Goole Docks

Here I am Rune

Distance 2.3 miles

Total 1291 Locks 70 Tunnels

Running total mileage 1829.2 miles

At last we have made it to Goole Docks and found a mooring. The mooring wasn’t the easiest because as we pulled in the boat that had been moored in front of us at Rawcliffe Bridge had taken one of the three visitor moorings and a bigger cruiser that had overtaken us on the way into Goole had taken another, we have managed to squeeze in on the end slightly overlapping the waterpoint. If anyone is desperate for water I’m quite content for them to breast up alongside.

Had a long chat with a couple of relatives that I hadn’t seen since 2007 and took a snack at the café at the Waterways Museum with them. I think the serving staff (who are all volunteers) are still learning the job a bit since fairly simple fare seemed unexpectedly complicated to deliver but ultimately we all got something to eat and drink so no harm done.

RUNE and relative in Goole Docks

We then took a stroll around the museum where the relatives were able to identify people from the historical photos on the walls, shows how long they have lived in Goole!

I think the plan at the moment is to stay here tomorrow and then head back towards the South Yorkshire navigation on Tuesday.

.....and RUNE without me or relatives in Goole Docks

Rawcliffe Bridge

Here I am Rune

Distance 10.7 miles

Total 1291 Locks 70 Tunnels

Running total mileage 1826.9 miles

Stopped off at Rawcliffe Bridge to enable a visit to a local cemetery, for once it wasn’t bitterly cold, raining, blowing a gale or trying to snow as has happened on previous visits. Had the opportunity to sit comfortably in warm sunshine and reflect.

Passing under the M62 Motorway

Giving an idea of how wide this canal is

The day’s trip went well, it was interesting passing under roads that I have regularly travelled in the past without much thought of the canal below me. Speed has been good because of the depth of the canal and with only a couple of locks to do the day was generally quite easy. Crew did quite a bit of steering today since I think she likes steering when the canal is fairly straight (very straight!!) quite wide and not much oncoming traffic. The only thing that happened today that rarely happens on a narrower canal was we were overtaken by a cruiser, again because of the depth it wasn’t any great drama.

Tomorrow into Goole to meet up with some relatives and re-acquaint myself with the town, hopefully we’ll find a mooring.

Eggborough

Here I am Rune

Distance 9.8 miles

Total 1289 Locks 70 Tunnels

Running total mileage 1816.2 miles

Once again we have got a little bit further than I anticipated to Whitley Bridge near Eggborough so we should be able to make it either to Rawcliffe Bridge or all the way through to Goole tomorrow, weather and mishaps permitting. It has been an interesting trip passing all of the old and overgrown wharves where coal was once loaded onto the ‘Tom Pudding’ boats for taking to the local power stations. Also passed Ferrybridge Power station where the ‘Tom Pudding’ unloading bays are still present (although no longer used). It looked as though the method of emptying them was to raise up the whole boat and invert it into a hopper which must have been fascinating to watch. Along the canal we have regularly passed the coal loading shutes which would have been located at the various collieries (now closed). My only surprise was passing Kellingley Colliery which was clearly still working as I thought that all of the deep pit collieries in South Yorkshire had closed. Having looked up the news on the colliery however it isn’t good. The Government have decided not to offer £338 million of state aid to extend its life by another 3 years so the colliery will close by the end of the year, clearly they still prefer to pay pitmen to be unemployed rather than digging coal! (pity they don’t have the same lack of sympathy for Bankers!).

Coal Loading Shute

'Tom Pudding' unloading bay

Old Great North Road Bridge, Ferrybridge

Castleford

Here I am Rune

Distance 10.7 miles

Total 1288 Locks 70 Tunnels

Running total mileage 1806.4 miles 

We actually made better progress today than I was expecting and have moored for the night at Castleford. Travelling on a deeper river does enable us to go a bit quicker than when we are scraping along the bottom of a shallow canal and checking the satnav today we were going at about 4.8mph down the river so we got here fairly quickly.

Final view of the Leeds Liverpool Canal (River Aire coming in from the right)

We initially moored nearer to the sanitary station but then it seemed we were at the back of a large petrol storage area and the guy on the boat behind decided to light up his barbecue so we’ve move a bit further away from the potential conflagration!

Today has been the first day since we passed through Leigh that we have been off the Leeds Liverpool canal, and what a bonus it was using 200 foot locks rather than the rather cramped (for a 60 foot boat) 64 foot locks of the Leeds Liverpool. In terms of our lock count, we got a couple of ‘freebies’ today since both Knostrop and Castleford Junction Lock aren’t proper locks in the true sense of the word since they are just flood locks which are closed if the river goes into flood to prevent it flooding the canal.

Proper 'Man sized' locks!

Since we are further than anticipated today we may well get further tomorrow, possibly as far as Heck Hall Marina (about 12 miles). That would leave us about 8.5 miles to Rawcliffe Bridge and 10.5 miles to Goole which should be a comfortable day’s trip (without any mishaps!).

Leeds City Centre (2)

Here I am Rune

Distance 0 miles

Total 1280 Locks 70 Tunnels

Running total mileage 1795.7 miles

A ‘stand-still’ day today to enable us to check out Leeds City Centre (on the hottest day of the year!). Not wishing to undersell the place as it does have a thriving shopping centre, but once you’ve been around there, that is pretty much it. Unlike other cities we have passed through there is no elevated point to view the city (library in Birmingham, Cathedral in Liverpool) and not much in the way of signage to direct you to anywhere of interest. The high points seem to be the Town Hall/Art gallery and a statue of the Black Prince outside the Queens Hotel. Further afield is the Royal Armouries Museum but I don’t really have a lot of interest in that.

Leeds Town Hall & Art Gallery

Black Prince Statue

 One area that is a bit different (but doesn't lend itself to photography, is the small village that they seem to have build under the railway arches below the railway station. From our mooring we can enter this dark realm about 50 metres away and then re-emerge right by the railway station having seen little daylight all the way (and having crossed the river!). The bit crossing the river is interesting and I would think quite noisy when the river ever goes into flood.

Tomorrow we press on down the River Aire towards Castleford, my original plan being to moor outside of Lemonroyd Marina until I took a look at Google Earth and realised we’d be only 200 yards from a fairly big sewage works!(odd place to build a marina!!). In light of that info we will probably moor somewhere near Woodlesford Lock or Swillington Bridge. I have just seen on the map that these locations are on the outskirts of Rothwell which I remember from back in my HGV driving days when we went to a safety course there.