Monday 6 July 2015

Beauty and the Beast

The Huddersfield Canal is divided into two separate sections, the Huddersfield Broad - 3 1/2 miles and nine locks which was the original section, and the Huddersfield Narrow - 20 miles and 74 locks - which runs over the Pennines and includes the mighty Standedge Tunnel; Each has its own set of challenges for the modern boater.


The Huddersfield Broad runs from the Calder & Hebble navigation at Cooper bridge to the centre of Huddersfield in West Yorkshire and was originally known as the Cooper Canal. Opened in 1776 it proved to be a lifeline for the rapidly developing textile industry in Huddersfield, bringing coal in and shipping completed textiles out.
The Huddersfield Narrow, fully opened in 1811 linked the southern end of the broad canal to the Ashton and Peak Forest Canals on the Lancashire side of the Pennines, at Ashton-Under-Lyne in Greater Manchester. The canal was designed to take advantage of the valleys of the Rivers Tame and Colne but it would still require a tunnel under the Pennines at Standedge. Its 20 mile length would have 74 locks, 32 West of the tunnel and 42 east of the tunnel. This was to provide a more direct link between Leeds and Manchester than the existing Rochdale Canal.

Intended to be a 'cut above the rest' the daring plan of the Huddersfield Canal almost failed to become reality. Although the canal itself was completed in a reasonable amount of time, the tunnel was beset with problems right from the beginning and the whole project bankrupted many of its investors before Thomas Telford was invited to take control. Rather than the planned 5 years to construct, It would be 17 years before the tunnel and thus the canal was finally opened.
Due to spending cuts (sounds familiar doesn't it) the intended towpath through the tunnel wasn't built so boatman had to 'leg' the boat through the tunnel by lying on boards across the front of the boat and walking along the roof of the tunnel. This would take up to four hours. After the canal fell into decline it lay as a 'muddy ditch' and was in some places built over until it was restored and re-opened in 2001.

We turned onto the Huddersfield Narrow Canal at Ashton- Under-Lyne, traveling east out of Portland Basin towards Stalybridge. Passing through 'Asda Tunnel' the short underpass that brings you almost directly under the supermarket, we were surprised to note that there was no mooring, oh well, Tesco is a only a mile away with plenty of mooring so we decided to stop there. Asda, you have really missed a trick!



An interesting tale is that it was in the Newmarket Tavern in Stalybridge that composer Jack Judge wrote and first sang the song 'Its a long way too Tipperary' that became popular among soldiers in the First World War.

We had originally thought that we would moor in Stalybridge, but we were warned against that as boats have had stones thrown at them and although mooring was plentiful, we noticed that even the 'continuous moorers' don't stop there and that is a bad sign!

As we navigated through the town, we got stuck under a road bridge where a supermarket trolley had been dumped into the canal. We had to drag it out from underneath the boat before we could pass. I noticed that the £1 coin used to secure the trolley was still in its slot so I took great pleasure in liberating it for my trouble, and didn't even bother to move the trolley from the towpath - I was so angry!




On the outskirts of Stalybridge we met up with working boat 'Hazel'. We had been trailing behind her since we had left Bugsworth basin, so when we found her moored at her heritage site, we stopped to have a chat. John Sargent, the TV journalist and presenter had used narrowboat Hazel while he was filming a new episode of 'Barging around Britain' however the hard working crew had only scathing comments to make about the celebrity and his shameful treatment of them. Oh well - that showbiz!





On the western side of the Pennines, close to Stalybridge, at Hartshead Power Station, the canal runs through the legs of an Electricity Pylon. The pylon was erected before the canal was restored and the only route for the restoration was through its legs.

It was the right decision to continue on through Stalybridge as the mooring before Lock 15W in Mossley was delightful. Although a little shallow and therefore we were not able to moor snugly alongside the bank, we had a lovely view over the canal with a backdrop of the majestic Pennines -reminding us of the hard work to come. We stayed an extra day in order to explore and appreciate the Lancashire countryside.

With the Pennines rearing up ahead, we followed the navigation through its beautiful if somewhat tortuous path towards Uppermill where once again, we stopped to explore and visit the museum. Sadly the museum was undergoing renovation so the majority of displays had been dismantled.


Beyond Uppermill, the Saddleworth Viaduct that carries the Manchester - Huddersfield railway crosses over the canal between locks 22W and 23W before the waterway, still climbing relentlessly, emerges alongside the railway line. Together they pick their way across stunning moorland as we ascend the last few miles to the summit.


Tired and aching from the operation of the stiff lock paddles, we arrived at Lock 31W. Thinking that we only had one more lock to go before we could stop for the night, we were pleasantly surprised to hear the proprietor of the Ice cream shop advise that it was a better mooring before the last lock. We didn't need a second invitation. we moored up and went back for a delicious ice-cream and even had lunch - It turned out that Grandpa Green's Ice Creams is more than just an ice cream shop!



Moored between Geoffrey Dickens Lock and Summit Lock

Arriving ahead of schedule, we had to wait for Monday before we could go through the Standedge tunnel. Passage is by appointment only and CRT provide a pilot to take you through. I can think of worse places to stay!

With beautiful moorland all around, an ice cream shop in shouting distance and beautiful sunshine, what more could you ask for?



