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Issue 163 Autumn 2008

PenninePennine

Issue 163 Autumn 2008

Magazine of the Huddersfield Canal SocietyMagazine of the Huddersfield Canal Society

Transhipment Warehouse, Wool Road, Dobcross, Oldham, Lancashire, OL3 5QROffice Hours: Monday - Thursday 08.30-16.30 Friday 08.30-13.30Telephone: 01457 871800 EMail: hcs@huddersfieldcanal.comWebsite: www.huddersfieldcanal.com

President - David Sumner MBE

Huddersfield Canal Society Ltd

Council Members

Neville Kenyon Meadow Head, Tottington, Bury, Lancashire, BL8 3PPChairman Tel: 01457 871800

Trevor Ellis 20 Batley Avenue, Marsh, Huddersfield, HD1 4NAVice-Chairman Tel: 01484 534666

Steve Picot HCS Ltd, Transhipment Warehouse, Wool Road, Dobcross,Treasurer Oldham, Lancashire, OL3 5QR Tel: 01457 871800

John Fryer Ramsdens Solicitors LLP, Oakley House, 1 Hungerford Road,Company Secretary Edgerton, Huddersfield, HD3 3AL

Andrea Fisher 53 Bayfield Close, Hade Edge, Huddersfield, HD9 2QXBoat Co-ordinator (East) Tel: 01484 686136

Alwyn Ogborn HCS Ltd, Transhipment Warehouse, Wool Road, Dobcrss,Editor Pennine Link OL3 5QR Tel: 07973 269639 alwyn@ogborn.co.uk

Jack Carr 19 Sycamore Avenue, Euxton, Chorley, Lancashire, PR7 6JRCouncil Member Tel: 01257 265786

Eric Crosland 44 Marina Terrace, Golcar, Huddersfield, HD7 4RACouncil Member Tel: 01484 659748

Keith Noble The Dene, Triangle, Sowerby Bridge, West Yorkshire, HX6 3EACouncil Member Tel: 01422 823562

David Sumner 4 Whiteoak Close, Marple, Stockport, Cheshire SK6 6NTPresident Tel: 0161 449 9084

Keith Sykes 1 Follingworth, Slaithwaite, West Yorkshire, HD7 5XDCouncil Member Tel: 01484 841519

Vince Willey 23 Regent Drive, Mossley, Ashton-u-Lyne, Lancs., OL5 9NZCouncil Member Tel: 01457 871800

NON-COUNCIL POSTS

Claire Bebbington Marketing Officer

Bob Gough Administrator

The views expressed in Pennine Link are not necessarily those of Huddersfield Canal Society Ltd

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Registered in England No. 1498800 Registered Charity No. 510201

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Editorial 4Chairman’s Report 5Disconnected Jottings 9News from the East 10Manchester, Bolton & Bury CS 12Letter to the Editor 16IWA Honour for Keith Gibson 17Christmas Gifts 182008 Photographic Competition 19Boaters have a Field Day 25Hollinwood Canal Society 26

Cover: Frenches/Knoll Mill marina, Greenfield, with completed lift bridge reinstating towpath access.The marina is fenced off as construction work is currently on-going. Photo: Bob Gough

PennineIssue 163

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The Story of DB1 - Part 12 27Operation Standedge 28Caption Competition Entries 29Now & Then 30Fred Carter’s Fortieth 31Wordsearch - 6 32Jidoku - 10 33Ups & Downs of Society Events 34An ‘Independent’ Report 36Humour 41The 74 Club 42

Lock 24W, Dobcross - October 2008

Bob G

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Editorial

Richly deserved.This is thereaction I had tothe news thatKeith Gibson hadbeen awarded aMedal from the

IWA for services to the inland waterways.A major prime mover in the HCSrestoration programme, Keith has goneon to head up the Northern CanalsAssociation and impart his considerableskills to other restoration efforts.Congratulations from myself and all HCS.

The purchase from BW of our officepremises at Wool Rd. is anothermilestone in the history of HCS.It all happened quite quickly, a little bitout of the blue. Nevertheless, a goodacquisition that should see the Societysettled into a canal-side address for yearsto come.

I have some apologies to make relatingto the last issue. Firstly, I must go cap inhand to my daughter Joanne.The article on Iron-bridge was hercontribution, with preamble and a fewadditions by myself. Unfortunately, thewhole article was credited to me.Sorry Joanne!

Secondly, I have been taken to task byone of our regular contributors for usingthe term ‘less boats’ in my reply to aletter. Quite rightly, this should havebeen ‘fewer boats’. I am suitablychastened.

It is a fact of life generally that mud sticksand praise slips off out of theconsciousness. This seems just as trueregarding our canal. We have received

another particularly vitriolic tome, nay,‘A REPORT’, from a Mr. Chamberlain, anon-member, who obviously comes fromthe Planet Perfect. As one who hasbeen involved for over 20 years on theCouncil of Management to restore thiscanal, giving my time freely, I come towonder what I did it for when I readreactions such as these. Many of mycolleagues on the HCS Council have putin far more time, effort and know-howthan I have, against all odds, the canal isopen. Across the waterway networkhundreds, if not thousands, of volunteershave achieved a fantastic transformationto the benefit of all. I am sure that thevast majority of canal users appreciatethis and are grateful.

There was another rather downbeatarticle in one of our local newspapers,the Oldham Evening Chronicle. Halfcorrect, half wrong, this article seems tobe a spin-off from some of the stories ofdoom and gloom that get perpetuated.Usually very supportive of HCS, it was asurprise to see such an article in my localevening paper. (I get it for thecrossword you know). It is the tinyminority who complain and I know of noother as bitter as Mr. Chamberlain. As Isay, mud sticks and spreads discontent.Don’t let it! Just take notice of the manysnippets of praise expressed in maybeone line or two, but which make it allworthwhile.

Congratulations to the ManchesterBolton & Bury Canal Society for theirsuccess in getting the restoration on theway through from the Irwell into Salford.Full story on page 12.

The long standing campaigner, John

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Chairman’s ReportThe BritishWaterways AnnualMeeting

The AnnualMeeting of BritishWaterways washeld in

Birmingham on 8th October. Tony Hales,Chairman, introduced a video presentationby the new Waterways Minister, HuwIrranca-Davies MP. As Mr Davies had beenin post for only four days prior to themeeting, his statement of fifteen minutes’duration was delivered with enthusiasmand conviction. He had certainly been wellbriefed. Why Jonathan Shaw MP wasreplaced as Minister we will probably neverknow but it seems strange that just whensomeone has become proficient andknowledgeable about our waterways, he or

she is replaced and the learning curve startsall over again.

The Whitehall video was followed byspeeches from the Chairman and RobinEvans, Chief Executive. As usual, thesewere upbeat affairs reflecting thecommitment that both men have toimproving both the image and the usabilityof the inland waterway network.

Most of the ensuing questions referred tobollards – and in particular why BW wasinstalling square ones instead of thetraditional round ones. No satisfactoryanswer was forthcoming but we wereassured that if the square ones werecausing the ropes to snag, one shouldcomplain and the edges would bechamfered by BW personnel!

(cont’d over)

Fletcher, (whose wife, Margaret, waschairman but sadly died), has recentlyre-married and is to become a dad forthe first time. Enjoy! Us dads know theups and downs of such.

I am sure our Chairman, Neville Kenyon,who has been to the BW AGM, will bereporting on that topic. As I write I havenot seen the Chairman’s Report. Due towaiting until after the AGM and close topress date it will just sneak in, so I willleave it at that.

