Monday 24th April - Hebden Bridge
We have decided to spend the day exploring Hebden Bridge, a delightful Yorkshire town, an old textile mill town. The spectacular scenery and quirky, independent shops, galleries and cafes in Hebden Bridge, make it a lovely place to wander around.
Hebden Bridge is at risk from flooding from rivers, the Rochdale Canal and surface water. It is in a steep sided valley where three rivers meet – River Calder, Hebden Water and Colden Clough. Today the river looks very meek and lovely.
We walked around the town and found these amazing houses. Top and bottom houses are the arrangement of a house entered from the top road, above another entered from the lower road, and Hebden Bridge which is built on steep hillsides has many examples of this type of housing.
Nutclough Mill was built in 1797 and stood in the Kiln Brink and was described as suitable for spinning cotton or other wool. In the first part of the 19th century it was used as a cotton spinning mill, and a number of firms worked here. In the second part of the century the mill became very well known as the home of the Fustian co-op, described by Fabian socialist Beatrice Potter as the most brilliant example of producer co-operation. Fustian cloth was a heavy weight material made from cotton and was primarily used for men’s clothing.
Tuesday 25th April - Hebden Bridge to Todmorden
A lovely bright start to the day and we set off for Todmorden, now that we have left the short locks behind us, it is time for me to get out there and work some locks. Dave is bringing the boat into the first locks of the day, however, the paddle mechanism is very hard to operate and we even had to swap over in one of the locks as I couldn’t move the paddle one inch!
The Muscovy duck is the only breed of domestic duck that is not descended from the wild Mallard but belongs to a group known as the greater wood duck. Although it originates from central and southern America it is quite widespread in Britain as an escapee from domestic stock. This duck was happily chasing along behind the Canada goose.
We don’t seem to have any problem with water at the moment, on several of the locks the water is cascading over the top of the lock gate, but isn’t this an idyllic place for a canal lock?
Looking back over the countryside, a lovely location for a house, it certainly makes me feel as though I’m in Brontë country!
Coming into Todmorden is an old mill, turned into living accommodation, all very pleasant.
Our last lock of the day before Todmorden, the chimney in the background belongs to the mill in the previous photo. On this lock we had to use the power of the boat to open the lock gates, only one paddle working and more water escaping from the bottom gates than coming in the top gates, but Ella to the rescue and we were through.
We moored up for the rest of the day in the town and went for a walk then planned the next day’s cruise. I was horrified to see that Dave had 17 locks down for tomorrow, so we decided to cut it in half. Then another boat turned up going our way, Dave had a chat and we agreed to go together, share the locks and work, and hopefully do the 17 locks!
9 locks, 4.5 miles, 5hrs 6mins
Wednesday 26th April - Todmorden to The Summit
An early start, 7.30, and the first lock is a guillotine gate, the first one on this canal. We shared the lock and work with Mark and Ken on nbKindred Spirit.
Leaving Todmorden we passed this huge wall. The great wall of Todmorden was built as a supporting wall alongside the Rochdale Canal. The wall starts it's rise near to Lock number 19 Todmorden or Library Lock before curving away towards Dobroyd Bridge number 30. The canal was first to be completed in 1804 and faced little competition until the arrival of the Manchester and Leeds Railway in 1841. As the railways grew and began to transport more goods, stations were looking at expansion and Todmorden Station looked to enlarge the goods facilities it had. In 1881 the wall was completed having used over 4 million bricks and the new goods yard stood on the land above the retaining wall.
A lot of water flowing over the gates, there was no need to open the paddles to fill the lock, as there was so much already.
Another photo of the boats in the lock, but this is really for the scenery, the landscape we are travelling through, yes this really is the Pennines, and yes we really are travelling on our narrowboat along this canal! It is hard work, but it has it’s rewards aplenty, and I am chuffed we are doing it.
The last lock going up onto the summit, 600ft above sea-level, the highest broad canal in England, what an achievement, we have made it!
