up their car. We had a sad but swift goodbye and then mum and I walked back to the boat pulling her suitcase behind us. Back on the go we have decided to get to Saltaire tonight as it looks nice and Nicholsons recommends a good pub.

Jon at the back looking a long way away.

We missed Neil's strength at the Kirkstall two triple staircase locks but there was a lockkeeper to help.

Our first staircase lock.

We then hit the infamous Leeds and Liverpool swing bridges. These are quite a pain, I had to drop Jon off to go and open them (as I didn’t think I would have the strength- I remember them being difficult 25 years ago), and then try to hold the boat centre stream until it was open, then hold again and pick Jon up afterwards. It does help to improve your manouverability skills. Mum was very helpful holding onto ropes whilst picking Jon up or letting him off. The canal was a bit shallow at the sides and we scraped the bottom a few times. There were lots of gongoozlers (?is that right) at the swing bridges. We got to Saltaire eventually, and pulled up to the very long moorings by a newly renovated factory (now lots of expensive apartments I guess). The British Waterways sign said we could only moor for 6 hours and the proper mooring was at Shipley. A bit late, I thought as we had passed that already. I don’t know if the new locals have put pressure on here to get the mooring stopped. It seems strange to have a lovely, new very long mooring and only be allowed to stay for 6 hours.

The new apartments at Saltaire, the long mooring is the towpath on the right, we had to carry on under the bridge.

The facilities mentioned in Nicholsons (water, bins toilet etc) did not seem to be there any longer. We moved on a few hundred yard beyong the next bridge and stopped at a single mooring there. I couldn’t interpret the sign to see if we were allowed to stop but it was well after 6 and I hoped that the BW boys would have all gone home by now. It was by a very busy part of the towpath, leading off the bridge so I was a bit worried what the night would bring. Nichlosons recommended the Boathouse pub and it was very close so Jon went for a ‘reccie’. He came back with the news that it was no longer there just a heap of burnt down building. Oh well. After another reccie into town Jon came back to say he had booked us in to ‘Don’t Tell Titus’. In the end this was a great restaurant with a fab menu and good service. It’s named after Titus Salt after whom Saltaire is named. It turned out that the owners have bought the Boathouse and are looking to do it up and open up again. Maybe we will try that one next year. Mum said she had enjoyed her first day aboard.
14 miles and 18 locks today.

The Great Adventure 4, Sunday 12th April. MY BIRTHDAY!

2009-05-07T11:19:00.000-07:00

CHAMPAGNE!!

Up early. I got a chocolate chick from Jon and two Easter eggs and two bottles of white wine (English, Denbies Surrey Gold-one of which I am now tryingwhilst blogging- very nice light and crisp) from Niel and Karen. Great! I love presents. (I already had my ‘proper’ present from Jon before we set off on the boat journey). Had scrambled egges and smoked salmon for breakfast but no champagne, we will have that later. This meant we set off lateish about 10.30, but all the locks on the Aire and Calder are electric so I forsaw a good day. The river was beautiful again, wide and slow and lots of swans. A lot more boats about today I guess because of the Easter weekend, mostly coming in the opposite direction to us which made locking a bit slow as we had to wait for them to come through. All very sociable though and I learnt a lot about locking.

We passed under the M1, I tried to get a picture of a lorry going over but always missed it. I got this unusual view of the underside of the M1 from the canal instead.

It certainly gives you a sense of superiority to think of all those poor people in their cars while we are enjoying the gentle cruise of the canal.

We saw a lovely boat fair at the Thwaite Mills Industrial Museum,(just south of Leeds) they had a great looking beer tent and lots of boats moored up and everyone seemed to be having a great time. Unfortunately we couldn’t moor up and join them, we had to get on.