There is news breaking about theproposed alterations to the Standedgetunnel transit. It has already beenannounced that the convoy system is tobe abandoned next year. It was theintention of BW to pilot private boatsthrough, but now it looks as though itwill be self steer with a BW person inattendance. That sounds much better to

me. I, like any other boat owner, feelthat I know my boat far better thansomeone just introduced to it, no matterhow experienced he/she may be. Deepinside a 3.25 mile long tunnel is not theplace to be on a learning curve about anunfamiliar boat.

We have Claire and Bob to thank fororganising social events. Whilst I haveenjoyed the ones I have been able toattend, it is very much a thankless task.The number of people participating doesnot reflect the work and planning thatgoes into them. Often requiring timeand effort beyond the call of duty, itwould be most gratifying to see moremembers turning out. Watch out for thenext series of events in future PennineLink.

Alwyn OgbornEditor

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Later we were entertained by fourpresentations. The first was from JohnEdmonds, Chair of the Inland WaterwaysAmenity Council, and erstwhile tradesunion leader. His challenge was for allgroups involved in the canals to formpartnerships in order to offer a morecoherent message to the wider world. Aswe at HCS already have regular dialoguewith partners within the local authorities,British Waterways and other relevantbodies, I felt that we are at least doingsome things right! There are other potentialpartners with whom we should probablyhave closer links such as ramblers, RSPBand anglers.

The second presentation was by Rt.HonJohn Gummer MP who was veryentertaining and gave the impression thathe was very knowledgeable aboutwaterways. He challenged us all to moveaway from the old fashioned“transportation mentality” and go for thetourist market. We needed to move intothe 21st century. He suggested that this wasa good time for lobbying local MPs as theywere getting ready to contest a generalelection within eighteen months. Theywould be concentrating on getting votes.We should find a good story and lobbyhard! Mr Gummer also stated that BWshould take responsibility for the Thamesand other rivers currently under themanagement of the Environment Agency –intimating that BW was better managedthan the EA. This was greeted with generalapproval.

John Gummer was followed by RichardFairhurst, Editor of Waterways World whopraised volunteer groups but suggested thatBW should have a better protocol forengaging volunteers. It was not easy forindividual groups to embark on a volunteerstrategy even when they had ticked all theright BW boxes. BW alone recognised the

work that was required and they should beallocating suitable work to volunteergroups.

Carole Souter, Chief Executive of theHeritage Lottery Fund, was a verycompetent speaker who argued the casefor finding new audiences for thewaterways to attract. She had produced apaper on the subject which the HLF wouldbe pleased to supply to those interested.

All in all, there was much food for thoughtand HCS was mentioned twice as a goodexample of continuing to make anexcellent post restoration contribution.

It was a pity that some of the questionsfrom the floor were pretty stale and hadbeen well rehearsed for the best effect.Robin Evans in particular must bethoroughly fed up by users – particularlythose with commercial interests – lobbyingcontinually in support of very narrowcauses.

One questioner was interested in BWfacilitating bridleways along tow paths.This was said to be a non-starter. We allcould imagine the competition on the towpaths between anglers, cyclists, walkers,twitchers and horses. HCS member andHorse Boating champion, Sue Day wasasked for her comments and gently laid theidea to rest pointing out that there were alot of bridges as well as tunnels that wouldbe impossible obstacles for navigation onhorseback. And Sue should know!

Purchase of Transhipment Warehouse

Your Society has leased our offices fromBritish Waterways since moving fromAshton under Lyne in February 2007.We are situated alongside the canalbetween Saddleworth and Diggle with alovely view over the water. There is nofootpath along the front of the building as itbutts right on to the canal. We have wide

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sliding glass doors that give the impressionof actually being on the water apart fromany feeling of movement! Our visitorsalways comment that it is an idyllic spotand how lovely it must be to work here.

This image was potentially shattered whenwe were told by British Waterways thatthey had a policy for selling all their“redundant” property and we either had tobuy the Transhipment Warehouse or moveout within two years. Having beensuddenly given this ultimatum at a meetingon a totally separate issue with two BWmanagers there was a degree of panic –particularly for Bob and Claire who workhere every day.

Fortunately, shortly afterwards, I attended ameeting convened by Phil Woolas the MPfor Oldham East and Saddleworth and wasable to meet a senior BW manager whoconfirmed that what we had been told wastrue. However, he was empathetic and wearranged a meeting with him for a week orso later. The conclusion was that, havingtaken a valuation from an independent firmof estate agents, we negotiated and finallymade an offer to buy the premises whichwas accepted. So we are shortly to be theproud owners of a “desirable canal-sideproperty” on a 250 year leaseholdagreement. Thus begins a new chapter inour objective of promoting “our” waterwayto the benefit of all users. It is almost twoyears since we sold our Ashton offices andit is very satisfying to actually haveownership of our premises once again. Weare indeed fortunate to have the resourcesto do this and we owe a great debt ofgratitude to our members who continue,through their loyalty, to give us the supportto enable us to continue and extend ourwork.

Keith Gibson Honoured

It was with delight that we received thenews of the special presentation made to

Keith Gibson at the recent meeting of theNorthern Canals Association – see page 17.

When I first became involved with theSociety as a director of HCS RestorationLimited in the early 1980s, Keith was ourchairman. I remember being impressed byhis grasp of the whole restoration processand his ability to spot fundingopportunities. I learned from him a greatdeal about the history of the network andwas full of admiration for his commitmentto our cause. His two books – on theHuddersfield Narrow and the Rochdalecanals – are beautifully written andmembers will have appreciated his regularcontributions to Pennine Link.

Well done Keith and many congratulationson being awarded the highest accolade, byyour peers, for a brilliant contribution tothe chronicles of the British waterwaysnetwork.

An Invitation

You may have noticed that the same by-lines appear on many of our Pennine Linkmagazine articles. I would like to make anappeal to all members for contributions towhat is universally accepted as the bestcanal society regular publication. We try topublish every quarter and our editor, Alwynand Administrator, Bob would be greatlyencouraged by additional articles from awider spectrum of our nationwidemembership. The circulation is notrestricted to members – copies are sent tolocal authorities, parliamentarians andother people with influence who can affectour successful operation. Anyway, pleaseconsider sending something in!

And finally, thanks again to all oursupporters, partners, staff and members foryour continued support and enthusiasm.

Neville KenyonChairman

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Disconnected Jottings

The Hereford &GloucesterCanal

The Hereford &Gloucester CanalTrust has broken

new ground in waterway restorationcircles by acquiring part of a major river.

The Trust already owned the point wherethe canal entered the river Severn atOver, Gloucester. That is on theunnavigable West Parting section of theriver, however, which is divided by AlneyIsland from the navigable East Partingchannel leading to Gloucester Docks.

Navigable access to the West Parting wasonce available from the docks via thedisused Llanthony Lock. As a non-operational asset, British Waterwayswished to dispose of this lock andoffered it to the Trust.

On its own that was a liability, but theTrust has been able to negotiate a muchmore comprehensive deal to ensure thatthe Trust has sufficient land, assets andagreements in place to make futurenavigable access to the lock possible andsafe and to provide an income stream tomake the lock self-financing in the longterm.

For £150,000 the Trust has acquired thelock, a section of the river andsurrounding land. The land includes apair of substantial tenanted cottageswhich generate an income.

Weirs on the river at Maisemore andLlanthony remain in BW’s ownership butthe Trust has negotiated sufficient control

over these structures to allow fornavigation at a later date.

