Castleford to Rodley. Aire & Calder Navigation. Leeds & Liverpool Canal.

Just as we set off from Castleford it started snowing, so that by the time we’d got through the big, slow and oddly banana-shaped Castleford lock, Legend looked very festive.

Castleford lock goes round a corner.

As we went up the river towards Leeds we huddled under the brolly on the back deck with our lunch. If, Dear Reader, you should ever find yourself eating soup and toast in a snowstorm, be sure to eat the toast first, before it gets snowed on. Trust us on this.

By the time we got to Lemonroyd lock the snow had abated somewhat...

Approaching the very deep Lemonroyd lock.

The two original locks at Lemonroyd were incorporated into one huge one.

...and by Woodlesford it had stopped altogether. 

Sunrise at Woodlesford.

By happy coincidence we moored up just ahead of Nb Borderline, a boat we’d last seen on the Gloucester & Sharpness canal about six years ago. It was really good to catch up with John; he told us he’d just completed the entire navigable network, which we were quite jealous about as that is our ultimate goal. We’re actually almost there, the Trent and all its tributaries was the last big uncharted territory for us; we’ve now just got a few bits to tidy up. Being stuck on the Basingstoke for six months meant we never got to do the full length of the River Wey, or the lower Thames from Weybridge to Brentford. A broken lock stopped us getting to the end of the Chesterfield canal, and getting our friends back to where we’d picked them up meant we’ve not been to the end of the Llangollen in Legend. There are sections of both the T&M and the Shroppy that we haven’t been on, and we turned off onto the Ashton at the bottom of the Rochdale, so we missed the Nasty Nine going into Manchester. We’ve not yet done the Montgomery in Wales or the Wyrley & Essington in Birmingham, and of course there are the scariest bits like the Tidal Thames from Brentford through London to Limehouse, and the trip down the tidal Yorkshire Ouse, then up the River Derwent and the Pocklington Canal that we might never do. Having said that, the more adventures we have and the more adversity we overcome, the less scary those bits seem in comparison, so maybe one day….

The next morning we had a long drive down to Karen’s for Dave’s annual service and MOT at the doctors. We stayed over and Mum and Dad came round in the evening for Dave’s birthday tea, which was nice, he felt very spoilt with all the attention. It seemed even further coming back home, but it was good to see everyone. We came back with a bag of Christmas and birthday pressies for us, and lots of mail-order goodies for the boat.

Legend’s new bits included a Bubble Tester for the gas system, some extra fuses and uprated cabling for the battery department, and some cable identification tags for everything from USB leads to solar panel supply cables. We had our four-yearly Boat Safety Scheme examination booked while we were at Woodlesford, and although Dave was fairly sure Legend would pass without any extra additions, being over and above the bare minimum is always a good idea.  Also, things like the bubble tester and the cable tags make the examiners job, (and our monthly maintenance checks) much easier.

Over the next few days we got all the new bits fitted and generally tidied up ready for Richard, our chosen BSS examiner this year. It was our third examination since we’ve been on board so we're getting used to the routine now, but it’s always an anxious time as quite a lot of the test is subjective, and each examiner has his or her own foibles and specialist areas. Richard picked up on the gas pipes that feed our oven and hob, which are braided stainless steel with a rubber core. The rules are that if there are no signs of heat damage to the braiding then they are a pass, so he pulled our oven out of its cabinet to have a look at them. No-one has done that before. They looked fine, no staining or blueing, so he passed them, but as he pointed out, Legend is 30 years old, they might well have been there since it was built and there is no way of telling what condition the inner rubber core is in. We’re fairly sure that the kitchen was re-fitted not that long before we bought it, but we’ve had it for nearly 11 years now, so changing the hoses would be a wise move. Richard’s recommendation was to get fixed copper pipework installed to the oven and hob and do away with the flexible hoses altogether, so we might have a word with Jim and see about doing that next time we’re in his neck of the woods.

He also advised Dave to fit a support bracket to one of the fuel filters on the engine, but apart from that he seemed fairly impressed with our little home and gave us a pass, so we’re good for another four years.

That afternoon Storm Barra was forecast, but as it hadn’t arrived yet we thought it would be a good idea to make a dash for it and get as close to Leeds as we could.

We got as far as Knostrop lock on the outskirts of the city before the wind got rough so, as we’d not seen another moving boat all day and it was now getting stormy and dark, we moored up on the bottom lock landing.

