Twice through England's deepest canal lock within a hour and a half.

(Boat Flamingo - posted by Alan)

Going down - some 45 minutes after scheduled time.

So we ended up last night, somewhere we never planned to be, pointing the wrong way, towards a lock that needs a booked passage in both directions, that we didn't have. Oh, and our engine was misbehaving after the hammering it had taken earlier in the day.

Gates open - tunnel beyond - it curves sharply.

So my first task towards sorting out the mess was trying to book passages though Tuel Lane lock. The first call-taker was very much of a "computer says no", persuasion, and told me 24 hours notice was always required. Fortunately though the lady at Leeds office was far more understanding. If we could get to Tuel Lane by 09:30 another boat was booked, and we could go through with them. If we could be ready to come back up at 11:00, there was a similar opportunity there. I said we would try though a 09:30 arrival was frankly highly optimistic.

Two rather more conventional locks follow - the last on the Rochdale.

Far too optimistic, in fact. The engine started OK, and we got under-way, but after not very long again started a heavy misfire. I didn't now think we would get there, but again nursed it along. Again if I tried any speed it threatened to die, but taking it gently we managed to make progress, albeit slow.  Fortunately, before we finally got to Tuel Lane it started to run considerably better.

 

Lock 2 going back up, and heading to tunnel

We need not have rushed. The lock was in no way ready for the 09:30 passage, and in reality we had to wait until well after 10:00. I was a bit surprised to find the CRT operative was the same one who had told us off for using the winding hole we had yesterday, but had to smile when he now told me it was a maximum of 48 feet, as yesterday he had said 57 feet.

Entering the tunnel - not to be attempted if the deep lock is emptying.

Tuel Lane is impressive if you are in it - very impressive in fact being the deepest lock on the UK canal system, but hemmed in by roads, car parks and much fencing, and with no public or even boater access allowed on the lock side it is hard to take photos that reflect its massiveness. 

Inside the modern tunnel - heading to the deep lock.

Once you are through it, you then enter an equally modern curving tunnel, before having to pass through two conventional locks - the last on the Rochdale Canal, before it becomes the Calder and Hebble, and which cannot pass full length narrow boats.

 




 

Leaving the tunnel and entering Tuel Lane lock.

That meant to get back for our 11:00 booking we had to go down two locks, turn, and back up through those same locks. We couldn't achieve this by the nominated time, because of the delay first time through the lock, but the single-hander on the other up-going boat was happy to wait, and hopefully the CRT man was as well.

The view from above...

Cath was off the boat, so managed some photo opportunities denied to you if you all have to stay on board.

Our non-stop turn had denied us the chance of taking a much needed fill of water - we hadn't been able to empty our full toilet cassettes, and we didn't know what was causing the engine to misfire, but at least we were now pointed at Manchester. We tied up above the lock to allow Cath to buy much needed supplies, and to regroup and consider our next moves.

... and the view in the bottom

One of the next things to happen I can laugh about now, but I probably wasn't even smiling at the time.  In the guide the indicated position of the sanitary station, (toilet cassette emptying point) was on the Calder and Hebble, beyond where we had turned.  I loaded up one of the full ones on our still just surviving folding trolley, and headed for that location. This involves trundling it through a shopping area, as you can't follow the course of the canal where it passes through the tunnel - you get some inquiring looks doing this! Much of the route was heavy cobbles, and I expected the trolley to fail at any moment. However when I got to the indicated location, there was no sign there had ever been a sanitary station there, and there certainly was not now. I trundled my "poo suitcase" a few more bridges, in case the location was shown slightly wrong - there was no sanitary station, so I headed back over those wretched cobbles.

These are big gates.

At this point I decided to go and visit Shire Cruisers, the local boat hire firm, to see if they might help with our engine issues. I was nearly at their office when I passed in an old warehouse, nowhere near the indicated location on our map, a sanitary station - finally I could empty the damned thing.

Shire Cruisers were not sure they could help, but though it possible - they agreed to send a man up to the boat when they could spare him.

James arrived at the boat. We suspected fuel issues, and he thought the same, concentrating on the fuel lift pump, which he thought was probably not performing as it should. He would go and see if by any chance they had one.

 

Different pairs of bottom gates are used 
depending on longest boat passing through.