Not only does the deal provide theopportunity of eventually gaining accessto the restored basin at Over (and thecanal beyond when that is restored)directly from the river and the nationalwaterway network, it will also becomean important shop window for the Trustnear to the Gloucester Quaysredevelopment scheme and the citycentre. It could also be an asset the Trustcould borrow against if funding isrequired for other developments on thecanal.

The Ashby Canal

The recent Autumn Northern Canalsmeeting was held at Moira on the AshbyCanal. It was a very good meeting as youmight expect there where LeicestershireCounty Council has really got the bitbetween its teeth and is looking to makeserious progress with the canal in thenext few years.

Now that they have gone through the 6-year marathon of obtaining the Transport& Works Act Order for the part newroute/ part rebuilding on the old routesection to extend from the existingterminus at Snarestone to Measham,they are hoping to start work as early asnext year on what will be the third bigscheme by the County Council on thiscanal half of which was closed becauseof mining subsidence.

The Cotswold Canals

The Heritage Lottery Fund has confirmedthat the £12m grant previously offered

Notes about the national waterway restoration scene

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towards the phase 1a restoration schemebetween Stonehouse on the StroudwaterNavigation and Brimscombe Port on theThames & Severn Canal still stands nowthat Stroud District Council has takenover as lead partner in the restoration ofthe Cotswold Canals from BritishWaterways.

Other BW backed schemes

Meanwhile, although British Waterwayswill now have no part in the restorationof the Cotswold Canals, work iscontinuing on other major BritishWaterways backed restoration schemes.

These include the Droitwich Canal, theManchester, Bolton & Bury Canal, thenew Prescott Lock on the Bow BackRivers in east London and the building ofthe new Liverpool Link Canal.

The only major landmark to note is theopening of the Middlewood section ofthe MB&B and the naming of theMargaret Fletcher Tunnel.

Your President and I hoped to see theworks in Liverpool on our recent visit tothe city but high fences screened thework across the Pier Head and we couldsee very little.

Keith Gibson

Celebrations on the Manchester, Bolton & Bury Canal

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News from the EastWell Summer! Been and gone, and Ithink that’s enough time dedicated tothe climate.

The Shuttle has been working three daysduring the week in the school holidays,as well as weekends.

You’ve all been generous with your time,so many thanks to everyone. Most of thedays have been worth doing, just acouple where the weather has stoppedpeople coming out.

This last week ending 8th September, wehad a group from Nepal. They wereguests of the Safe Anchor Trust whousually operate on the CalderNavigation, but, because of the torrentialrain, the water was too high for them tooperate safely. Hence, they brought thegroup to Marsden to experience theTunnel and, of course, the Shuttle. Theywere very interested and a most friendlygroup, taking lots of photos of our littlebackwater.

For those who didn’t join in Bob Gough’sTreasure Hunt, you missed an interestingday. I went along with a mate and had agood laugh with much puzzlement,looking into all the nooks and crannies ofUppermill. We were stumped at onepoint and came across Alwyn Ogborn,almost on all fours, scratching mouldfrom a milestone, while Joan watchedfrom above; very amusing, and of coursewe also got the clue, but in the end, theygot the upper hand, and won.

Thanks to Bob for his painstaking andwell-researched clues; just wish a fewmore had joined in. Ah well.

I’m moving on to Autumn now and hopeto see some of you on our walks whenthe season finishes. I’m suggestingSunday November 9th for our first walk –meeting at 10.30 at the Marsden Stationcar park – when Ronnie Rose will take uson a local route. Also, I thought an endof season get together would be a good

Organisers from the Safe AnchorTrust at Lock 42E Marsden

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idea, meeting at the Tunnel End pub, aswe have done before; about the middleof November, say Tuesday 18th. I’ll be intouch to let everyone know the details,and you can always ring me on 01484686136.

I’ve been talking to Peter Ruffley and hehas a walk he’d like to do on the Westside and has also suggested an afterChristmas meal at E-dit, the restaurant atPortland Basin. We’ve eaten therebefore and it was very good, so watchout for details, when I’m a little moreorganised!

Anyone else with suggestions for walkswould be much appreciated andtransport should not be a problem as you

will be able to share with the rest of us.

We’ve got certificates for First Aidcourses and six of us have just receivedour certificates in Community BoatManagement from the NationalCommunity Boats Association – aqualification allowing us to skipper the12 seater Shuttle under the new MCAregulations. We already have threevolunteers with Boatmaster qualificationsand with more training planned for nextyear, there will be a good pool ofskippers to call upon.

I hope to see a good turnout for ourwalks and the end of season gathering.

Andrea Fisher

Above: BW stalwart Fred Carter (yellow overalls)has seen it all before when it comes to celebrityleggers! This time it was Griff Rhys Jones trying hisfeet at the historic occupation.Inset: Griff taking it easy, or perhaps trying tostraighten up after legging Standedge Tunnel.

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AlkalineA queue at

AlcoholicsAnonymous

History

The MB&BC received its Act of Parliamentin 1791. It was originally conceived as anarrow canal; but during construction therewas a scheme to link it to the Leeds &Liverpool Canal at Red Moss (for Wigan),and it was changed to a broad canal. Itwas opened from Bolton and Bury toSalford in 1797, and later connected to theRiver Irwell in 1808. Its layout was Y-shaped, basically following the River Irwellfrom Salford to Bury and the Croal toBolton; the three arms met at Nob End,Little Lever. The summit level ran fromBolton to Bury without locks, and all 17locks were on the Salford arm. The mainflight of locks was at Nob End (often calledPrestolee Locks) which consisted of twosets of three-rise staircases. There weretwo more staircase locks in Salford, each a2-rise. The total length was 15 miles 1furlong. Fletcher’sCanal (to Wet EarthColliery) was built in1791, and wasconnected to theMB&BC at Clifton by1800. Other branchesto Haslingden andSladen (near Rochdale)were planned but notimplemented. Had thevarious proposed

The Manchester, Bolton & Bury Canalbranches been built the Leigh Branch of theBridgewater Canal and the Rochdale Canalfrom Manchester to Rochdale wouldprobably not have been built, and theHaslingden Canal would have been thehighest canal in the country. Instead theMB&BC remained rather isolated from therest of the canal system, finally connectedacross the Irwell to the Bridgewater Canalvia Hulme Locks in 1838, and to theRochdale Canal via the largelyunderground Manchester & SalfordJunction Canal in 1839.

It was essentially a coal-carrying waterway,with numerous collieries nearby. Manycollieries built their own tramways to thecanal – over the years there were 20 tramlines totalling over 6½ miles.

In the 1830s the canal company proposedto turn itself into a railway, but eventuallydecided to keep the canal, and build theManchester to Bolton railway, which wasopened in 1838. The joint canal andrailway company passed to the Lancashireand Yorkshire Railway in 1847, andeventually to the LMS. The canal had along period of success, continuing to carrycoal and other goods into the twentiethcentury, but the coal mines started to closeafter 1900, the last being at Ladyshore in1947.

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Our ‘Other Canals’ restoration this issuefeatures the Manchester Bolton & Burycanal. We are indebted to Paul Hindle ofthe MB&B Canal Society for the followingcontribution. I must confess to not knowingmuch about this waterway, but, scratchingthe surface of the information available, Iam sure I will follow it’s restoration progresswith interest. All power to your elbowMB&B, go for it! Ed.

