Poor weather yesterday decided us to stay in Rodley for another day. It’s about time we had a day off anyway, we’d cruised everyday since leaving Mountsorrel on the Soar on the 1st! Must be some kind of record for us. Had a walk around the village, but there’s not much here.

Moored at Rodley
Moved off today, but only planning a short trip, as I’d arranged for the engine to have a service at Apperly Bridge Marina (Calder Valley Marine). We got off early though, so we could get there by 9, as Paul the engineer had rearranged his workload to fit us in.

While he was busy I had a walk up the hill to Sainsburys, and then we got under way again not much before 12. An expensive couple of hours, but we’ve got a full tank of diesel, a new gas bottle and a top box for the roof, for all those items that won’t fit in the boat. You’ll see it on the next batch of photos. We had to trial fit it to make sure Mags could see over the top! It just needs painting now. Probably blue to match the boat.

I’m a bit paranoid about swing or lift bridges on busy roads, so was glad to be past Millman swing bridge, then up through Dobson 2 rise locks, a couple of minor swing bridges and then Field locks, a 3 rise staircase. We moored soon after the locks, in a wooded section with the Aire in the valley below and calves grazing in the field opposite.

Locks 5, miles 4, bridges 3.

Apart from 3 youths on loud motorcycles passing on the towpath at 10:30, we had a quiet night. An early start this morning saw us arrive at the first lock of the day at 08:30. Threatening grey clouds saw us out of the city, 2 or 3 times breaking into heavy showers. But it was still warm.

We carried on up to Oddy Locks, a 2 rise staircase, and met Paddy, one of the BW team assisting boats up the 3 staircase flights in the next 5 miles.

Paddy and Oddy locks
A short pound saw us at Spring Garden Lock, followed by a 45 minute cruise to the 3 rise staircase of Forge Locks.

Now we’re out of the city, we’re following a green corridor along the Aire valley. It’s really quite attractive, and I imagine popular walking at the weekends.

Near Kirkstall
Forge Locks
After Forge comes Newlay 3 Locks, the last of the locks for today.

Newlay 3 locks
The staircases are in need of some TLC, with some gate replacement scheduled for this winter. Even with the help of the BW team assigned to the locks, passage is slow.

The Leeds and Liverpool Canal is notorious for its swing bridges, and we came across 4 of these after the locks. Nothing too difficult, though.

It’s been an interesting few days, with the Trent, the South Yorkshire Navigations, Aire & Calder and Leeds. But we’re glad to be back on a narrowboat sized waterway, even though it has heavy broad locks and lots of difficult swing bridges. We’re also looking forward to a few nights moored out in the wilds, an opportunity we’ve not had since leaving the Soar.

Locks 11, miles 6, swing bridges 4

I’m recording the bridges as well on the L&L.

We said our goodbyes to Dave and Barbara at 08:15 this morning and set off for Leeds. A dull start to the day as we passed through Castleford Flood Lock (with a quick visit to the Sanitary Station) and turned right on the last 9 or so miles up to the city.

The first and deepest lock of the day was the delightfully named Lemonroyd Lock. Unfortunately we had a bit of a hold up here with faulty hydraulics on one of the top gates, but he was able to pen us through the one gate that worked as these locks are 20 feet wide and 140 feet long. It’s a bit lonely being the only boat in the chamber!

In Lemonroyd Lock
The next lock is Woodlesford, no lockie on this one (or the rest for that matter), so it was a do-it-yourself job. Easy though, just push the right buttons at the right time. No such luxury after today when we get on the L & L!

Woodlesford lock
The run from Castleford to the edge of the city is quite pleasant, with the spoil heaps from the now defunct pits being reclaimed by nature. The towpaths are in excellent condition, encouraging lots of walkers and cyclists.

Fishpond and Knostrop Falls locks takes us into Leeds and Leeds Lock, the last on the Aire and Calder Navigation.

Nearing Leeds
Leeds Lock. Nobody about when I took this picture, but by the time Seyella was in the lock the railings were lined with gongoozlers.
Through the redeveloped city centre, with apartment blocks towering over the river.
And past Asda House, where I was part of the team that fitted all the guttering and downspouts several years ago!
Lock 1, River Lock, on the Leeds and Liverpool, was a bit of a contrast to those we’d been used to for the last week or so. No mechanisation of course, and even the paddle gear looks a bit primitive! One good thing though. At 60 feet long and 14 feet 3 inches wide they are now narrowboat size!

Gear on River Lock
We finally moored for the night just above Office Lock (lock 2) at around 14:00. We’d intended to pull into the canal basin below the lock, but this is currently closed for another apartment block construction. It seems everyone wants to live near the canal these days!

Above Office Lock
Its been a dull day, but with a few sunny intervals and a couple of heavy showers. An early start again tomorrow should see us clear of Leeds and heading for Bingley.

Locks 7, miles 10½

A fairly uneventful day today. We got off from Pollington at around half-past ten. Followed “Fusedale H”, loaded with sand, up the lock.