The boundary stone marks the border between Yorkshire and Lancashire.
The last lock of the day takes us down off the Summit, it has been a few days since we last went down in a lock, and we were watched intently by a stunning alpaca from Calderbrook Alpacas.
After a lunch at The Summit Inn, we walked back along the Summit, found these stunning cowslips on the edge of the canal.
Also found this poem. Halfway along Summit Pound there is a watershed sculpture that represents the point where the canal reaches its highest point in its climb over the South Pennines. The poem on the sculpture was created by Andrew McMillan and is called Liquid Equinox. Andrew was one of the South Pennines Poets in Residence in 2011 and describes his inspiration for the poem in the following way; 'I was struck by the idea of equilibrium, or being on the exact centre of things; the notion that any water which falls at that point could run down in either direction – towards the Irish Sea or towards the North Sea. Such precise balance, it seems to me, is rare. I remembered that old myth, the one about being able to balance an egg on its end at the exact moment of the equinox. What if we could do the same with water? What if there was more than one possible direction?'"
19 locks, 3 miles, 5hrs 54mins
Thursday 27th April - The Summit to Littleborough
We woke this morning to the boat listing, which meant that getting off the mooring was a trifle difficult, but both boats managed it and we set off for the first lock. It soon became clear that the pounds below us were very low, and we had to start sending water down the canal from above our mooring.
Unfortunately Dave got stuck in one of the locks as the pound was so low that he was grounded as the lock emptied. It was a case of gently filling the lock from above him in order to refloat the boat and allow him to bring the boat out and moor safely in a shorter pound. This longer pound took over 2 hours to fill before we could use it. We began the morning at 8am and we were finally on our way by 11am, 3 hours to make the canal passable for us. Dave phoned CRT and reported the drained pounds and as we were leaving the sorry pounds I saw that they had arrived to sort out the problem!
This must be the remains of an old mill, but it looks as though it has fallen victim to a fire, hopefully someone will restore it to a new life.
Approaching Littleborough, still beautiful countryside, stunning scenery and only a couple more locks to go until we can moor up for the day. Today has been a challenge, deciding how to rectify the problem, moving such huge quantities of water, and keeping the two boats as safe as possible, but we did it, good team work by all. Just looking forward to mooring up and having a well earned rest,
We explored Littleborough, a pretty little town with a wide variety of independent shops and I even bought myself a new pair of summer trainers!
11 locks, 2 miles, 5hrs 18mins
Friday 28th April - Littleborough to Slattocks
A very grey start to the day, so a little later setting off. We were leaving nbKindred Spirit behind so we were travelling solo.
Just outside Littleborough there is Hollingworth Lake Country Park, an award-winning tourist destination, built originally as the main water source for the Rochdale Canal but was later developed as a tourist resort in the 1860s, and I spotted two deer hiding in the trees. I wonder if they were from the country park?
Clegg Hall is a country house that was built in 1618 by Theophilus Ashton. It is thought to have been built on the site of a medieval (possibly 12th century) house and inn. It is supposed to have a resident ghost or boggart. This boggart was actually a ghost, the shade of an ancient member of the Clegg family who, some time in the 14th century, murdered his two young orphaned nephews in order to gain Clegg Hall for himself. It is said that he threw them over a balcony and into the moat, where they drowned. He was subsequently stricken with guilt about this double murder and his ghost (not those of the children) continues to haunt the hall and its grounds.
A big loop around the town of Rochdale, locks and open countryside, we were warned not to stop but everyone seemed very friendly and chatty as we passed by.
This is where the canal passes under the M62, it is very low as they have made use of an existing culvert. However, CRT have put in a floating pontoon for cyclists and walkers which means it is a very tight squeeze! Anything wider than a narrowboat needs to call CRT and they will remove the pontoon to let the boat through.
We moored up at Slattocks, had some lunch and put the heating on, only to see clouds of white smoke emitting from the heater exhaust. Instantly turned it off and made some phone calls, there is no one near enough to come out to sort it out, so we aren’t using it and instead bought logs and coal from the local petrol station which was very close.