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ChildhoodA very young gangster

The canal was closed in stages; the Boltonbranch was disused by 1924, and a majorbreach at Nob End in 1936 (left) severedthe Bury arm, though it continued to seetraffic until 1951. Traffic continuedbetween Salford and Clifton until 1950; thewhole canal was officially closed by 1961,though a short length carried coal to Eltonpaper mill in Bury until 1966. The Boltonarm, closed first, has suffered the mostdamage; the A666 (St Peter’s Way) wasbuilt along the line of the canal near thecentre of Bolton, and three aqueducts

(Farnworth, Fogg’s and Damside) weredemolished. The Bury arm is still mostly inwater, though cut in two by the loweredWater Street Bridge in Radcliffe, and thelast mile into Bury is dry; the 1936 breachremains at the start of the arm. The Salfordarm is still in water from Nob End toRingley (it supplied Stoneclough paper millwith water until the 1990s), but the rest islargely dry. Prestolee and CliftonAqueducts still stand, the former still inwater, though the small Clifton Hall(Lumm’s Lane) Aqueduct has beendemolished.

Nob End orPrestolee Locks

Damside Aqueduct from the air

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Restoration

The canal society was formed in 1987 andbegan to clean up the derelict canal. Itdredged the canal from Ladyshore to Bury,ran a trip boat from Radcliffe, and ensuredthat two bridges were rebuilt to fullnavigable standards. It continues to haveworking parties, and has recently clearedthe towpath from Ringley to Hall Lane,including the locks at Nob End. For most ofits first 20 years the Society was led by theformidable Margaret Fletcher, along with astrong Council; five of the original Councilmembers are still in post today.

The Inner Relief Road in Salford threatenedto sever the canal close to its connectionwith the River Irwell, but a tunnel wascreated to preserve the route in 2001-2.British Waterways announced therestoration of the canal in 2002, surveyedthe route in 2003, and announced fundingfor Stage 1 in Salford in 2004 with thecanal as the focal line of a majorredevelopment scheme. Work finally

began on this Middlewood site in 2007,and the first length was re-opened on 19th

September 2008. Staircase locks 1 & 2which had been buried beneath the InnerRelief Road, have been restored into theMargaret Fletcher Tunnel; the new deeplock which replaces them is the thirddeepest in the country at 17’ 8” (variable,depending on river level). After two newbasins, the restored canal rejoins its originalline at the rebuilt East Ordsall Lane bridge,with the original Lock 3 immediatelybeyond; it has survived in excellentcondition. The canal continues to a narrowsection which was originally Lock 4, butwas later disused and covered as TunnelNo. 1. The restored canal ends just beforeTunnel No. 2 (under the Manchester toBolton railway), and the next staircase locks(4 & 5).

The next stage of restoration is likely tocontinue through the Crescent area ofSalford, as far as Frederick Road. Salford

Boats in the new basins

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Council is looking to redevelopthis whole area with the canal atits centre; however manydevelopment schemes are onhold at the moment, and thismay affect progress at theCrescent – 2012 might be theearliest date. Other parties arelooking to fund restoring thesummit level from Hall Lane(Little Lever) through to Bury.Putting dates on when theserestoration schemes might cometo fruition has become ratherdifficult!

Website: www.mbbcs.org.uk

Paul HindleCompany Secretary MBBCS

Right: Boat entering theMargaret Fletcher TunnelBelow: John Fletcher and the Mayors

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Letter to the EditorDear Sir,

Reflections on the Huddersfield NarrowCanal, Bad Press and Gossip

On recent training and delivery trips wehave picked up a lot of bad news anduntrue gossip about the HuddersfieldNarrow. The blue sweatshirts probablyattract it.

Most of the complaints are based on:

1. Silted up and shallow

2. Rough, shallow margins or ledges

3. Not enough water

4. Too much water

5. Vegetation intruding into the channel

6. Timing of Tunnel passages combinedwith mooring limitations

7. Locks difficult to operate

My replies, in summary, are:

1. If more boats used the Canal, the siltwould tend to disperse and movedownstream.

2. The margins and ledges are no worsethan many other canals. Try travellingfrom Chester to Wolverhampton.

3. On our last trip the bywashes weregurgling away quite merrily, so theremust be water somewhere. Unless boatsare travelling too close together, it shouldbe possible to adjust levels. If low waterlevels occur in the evening, there may bea time problem, perhaps it would beadvisable to avoid late eveningnavigation on this Canal, but other canalsalso present time related difficulties.Vandalised and abused paddles are notunique to the Huddersfield Narrow.

4. I have only experienced over-supplytwice on this Canal, so I am not qualifiedto comment, neither occasion wasparticularly hazardous. The surges fromthe bywashes are negligible compared toother very popular canals.

5. Accelerated vegetation growth iscommon throughout the system,particularly this year.

6. Tunnel transit policy is beingreviewed. A few more preparedmoorings would be useful.

7. Lock gear lubrication policy is beingreviewed. Even so, the locks are nomore difficult that many others of thesame size and depth. Indeed, if you canget onto the Huddersfield Narrow, thenyou should be able to navigate it withoutdifficulty unless abusive users havepreceded you or your boat, like mine, isover-size.

A few positive ideas have been pickedup between the criticisms. Thefavourites in my book are:

a. Allowing mooring for 2 or 3 days atDiggle.

b. Extending permitted mooring timesduring special events in the villages andso encouraging visits by canal.

Yours faithfullyRobert MaycockHCS Crew Training Coordinator

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IWA Honour for Keith GibsonThe IWA has awarded Keith Gibson theirpestidgious Richard Bird Medal for 2008.John Fletcher, National Chairman IWA,made the presentation at the lastNorthern Canals Association meeting andread out the following Citation:

As Chairman of Northern CanalsAssociation from its inception eighteenyears ago to his retirement in 2007, KeithGibson has been the driving force behinda forum for the exchange of ideas and theencouragement and celebration ofwaterway restoration. Through NCA,newcomers to the restoration scene havehad the opportunity to learn from bestpractice whilst sharing the experience andsupport of others.

A pioneer member of Huddersfield CanalSociety, Keith has been able to reflect that

the seemingly impossible can beachieved. It was his position andstanding within HCS which led himinitially to the chairmanship of NorthernCanals. His knowledge and expertisehave been of great benefit to therestoration movement and his specificadvice regarding planning issuesinvaluable.

Keith has now taken on the role ofPresident of Northern Canals Associationand remains on the advisory panel forIWA Restoration Committee.

I feel that Keith Gibson’s “efforts andsupport” within Huddersfield CanalSociety and as the long term Chairman ofNorthern Canals Association have amplysatisfied the requirements of the awardand would like to propose him for theRichard Bird Medal.

Richard Bird was anextremely activemember in the LondonRegion of theAssociation in the 1980sparticularly involved insupporting the NationalWaterways Festivals andRallies until his untimelydeath.

The award ensures thatRichard and his valuablework will always beremembered and thecontribution of otherslike him will berecognised.

Congratulations and verywell deserved Keith!

HCS

Keith Gibson (right) receives the Richard Bird Medalfrom IWA National Chairman, John Fletcher.

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Ideal Christmas Gift(s)With Autumn upon us, can Christmas befar away? And with the Season comesthe perennial problem of the reasonablypriced gift. Well, look no further; theSociety’s Towpath Guide makes anexcellent present and at £4.99, a realbargain.

Please use the enclosed Order Form andmake sure we receive it in good time,preferably before the end of November,to ensure deliveryfor Christmas.