We carried on and got to Leeds and moored up just before Clarence dock since we needed to fill up with water since I wasn’t sure how much we had left (the shower had been well worked the last few days). This was a small two or three boat mooring with a water tap and some toilet/shower facilities so we hooked up and started filling. The tap had been leaking and as I went to attach the hose I went flying and landed on my bum. Very wet and dirty that was, I was not a happy bunny. Jon and Neil went off to find provisions and Jon wanted some engine oil as he was worried about the levels.
A nice man and his family in arrived in a very small boat (four adults and one very small baby) I was intreagued at where they all managed to fit. The girls and baby went off to shower etc and I talked to the man. We had planned to move on from Leeds and try to find somewhere nice with a good restaurant for me to have a good birthday meal tonight. However the man said that the part between Leeds and Saltaire is not too good and the BW people ‘count you out of Leeds and count you into the locks’ about four hours away. They also leave these locks by about 5 so I calculated that we would have to move pretty sharp and not stop in Leeds to get through. Frantic phonecalls of the type ‘where ae you now’ to the lads and Neil tried to get Karen and I to use his sat nav to tell them where the nearest garage was. Typically all it told us was where the nearest museum was (and we knew that anyway), ‘Just ask’ was our reply but off course being men they couldn’t do that (loss of face or something I guess). They reappeared and after much complex discussion and mind changing I decided (it was my birthday after all) that we could afford to ignore the schedule and have the afternoon off. It turned out to be one of my better decisions.
By now we could hear the sound of interesting entertainment going on just behind the wall off the canal. We went to investigate and found the Royal Armouries Museum were demonstrating jousting. It was great fun although we could only see by looking through a gate as we couldn’t get in to the arena. I got some alright piccies though.

Men on horses, not in full armour sadly.

I later learnt that we could have had a good view from the Armouries Museum.

The jousting arena

We spent two great hours in the museum which I would recommend to anyone to visit.

The greeting staute (this turned out to be a real person who moved if you gave a donation to the museum.

the lighthouse-like stairwell at the Armouries Museum

Looking up the stairwell, the walls are covered with types of javelins, swords armour etc. Clever picture curtesy of Neil.

War elephant in full armour

Next to the museum is the Clarence Dock, and it is very nice, all newly done up with lots of moorings. Our British Waterways key fitted the gate to the moorings so we decided to move in and stay there the night. They had water and electricity on tap (well on a card which we didn’t have- but then we still don’t have a connector thingy to get the electricity either yet, still only batteries).

Tormentil safely in CLarence Dock.

Another view of Clarence Docks.

After the Armouries Museum we retired to the boat and finally got the champagne open (the real stuff too Lanson Black Label, my favourite, only happens every few years though more’s the shame). Luckily the champagne glasses seemed to have survived the great glass breakage of yesterday.
After a wander round in the evening we decided on Mumtaz for dinner. Unfortunately it was the only one that had any customers, the Clarence Dock was obviously a great idea when it opened but looks like the shops and restaurants are suffering from lack of custom despite the hundreds of lovely new appartments surrounding it. However Mumtaz was fantastic. It looks like some great marble temple, everything is swish and the service is great.

Mumtaz inside

Having fun, Jon and me on the left, Neil and Karen on the right.

The food is not bad either, curry with lots of variety. I see that Brenda from Mr David tried it too when they were in Leeds recently. It is well worth it and alcohol free so you don’t get the young, drunk element going in for the usual post binge curry. It was all very civilised and full of Indian families enjoying themselves. The tropical cocktail we had by the jugful was wonderful (mango, strawberries, orange and lots of ther stuff) although I should say I was rather glad we had already had some champagne so we were rather cheerful anyway.
Added to all this we had only to stagger 50 yds (we had eaten lots rather than drunk) to our beds and I was very happy with my birthday treat.

Fancy night picture of the locks, from Neil.

Only 6 miles and 5 locks today, but who cares.

The Great Adventure day 3, Saturday 11th April. Aground again!