Knostrop weir in full flow.

We were off first thing in the morning; the warning board above the lock was on amber and although we hadn’t had that much rain the previous night, we knew that it had been really heavy in the River Aire’s catchment area, so we went flat out upstream to Leeds, well aware that we only had a short time window of time to get off the river.

 It was really lovely coming into the city with all the fabulous bridges and buildings along the riverbank but we were well aware we were pushing hard into the flow.

Going into Leeds Lock.

Coming out of Leeds lock and going past the Armouries.

As we approached the end of the Navigation we had a very tricky manoeuvre into River lock from the fast flowing water that was coming round the corner under the railway station. Dave managed to slot Legend very neatly into the dead water just before the lock without crashing into the wall, and Ann-Marie hopped off onto the shortest lock landing in the world. It was only then that we noticed the warning board was verging on red.

 Half an hour later it would have been a very different story. We worked Legend up the lock onto the safe and relatively calm waters of the Leeds & Liverpool Canal.

 It came as a bit of a shock to actually have to use a windlass to raise the paddles, and to actually have to push a gate beam; Ann-Marie had only had buttons to push since we’d left the Tinsley flight out of Sheffield. We knew we’d have to get used to it though, ahead of us lay 127 miles of wide canal with 91 locks and countless swing bridges. Just as we tied up in front of the Hilton the heavens opened and it threw it down for over an hour. We disappeared inside with our brunch and thanked our lucky stars that we weren’t still out on the rapidly rising river.

As soon as it stopped raining we were out exploring the city.

 When we were here seven years ago we’d been impressed by the indoor market and the old corn exchange and all the other fantastic buildings that adorn the streets of Leeds, and this time was no different. It really is a magnificent city and seeing it decorated and lit up for Christmas was beautiful. It was lovely to be back.

On its way out of Leeds the canal swiftly climbs up the Aire Valley through a series of single and staircase locks. Kirkstall lock, along with the triple staircases at Forge and Newlay, are kept locked by CRT and, during the winter months, have to be booked in advance. We’d made a booking for 9am on the Friday, and had thought we’d be able to get up first thing and be at Kirkstall in time. However, a run up the towpath on Thursday morning made us realise that we actually had quite a way to go so, after a serendipitous meeting with our old friend David, who had come into Leeds to meet his mum off the train, we set off that afternoon and got Legend out of the city and up through Spring Garden lock just as dusk descended.

In the morning we were up at dawn and along the next mile to meet our lock keeper. We got to Kirkstall bottom lock with about 15 minutes to spare, so we were glad we’d moved the previous day.

The top gate paddles were locked shut, but the gates themselves weren’t, so we were able to get Legend into the lock, and then had breakfast while the leaky top gates slowly filled it.

Mick the lock keeper rang us while we were there, so we told him we’d meet him at Forge staircase.

L&L locks are short; you can just squeeze a 60’ boat into them if you go diagonally, so at 58’ Legend doesn’t have a lot of room to play with and the opportunities to make a complete pig’s ear of it are many fold.

Keeping the well-deck cover shut is quite important when you're going up L&L short locks.

Too much or too little water can flood or ground the boat, but Mick knew his stuff and clearly knew these locks well, balancing the water levels perfectly.

Our Lockie, Mick hard at work with a keb.

 Under his expert care we were soon through both the triples without a hitch and off, through the first of the many and varied swing bridges that this canal has to offer...

... and on our way to Rodley where we moored up for a few days. Rodley swing bridge was on the winter closure list, so if we were to do as we planned and navigate the L&L in 2022 we had to be beyond it before the beginning of January.  So far so good, one box ticked. Ahead of us were two more subjects of the winter maintainance program. First, the famous Bingley Five Rise, which was having some gates replaced, and just beyond that Micklethwaite swing bridge, which was being replaced with a whole new bridge. Bingley 5 was about 11 miles and 11 locks ahead of us, and scheduled for closure on the 4th of January. It was the 11^th of December so even if we got iced in for a fortnight we'd still be able to get there. Unless the canal broke. Or Legend broke. Or there was another lockdown. Or we got Covid.  Or….

Did we do it? Find out next time.

Happy Christmas Dear Reader. We hope you have a safe and joyful time and may 2022 bring you happiness and peace. D&AM

Goole to Castleford. Knottingley and Goole Canal. Aire and Calder Navigation.