Meanwhile I was in contact with Dave who had done an excellent job of rebuilding the engine a couple of years back, and who is always happy to offer advice. He thought possibly dirty fuel or blocked fuel filter, and suggested we check a pre-filter gauze that is in the top of the pump. I did this, and although by no means fully blocked, it was disappointingly dirty. David and I cleaned it, and re-assembled. At least the engine still started - something that worries me once I start to take the fuel delivery systems of a diesel apart.

A single lock replaces two former ones - hence the great depth.

We waited quite a while to hear from Shire Cruisers, but nobody called, so I rang them. "Sorry", they said, "they didn't have a suitable pump", and apologised that they were very busy and had not got back to us. There was no charge despite their man having visited the boat - well done Shire Cruisers.

Our choice now was to stay put at a quite unsuitable location, or to try to get back to Hebden Bridge. We decided to do the latter, but before we set off I went and emptied the other toilet cassette, in case we got stranded somewhere before Hebden Bridge. Unfortunately, however, we could not replenish our very depleted fresh water tank - something we had hoped to do at Sowerby Bridge, had we not had to race back immediately to Tuel Lane lock to take advantage of the only possible opportunity to go back the other way through it.

If you are not actually under duress, it is very attractive on this stretch.

Eventually we set off, hoping to get to Hebden Bridge.  Unfortunately the engine started misbehaving again, though once more I was able to keep it running, and get along more slowly, (and rough sounding!). However eventually the misfire subsided, things seemed pretty normal, and we were able to up through the 4 locks back to Hebden Bridge with no further issues. Of course we also passed those two other "non winding holes" from yesterday, and we stopped at the second one we passed to pick up most of the remaining ballast we had left there yesterday.  We could only get our bow close enough to load this on, so had it stacked there, further lifting the back end out of the water - I had to be fairly careful stopping in the locks, as we really were pumping a lot of air when running in reverse, and coming to a halt seemed to take forever!

Exhausted by these unexpected two days we declared ourselves to tired to think about eating on board, and instead went again to "Il Mulino" an Italian restaurant, the quality of who's food is surpassed only by the good humour and excellent service from the staff.  Highly recommended - particularly if you have just had two unexpectedly hard days.


Luddendon Foot to Sowerby Bridge and back to Hebden Bridge
Miles 7.8, Locks: 10
Total Miles 198.5, Total Locks: 187

What more could possibly go wrong? Well, lots, actually!

(Boat Flamingo - posted by Alan)

We have spent the duration of the gathering at Hebden Bridge still facing away fom Manchester. Our allocated mooring was actually slightly away from the majority of the historic boats, through one additional bridge. At some point we needed to turn Flamingo around, ready for its planned departure the following morning. Cath's brother and his wife, Paul and Claire, who now live locally, were scheduled to visit, so we thought we would get the "winding", (turning the boat around), done early. We had to go down only one lock, to a marked "winding hole", turn and come back up again through the lock. What could possibly go wrong?

Well just about everything, actually! When we got to the winding hole, levels in the pound were already low, and it quickly became obvious that deposited debris, including large rocks would make it very hard to get our front end in on that side sufficiently to get the back end round at the other. We had several attempts to position the bow, and eventually found one spot that would give us a bit more length across the canal. However this meant the bow was firmly nestled between rocks on each side, so had now no prospect of being moved much either to left or right.

As we tried to bring the back around, it was clearly going to be right against the tow-path. There was just enough length for our 71' 8", but certainly not the depth, and we grounded out.  No amount of engine running, tugging on ropes would shift us.
 

Today produced very few photos - there was just too much else going on.

Then other boats started turning up in both directions, whilst we remained jammed across the cut. We often find that if you have a dozen people present, you will have a dozen different views on how to solve a problem - that was certainly the case here. Additionally when you are stood next to a Lister engine going flat out, people don't seem to comprehend that you can't possibly hear them, and think you are being rude by ignoring them. I'm not being rude - when I shout that I can't hear you, it is because I can't hear you!

They tried pushing to no effect

A CRT man turned up having been resolving a different issue at the next lock down, and told us no way should we have attempted to turn there - it was, he insisted, only for a maximum length of 57 feet, not for over 70 feet. He didn't want to hear that the guide doesn't mark it as a short one, ad that there is no sign there showing a maximum length. His 57 foot figure was anyway ridiculous, as we were within a foot or two of having the required width. I asked him how I could possibly know it was supposed to be restricted length - he had no answer.
The boats trying to get to Sowerby Bridge had a booking to go through Tuel Lane lock, and were quite understandably impatient to get through, but by now the level had dropped enough that even trying to get us back out to the way we were originally pointed was proving nigh impossible.

