Wow! what a days boating that was. It was a cross between the Krypton Factor and an obstacle course. We had to get up to lock 24E as that is the pick up point for the tunnel so there was no stopping. Most of the lower end of this canal is so seriously short of water that we would have been a lot better off with some wheels.
Back to the good old narrow locks, if we knew what we were going into at this point we might just have stayed put.
The first lock took us alongside Huddersfield University which looked more like the mills of old.
This is all new and very utilitarian through here, they don't build em like they used to.
This whole area gave me the impression we were traveling through a storm drain. That square hole is the entrance to a tunnel.
It wasn't too long though before we got back to some proper locks, this one is so overgrown the walls look like hedges.
The views are back with us now as we climb ever higher towards "That" tunnel.
An interesting lock here, D had to open the beams from the road and dodge the traffic whilst doing it. Health and safety? whats that then? never heard of it.
I was stuck here for quite a while as I waited for D to try and find some water to let down into this pound (Area between two locks). You can clearly see the water line along the brickwork giving a good guide as to just how little water there is here.
On the other hand, a few locks higher up and there is so much water it is pouring over the gates. I don't think BW have got this quite right at the moment.
Back to the drawing board maybe?
This is another one of those approaches to a town that I like so much. You are actually sneaking along well below the level of the road and path.
One drawback here is the height (or lack of it) of the bridges. I have to stand in the engine room with just my head peeking over the top of the roof.
Looks like we might be moving to plan "D" as we have just been told the canal ahead of us is closed at the moment. This could be a big nuisance because if we miss our slot it will roll over into next week. I'm beginning to wonder if we will ever get back down from here.
More to follow................................................
3 comments:
Greetings from Turkey.Have a nice day.
I did wonder when you decided that the HNC would be the easier option if you knew what you were letting yourselves in for. Hope you make it to the tunnel, and that you fit through once you get there.
Hi Adam,
We did fit (Thankfully) and it was well worth all the hassle in the end.
We made the choice to come this way instead of the Rochdale as that is supposed to be even worse for water at the moment.
Whether we made the right choice is another question.
Regards Chris & Debbie.
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