The Standedge tunnel has its limitations with regard to the dimension of craft going through. We knew that we would have to dismantle the cratch and take down the roof box, so while I cooked a traditional Sunday Lunch, Ian got to work emptying the roof box, stowing the bicycles in the back cabin and taking down the cratch By the time we were scheduled to go through the tunnel, we were more than ready.

The railway shares the tunnel, albeit through a separate section. It would take us more than two hours to go through while the train pictured here would only take two minutes.


The CRT guides were very friendly and knowledgeable. once they had gone through all the health and safety procedures and checked the boat dimensions against their gauges, we were all set to go, however we had to wait for a boat coming the other way before we set off.








The tunnel was amazing. the colours of the different types of rock, the natural rock against brick built sections and the tool marks where the navvies dug the tunnel by hand all contributed to the magnificence.








Well we had climbed the mountain -at least the Pennines anyway - and conquered the tunnel, so it was almost an anti-climax as we started the long steady descent towards Huddersfield. The lock operation was no less arduous as the navigation drops rapidly through 42 locks over 8 miles.


At lock 37E, Smudgees Lock, the Blue Peter logo is emblazoned on the balance beam. - that is not something you see every day. It turned out that the TV presenter of the longest-running children's magazine program 'Blue Peter' had rolled up his sleeves  and got stuck into making a new lock gate and then fitting it with the help of the CRT staff.





At lock 31 the beautiful gardens that were tended right alongside the lock was a pleasure to look at. I have to say that besides the beautifully tended gardens, I noticed that the friendly people along the towpath were more than happy to chat. Something you certainly don't experience in a town. People stopped to tell us about a pub that served good food, a bakery renowned for its outstanding bread and even a pie shop that has the best pork pies. It really is uplifting!





Lock 24E is an unusual guillotine lock. As I was winding the bridge's hydraulic system a lady asked if she could have a go. I happily gave her my windlass and while she endlessly wound that windlass to raise the guillotine she told me how she had always wanted to hire a narrowboat and take a trip. Well we all have a similar story about 'always wanting to do...' something and I say 'Just Do It' life is too short not to.

After an exhausting day, we stopped at Slathwaite but not before we had navigated some very low bridges. The roof box only just slipped beneath them as the box cover grazed the underside. I found that I was holding my breath as I steered 'Winedown' through them.

We found suitable mooring opposite a pallet manufacturing company and although they worked late shifts, we slept too well to hear the work noise. A few hours after we moored, narrowboat Horace owned by John and Shirley Winton drew up in front of us having come up the navigation from the opposite direction. All any of us could manage in the draining heat was a brief conversation as we were all exhausted but we made up for it the following evening. We dined together on the front deck of our boat and it was nearly midnight and a few bottles of wine later before we parted company.


Thursday morning (2nd July) we bid John and Shirley farewell and set off on the last leg towards Huddersfield , they meanwhile set off heading for the summit. Despite all the horror stories that we had heard about getting stuck due to lack of water, we made it to lock 2 without incident. mind you, we were taking our water with us as we descended through the last 20 locks.











In some places, the water was so plentiful that water was coming over the lock gates.

When we reached lock 11 a fella was sitting in a deckchair on the towpath, sunning himself. as we approached, he got up and opened the lock gate in front of us, he then went on to set and open the next two locks. All that just for the chance to chat. How great some people can be.


Our luck didn't hold, however.Between lock 2and 1 (the last of the day and the last of the Huddersfield Narrow canal) we stuck fast in an old lock chamber and to make matters worse, the straight lock sides rose 10ft above the boat so we couldn't even get off the boat. We were well and truly stuck. We had to call out Canal and River Trust (CRT) to rescue us. As most Englishmen do, when in difficulty, make a pot of tea! I made tea while waiting for CRT to flush more water down from the lock above to re-float us.

Just as we started to slowly inch forward again, the heavens opened and we got drenched, but our story didn't end there. A man (Alan was his name) sheltering from the pouring rain below a bridge had witnessed our plight and as we slowly thrust our way through the clinging clay lined canal he opened the lock gates in front of us to ensure that we didn't have to stop and thereby get stuck again. He too was soaked to the skin, but he said that he knew if we had lost momentum, we would have struggled to get going again, so he ignored his own comfort in order to help us. Talk about the milk of human kindness.


And so it was exhausted and soaked that we thankfully tied up in Aspley Basin, the end of the Huddersfield narrow and the start of the Huddersfield Broad canal.

We met up with Ian's cousins at the pub in Aspley. it has been years since we last saw them so despite our exhaustion, we soon got our second wind and had a lovely evening.

I have to admit that I was very pleased to see the end of the Huddersfield Narrow Canal and hope that we don't have to go back over it again.


Monday 6th July, after having spent the weekend in Huddersfield, we set off down the Huddersfield broad canal. The first bridge that we came to was an unusual lift bridge dating back to 1865.

The locks on this broad stretch of the canal system are short (57.5ft and Winedown is 60ft). We knew that we could get through by putting the boat into the lock diagonally, but we still faced our new challenge with a little trepidation.However, once we had passed through the first of the nine short locks and worked out the technique, the rest was plain sailing.

The last three and a half miles of the Huddersfield canal passes through a mix of industrial buildings with a few green sports fields to break the urbanisation. The canal itself was full of litter and therefore didn't present its best profile so it was with some relief that we turned onto the Calder & Hebble navigation at Cooper Bridge and said farewell to the Huddersfield Canal. It has been a good experience and a lot of hard work but I can't say that I would be in a hurry to return.

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