Following the experience of selling our2008 Calendar and the very competativenature of the market, Council hasdecided to distribute a complimentarycopy to each member as a ‘thank you’for supporting the Society in its work.

The new Pricing in Proportion postagerates mean the Calendar can be includedwith the Winter Edition of Pennine Linkwithout affecting the usual postagecharge.

We are mindful that members may wantan extra copy or even copies for friendsand relatives, and a limited surplus willbe available for purchase. An OrderForm has been enclosed and again,please submit your order in good timefor Christmas delivery.

Huddersfield Canal Society

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The Huddersfield Narrow & Broad Canals

Boaters Have a Field Day

Bob G

ough

Following the demise of the AshtonCanals Festival, the last one being 2007,a substitute event was organised by theHorse Boating Society and local alliedgroups. Ed

On Sunday July 6, anybody visitingPortland Basin, Ashton-u-Lyne wouldhave seen a very busy scene amongst themany canal societies which operatelocally. It was a chance to see “Life onthe Cut”.

The Inland Waterways Association waswell represented by the ManchesterBranch bringing its stall and the NationalChairman attending with his fiancée.The stall had much information aboutlocal canals with free leaflets and mapsavailable, waterway books for sale, andan activity for children to colour inscenes of the waterways from boats toducks.

Souvenirs were available for sale onanother stall. Of particular interest is theDVD “Life on the Cut”, about the historyand heritage of the canals. This wasfilmed in the autumn of 2007 by MikronTheatre Company with the HorseBoating Society, Wooden Canal Boat

Society, and the Tudor Cruising Club, alltaking place on the Peak Forest andAshton Canals.

Wild over Waterways (WoW) activitieswere set up for families. They were ableto have a go at labelling the boat harnesson Toy Bonny, the model boat horse.There were questions to answer aboutMaria, a jigsaw of a mare and foal, and agame of quoits to resemble theboatman’s skills needed to throw a lineover a mooring bollard when a boat istied up.

The Horse Boating Society whichorganised the event on the field was verypleased with how the day went.The field is ideal for a small event suchas this, drawing people’s attention tolocal waterway society activities. It ishoped to repeat the event again. Thanksgo to British Waterways North-West andthe Tameside Countryside Service asboth organisations were very supportiveof the event. See the website for furtherinfo at www.horseboating.org.uk

The Wooden Canal Boat Society strivesto obtain funds to restore these historiccraft and was prominent at the event.

Sue DayThe last Tameside Canals Festival, July 2007

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Hollinwood Canal Society

Above: New mooring pontoons in DroylsdenMarina, currently surrounded by a building site, butwhich will eventually be overlooked by good qualityresidential and commercial buildings.

Below: Still Waters takes a party of VIP guests alongthe re-opened stretch of the Hollinwood Branch tothe new Droylsden Marina on a very wetSeptember day following the official opening of thefirst of the apartments on the site.

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The Story of DB1 (or Itchy Feet) Part 12I’m afraid that, once again, the progressof Itchy Feet has been delayed. This timeby almost 2 months. The promise of richrewards coupled with flattery about whythey wanted me to do a particular job,saw Joan & I going to Fife doing somework for Shell. Two trips. First one, 3weeks, second one, 1 week. This, plus a10 day holiday in France earlySeptember took out the slice of boatbuilding time mentioned.

Progress has still been made. The nameis now painted on, expertly done byHoward Jones, an associate who used tosponsor us at the Ashton Festival bydoing entry signs etc. The galley baseunits (right) are being fitted as I write andby the time you read this we will beliving on board, albeit, still on land, butsaving about 2 hours a day travellingtime and the associated fuel costs.

Over 95% done, we’re almost there!

Alwyn Ogborn

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Operation StandedgeBW’s Laurence Morgan writes:

A lot of work has gone on this season toassess the potential of introducing abetter way of taking boats through thetunnel. The main focus of this work hasbeen for us to carry out trial passageswith diesel operated boats. These beganwith a number of Shire Cruises boats(thanks to Nigel and Sue Stevens fortheir help and support with this), andthen we moved on to taking other boatsthrough under their own power.

In addition to this we’ve also beenassessing how improvements can bemade to communication in the tunnel,and to some of the hazardous pinchpoints that can damage boats. We’vealso worked with colleagues in theemergency services to look at how wecan improve tunnel security.

The feedback we’ve had from this is thatthis new system is a much moreeffective and flexible way of taking boatsthrough than the current convoysystem. Part of the trial has been to testthe level of gas emissions in the tunnel,and the evidence to date is well withinHSE limits for safe working. This givesus the confidence to move forward tothe next step, and we propose tointroduce a ‘Chaperoned DieselOperation’ for the 2009 season. Thiswill involve:

• All boats undergoing a safetyassessment before transit;

• Critical points of the boats will befendered;

• The boat owner and our chaperonewill receive authorized PPE, lighting andtwo radios;

• A returnable deposit of £50 alongwith a small at-cost charge will be takeneither in cash or by credit card, toensure that guidelines are abided by andequipment returned in good order. This(returnable) deposit will be asked for atthe point of booking to ensure boatsturn up;

• Competent BW staff accompanyingboat owners through the tunnel on theircraft. BW staff will act as ‘chaperones’and advise boaters on navigating thetunnel. At certain times, under theconsent of the boat owner, BW staffmay take the helm to steer through adifficult point.

A further element of this development isto trial a tunnel long trip-boat during2009. Currently, there is a ‘hikers ticket’available which enables tourists to joinconvoy trips. The intention is to trial aSaturday through trip on the firstSaturday of each month for six months.This will give the non-boatingcommunity the opportunity to see theentire tunnel. We will obviously need toclosely monitor and review the successof these initiatives, and gauge thefeedback from our customers on how todevelop it further.

We will be providing further informationabout operating days and safety issuesat our user group meeting next week.

Once again many thanks for your helpwith this project which we hope is nowreaching some positive outcomes.

Laurence MorganBW General Manager (Yorkshire)

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Caption ‘Competition’

“That’s what I like about low pounds –no need for mooring ropes.”R Carden

“There ah wuz, arse uppards, draggin’ noend o’ stuff up t’ weed ‘atch, an’ alongcomes this prat wantin’ ter see me fishin’licence.”“Ow wuz I ter know she were goin’ terstep back just at t’ very moment -Anyroad, t’ case comes up next week.”G Officer

“Another b****y matress.”F Ockerby

“I let her do all the hard graft, after all,how else do you think I keep my handsso clean?”Woman in white coat: “Of course he’sdisappointed. When they said he’d getan escort up the Diggle Flight, he wasexpecting someone far prettier.”J Pond

“I caught a fisherman this big, but threwhim back.”Anon

“Look, I know we all had chimneys whenwe started.”R Maycock

Here are some suggestions following last Issue’s appeal:

The Society recently received a donationof £75 from The Whaley WaterWeekend Association in gratitude of theinvaluable aid given by four of ourmembers, including Allan Knott, whofronted the challenge of delivering and

returning two hired day-boats for theWeekend. Allan and friends came totheir rescue, at short notice, when theywere in big trouble with the delivery ofthe boats enabling ‘normal service’ toproceed at their community event.

Lending a helping hand pays off!

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Now&Then

Lock 9E from Whiteley Street, Milnsbridge - September 2008.Note the canal-side development and demolition of the mill chimney.

A similar view from February 1990 during restoration works by Kirklees MC.