Lines were tied to us from those boats, and they tried pulling, then pushing us, but the boat only keeled over alarmingly with things falling down inside.  Nobody but us seemed able to comprehend that with the bow carefully positioned between rocks on either side that it couldn't possibly move either to left or to right, and much effort (and exasperation!) was wasted as a result.

Pulling also did nothing - other than tipping stuff out of cupboards.

Then the engine died!  David in the meantime had decided we had to shed weight, so was busy man-handling a lot of concrete and stone ballast out of the back end of the boat, and on to the tow-path.  Many of the onlookers were trying to be helpful, either by pulling on ropes, or by moving lumps of ballast. Finally by reducing the draught, the back end was sufficiently free that it was possible to drag it around to the point we were facing in the original direction, and the bow could be moved out of the shallows.

At this point the boats the we had moved on, and we were left largely to our own devices, other than that Cath's brother and wife had arrived in the middle of proceedings, (we know how to host a family gathering!)  We moved the boat up, still pointing the wrong way, to the nearest point we could moor it, left the ballast on the bank near the winding hole, and retired back to Hebden Bridge for a family meal and to deliberate on what happened next. Our chances that we would now be leaving for Manchester tomorrow, as planned, seemed slim!

A very pleasant meal was enjoyed with good company in Hebden Bridge.  Max was very pleased, (well ecstatic, actually!), to see Cath's brother and his wife - obviously he know them well from when they were regular visitors at Cath's mother, when Max was her dog.  However more ambitious plans that Cath and her brother had had now had to be shelved, and we had to send them on their way after the meal.

This is perhaps only half the ballast removed from Flamingo.

Back at Flamingo we were now well separated from the pile of ballast that had been discarded on the tow-path - even had we been able to get Flamingo back to it levels were such that we could have not have got the boat close enough to load it on.  So instead David made repeat laborious trips with our rather inadequate folding trolley to retrieve at least half of it, whilst I stacked it back in the recess under the counter on the boat.  How the trolley didn't collapse I'm unsure, but it just about didn't. I took the decision to proceed with much of the ballast temporarily left behind. I want to see if the boat could stop OK with less ballast, as being shallower draughted would otherwise ease our passage on this canal.  David was concerned we were leaving too much behind - as to some degree was I.

It now seemed we would have to continue to Sowerby Bridge to turn, as the CRT man had advised, but he had not indicated this would need two booked passages through Tuel Lane lock - for which normally at least 24 hours notice is required. Our schedule seemed shot to pieces.

However there was one more indicated winding hole before Sowerby Bridge - would that one be any better?  The simple answer was "no, it was far worse" - it was so badly blocked on the far side, with silt at least three feet deep, that we had no prospect of getting the bow anywhere that allowed the back any chance of being able to swing around.  So thank you  CRT - that is two consecutive winding holes, neither indicating unsuitable for a full length boat, and both in your Boater's Guide, neither of which is usable. We were now to late to call CRT about bookings at Tuel Lane, but we had no choice to press on in that direction.

However we had barely got going again before the engine started misfiring badly, and coming close to dying as it had done when being worked hard as we had tried to turn at the first winding hole. I had put that down to over-heating, but now we were just cruising normally, and the engine was not under stress. I nursed it, and avoided a complete stall, but could only creep along, as any attempt to open it up made the problem far worse.  It took a while to find anywhere to moor close to the side, so we could get the dogs off, but once we did, we stopped. There were too many issues, and it was now too late, and we were too tired to solve any of them today.

Our supplies were very low, we'd eaten all the bread, all that was left was sausages and potatoes. Additionally, in an attempt to get the boat unstuck from the bottom we'd also run a lot of water down the sink as our water tank is towards the back of the boat. We were seriously in need of supplies and water.

Hebden Bridge to Luddendon Foot
Miles 3.1, Locks:4
Total Miles 186.7, Total Locks: 177

The final "half" day into Hebden Bridge that proved not to be.

