After the Aire, the Calder - rivers and canal combined

Friday, 28 August 2009 09:36

That is why it is called the Aire and Calder Navigation!

Much of the two rivers are canalised but for a while we felt the force of the current as we turned onto the River Calder from the River Aire.

The course of the Calder has been straightened. Oxbow lakes either side of the navigation confirm this - my geography lessons in the dim distant past came back! Oxbow lakes are formed when the twists and turns of a river meet and form this phenomenon!

At Methley Bridge are some permanent moorings with a motley of boats

A dismantled railway line bridge is still in place

Stephenson's Bridge is just beyond it

We rounded the corner at Fairies Hill to hear three blast on a hooter. Three blasts mean "I am going astern" so we saw what we expected - a gravel barge slowly retreating around the next bend!

Ahead was Whitwood Wharf, on the right is the noisy grain barge

Easedale was fully loaded with sand and gravel and was very large - I am glad we did not meet it moving forward around the bend! The Skipper acknowledged us and as we went past the wharf the barge Humber Renown was being loaded at the Lafarge wharf.

Humber Renown

Beside the wharf the entrance to the old navigation through Fairies Hill Lock

Around the next corner is Woodnock Lock which has replaced Fairies Hill Lock and Altofts Lock on the old bit. It is a sharp left turn into the 13 foot 6 inch lock. Pretty deep but thankfully still mechanised!

Arriving at the lock landing

The "ahh" factor on the lock side

There were at least six kittens on the lock side as I arrived to operate the lock. I was initially disorientated as we were now going up - the first time since Blackburn on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal!

I did not like the look of the skies after we were through the lock

We were hoping to moor at the next lock - King's Road Lock. Before the lock there are moorings but they were long term moorings on both sides, plus an hour's mooring for the waterpoint.

By now it was beginning to rain and we had to go through the lock. By the time I had operated the lock it was absolutely pouring and we were both soaked through. We pulled in and John went off to see if there were any moorings available.

I stayed on board to dry off!

There were moorings on the off-side and room for us at the end so John took Epiphany over - another soaking made no difference to his saturated state! We moored securely in a lovely quiet spot with the River Calder to our right and Altofts (once a mining village, now the suburbs of Wakefield) about half a mile away.

There is a parliamentary report of an explosion here in 1887 that graphically evokes the working conditions of the miners and the dangers they faced. It is worth reading!

Eventually the rain cleared and we were rewarded with a rainbow

Clarence Dock, Leeds on the River Aire to Kings Road Lock on the River Calder - 6 hours 23 minutes, 13.48 miles, 8 locks