Bob G

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Fred’s Fortieth with BW

Fred Carter (centre) with, left to right, Neville Kenyon,Ronnie Rose, Bob Gough, Paul Leeman, Andrea Fisherand Keith Sykes.

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On 23 September, Mr Fred Cartercelebrated 40 years working with BW onthe Huddersfield Narrow Canal.

Huddersfield Canal Society presented Fredwith a handwritten citation along withhonorary life membership of the Society tomark his 40th Anniversary of working on theHuddersfield Narrow. It was presented tohim by Ronnie Rose, a long standingmember of the Society who has come toknow Fred very well over the years.

Fred, a former textile worker and keenmotorcyclist found his mode of transportideally suited him for a job at BW. 40 yearsago they were looking for someone to keepan eye on the Canal and the company ‘car’happened to be a motorcycle! Afterseveral years on the Canal, Fred moved onto monitoring the Standedge reservoirs.

Fred is now often found steering thepassenger boat or acting as Tunnel guide.His genial manner combines with hisextensive knowledge off the tunnel toguarantee an interesting journey!

Recently, Fred played part in the trials atStandedge Tunnel that have been carriedout to test whether boats can pass throughthe Tunnel under their own power. He hasmade over a thousand passages through thetunnel and knows every bit of it. “I’m usedto the dark, they won’t let me drive boats inthe daylight now!” he laughed.

Martin Clark

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Wordsearch 6

This Issue’s Theme:

Towns and Districts alongside the Macclesfield Canal - 19 to find.

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Jidoku 10

The grid represents nine adjoining ‘canals’and the letters are features on those canals:Lock, Junction, Tap, Rubbish point, Bridge,Marina, Waterways office, Sanitary stationand Crossover bridge.

Fill in the missing blanks using these initialletters, bearing in mind that each ‘canal’(3x3 block) can only have one of eachfeature and there must be no duplication inhorizontal rows or vertical columns.

Solutions on page 42

Jidoku Apology - We are jinxed! In lastIssue’s puzzle, the letter S was swappedwith the letter D (they are next to eachother on the keyboard, so a simple typingerror on the part of our Jidoku setter), butat least it was consistent for the solution.We’ll try harder this time!

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Ups & Downs of Society EventsThe Society’s Events year started off inMay with a most successful Open Day atthe Transhipment Warehouse. A steadyflow of visitors showed genuine interestin our display and the rolling canalpresentation detailing the history ofrestoration. The free refreshments weregratefully appreciated and generatedover £30 of donations!

In association with the South PennineCommunity Rail Partnership, two walkswere planned in May, using the Canaltowpath and train services. Leader BobGough had compiled extracts from theLNWR Company Minute Book addinghistorical highlights to the walk fromStalybridge to Greenfield. The first walkon Saturday was well attended, butregrettably the Sunday walk wascancelled having received no bookings.

It was a similar story for the June walkwith Andrea Fisher, across the moorsfrom Diggle to Marsden. The weatheron the day was rather wild and with onlytwo takers, it was felt best to abandonthe event.

Of the boat trip in July aboard ‘StillWaters’, crew member Donald Taylorwrites:

The HCS canal trip was well supportedand the weather was fine. We set off inhigh spirits. Unfortunately, after tenminutes there was a loud bang from theback of the tug and the engine cut out.We got to the bank and the helmsman,Barry Edwards, saw there was a mattresssnared on the propeller. The passengersdisembarked and we were given a tow toPortland Basin Marina. However, by thetime the tug had been craned out of thewater and the mattress removed, it wastoo late to proceed with the trip.

The tug Still Waters at Portland Basin Marina withfouling mattress being removed.

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Last year’s Treasure Hunt in Marsden wasmodestly supported, but hopes werehigh for this year’s Hunt in Uppermill;especially as Marketing Officer, Claire,had been actively promoting the event inthe media and around Uppermill.

On the day, seven ‘teams’ took part andthe Adjudicator and Hunt compiler, BobGough, had to be very strict in hismarking to determine an overall winner.Three teams shared joint second placewith eighteen and a half points out oftwenty, and there was a tie in first placewith two entrants on nineteen and a halfpoints! It was planned to make arandom draw for the winner, but one ofthe ‘winners’ felt his winning

inappropriate and wished the Rambler’sFood Pack to go to the other winner.So, Alwyn & Joan Ogborn were declaredwinners and presented with the TreasureHunt prize.

Society member, Martin Clark, gave anupdated presentation on the work of theHollinwood Canal Society to anaudience at the Masonic Hall,Uppermill, in September. Many peoplewho enjoyed his presentation last yearattended and were impressed to see theamount of progress being made by thisfledgling Society and the dramaticchanges at the Droylsden Marinadevelopment.

In the shadow of their Dutch Barge ‘Itchy Feet’, Alwyn & Joan with the Treasure Hunt prize.

Bob G

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Huddersfield CS

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A View of the Narrow

An Independent Report on the Poor Conditionof the Huddersfield Narrow Canal

Although not a member of HCS, we havereceived an oddly entitled report from aMr D J Chamberlain regarding the transitof the HNC. I can only assume that MrChamberlain is a relative newcomer tothe inland waterways (the spelling of‘Duckingfield’ is an indication of this).Anyone with a few years experienceknows that waterways that have beenrescued from dereliction and decay takemany years to be improved to thestandards he obviously expects. A classicexample is the Macclesfield Canal. Twentyyears ago it was in a similar state to theHNC, a narrow channel through banks ofreeds, constantly scraping the bottom andwith very few places to stop overnight.That canal is now a delight, but we, andmost of the people who are associated orhave cruised our canal, know that wehave a long way to go to reach thatstandard. It is a very desirable goal andHCS Council is working towards it. But, itis that age old problem MONEY.

Mr. Chamberlain mentions several times’30 million pounds’, not sure where thatfigure comes from but it is probably thecost of the final phase. Often it isforgotten a great deal was spent in earlierdays with piecemeal restoration projects.

Having gone to the trouble of producingthis lengthy ‘Report’ I would like to inviteMr. Chamberlain to join our Council ofManagement with the specific role offund raising to pay for the improvementshe (and the rest of us) would like to see.I am afraid that we are again talking ofmillions. Now there’s a challenge.

On the plus side, we do get an awful lotof feedback to say that, despite thechallenge of cruising, what a delight ithad been to traverse the waterway andcongratulations to the Society for makingit possible. Ed.

Mr Chamberlains’s report is nowreproduced in full and as received.

We boaters are a pretty resilient bunch,especially live aboards such as me and mywife Sheila, who have lived aboard ournarrowboat Shiralee since 2006. So, it willprobably come as something of a surprise toreceive a letter such as this, from people whoare only 18 months into the retirementexperience. However, working on theassumption, that if you are unaware of aproblem you have no way of fixing it, I pulledout my trusty laptop in the hopes ofsomething being done to attract more boatersto The Huddersfield Narrow Canal, which, asyou know, is chock full of beautiful sceneryand history.

This year we are exploring several waterwaysand, from our winter moorings, will cruise asfar north as The Leeds and Liverpool Canal.

We entered The Huddersfield Narrows canalon Thursday 3rd of July, at DuckingfieldJunction and, almost immediately, had to findsomewhere to pull in so as to clear the massof plastic bags and weeds fouling our prop.This did not endear us to the canal, but wecontinued on our way still in good spirits.

It should be noted here, that we were wellaware of this canals failings regarding shallowwaters. We put this down to lack of foresighton the part of the people responsible, forfailing to ensure adequate water supplies

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when they spent £30M on having the canalrestored and re-opened. But, that’s anotherstory.

