The River Calder comes and goes

Sunday, 30 August 2009 08:50

Parts of the Aire and Calder Navigation use the River Calder but there are "Cuts" too

For the moment, the River Calder flowed in the valley to our right and it twisted and turned until we met it at Stanley Ferry. The navigation cut crosses the river here on two aqueducts.

There is the original was built in the 1830s, using the same principal as the Sydney Harbour Bridge (built 100 years later!). It is a trough suspended from a two-pin arch. 7, 000 tons of Bramley Fall stone and 1000 tons of cast iron were used by the 700 strong workforce to construct the aqueduct.

Stanley Ferry aqueducts

Unfortunately not long after it opened a very large flood caused the River Calder below to flow right into the trough.

British Waterways has a repair and building yard here.They manufacture lock gates and it was interesting to see some of the gates were being stored with water running over them.

Lock gates in store

The yard occupies an old loading basin where the "Tom Puddings" were hauled onto railway wagons. They were then re-loaded at a local colliery and re-launched en-route to Goole.

Tom Puddings were tub boats and were used from 1863 to 1985. Push tugs were used to push trains of these tubs - sometimes up to 19 boats at a time - just like the rail freight trains they were competing with. The locks from Goole to Castleford - this includes the section we are on - were eventually lengthened to 450 feet to allow for 19 Tom Puddings in a "train".

After Ramsden Footbridge and swing bridge there are moorings both sides - both visitor and long term and the necessary facilities. We waved to nb Take Five on the VMs - we had caught them up!

Footbridge - because I like the sky!

Open swing bridge

There is an handsome stone bridge over the entrance to Broadreach Lock

It is another flood lock although Nicholson does not name it as such! The River Calder joined the Navigation for about three quarters of a mile here.

Passing Old Wharf Branch Junction we approached Fall Ing Lock. An "Ing" is a water meadow and as the river left us again to the right, maybe there was one further up river.

A sharp turn left into Fall Ing Lock

Above the lock the navigation takes a sharp right

We were now on the Calder and Hebble Navigation. There are moorings here by a picnic area and pub.

We were in Wakefield now!

Soon we turned around this left hand bend

Doncaster Road bridge was ahead, then Barnsley Road Bridge, closely followed by Wakefield Flood Lock.

Looking towards Barnsley visitor moorings and lock

We turned left under the footbridge and back onto the River Calder!

Looking back we saw a boat yard in the short bit of river before the weir

I leave you in Wakefield on the River Calder for the moment as I have other things to do this evening!