2009-05-04T10:22:00.000-07:00

Up and off by 9. The locks were OK but we got grounded again in the middle of the Figure of Three locks (although strangely there are only two locks) near Horbury Bridge. Knowing what to do we again had to open the lock we had just come through and managed to get enough water to refloat, very worrying as we had been at quite a tilt. On down through the second lock and as we settled back on board Karen said that she had heard a lot of crashing noises as we were grounded. Down into the galley and greeted by the sight of a floor full of broken glass. Most of the glasses were broken but luckily there were six left, the biggest diaster was the caffetiere (I hate instant coffee). I had stored the glasses on the second shelf up (the few left were quickly transferred to the lowest shelf I could find).
We nearly had our first casualty as Neil almost didn’t make it back onboard after pushing off one time. A mighty haul from me and he managed to get aboard with only his knee and his dignity hurt. He later nearly had a heart attack when he was pushing open a lock gate when a large duck came flying out from inside the gate beam. The beams here are hollow steel with sections open on the top surface and Neil had disturbed a duck that had found a very cosy sleeeping place inside the beam.

Neil and friend

We got onto the Aire and Calder Navigation which is a delight, lovely wide river with electric! locks. No pushing and shoving just turn a key and push a button. Needless to say I volunteereed to do the locks now.

The Aire and Calder.

The part between Castleford and Lemonroyd lock was full of swans, most of which came straight at us in an attempt to attack and protect their territory. Luckily they know to get out of the way at the last minute, but lots of pecking at the fenders ensued. They weren’t after food because my bits of bread were completely ignored. Good photo opportunities though.

Coming in for a fight.

Two swans in a row, not the same as three ducks in a row though.

Everytime I went down into the galley to make tea or bacon butties I missed a kingfisher (or so the others told me) I also apparently missed the ‘moonies’, some local lads trying to say something it seems.

The last lock was the Lemonroyd. This is a fantastic piece of engineering and is about 300 foot long 30-40 deep and at least 20 foot wide. Tormentil is 56 foot long but looked like a matchstick in this lock. Luckily it is electronic but does take some time to fill.

Lemonroyd, deep and long

Tormentil looking tiny

I had lots of time to talk to the locals and even the local constabulary were interested.

Me helping the police with their enquiries.

We stopped at Swillington and found a good local pub, but ate onboard again.
14 locks and 19 miles today.

The Great Adventure day 2, Friday 10th April. 21 locks! Must be a record.

2009-05-04T09:53:00.000-07:00

Today was much better, although it was overcast and raining on and off. We managed to set off by 9.30 and with four of us the locks were much easier, I was doing most of the driving whilst Jon and Neil did the hard work turning handles. What I can’t understand is why the ‘pick up’ moorings are so soon after the locks. I found it very difficult coming straight out of a lock and having to’ heave to’ to pick up the lads. Especially in many cases where the local fishermen seem to think that the mooring spots are there for their convenience. I am sure my driving skills will improve but by day 2 they are still very rusty. Through Brighouse the canal was quite dirty but otherwise very nice (Wakefield, below, will be ignored).

Karen enjoying the view and Tormentil still looking shiny

We saw 2 kingfishers, some Gooseanders and a mink which ran onto a parked work boat and disappeared inside. More boats today and at one point we had three in one lock (one was a very small ‘tupperware’ model that Jon was nervous about as it was the first we have had close contact with (but luckily not that close). More boats means more help at locks which is great. We found a good Lidles at Mirfield near the Ledgard flood lock and restocked the supplies of bacon (bacon butties on the move are the best). Reading Nicholson’s I had worried about going the wrong way and ending up on a wier ( the book if full of dire warnings) but in the end it was no trouble as there were large orange barrels strung across the rivers as a warning. We saw our first supermarket trolley in the canal today. Stopped for the night just past Thornhill double locks at a very quiet place,

and had bolognese for dinner with a bottle of red-yummy. This boating lark is not so bad after all.
21 locks, 11miles.

The great Adventure day 1 (Thursday April 9th) Going aground and getting drowned.