Now, since adequate moorings are few andfar between; another fact we were also awareof; our first port of call was to the Tescomoorings at Staleybridge. This mooring has aseven day limit on it, though why anybodywould wish to stay that long beggars belief.We saw one other boat there, and theydeparted later that day. And, no wonder, thenoise emanating from their car park washorrendous, and kept us tossing and turningin fitful sleep until 4 am. We’ve never been sohappy to leave any moorings.

We are a retired couple, as you have nodoubt gathered, and so we have plenty oftime on our hands. Normally we would cruisefor no more than three hours then pull in andexplore the area before settling in for thenight.

Our next port of call was 15 locks and fiveand a half hours away at Uppermill. There,despite there being proper moorings withbollards, we still had trouble finding a spotwhere we could pull our boat close to thecanal bank. Our original intention was tomoor up at Mossley, where there are alsoproper moorings, which was only 3½ milesand only eight locks from Staleybridge, whichwould have taken only about three hours.But, as with Uppermill, we could not get ourboat close enough to the towpath.

Just in case you’re wondering, we’re notalone in this. We met another couple atUppermill who had the same problem. Ourboat is a standard 56 foot craft, built byLiverpool Boats in 2005, and has just a 26inch draught.

Of course, one of the things we absolutelyhad to do was have our boat taken throughStandedge Tunnel. However, since thatservice is only available on Wednesdays andFridays, we had to sit at Uppermill for muchlonger than the designated 48 hours, thoughwhy there are any restrictions at all on a canalthat is sadly devoid of boats, strikes us a prettyridiculous.

After Uppermill we went on to Lock 24W, toawait instructions to proceed to the tunnel atDiggle Portal. There were four boats in thisconvoy, and all went well until Lock 30W,where we found we were unable to fullyopen the bottom gates. Eventually, havingadvised BW of our predicament, and aftermuch effort by the engineers, it was decidedto bring all four boats into the pound. Thiswas in order to be able to reduce the waterlevel in the lock, so that the engineers couldget down and dirty and solve the problem.

The result of this, which was ultimatelysuccessful, took about three hours, with thediscovery that a piece of paddle assembly hadbroken off and was restricting the gate travel.And on we went to Diggle, much later thanexpected.

The journey through Standedge Tunnel was amost pleasant experience, for which we havethe staff and their intimate knowledge of thetunnel and its history, to thank.

Having spent the night outside the tunnel, wewere off again at around 8 am, accompaniedby BW personnel, who assisted with the locksright down to lock 32E. But, all was not well,because our boat became firmly wedged inthe first lock. Whether this was due toinsufficient water, or because the gates didnot open properly, we’re not sure. The BWstaff were, in their usual manner, mostefficient and managed to free us, with thejudicious application of bodyweight and arelease of additional water into the lock.

We had a similar but less serious problem inanother lock, the number of which escapesme.

We would have been most happy to havemoored up at this point. But, again, no suchmoorings were available, and so we wereobliged to carry on through to Slaithwait, orSlawit, as it’s known to the locals. Thisjourney entailed a total of 21 locks, and tookus six hours to cover just three miles, and wasfraught with problems.

This canal is well known for its shallow spots,which is probably why it’s so lacking in

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boaters. Knowing it to be shallow, one has towonder why the overspill channels gush forthis such torrents. With a 56 foot boat, exiting alock that has such heavy waters hitting thebow is a recipe for disaster. It would probablybe manageable if it were not for the shelvesand sandbanks that litter the towpath side.On two separate occasions I found myselfgrounded, which required all my strength,using a pole, to free the boat and continue onmy way. Surely, having spent £30M restoringthis waterway, it is not beyond the whit ofman to ensure such groundings are avoided.

Not only did I suffer those groundings, but theboat also suffered some severe abrasions tothe starboard side as a result of scrapingagainst brickwork at lock exits. By this time Iwas becoming pretty peeved and damnedangry at the inefficiency of those who are,supposedly, employed to maintain ourwaterways in a fit state for safe and securenavigation.

And so, on to Slaithwait and lock 24E, theguillotine lock. We simply cannot believe thatsuch an antiquated piece of equipment is stillbeing used on Britain’s Inland Waterways, atleast not a manually operated one. Onlysomebody without experience at opening andclosing this monstrosity could possibly havethe authority to keep it going. An ordinarylock paddle takes, perhaps, 20 turns of thewindlass. This blot on the landscape, as mywife will attest, must take four times that, withthe resultant deterioration in strength. She’snot one to complain, but I could tell she waspretty exhausted after that one.

Thus far it’s not been a fun cruise, what withthe grounding and becoming stuck in locks.But, believe it or not, even worse was tocome, in the shape of the last but one lock,lock 23E. I pulled our boat into the side bythe roadway, whilst my wife struggledmanfully with closing the guillotine lock.Eventually, after what seemed an age, shefinally arrived at my side, when I volunteeredto give her a break and open lock 23E. Sheinsisted she was OK, and so I stood holdingthe centre line, while she went off to fill thelock.

I should perhaps mention here, that my 66year old and arthritic knees are not up tomuch walking or climbing, hence Sheilacarries out the necessary chores at locks.

Guess what? And this will come as nosurprise. As she filled the lock, so the boatsank down and came to rest on a shelf.Wonderful, I thought, even here, where youwould expect it to be safe, it’s anything but.Even the restaurant boat moored nearby leansover at its moorings. Ye gods and little fishes! Ieventually pushed the boat off the ledge andproceeded into the lock, and we closed thegates behind it. Which is when the next ofour string of disasters reared its ugly head.

Off my dear, belaboured wife went, alongwith my help of course, to open the paddles.No such luck! Seized solid they were. So, onthe phone to BW and along came our friendTerry; that’s the guy who towed our boatsthrough Standedge Tunnel the day before. Iam no weakling I can assure you, but Terrymust be somewhat stronger, because hemanaged, using all his strength and his legagainst a railing or some such, to open them.But, he did so with the help of a much longerwindlass loaned to him by boaters followingbehind.

Eventually we passed through this lock and, toour relief, faced just one more before wecould moor up. Surely nothing else could gowrong, we thought. Think again.

Now, we had been warned by our escort fromthe tunnel, that the bridges following this lockare pretty low. So, we removed our top boxand life ring from the roof. How were we toknow, that the last morons to pass through thenext lock had disobeyed the instructions toleave it empty?

Approaching the first of these bridges, whichhave pretty red and white warning tapesalong their leading edges, I suddenly realised Iwas not going to pass under it. Not only that,my cratch was in serious danger of beingwiped out. I immediately threw the engineinto reverse, but it was too late, under thebridge went the cratch.

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Luckily, only superficial damage wasrendered, but, even though our Terry went onto the next lock to lower the water level, I stillhad to remove the entire cratch assembly.Equally luckily, we only had the one lock togo through before mooring up for the night.Knowing full well that we still have a way togo before we leave this very pretty, butuseless canal, we left the cratch and Top Boxoff until Aspley Basin, which was another 21locks away and, most probably, another sixhour cruise.

Like I said earlier, why bother placing 48 hourlimits on such few moorings as are actuallyavailable, when nobody in their right mindswould bother cruising The HuddersfieldNarrow Canal. Apart from the scenery andhistory, if you could stop off to admire them,the canal has absolutely nothing torecommend it to boaters. No wonder it’sempty of boats, who can blame them forstaying away?