“Fusedale H” and Pollington Lock
Through the lock looking puny by comparison, and on along the long straight sections of this waterway to Whitley Lock
The canal continues it’s fairly straight run westwards to Knottingley, where there is a bit more interest in the form of the Aire going off to the right towards Selby and York. There are a fair few large barges moored around the junction.

River Aire off to the left
From Ferrybridge Flood Lock we were on the river, enjoying wooded banks and it’s winding course to Castleford.

River Aire
Bulholme Lock takes the navigation back onto canal again, through Castleford to Castleford Junction, where the Calder goes straight on and the Aire goes right up to Leeds. Our route for tomorrow.

In Bulholme Lock
We stopped just short of the flood lock for the night. The day has been warm and mostly sunny. The forecast is for changes next week though.

Castleford Mooring
In the morning we part company with Dave and Barbara. They are going on to Wakefield, following the Calder, while we head for Leeds. It’s been good having traveling companions these last 5 days. I hope they've enjoyed our company as much as we've enjoyed theirs. I’ve no doubt we’ll keep in touch and meet again at some point.

Locks 3, miles 14.

A later start today, after shopping up in Thorne. It’s a nice town, with a pedestrianised centre and just about every shop you could want, including 4 butchers and 3 bakers!

Got away at 10:55, just 5 minutes to Thorne Lock. We were followed by a charity trip boat working out of Blue Water Marina, so locked them through first so they could keep to schedule.

Locking Through Thorne Lock
On down the Stainforth & Keadby, through Bramwith Lock, the only one we had to manually open today. The rest are mechanised, as are most of the 8 swing or lift bridges we passed.

Swung north round the tight bend at Bramwith Junction onto the New Junction Canal.

Going round the bend? Bramwith Junction.
The 5½ mile length of this linking canal is dead straight, starting and ending with aqueducts over the rivers Don and Went

Guillotine Gates at the Don Aqueduct
Aqueduct over the River Went
About ⅔ along, the navigation falls about 7 feet through the large Sykehouse Lock, with a swing bridge strategically sited across the middle of the chamber.

Sykehouse Lock, room for a few more boats! You can only see part of the lock, there is a lot more behind the camera!

20 minutes from the lock we turned left onto the Aire and Calder Navigation, a major commercial artery from South and West Yorkshire to Goole Docks.

Aire and Calder
We got moored up just below Pollington Lock,at around 15:45, after a very warm day, so a cold beer on the towpath was very welcome!


Mags, with Barbara and Dave, NB LIBERTY BELL
A message for Mags at Thorne Lock?
Locks 3, miles 12

We’ve decided to travel in company with Dave and Barbara on NB LIBERTY BELL, at least as far as Castleford. There they’ll turn left to Wakefield, and we’ll go right up into Leeds. They are good company, and have more local knowledge than us (which is none!).

We got off at 10:00, and had a steady run down through 6 lift or swing bridges to Thorne. We got onto the visitor moorings here, as D & B are having friends visiting tonight.

There is an interesting railway bridge just this side of Keadby, where the whole trackbed slides sideways to clear the navigation.

Keadby Railway Bridge
Godnow Swing Bridge, typical of those on this stretch.
As we come through Thorne, the visitor moorings are just on the right after a road bridge. What we didn’t expect was ANOTHER swing bridge, this time for pedestrians, just next to the road bridge. Apparently it’s only been built in last 18 months, and doesn’t appear in the guide books.

New Footbridge
Thorne Moorings
Locks 0, miles 10½

Well, after all the concern about cruising down the tidal Trent, it turned out to be a bit of an anticlimax. On the Cromwell lock-keepers advice, we assembled in the lock ready to go down at 09:00. There were 3 cruisers and 4 narrowboats to go, all to Torksey for the night, or to lock through to go to Lincoln on the Fossdyke.

As Mags was preparing to catch the slip ropes on the lockside at the bow, she leaned out too far, lost her balance and fell overboard. She was wearing her lifejacket, and popped up immediately. A rescue operation was quickly organised, with me and a chap from one of the cruisers (Creole Jazz) on the bow, another chap on the tiller to manoeuvre the boat and the lockie on the lockside co-ordinating events. We rapidly had her hauled back inboard, and she dashed inside to get dried and changed while we proceeded through the lock. She was none the worse for the dip, in fact she took it all remarkably calmly, just floating alongside the boat with me holding her hand till we had assistance. It would have been a different story, though had she not been wearing her lifejacket, and if we’d been alone. Still, she’s fine, just a few bruises on her arms where we lifted her out. If any of the “team” get to read this, many thanks. I didn’t get to personally thank you all for your efforts.