2009-05-01T09:48:00.000-07:00

It’s been a while since I blogged. We couldn’t do it whilst travelling (too busy trying to survive and no conections) so I wrote a diary and here it is.
We started off very well and the early start (5.45 am!) meant we missed the predicted great Easter getaway traffic and we made excellent time to Sowerby Bridge. We filled up with all the essentials and even managed a trip to the local Tesco before setting off finally. I think Sue and Nigel of Shire Cruisers were a little emotional at saying goodbye to one of their boats (Nigel hand built it from a hull) but we were happy and full of excitement (Jon) and trepidation (me).

Finally leaving Sowerby Basin, photo curtesy of Nigel.

We had visited the first set of locks (a triple at Salterhebble) on our last visit and managed to get through the first like pro’s. I moored up at the proper place in the small pound between the first and second locks to help Jon with the lock. The middle lock at Salterhebble is a disgrace and a sad reflection on the BW repair regime. The lower gate leaks furiously and it took ages to fill the lock since almost more water is poring out than going in. I had meanwhile gone to tell the lockkeeper on the third lock (a guillotine lock -also broken and thus requiring a lockkeeper) that we were on our way so that he wouldn’t disappear after his allotted time. I returned to the boat and was only mildly surprised that I had now to jump down into the boat by about three feet (I was new to this remember). Jon had managed to fill the lock enough to open the gates, but I now realised that we were grounded somewhat and I was horrified to see we were also listing dramatically and water was seeping into the front deck through what were supposed to be drain holes. I shouted at Jon (well shrieked really) to shut the gates and paddles to stop any more water disappearing as of course the leaky lock had caused the small pound to almost empty. I did realise that we would have to put more water in from the top lock but couldn’t see how Jon and I could do this quickly (I was still working in town time and thought everything should be done quickly) also I thought the boat might somehow turn right over too. I shouted (shrieked) at Jon to go get help from the lockkeeper. The lockkeeper amiably strolled up and reassured us that he could get us some water from the top as there was ‘plenty up there’.
After opening both ends of the top lock we managed to refloat the boat. We started again trying to get through the second lock and finally managed it. However the top gate of this lock was also leaking horribly and Jon and the boat got a real soaking at the back before we could manage to get out through the lower gates. We then went through the guillotine lock (the only one we saw all the trip). All this had taken about three hours (for our first one and a half miles and three locks- we would never finish the journey at this rate).
The lockkeeper had recommended the Barge and Barrel at Elland (good home made food he said) 2 miles and two locks away, so we headed for this and decided to stay put for the night and meet our extra crew (Neil and Karen) there. When we arrived there Jon checked the bilges etc and realised we had taken huge amounts of water onboard and into the engine section which wasn’t draining into the bilges. Cue a two hour bailout with a cup which was about the only thing I could manage to fit into the small space left once I was in the engine compartment (it had to be me as I am slightly smaller and more flexible than Jon). I cupped the water into the bilges and then Jon pumped them out (I now know that this isn’t recommended since the engine compartment tends to be polluted with grease and diesel but it looked fairly pollution free). Tired and aching we waited for our friends (in the pub of course which unfortunately wasn’t doing food that night). Neil and Karen had had lots of trouble on the roads and arrived at 8.30, but luckily we found a good Chinese in the town. Our first day had seemed to be a mild disaster but as soon as we had settled into our moorings we found how instantly relaxing being on the boat is. From now on things could only get better!

Nearly There

2009-04-05T11:22:00.000-07:00

Well the time is nearly here, only another three days before we can finally set of for our first real trip on Tormentil. We got delayed by the Cooper Bridge closure but now this Thursday is the day. We plan to set off at the crack of sparrow f**t (5.30 am, still dark I expect) from Surrey. Jon will drive and I will fall back asleep (if I even wake up that is- I am capable of getting up, get ready and pack the car without even waking up). We hope to arrive at Sowerby Bridge by 10 or 11 and after filling up with everything necessary we will set off.
We have a week to get from Sowerby to Burnley, Lancashire (on the Leeds and Liverpool) via the Calder and Hebble, and the Aire and Calder, and have been assured it is possible. As I have said before this canal pace of life is a little difficult to get my head around. Sowerby to Burnley is 40 minutes by car! but 6 days by canal. A little problem of the Pennines in between. Some friends have even had the audacity to suggest we put Tormentil on a lorry and drive her round. No, the only way is by canal and I can’t wait.
We have our trusty Nicholson’s and I’ve even photocopied parts on enlarge because my eyes aren’t that good (but I imagine the first bit of breeze will put paid to that). Anyway we are trying out the mobile phone blogging system and hope to record the trip and some nice photo’s.

