It’s been a day where I’ve had my fix of commercial carriers. Before we left Sprotborough Whitaker’s Humber Princess dropped down the lock, and we came across the graveller Farndale H, and tanker Rix Owl, and another of Whitaker’s, Humber Renown, on the Aire and Calder near Pollington.
Farndale H
Rix Owl
Humber Renown
The painters were busy doing all the white bits at Sprotborough, by the time they’ve finished they’ll have done 80 locks in the area.
Sorry to interrupt….
Sprotborough is a busy spot for visitors, so busy in fact they can’t be trusted close to the lockside. It’s been fenced off to protect them from themselves.
Lockside fencing – the thin end of the wedge?
I wonder how long it’ll be before the Safety Elves decide that this is the way forward for all locks….
We stopped off at Doncaster to replenish the cupboards, then pushed on through the last lock on the Don Navigation, Long Sandall.
Sandall Grove, a short distance beyond the lock, has an unusually squat church.
Sandall Grove
Then it was back across Bramwith Junction, heading onto the dead straight New Junction Canal.
Neil on the tiller, Thorpe Marsh cooling towers in the background.
The New Junction crosses the River Don on an aqueduct, protected by forbidding steel guillotine gates at either end.
In the event of a breach on the aqueduct, the gates can be lowered to protect the water levels on either side.
What it lacks in locks (only one) the navigation makes up for in swing and lift bridges. No less than 6 on it’s 5 mile length!
Through Kirkhouse Green Lift Bridge
Neil and Val
The final leg was on the Aire on Calder, just 2¼ miles to Pollington Lock and our overnight stop. It’s pretty busy here, more so than we’ve seen it before. We just managed to sneak in on the end of the moorings. At least it’s handy for filling the water tank in the morning.
Locks 4, miles 16½
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