Slow travel

28/7/2017 From Selby we positively roared up the Ouse, around 6mph, engine at 1600rpm (any questions to the Cap'n). Our extra crew enjoying the late afternoon dash from the deck chairs, Jane doing sterling work as crew photographer. Both the attached shots are hers. Reached Naburn Lock around 7, no moorings, so onto York, and an excellent spot besides the Museum Gardens, stroll through those to the Minster. A small floating apartment in the h eart of York! Walks on the old walls, visit to the Minster and the gold dragon, reprovisioning. That night it rained, and the river rose.

28/7/2017 The Ouse drains two thirds of the Dales, and we woke to a towpath gradually disappearing! Our Kiwi visitors came by amd had to wade to the boat, and walk the plank. From a photo you can see we are the last boat moored, our mooring rings under water, and a danger of the boat lodging on the towpath if we stayed. So we hightailed it downstream to a marina with pontoon moorings, our boat holding the 6 of us in comfort as we sped on the rising river  to a safe mooring. Plan A was accepted, so a scratch lunch of homemade soup, a taxi back to York, and Evensong, in the Minster. A special delight was observing a peregrine falcon,  feeding its young on the Minster roof. Dinner out, a taxi back for the 4 boaters, and soon to sleep.

28/7/2017 As the day was forecast to be a typical example of the British weather- grey, blue, fine, wet- we hired a car and drove across the moors to visit the home of the Mouseman, at Kilburn.  JJ chose an oak pot stand complete with the Mouseman's signature mouse. Then on to Whitby,  for a ramble round the alleys, hills, to the fine Cook museum,  up the 199 steps to the old abbey,  destroyed by Henry VIII, a very bad man. We were last there 20 years ago,  staying with small fry in the old abbey stables, the local YHA. Now our crew has decamped for Scotland, and in the absence of a press gang,  we take off tomorrow, the 2 of us, to tackle the more difficult Selby lock manoevre- putting the cork back in the bottle on a 6 knot tide.

25/7/2017 Across the coastal plains of NE England, from the Calder, Hebble to the Aire river, moving east, then a leap north on the Selby canal, taking us to the Ouse. We left Ferrybridge on 21st, intending to overnight in the old abbey town of Selby, where Henry 1 was born. The canal is green with duckweed, fortunately non toxic. Larry speculates on a new industry, turning duckweed into fertiliser,  or was that fuel? It is gathered up at Selby by a creaky cranky machine, dumped into the large Selby tidal lock, for discharge -with us!-  into the tide. The day's cruise takes us past woodlands of alder, beech, larch,  water life including herons, kingfishers, canada geese. Our resident photographer is in action, and gets some fabulous shots. At Selby Fred the lock keeper advises we exit his lock today, at 5pm, as the Spring tide tomorrow will be more hazardous. Keep lookout for logs, go through the bridge's second arch... and so we wait for the high tide to start. ...

20/7/2017 Such an eventful day,. From a peaceful rural mooring near the end of the Huddersfield Broad Canal, we moved down to the Calder and Hebble. These are 2 rivers running east from the Pennines towards the North Sea, which have been made navigable through massive weirs, and locks. A beautiful sunny day, perfect for our new crew, J and L from Oz. They have taken to life afloat with gusto, and we are enjoying their company tremendously. The countryside has entranced us, with ancient bridges, 19th C viaducts, old pubs, and wildlife ranging from dragonflies to swans. At a small town we manoevred to moor outside a supermarket, I jumped from the boat to the stone coping on the towpath, slipped and plummeted down into the canal, giving my leg a whack on a stone in the ungraceful descent. No injury, I thought,  except embarrassment, but 9 hours later we are in A&E in Wakefield, waiting to receive advice on a massive contusion that has appeared. A friendly boater drove us, anothe...

17/7/2017 We moored at the tunnel entrance for a few days, waiting our turn to plunge into the unlit cave like tunnel. A very pleasant mooring,  woodland,  a wool emporium + cafe!! Not to mention a local pub! We whiled away our time walking the hills, following a public right of way, down to a very civilised cafe in Upper Mill. And a knitting pattern for a tea cosy now sits on our boat, waiting for my attention. The tunnel is carved out of solid rock, and is not a smooth even surface. One of the photos shows men with a metal rod, measuring the height and profile of our boat.  Protruding boulders mean that some boats simply can't fit , but fortunately ours measured up. It takes nearly 2 hours to traverse the tunnel, JJ  ably managing the contact sport without gross damage to the boat. Me managing my dislike of the underground by reading George Eliot's biography and knitting. And trying to ignore the grinding darkness. We emerged to a sunny mid afternoon, on the eas...

12/7/2017 From the delightful village of Upper Mill, and the comforts of Cafe Java, we set off in a light drizzle to climb the last 11 locks to the maw of Standedge tunnel. At the first lock we realised that 1   Santiago is a tight fit in a narrow lock (think maybe 2 inches either side) 2    we had forgotten to lift her fenders. These are narrow rubber or rope buffers which  hang from the sides, to protect the boat rubbing against things. Yes, you guessed. The fenders caused Santiago to stick like the proverbial cork, unable to move either forward or back. Extra throttle did not work. With the crew (me) looking helplessly down at the stuck cork, Cap'n JJ had ito exert strength, ingenuity and patience to the task. The plank (for reaching the bank when the canal is shallow, (yes, we do on occasions walk the plank!) was pressed into service as a lever. The boat hook became a push me pull you on the offending fenders. The engine was given short bursts to r...