Animals on board

2009-03-30T04:55:00.000-07:00

I love following the tales of all the animals on board various boats, especially Caxton, Dogs on tour and Matilda Rose. I can’t believe how Jill on Matilda Rose managed to get Daisy trained enough to come back aboard. How do you manage when you decide to move off and she isn’t there. As a cat owner I know how hard it is to get them to come in when needed, especially if they are not hungry. More animal pictures for me please (especially the cats). I hope you like these of our two (large Cream Maine Coons)

They really are supposed to be this big. You can just see Jon hidden behind them.

Cinammon the boy is unfortunately recently deceased but his sister Tamarin (Tammy for short) is still with us and seems to be enjoying the extra attention she is getting.

Cinnamon looking smart for once

Cinnamon in relaxed mode.

Cinnamon was always an absolute scruffy urchin boy and his sister acts like she is a little princess.

Tammy in a box.

I find it amazing that cats can have such different characters even when siblings and brought up exactly the same way. They were however bad travellers and I don’t think Tammy will ever get to the boat (she would immediately hide in the bilges or disappear forever if we tried it).

Sowerby Basin and pubs

2009-03-28T12:17:00.000-07:00

Shire cruisers offices with some of their 'counties' lined up (Tormentil used to be Somerset).

Looking from Sowerby basin towards Halifax tower (not sure what it was for but obviously built as a status symbol by some victorian gent).

Greygal is thinking of moving up to Sowerby basin for the summer. The picture at the top is Tormentil moored there currently. We are moored to the restaurant boat Cassoulet (the superstructure cabin belongs to them not Tormentil) they weren't open last weekend but I think they do cruising whilst feeding customers. The buildings behind are old warehouses being done up slowly (the new windows have only reached a few floors). The blackbirds are enjoying nesting in the upper floors, but the other buildings around the basin have all been done up. One is the Moorings pub and restaurant. It’s a large popular pub with good beer (so I’m told), the steaks looked good but I haven’t tried one yet. Below it is the Temujin restaurant serving Mongolian food.

Again sounds interesting but not tried yet. We did eat at the Village restaurant at the top of the wharf road and that had Indian and Indonesian food, very tasty but the meat was a bit dry. The buildings are very tastefully lit at night and the basin looks very nice then with the buildings reflected in the glass-like water. We wanted to take a picture but didn’t think it would do it justice. Despite the crowds in the pub (which you can’t hear) we had two very peaceful nights there.

2009-03-23T09:48:00.000-07:00

I can’t believe it, it’s now on to plan B. The Manchester route is shut for several weeks too so we are stuck. We have re-planned the holiday and will go at Easter and the week after, that should be enough time for the Pennine ring to open.
At least it gives me time to get this blog up and running and maybe some readers too :-).

The galley and lounge.

The twin bedroom.

Since we couldn’t move the boat this weekend we decided to go up to Sowerby Bridge anyway and spend our first few nights on Tormentil and experience life aboard finally. Luckily this weekend has been glorious weather, arrival at about 5pm on Fiday and then on board. It took a while to get the gas going but we finally figured it out. Despite the nice weather we still need the central heating for the evening. Being a whimp I am amazed and pleased to have central heating on a boat, it’s very quick to heat up because of all the insulation I guess. Because we will not be living aboard we were happy not to have a solid fuel fire even though they do sound very cosy. Pushing a button to turn on the heating is however much easier. After unpacking and sitting down to a cup of tea in sheer delight at our new boat owning situation, we ventured out to the nearest pub as all good narrowboaters do. We bought the boat from Shire Cruisers based at Sowerby bridge basin and were very happy with the whole process.