(Boat Flamingo - posted by Alan)

(Very retrospective post for Thursday 23rd May)

Never far from a tall chimney - Flamingo leads Saltaire

OK, we own up, the crew of Flamingo admit we have got a bit behind with the blog! We actually arrived here last Thursday afternoon, and suddenly it has become Monday.

We were, frankly, a bit shattered on arrival, and it has been a delight to actually spend quite a number of days where we didn't need to go anywhere. However the consequences of that are that if you have not written up previous days, it becomes progressively harder to actually remember everything that actually happened, and trying to re-visit Thursday now feels a bit like that.

Trying to free Saltaire without grounding Flamingo.

In summary, I think, it was a considerably harder final day on the trip into to Hebden Bridge than we had anticipated. Todmorden where we had spent the night is only a little over 4 miles from Hebden Bridge, and a lock count of around 10 looked modest compared to the 3 days we had just done. On any "normal" canal it would be an easy half day, but this has rarely been a "normal" canal.

Low pound - trying to find enough water to get through

We knew it would not be one hundred percent straightforward before we even got going, or, more accurately, when we tried to get going. The pound we were moored in we had shared with (at least) Swan, Daphne, Joel and Maria. And as Swan and Daphne were moored on the outside of us, it was logical that the other boats all left first. This took at least two substantial lock-fulls of water out of the pound we were in, leaving us firmly on the bottom, as the level had dropped badly. Try as we may, we couldn't free Flamingo, without going back to the last lock, and running down enough water that we could re-float. This meant we and Saltaire were the last boats in the convoy, and hence we remained the last right through to Hebden Bridge, with all locks not in our favour. 

To non "boaty" friends "not in our favour" means the locks had been left empty by the boats ahead, so all needed refilling before we could enter them, and go down in them ourselves - not unusual, but always more work, and it heavily slows you down unless someone is sent ahead on foot well in advance to prepare them - usually good practice. However the levels in many of the pounds were low, and we were struggling with depth.  In these cases having someone setting the locks ahead can actually be counter-productive, as it is lowering the pound the boat is trying to get through, may make grounding more likely, and if you do ground, it may be very hard to become "ungrounded" if the water around the stranded boat goes down even more. We had to be very careful about having someone "setting ahead" often choosing to only fill locks once we were successfully through the pound that the water to do so would be taken from - less problematic, but it slows things down considerably.
 

Sometimes finding a way through low water was harder.

Even though the owner of Saltaire had removed a lot of ballast so it needed less water to float in, it still got stuck several times, often taking a while to get going again.  Sometimes if we tried to stop to help, we also got in trouble, particularly when trying to get someone onto the bank where we didn't have enough water to float in.

Also, I had been warned about certain locations, but didn't know where they were - only when I grounded firmly in a narrow bit where much of somebody's garden was now in the canal did I realise "this is the bit they were talking about where somebody's garden is now in the canal!"
 

Almost there.

Sometimes the only shallow channel through the depleted pounds proved far closer to the tow-path than you would reasonably assume - at others far further from it, but often it was nowhere where your normal experience might have expected it to be.  To some extent a narrow boat in shallow water will let you know that you are "out of channel" because you find you are fighting against it, but on this day often you were already riding up on rocks, and too late to easily correct your position.

We weren't sure of exact location of event - not here, it seems.

In one lock both boats locked together as we not to the bottom. We managed to get Saltaire out, thinking Flamingo would then follow, but despite no widthways restriction then, Flamingo wouldn't budge. We were simply sat on a pile of rubble, raising us out of the water.  In these circumstances you "flush"- that is you raise the top paddles with the gates at the other end open. Hopefully that will cause a surge of water that lifts the boat temporarily enough that engine power will then move it off the obstruction. Fortunately it did, and in this way boats can sometimes float temporarily just enough at places where the water depth isn't actually enough - just as well if water is scarce, because only very small amounts are used for a "flush". Finding enough to get the boat properly afloat, rather than just temporarily, would involve raising the level of an entire pound  - very much more wasteful, and often not possible.

It didn't take long to find Morris Dancers - 
these are the Hebden Bridge Hill Millies.

