Bartimaeus

We set off this morning back to the junction of the Huddersfield Wide Canal with the Huddersfield Narrow Canal.  It’s sometimes hard to see where the transition between wide and narrow canals occur, but in this case it was absolutely clear.  Progress beyond the Apsley Basin was limited by a very narrow bridge.

It was a short distance to the lock moorings for lock 1E (the locks on this canal are numbered from each end, with a suffix E or W).  There is something very badly wrong with lock 1E.  For over a year the canal has been blocked with stop planks when not in use.  The current arrangement is that bookings can be made for Tuesdays and Thursdays at 11am to have the stop planks removed and passage permitted.  We were in plenty of time so I walked up to investigate.

The stop planks were very effectively preventing water from reaching the paddle mechanism.  It was intriguing to see the mechanism exposed.  After all my years of operating these things I didn’t have a mental picture of the direct action associated with the winding gear.  The leak is presumably within the tunnel that leads from the paddle to the lock, which must be particularly difficult to identify and resolve.

A staff member arrived at around the allotted time, but he needed to wait for a colleague before he could start.  We were joined by a boater coming the other way, and had a useful chat about the state of the canal and what each of us boaters would come up against after we had passed.  The colleague arrived and they started to work on removing the stop planks.  We were soon worked through the lock and on our way.

I’d been advised that there was nowhere to stop before we had passed through lock 3E.  It soon became apparent why.  Huddersfield had obviously continued to be built at a time when the canal was neglected.  We went through a series of narrow tunnels and artificial ravines underneath modern Huddersfield.  It was a slightly surreal experience, but there was only way to go.

We were forced to stop at the gates to lock 2E.  A boat’s length before the gates was a small landing stage with steps up.  Clare went up these to operate the lock.  The section of towpath alongside the lock can only be accessed by boat.  With Clare back aboard we proceeded to the gates of lock 3E.  This time the steps brought Clare up across the road from the lock, but the lock otherwise seemed ordinary enough.

We’d been advised that there was a work boat expected in the afternoon and that it might make sense for us to wait for it there.  The lock bollards were bright and the students spilling out of the adjacent buildings added some colour.  We’d had lunch before the work boat came past.  I recognised it as a Truxor which we’d first seen a few years ago.

We stocked up at the nearby discount supermarket (other discount supermarkets are available) before setting off again. The next section lived up to the name of the canal, though quite why it was built this narrow is unclear to me.

At the next lock, a group of workers were clearing up vegetation that had been trimmed from the canal side in preparation for repair work on a canal side wall.  They were friendly and helped with operating the lock as well as clearing away bundles of brambles to let Clare get through.

The workers warned us that the next pound was very low. We could see that their work boat was leaning over at a steep angle – it looked like there was about a foot of water missing from this section. I ran aground on final approach to the lock, but managed to deliver Clare to the unusual stone steps at the lock mouth, and then get in to the lock once she had opened the gates.

The next pound was at the correct level and we made steady progress until we came to another particularly narrow section where we seemed to come to a halt.  Clare managed to get going again using gentle bursts of forward and reverse.  I took advantage of the situation to get off and walk ahead to work the next lock.

The location of the locks on this section were unusual, but the lock mechanisms were all fairly standard.  Some had anti-vandal mechanisms on them, sometimes requiring a facilities key and other times a handcuff key.  They mostly seemed pointless as not all the paddles were protected, so malicious operation of the gear wasn’t being prevented.  The distinguishing feature of the final lock of the day was that the tail gates are opened while standing on the pavement of the adjacent road.  I’ve not seen that before!

Yesterday we did nine broad locks and the entire length of the Huddersfield Broad Canal.  After eight narrow locks today, we have hardly started the Huddersfield Narrow Canal – but it promises to be interesting.  During the afternoon, we heard that the problem at the bridge a few days ahead has been resolved, so we hope to have a clear run over the Pennines.