On Saturday we took her out for a run with Jon driving and me navigating. We were going to try to go down the first few locks on the Calder and Hebble at Salterhebble to see what the journey will be like when we move her finally. However the navigator let us down and we missed the turning for the first lock (a very sharp right turn). Jon’s skills at turning and controlling the boat were sorely tried and we were sideways across the canal when the only moving boat we saw all day came round the corner (of course it would). Happily they waited whilst we faffed about trying to moor up by the locks. We managed to set the lock and were trying to push open the gates(they wouldn’t move for some reason, I don’t think we have our technique right yet) when Jon noticed a sign on the locks saying that the ‘guillotine lock’ (the next one down the flight) was only useable by the lockkeeper and would only be working for one hour a day between 12 and 1. Since it was ten to twelve we waited for the man to appear. He confirmed that if we went through we couldn’t come back until 12 the next day. Since we hoped to be back at Sowerby early the next morning we decided not to go through. We moored up in Halifax basin and went for lunch to the pub. It was a lovely day so we walked down to look at the offending guillotine lock and the next few on the Calder and Hebble. It is obvious that narrowboating only happens at ‘canal pace’ and all plans are provisional. So we still haven't done our first lock in Tormentil. Still in all we really enjoyed the weekend and sleeping afloat and have no regrets. Hopefully the trip round to the Leeds and Liverpool will go ahead we fewer hitches after Easter.

Positive reactions

2009-03-25T13:40:00.000-07:00

Since we are stuck at Sowerby Bridge for a couple of weeks because of the Cooper Bridge hold-ups I can’t talk about our travels so I will ramble generally about other things. One of the (good) surprises we’ve had is everyone’s reaction to our news about buying a narrowboat. All have said ‘wow that’s great’ or ‘I’ve always wanted to have/try a narrowboat, to live on or holiday’. Not one has said ‘you must be mad’ or made any negative comments. I think narrowboats (or maybe boats in general) must hit some buried wondrous memory from childhood (some would say steam trains do the same), also, so far on our meagre travels most people on the towpath (except perhaps anglers) smile as you go by. I think it’s the tranquil aura and slow pace of the boat that helps, at least on the straight bits, it’s not so tranquil at the locks.

How it all began. 1.

2009-03-16T05:20:00.000-07:00

I have to confess I am hooked. It's like a drug. I have been reading all the narrowboat blogs I can find (thank you Granny Buttons for the list) and everything has gone out of the window. It has inspired me to create our own. I would like to indulge in a bit of history before getting on to the more interesting topic of narrowboat travels. Our travels start this Friday so I will put out the 'how we got here' over the next few days and hope that someone is interested enough to have a look.

'We' are Jon and Ali, we have been together for many lovely years and first experienced narrowboating about 25 years ago for a week on the Leeds and Liverpool canal courtesy of Snaygill Boats at Skipton. It's great to see they are still going strong. Jon and I (Ali is writing this) are probably a case of opposites attract, when it comes to purchases I will think things over, and over , and over to the point that by the time I get round to buying anything the interest has gone or whatever I wanted has been sold. Jon is the opposite, he goes with his heart and buys more or less instantly and sometimes on a whim. This is all very well for christmas presents etc. but when it comes to major outlay (houses, boats) I'm not sure which is best. Our first house together was the third we looked at (we had put in an offer on the first we saw-I told you he was impetuous-but it fell through). Strangely enough Jon's method seems to work and we stayed in the house for 23 great years. The next house was one we saw whilst driving past one day. It was in a village in Surrey that we love and had a for sale sign outside. Very soon after we were in the middle of a nightmare (the last time house prices fell- ours took 12 months to sell and with a bridging loan costing more than our combined income the nights were sleepless). However it all came out right in the end and we now love this house. I feel for the couple (?Caxton) who were trying to sell their house for so long, I hope all goes well now with the swop.

Patience people there is a boat link here soon.