Eventually  we got to the right part of Hebden Bridge, almost certainly the final boats travelling from the Manchester direction. By now most bank-side moorings had been allocated, and we were not able to go outside of another boat, as our cabin configuration is very limiting in being able to get dogs on and off. Attempts to get close to the bank in the the remainder of main stretch being used proved impossible, so we were allocated a spot just through bridge, along with Saltaire, but a little detached from the main gathering of boats.  Not an issue, and actually a better location to try and generate some free electricity using the solar panel that we have been lent.

The boat looked well used, (or maybe abused!), unwashed, and unpolished.  However we were knackered, and sorting that out could wait for another day!

Todmorden to Hebden Bridge
Miles 4.4, Locks: 10
Total Miles 183.6, Total Locks: 173

A considerably easier day, despite now travelling alone.

(Boat Flamingo - posted by Alan/Cath)

David shuttling up and down the summit - 
part of the "dog without owner" episode.

A fairly leisurely breakfast. We vaguely expected that Tasmania would have gone off early, as she had started so early the previous day, but when she hadn't gone when we had finished eating we set off ourselves.

 

The summit is stunning, but remarkably short.

Passing from Lancashire into Yorkshire

We got delayed somewhat by some local cyclists who were worried about a dog that was on the tow-path that they didn't recognise. We ended up with a comedy of errors where the dog ended up at the wrong end of the summit with its owner at the other end, so we were delayed in actually getting started with going down from the summit.

 












 

Typical lock and scenery for earlier part of the descent.

What David managed to do to a steel windlass on some of the worst paddle gear.

This part of Yorkshire is stunningly beautiful. There was mostly enough water, although there were still some shallow places. Also some of the locks, particularly the paddle gear were very under-maintained. David is a lot stronger than his parents, but he was struggling to operate the worst of it.

 

I and the dogs have walked much of the way from Manchester

Lock 30 - where we met friends Richard and Katie for the first time in 2014

 

Using a "Spanish Windlass" to drag us off 
somewhere where other methods had failed.

I walked the whole way to Todmorden, as the locks aren't far apart and the dogs like to be out in the fresh air, rather than stuck inside the boat. I've walked most of the way from Manchester.

 

Impressive railway viaduct crossing locks at Gauxholme.

Intended to limit paddle opening, but someone has disabled it.

The "Great Wall of Todmorden" allegedly has more than 4 million bricks.

Watching length anxiously - 
Todmorden guillotine lock is particularly short.

We arrived at about 2:30 and tied up at the visitor's moorings. There is a Morrisons nearby so Alan and I went to get some shopping. Tasmania arrived at about 4 pm, but moored a lock or so further down. Then, later on, all of the other historic boats turned up, including Saltaire. Lynette and Sue, her crew, had shifted more than a ton of ballast off the boat on Monday evening, to make the boat a bit less deep in the water, and had worked long hours to catch up the other boats. We agreed to work together again the next day.
 

An unusual lock type for canals.

Saltaire and Swan arrive at Todmorden

Joel & Maria pass Daphne, Swan & Flamingo

West Summit to Todmorden
Miles 3.2, Locks: 18
Total Miles 179.1, Total Locks: 163

A somewhat better day, but still plenty of things to hold us up.

(Boat Flamingo - posted by Cath)

(Retrospective post for Tuesday 21st May)

A new travelling partner - Tasmania

Up at 6 am. I'd just got the kettle on, and was taking the dogs out of the boat when I saw Chris from the boat Tasmania. He and his crew had worked up the canal on their own the previous day, as the boat that they had been paired with was the boat that had dropped out. He said that he was leaving early, because he didn't want to be behind the convoy as he had been the previous day. I asked if he wanted us to work with him, and he agreed, but only if we could be ready by 6:30. We were, just.

Steady progress at first.

We set off up the flight, and at first, things seemed easier than the previous day with more water available. Then we got to Scowcroft Lock No 61. One of the gates wouldn't open. I was completely puzzled, it didn't seem to be jammed in any way, there was nothing on the bottom of the lock, along the cill, which might have stopped the gate moving. I have never seen a lock gate so firmly fixed before.

 

Until Lock 61 decided to completely halt our progress.

Only having one gate isn't a problem. One boat goes in, then pushes over to the other side, then the second boat goes in. However, once Tasmania was in the lock, and Flamingo tried to enter the lock she wedged firmly in the gates, just behind her bow. She was completely stuck.

This exerts huge forces, but still the gate didn't move at all.