 After a week we left Goole and, along with Paul and Maxine on Nb Rosemary, went to Rawcliffe Bridge.

Because the navigation is so big and straight you can see one mooring from the other, but it still took us nearly an hour to get there.

In the morning we left Legend tied up safely outside the marina and drove down to Mum and Dad’s for a few days. They’ve got a new shed arriving in January, so they wanted to get a concrete base laid for it before it started to get frosty, and we’d put that weekend aside to help with the donkey work and pick up our post from Karen’s. It was also close to Dad’s birthday, so after an afternoon of levelling, shuttering and digging out tree roots we all went to the pub to celebrate. Next morning Paul and Perry from Dad's bowls club arrived with a cement mixer and by lunch time, well ahead of schedule, we’d got the 8’x6’ slab laid and levelled. 

Perry doing a sterling job with the mixer

Half way through

All finished

There were bacon and egg butties all round and we all felt rather proud of ourselves.

That afternoon we got Dad to have a listen to our car. For a while there had been a rhythmic rattle coming from the top of the engine. Dave suspected the poly V serpentine belt which, as well as driving the alternator, follows a torturous route round the water, air con and power steering pumps. Dad agreed that it was a possible cause, so Dave got on the internet to find a new one. Our little Kia’s engine is a Hyundai 1.5 diesel; finding a belt for it proved tricky, but Dave finally managed to source one in GSF at Luton. Even if it’s not the culprit it’s worth renewing it before it becomes impossible, so we arranged to pick it up on our way home.

On the Sunday it was Nanny Wendy’s 80^th birthday party, which was a lovely open house affair and a great time to catch up with lots of folk we haven’t seen for years. It also gave everyone a chance to see Wendy’s new kitchen extension which was fabulous. Really spacious with an island unit in the middle and a whole big floor-to-ceiling window wall looking out over her lovely garden.  

In the morning we were off back Up North. As well as swinging into Luton for the drive belt, we stopped off in Rugby for diesel and a chat and a brew with Lindsey before heading home. In the evening Dave quickly rigged up the new inverter that we’d got in our post haul from Karen’s so that the next morning we could do a wash load while we were on the move. We’d decided to go back to Goole to fit the belt as it would be so much easier than anywhere else, so we had another week there. The new belt was easier to fit than we’d feared, but didn’t cure the noise which we now think must be the timing chain. Changing that would mean dropping the engine, along with the sub-frame, out of the bottom of the car. That’s clearly something we’re not geared up for and would cost around £600 in a garage. Despite having got quite attached to our little Kia, it’s not worth the expense of having it done. A noisy cam chain can last for quite a while, so we’ll just turn the radio up and keep an eye on Auto Trader for the time being. We did, however, give the poor thing a wash and a hoover while it was close to the boat.

Other things in our post haul from Karen’s included a bubble tester for the boat’s gas system and a bottle of Aquasteel rust converter. The bubble tester is a little device that goes in the gas locker next to the bottles and lets you check, quite literally at the push of a button, the integrity of the whole system. Any leak shows up as a bubble in the bowl of liquid at the base of the tester, so we can add it to our monthly check list. It also enables the BSS tester to quickly check the system without having to go through all the rigmarole of using manometer. (Which is classed as “Working on the gas system”, meaning that the tester also has to be Gas Safe registered.)

The Aquasteel is for the floor in the well deck. When we got Legend, the well deck was open to the elements and there was a chipboard box/step arrangement in there which had been used to store coal and logs and all manner of rubbish for years. As well as that, the scuppers, which drain water from the well deck, were cut into the sides about quarter of an inch higher than the well deck floor leaving a lip, meaning that any rain water made puddles which never went away, and the bit under the box was permanently damp. Over the years the floor - and the sides it’s welded to - have got quite rusty. We cleaned it all out when we first got the boat, and have done it again when we were on the Caldon canal, but it had become obvious that it needed something more than a clean-up and a lick of paint to deal with it properly.  Dave went over the whole floor with the wire brush on the angle grinder, and then ground the scupper openings down to remove the lip. That will stop the puddles, and along with the upcycled fridge shelves that we’ve put in under all the stuff in the front lockers, should keep the floor dry. Two coats of Aquasteel went on before a coat of black gloss.