My roots are in Lancashire and my Mum lives there so we often visit and in order to make life easy, about 15 years ago we bought a little 'coronation street' type of terraced house there. Again Jon's whim, we saw the house across the back street from my Mum's was for sale (image of the credits on coronation street with back street and outhouse with cat on it-just like that), so we looked into it. The following conversation with the bank manager took place

Jon I'd like to borrow 7,000 pounds

Bank Manager certainly sir, can I ask what it is for.

Jon To buy a house

Bank Manager for the deposit sir ?

Jon no-to buy the house

Bank Manager what! 7,000 pounds for a house

Jon Certainly not, 5,000 for the house and 2,000 to do it up

Bank Manager I think you ought to buy the whole street

Yes 15 years ago you really could by a house up there for 5,000.

In hindsight with house prices rising we should have followed his advice and bought the whole street.

I think that enough for now and I need my lunch so the next instalment will be tomorrow, unless I get bored this afternoon

How it all began 2

2009-03-23T09:08:00.000-07:00

It's been a week since the last blog, it's amazing how difficult it is to do this often enough, however we continue with the tale.

Last summer (2008) during one of our holidays to Lancashire we went for a cycle on the Leeds and Liverpool canal. We try to do this everytime we go up there and its great fun, nice and flat with no hills (you can walk up the slopes at the lock) my sort of cycling. On our way home we saw the beginnings of a new marina and thought wouldn’t it be great to have a narrow boat to stay in, instead of the house, when we come up here to visit. On our return home investigations into narrowboat prices had us believing that we couldn’t afford it. Having only paid 5,000 for the house we thought it would only be worth about 15,000 and you can’t get much of a boat for that. However looking in the local papers (we should have tried that first) we realised that even houses in the cheapest part of Lancashire had gone up over 15 years. Cue my turn for an instant decision (it must be catching), in September on another visit to Mum (on my own) I went to the opening of the new Marina and got over excited. I put down a deposit on a berth.
The next two months were less hectic than I imagined, after our last experience we thought it would possibly be up to a year to sell the house but we found a great estate agent (is that possible?) and we had an offer within 4 days. Yes I know it’s not fair so many people are having trouble at the moment, I couldn’t believe it. I think our estate agent had someone in mind all along and suggested a price she knew they would pay, but we were happy with it. We now had enough to buy a (second hand –or pre-loved) boat so off we went scouring the Apollo Duck site for weeks.
We settled on one we could afford at Hebden Bridge (on the Calder and Hebble canal) and arranged to go up north to see it. The day before this Jon found another one on Apollo Duck- new to the site, an ex hire boat, much newer than the one we were supposed to see and much better fitted out. I had had doubts about the Hebden Bridge boat since it was variously described as 60 or 62 foot long. We needed to get it onto and around the Leeds and Liverpool canal and those locks are only just 60 foot long so I was a bit worried.
Sooo- we cancelled the first viewing and arranged to see the second boat at Sowerby Bridge luckily just along from Hebden. We took her out for a ride and fell in love. Next day we put in an offer and finally become the proud owners in November 2008. Below is a picture of her during survey not looking too pretty.

Hurrah boat tales at last you say.

We had hoped to have her moved before Christmas to our new mooring on the L&L but delays in re-painting and the over-winter lock closures meant this was delayed.
So now the locks are supposed to be open and we thankfully now have the time to move her ourselves. We have re named her Tormentil after the lovely yellow flower that grows on the Lancashire and Yorkshire moors.
She now looks beautiful and new and shiny (see header picture) but not for long I fear when we get started on those bridges and locks).
Our plan was to start Friday 20th March and blog our travels as we go along, however the best laid plans and all that…
We now hear there has been a collapse just east of Sowerby Bridge on the Calder and Hebble Navigation and the canal that way is shut. This was our preferred route through some of the loveliest countryside and finally getting to do the Bingley five rise (we chickened out last time and only had a look at it). We may have to go via Manchester on a more rigourous (124 locks) route and I fear not so pretty. We should find out at the last minute tomorrow which route we can take.