We couldn't go in, and we tried reversing out, but couldn't move. We got everyone tugging on the fixed gate - it wouldn't move. We tried 'bouncing' the other gate - pushing rhythmically on the balance beam so that the gate bounces. Sometimes it's possible to dislodge a bit of rubbish that is caught behind the gate and get another centimetre or so of width.

 



Then we tried a 'Spanish windlass' to open the fixed gate a bit. Then on the open gate. Nothing we did made the gates move at all and nothing gave us any more width. 

Moving again.

I went back to the lock behind us, where Daphne and Swan were coming up, and explained the situation. "Oh, that lock's been broken for ages," they said, "it's supposed to be being fixed sometime."

Back at Scowcroft Lock, some of the crew from Daphne came up to give us a hand. "Put some washing up liquid along the bow where it's stuck," I was told. I did this, with little belief that it would help. David at this point was busy setting up a Spanish windlass from the bow of the boat to the bollard at the end of the lock. Once we'd got this done we tried one final attempt before calling out CRT.

Flamingo passed, errm, a flamingo.

With the boat in full forward gear, David winding the ropes to tighten the 'windlass', some people 'bouncing' the gate and a team of blokes at the back of Flamingo with a rope off the boat and a boat shaft. The pulled the back of Flamingo towards them, then pushed it out again with the shaft, wiggling the bows. Then slowly we started to see movement. Flamingo was creeping bit by bit into the lock. Suddenly she was free. We now know for definite where the widest part of Flamingo is.

We carried on, it was hard work all the way, but nothing as bad as we'd already met up with.

 

The ever helpful Ian Mac - 
volunteer who went far beyond the normal call of duty.

The original plan had been to stop in Littleborough, but in the pub the previous night the experienced boaters had been talking about pushing on to Summit - which, not surprisingly, is the summit of the canal. Because we wanted to keep ahead of the other boats we thought we needed to make it to the summit too. We refilled with water and emptied the toilet cassettes at Littleborough, then carried on up the locks.

Stunning scenery has replaced the dreariness of the Manchester suburbs.

Some way up the flight Ian Mac, the CRT volunteer lock-keeper, appeared. He was going to help us up to the top, because he had ways of making water available that we didn't have. He also told us that the other boats had decided to stop in Littleborough, and that Saltaire was still behind us, carrying on to Hebden Bridge, but by now we were too far up the water-scarce flight to stop. The crew on Tasmania were particularly keen to get to the summit before 8:00 pm as that was when the pub stopped serving food, so we were worried every time that Flamingo got stuck again, feeling the time ticking away.

It would not pay to ignore any of these - 
we jammed in locks which didn't have them.

We singled out for the two narrow locks three and four down from the summit, as these were narrow because of subsidence, then Ian Mac said that he wanted Tasmania to tow Flamingo through the next pound and disappeared to find some more water. It didn't work well. Tasmania grounded, Flamingo needed to be reversed to stop it hitting the back of Tasmania - which got Flamingo 'stemmed up', grounded and skewed across the canal. I went up at the next lock where I met Ian coming back down the flight on his bicycle. He said that water was on its way, and I could see a bit drizzling over the top gates. 

Much of the time Flamingo managed to match Tasmania's speed...

Tasmania, being shallower draughted than Flamingo, got off the mud, and made it to the lock. Flamingo took a lot more to move, but finally made it to the lock as the water in the pound was rising. By this point the water drizzling over the gates had turned into a cataract waterfall, and the noise was deafening. Ian had told Alan that he needed to rush into the lock to make sure that he got in against the flow of water. Unfortunately Tasmania had floated back in the current, and as Flamingo got to the lock the two boats jammed firmly in the gates again. Nobody was very happy, but with Ian's calm advice we set up another Spanish windlass to the narrow bridge at the foot of the lock and started bouncing the lock gates again. 

...however, sometimes it didn't!

We got to Summit at 7:30, a 13-hour day. Not quite as exhausting as the previous day, but longer. We all went to the pub with Ian and shared a meal together. By mutual agreement it was decided that as all the other boats were well behind us, and because of the narrowness of the locks, we might actually get on slightly better travelling separately the following day, now that the worst of the trip was supposedly over.

 

Rose of Lancaster Pub to West Summit Rochdale Canal
Miles 10.8, Locks: 27
Total Miles 175.9, Total Locks: 145