Everything out!

All wire brushed ready for treating

Aquasteel looks like milk when before it cures.

Next morning, 2 coats of Aquasteel have cured and he's half way through the black gloss.

The Aquasteel forms a chemical bond with the rust, leaving a waterproof polymer coating that the paint has a very good adherence to. It comes highly recommended by other boaters, so we’re hopeful it will sort it properly. We only had time to do one coat of gloss before the weather turned too cold to paint, so it’ll get another one as soon as it warms up a bit.

After doing all the things that needed a big space next to us and really good car access, we had a few short, bright but cold hops up the navigation, first back to Rawcliffe Bridge, then Pollington lock...

More long, wide and straight boating towards Pollington lock.

 Pet peacocks, not something you expect to see on a boat.

The site of the breach that effectively cut Goole off from the rest of the network last year.

All nicely mended now though.

Looking back to Goole's cloud factory.

Westfield Reservoir wasn't as windy as last time, but still a bit choppy.

Passing the end of the New Junction Canal

Pollington lock is even bigger than the others.

...Whitley lock...

Pollington to Whitley. We'll do our best, but 20 is way beyond our poor little engine!

Moored up in the sunshine at Whitley lock.

...and Knottingley.  We moored just below the lock at Whitley and in the morning when we were getting ready to set off, we noticed that the traffic light on the lock had gone to red, meaning that there was a lock keeper on duty and that there was something coming. Sure enough, a few minutes later Fusedale H, one of the big gravel barges came up behind us and went into the lock. After she’d gone through, we radioed the locky and asked if we could grab a cheeky pen-up while he was there. He said that he’d be more than happy to, but he had to shoot off to Ferrybridge so that he could pen Fusedale H through when she got there, so he was sorry but we’d have to do it ourselves. Ah well, it was worth a try.

We’d looked at Knottingley on Google Earth and picked a useful looking spot near the junction to stop at. However, when we got there we found a fishing match was going on. There looked like there was just enough room for us to tuck in at the end of the worm-drowning party, but as we tried to pull over the wind picked up and pushed the front out into the middle of the navigation, then, much to the amusement of the fishermen, we got the back end stuck in the mud. It wasn’t going well, but we managed to sort ourselves out with a bit of muddy thrusting and rope pulling and eventually got the boat alongside. We took stock of the situation; it was a concrete bank which would mean using mooring pins, and right next to a busy road bridge, so it would be noisy. We both agreed that it would be better to go and find somewhere else, so we pushed off and with a wave to the line of bemused anglers, slid Legend through the churned up murky water and disappeared under the bridge. Half a mile further on we found somewhere far more suitable, with piling to chain to and a handy alleyway leading to a road where we could park the car. Later that afternoon Ferndale H came past, so we were glad we'd moved on and were chained to the Armco.

Ferrybridge was a very short hop from there so once we were moored up we had plenty of time to take the car forward to Castleford and, as there isn’t a towpath down the river section, come back over the hill through the town.  

In the morning we went to have a look at Pontefract. What a lovely town! It’s got a fabulous castle, a thriving indoor market, a really good and helpful library and a very nice cocktail/coffee bar called Carter’s where we stopped and had a game of rummy. 

On the way home we came across the fascinating All Saints Church – the church within a church.

Back at the boat we untied and headed for the floodlock and the three remaining cooling towers of Ferrybridge power station.

There used to be eight of these.

We had lunch on the back deck as we passed by the remains of the coal unloading facility where the Tom Pudding trains used to be picked up and tipped out.

The Tom Pudding trains used to be towed in here.

This is the view from the other end. you can see the remains of the "tippler".

The whole facility is in the process of being demolished

The autumnal colours were stunning as we pushed up the Aire...

...but it was cold and breezy on the back of the boat, and we were quite grateful when Bulholme Lock came into sight. We penned up the lock and chugged along the short Castleford cut in the fading light before tying up on the visitor bollards.

This little fellow came to visit us in Castleford.

The forecast had high wind warnings as Storm Arwen passed over the UK, so we were grateful of being a bit sheltered, but it was still a noisy and rocky night on board. It didn’t let up for the whole of the next day, so we stoked the fire up and found things to do inside. Both our birthdays were imminent, as was Christmas of course, so there were no shortage of crafty things to keep us occupied while the boat rocked and the wind howled through the silver birches.