Leaving Cromwell Lock, Mags’ “swimming hole”
In convoy, High Marnham Power Station in background, day 1
Gravel Carrier “Fossdale”, day 1
And “Farndale” on day 2
Leaving Torksey Cut, early day 2
Gainsborough Arches, day 2

Mag’s bath turned out to be the most exciting event in the whole 2 days. It was actually quite boring, with the high flood banks obscuring a lot of the surrounding countryside. Yesterday we did the 15 miles to Torksey by 11:15, and moored on the floating pontoon outside the lock. Then today we were off at just after 07:00, to catch the ebb tide to carry us down to Keadby Lock, where we turned onto the Stainforth and Keadby Canal.

Approaching the M180 and journey’s end
Coasters on Keadby Wharf
A final incident was Dave and Barbara on NB LIBERTY BELL stuck on the mud bank across the entrance to the lock. Apparently the recent flooding had deposited quite a bit of silt across the mouth of the lock which BW hadn’t had a chance to dredge. Even the lock-keeper at Keadby didn’t know about it; he certainly does now!

Dave and Barbara stuck on the mud at Keadby lock
We had to wait for the flood tide to give Dave enough water to get in; we were hanging on a 20 foot high wharf wall for about 30 minutes.

After all the excitement we called it a day just above the lock on the visitor moorings. We’d covered 42 miles in under 7 hours running over 2 the days, averaging better than 6 MPH.


Keadby Moorings
Locks 2, miles 42 (in 2 days)

Apart from the trains, we had a quiet night at Nether Lock although there was a noisy boat with half a dozen youngsters on board that came down the lock at around 9 o’clock. Had a bit of a lie-in, then after Meg’s walk gave the engine bay a good going over, checking not just fluid levels, but all electrical connections and the batteries as well. The tidal Trent is not a good place to break down!

We left the lock at just before 12, and after a very gentle run downstream arrived at Cromwell lock at 12:50.

The Trent returns below Nether Lock, after it's trip around Newark
The A1 crossing on Winthorpe Bridge. Right is Edinburgh, left is London. The next road crossing is at Dunham, 15 miles downstream.
Booked in with the lock-keeper, and confirmed our passage through the lock tomorrow morning.

Cromwell Lock
A little later, NB LIBERTY BELL (note the corrected spelling) arrived, and we introduced each other and swapped phone numbers. I was hoping that they’d had experience of the tideway, and they have, but in the other direction. I’m sure it’ll be fine, we’re splitting the trip into 2 with the stop-over at Torksey, so the first section is short, only about 15 miles, and should only take around 2½ hours with tide and current behind us.

The lock area is busy with boats moored, but not so many travelling. There has been a convoy of 4 boats coming south from Keadby, and a couple going north, just to Torksey I suspect.

On the tide this evening, the gravel barge BATTLESTONE set off northward.
Locks none, Miles 5.

Intended a short day today, hoping to moor soon after Gunthorpe Bridge, but it was not to be.
The day was warm at 07:30, and turned into a scorcher, blue skies with just the occasional cloud all day.
We left Stoke lock at 09:30, Mags was glad to be away from the high concrete wall we’d moored against last night.
Out onto the open water again, and making good time with the strong current. I calculated 6½ MPH.

Heading towards Stoke Bardolph and the Ferry Boat Inn
On through Gunthorpe Bridge, and into the lock. The moorings here were full as is usual apparently. This set the scene for the rest of the day.

Trentside Marina, Gunthorpe
Gravel Barge tied up just below Gunthorpe Lock
The first option to stop over was at the next lock, Hazelford, but apart from a short length of high wall like at Stoke, there were no spaces. We’re started to feel a little out of place, with all these fancy white cruisers knocking about. The narrowboats are outnumbered by about 10-1.

So we pressed on towards Newark, checking out the villages of Fiskerton and Farndon on the way. Still no mooring opportunities when we got to the large Averham Weir, where the Newark Dyke continues into the town as the river describes a long loop to the east.

Averham Weir
On into Newark and poor Meg had her legs, eyes and even ears crossed by this time, so we pulled onto the first available space to let her have a run around. Less than ideal location for an overnight stop though, so I walked up to Town Lock and had a word with the lockie. The upshot of the conversation was a short run through Town Lock and out of town through Newark Nether Lock, where we tied up. A far more pleasant spot even with the railway in close proximity, well worth a can of beer for the advice.

Newark BW Maintenance Yard, with the remains of Newark Castle in the distance
Moored at Newark Nether Lock
While sat on the bank in the sunshine, we were hailed by NB LIBERTY BELLE. Apparently they are going through Cromwell on the same tide as us on Tuesday, and are also stopping over at Torksey. So we’ll have some company heading down the tideway.

On an entirely different subject – we’ve just been watching the news and Mags says she’s feeling sorry for Gordon Brown. Since taking office he’s had to contend with terrorist attacks, extensive flooding and now a new Foot & Mouth outbreak. She’s blaming Blair, at least for the last one, he never liked him anyway. It’s his fault, or the chap with the big ears from DEFRA who’s just been on TV. (I think she should take some more coke with the scotch).

Locks 5, miles 17.