7 miles, 5 locks, 4 hrs 30mins
Saturday 29th April - Slattocks to River Irk Aqueduct Moorings
Woke this morning to sunny skies, so made a start on 10 locks down towards the Rose of Lancaster. This is the last safe mooring before Piccadilly Basin in Manchester where we hope to moor tomorrow before moving onto the Ashton canal.
The first lock has a pretty lock keepers cottage with lots of unusual things in the garden, a metal octopus, a tire crocodile and a skeleton watching from the upstairs window!
Dave went to set the lock and I brought the boat down, beautiful still weather and even beginning to feel a little warmer!
We met a hire boat coming up one of the locks so we were able to leave the gate open ready for them and it also meant the lock was full ready for us to go down. Always good when this happens.
A good reflection of the boat and the bridge, these are a very pretty set of locks, not what I was expecting at all!
I think this is a yellow wagtail sitting on the ground. It has a soft, buttery, yellow plumage. Sadly, the population of Yellow Wagtail have fallen by around 75% since the 1970’s. They nest on the ground in fields, meadows and grasslands often close to wetlands or marshlands. Modern farming methods have been blamed for the decline in Yellow Wagtails.
Hovering in the pound waiting for the lock to fill, having a pleasant chat with a passer-by, noting that it was good to see boats moving again, it seems they don’t get many boats on this canal. The Canal was finally opened in 1804 from Sowerby Bridge through to Manchester but with the decline of commercial use it closed in 1954. The canal was re-opened to navigation along its entire length in July 2002 and forms part of the South Pennine Ring.
At the last lock we met nbGloria coming up the lock and chatted to their owners. They came up through Manchester and apart from low water levels all had gone well. They also said that mooring by the aqueduct was very pleasant, so once through the lock we moored up and had lunch at the Rose Of Lancaster.
1.75 miles, 9 locks, 3hrs 6mins
Sunday 30th April - Irk Aqueduct to Islington Marina Manchester
Today is the final day before reaching Manchester. This stretch of canal is notorious for being ‘rough’ and all advice is to start early and keep going until you reach Piccadilly Basin. So, a 7am start, dry and a slight breeze, but generally good conditions.
After the first lock is an electrically operated lift bridge, and once Dave had located the control panel, I was amazed to see the whole bridge lift up in the air. Usually one end is lifted up, so this was a complete surprise, I have never seen one like this before! A motorist who was stopped by the bridge got out of his car to see this phenomenon, said he had lived here for 60 years and this was the first time he had seen it working, he was as amazed as I was.
Soon after, we passed under the M60, the canal has been widened and passed through a culvert under the M60 and surrounding roads.
The concrete channel is wide enough for wide boats and has several 90 degree bends in it, the towpath has been redirected over a footbridge.
Many more mills as we approach Manchester, again with the chimney being used for mobile antennae.
Our first glimpse of Manchester in the distance. We are working 18 gruelling locks down to the city, they come relentlessly, not worth Dave getting back on the boat so he walked all the way from lock 66 to Lock 81, almost 4 miles, whilst I manoeuvred the boat through the dirtiest canal I have ever experienced. I think the fact that I rarely came into the side meant that we didn’t foul the propeller at all, which was a blessing. Bridge holes were interesting, and I tended to coast through them in neutral as much as possible.
The last lock of the day, there has been so much water coming down the canal with us that at this point the towpath was under water, so we didn’t experience a shortage of water, which again was a blessing.
We turned left into Islington Marina and stopped at the water point to fill up with water, quite a performance, but ably assisted by Jack sporting a rather grand handle bar moustache. We were able to moor in the Marina, breasted up against another boat and for a fee, but we were both too exhausted to go any further.
Jack is an actor, currently filming alongside Ewan McGregor in ‘A Gentleman in Moscow’ in Bolton.
6.5 miles, 18 locks, 7 hours.