11/7/2017 Today transport by car, bus, boat and feet. Returned car hired for the York jaunt,  caught bus back to boat, cruised up 8 locks to Upper Mill, and later walked towarda the head of the Tame Valley, exploring the landscape which we will traverse by boat tomorrow. The locks are getting deeper as we climb towards the tunnel through the Pennine summit. Evidence of the industrial role of the canal everywhere, from old mill buildings, transhipment points for cargoes, channels of mill streams. And on the canal itself, stone bridges scored with grooves from ropes, as horses pulled the boats. Even iron corners on bridges are deeply grooved by the ropes. Moored at Upper Mill, where a small woodland area between the canal and the river proved to have a crop of wild raspberries growing in the thickets. Yum. The blackberries are plentiful but not yet ripe.

10/7/2017 Despite visiting York many times in the last 29 years, we've never explored the mediaeval Merchant Adventurers' Hall. It lies just above the River Foss,  which joins the Ouse in York. It was build in the 14th century by wealthy business people, the cloth merchants among them. The building and its garden are still owned by the company these entrepreneurs formed. It operated as an alms house, a company meeting room,  with apprenticeships and charity as aims. It still today supports selected pensioners. The company's emblem is a ship, and its early wealth came from trade, despite pirate attacks, also recorded. These early records were stored in a low, long 'evidence chest', iron banded, blackened, showing its nearly 800 yeats of service. While this is remarkable, it is the building itself which entranced us. Its frames and floors are  of English oak,  and is held together with oak pegs. The records of its construction,  including the names of the maste...

8/7/2017 From the canal on the western flanks of the Pennines we travelled today by car, first visiting the Standedge Tunnel, to check our passage booking. This required crossing the Pennines, the tunnel 600 feet below us, to reach its eastern end. The hills high, bare, old quarry scarred, grey stone farms clinging on little spurs. The landscape tamer as we move east to York. Curious about possible moorings for Santiago, we walk along the Ouse, amused by the icecream boat in the photo. We chat with a young couple living aboard their widebeam boat (about 13 feet wide), on the perils if any of the river. The main concern is sudden rises in the river level, after heavy rain upstream in the catchment. Being a little nervous of rivers, i will be following Yorkshire weather closely for the next few weeks. Then a ramble through this beautiful amazing city. We worked out that we have been visiting York since 1988, but still get bushed in its mediaeval tangle of lanes, alleys... A certain a...

7/7/2017 After a casual morning on the boat, attending to chores, we walk up the valley, the long arms of the Pennines rising on either side, following ancient paths, through woodland, villages, past 19th C mills, along the canal, to the town of Uppermill. There to the Saddleworth museum, Saddleworth being one of the Pennine banks bordering the Tame valley. An interesting social and economic history of this area. And we suss out possible moorings when we climb up 8 more locks on Monday. An amble back to the boat,  a sunny 6 mile round trip. A photo below is of a barley field, which we walked through on a public right of way. One photo is taken in a lock, lined with stone, and showing the mark of a stonemason. These marks were the signature of that mason's work. We've  observed these under the balustrade of a substantial bridge, hidden where it was only visible from a  climb under the bridge. Yesterday we ambled into the village centre of Mossley, where 43 mills once to...

6/7/2017 From Ashton-under-Lyne the Huddersfield Narrow Canal climbs up the Pennines, criss crossing the River Tame as it utilises the river valley. We forage for wild raspberries as locks fill. The river powered mills here over centuries, with remaining warehouses, chimneys, mill races, evident still. We fill with water  at Grove Road Bridge. This canal feels remote, less travelled, and with fewer facilities, so we water while it is available. As the mighty Standedge Tunnel is within a day's travel, we phone to book our passage. We are somewhat taken aback to find we need to wait for 10 days.  So now a recalibration of our journey  is required, with many possibilities,  including a trip to York, walks in the Pennines... We end our 14 lock climb with a family gathering on the boat, a warm and fun time.

6/7/2017 Whimsical weather dampened my straw hat, but not our enjoyment of the descent of the Marple flight of 16 locks. At the bottom, a landscape of an aqueduct carrying the canal, adjacent to a high, arched railway viaduct,  with the distant Pennines framed in each arch. Working a lock involves one person on the boat, the other on the bank. The boat person has to thread the boat, 6' 8" wide, into the  7' 2" wide lock. Get it wrong, and 20 tonnes of steel boat hits solid stone. An embarrassing moment, and another scratch on the boat. When the boat is in the lock, and water is rushing in to raise or lower the boat, the boat hamdler must avoid being swamped by leaky locks or lockgates more resembling a waterfall. Leaving one lock to enter the next might involve holding it steady in a wind or against the pull of an overflow channel, while the lock is being readied. The boat person also needs to make cups of tea, pass up raincoats,  find hats. The shore person does ...

3/7/2017 Here in the Peak District, the 6 mile canal threading above the River Goyt, to terminate below the limestone deposits in the Pennine foothills. In the photo we are on the walkway suspended above the Goyt,  which over the centuries has turned water wheels to power the mills. Now the Goyt turns an archimedean screw, producing electricity. Great local walks from the canal, through meadows, past old farms, treading ancient public rights of way. A wonderful family day yesterday, with 6 cousins joining us for a picnic day on the boat, a cruise up to the remarkable Bugsworth Basin, where limestone was shipped out by canalboat, from 1799 into the 20th century. Now moored at Marple, looking forward to the 16 lock descent westwards in the morning.