On Saturday 12th July 2008 we departed themoorings at Slawit and proceeded on towardsAspley Basin, hoping against hope that wemight be able to make an overnight stop onthe way. Again, no such luck, wherever andwhenever we attempted to do so, we simplycould not get close enough to the canal bank.So we soldiered on and finally, after 6 ¾hours of hard slog through another 21 locks,we arrived and moored up at Aspley,thoroughly worn out.

This was not, as you might expect, an easierjourney than that to Slawit, far from it. Inmany ways it was far worse because, I still hadthe problem of overflow channels pushing theboat towards the canal bank, and there wasnowhere I could safely pick my wife up afterexiting locks. The unhappy result of thatproblem was that she walked all the five milesto Aspley. Fortunately my wife is a pretty fit 60year old, so she managed this feat quite well.

The problem with gushing overflow channelswas effectively negated in the followingmanner. On exiting a lock I would give heavythrust from the engine, thus outrunning theforce of water. I would then cruise slowly to

the next lock and position the bow of theboat against the upper gate, keeping the boatin gear whilst my wife filled the lock, backingup a little when she was ready to open thegate.

Approaching the second half of the 21 locksbetween Slawit and Aspley, we discoveredfurther problems with paddles. Again, it wasalmost impossible to open them, even withour longer windlass. Obviously these paddleassemblies, from about Lock 9E to Lock 4Einclusive, have not been greased in severalyears. Lock 14E in particular, certainly hasn’t,because, having read an article in a canalmagazine, about a chap who cruised thesystem single handed a couple of years ago,and who complained about that particularlock, it is still in the same condition as hefound it.

At about Lock 3E just as my wife opened thetop gate, I found I could get no forwardmovement out of the boat. We thereforepulled it into the lock by ropes, where I shutdown the engine and checked the weedhatch. Lo and behold, not surprisingly, I founda waterlogged canvas haversack wrappedaround the prop. This object was pretty heavyin its waterlogged state, so I had to assume ithad been lying on the bottom of the canal.That being the case my propeller must havebeen virtually scraping the bottom in order tobe able to pick it up. It took me a full 10minutes to unwrap it and get on our way.

The pound below this lock was flooded, butthat did not present too much of a problembecause, with judicious releasing of waterfrom the next lock, we dropped the levelsomewhat. However, if proper monitoring ofwater levels were in place that pound neednot flood. This is assuming there’s enoughwater available for the canal as a whole.

Which brings me to my next point. It ispatently obvious to anyone brave enough toaccept the challenge of cruising the HNC, thathaving spent £30M restoring this beautifulwaterway, it has then been left to deterioratewithout so much as a maintenance plan beinginstituted. Why else would this canal be so

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devoid of water? And why else would somany locks be so difficult to operate?

Finally, on my way through Standedge Tunnel,I overheard a conversation between a youngfemale passenger and the, for want of a betterword, female courier, in which the passengersaid she was employed by BW in the capacityof Promoter for the canal. We do not envyher the task.

In truth much has to be done to improve thiswaterway if more use is to be made of it. Weare aware that, from next year it is proposedthat boaters take their own boats throughStandedge Tunnel, with a BW staff memberaccompanying each boat. That is a start, butwe would respectfully the following actionsbe taken forthwith, assuming of course, thatanyone is the least bit interested in a lowlyboaters suggestions.

First, and foremost, dredge the canal from endto end because, if it is left as it is, within ayear or two it will be completely unnavigable.

Secondly, widen the canal to the extent thattwo boats can safely pass each other. This willentail clearing all weeds and clutter andtrimming overhanging tree branches. If this isnot done and two boats cannot pass safely, noamount of promotion will attract boaters tothis beautiful canal.

Third, install adequate metal mooring strips atsensible distances apart. Whilst this is, in itself,not essential, it will at least give an indicationto boaters of safe and secure moorings. In allhonesty, nobody wants to walk five or sixmiles from one mooring point to another,that’s not why we buy a boat.

Finally, set in motion a maintenance plan forall locks along the canal. Obviously, if lockpaddles are unmanageable, boaters willsimply not use the canal. Bearing in mind thatthe woman on the boat is, in the main, theone who operates the locks, the operation oflock paddles should not require themusculature of a lumberjack. Cruising is, afterall, supposed to be a pleasurable and relaxingexperience.

Of course, should the above be actioned,which I very much doubt will be any timesoon, you’ll also have to consider puttingtraffic lights at both ends of the tunnelsleading into and out of Huddersfield.

A rather long report for sure, for which I makeno apology. However, whilst I doubt it will betotally ignored, it would be a great pity if thisvery pretty canal were to simply be left to rot.Such inaction would simply return it to its pre£30M restoration days.

Yours RespectivelyDavid Chamberlain

nb ShiraleeLocks 31 &32W, Diggle Flight

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HumourOur amusing snippets for this issue are taken from the second book of short verse byBernard Wrigley. Affectionately known as The Bolton Bullfrog, Joan and I go to see himon stage whenever we can, a very funny and entertaining performer.

The second book is titled ‘The Longs and the Shorts Of It. We bought the book at thelast show we went to at the Oldham Coliseum on the 2nd October and received hispermission there and then to reproduce extracts. Thank you Bernard. Ed.

ìEach time I look in the mirrorThereís a knackered old man where Iím stoodîìLook at it this way î the doctor repliedìAt least your eyesightís still goodî

ìThe patient you just pronounced fit has dropped deadOn the doormat outside near the binî

ì Well pick up the body and turn him aroundSo it looks like he was just coming inî

We call my brother ìThe ExorcistîThough his proper name is RonItís ëcause every time he visits usWe find all the spirits have gone

ìI darenít send him shoppingî she saidìI live in mortal fear ñ

Last week he bought some HP sauceAt 6p per month for a yearî

The wifeís now a most careful driverWith never a hint of road rageFor I told her if sheís in an accidentThe newspaper prints her real age

ìIíve got the doctors baffledîThe hospital patient said

ìTheyíve gone and put a suggestions boxAt the bottom of my bedî

42 - Pennine Link

The 74 ClubThe Society has commissioned a plaque toacknowledge boaters who have ‘done’ theNarrow. The plaque is available at £5.00for members, £8.00 for non-members and£4.00 for non-members who join the CanalSociety at the time of applying. Postage &packing is £1.00 per plaque.

Transit of the Standedge Tunnel is acceptedas proof of navigation. Simply contact theSociety on 01457 871800 or EMailhcs@huddersfieldcanal.com to request anapplication form or download the formfrom the website:www.huddersfieldcanal.com

The form includes space for boaters tocomment on their experiences and allobservations are forwarded to BritishWaterways. Here are some more of theirrecent comments:

We found the canal in good condition -helped by excellent information on the HCSwebsite and from Shire Cruisers in advanceabout possible issues (eg stiff paddle gear).BW staff at the Marsden Flight / Tunnel werealso extremely helpful.

Solution to Wordsearch 6 Solution to Jidoku puzzle 10

Had a great trip, first time for a few of us.On the down side, the stretch into Ashtonwas pretty grim and on the Huddersfieldside we found many locks with defectivegear. Just made us work a bit harder! Keepup the great work.

We are pleased to welcome thefollowing boaters to the ‘74 Club’.

M A Rushbrooke PHOENIXR Brown MARCASSIND Cleaver CAIR VIEI Charity SOMERSET

The Back Page

ADVERTISING RATES

Page Per Issue Per Year

Qtr £12.50 £50.00

Half £25.00 £100.00

Full £50.00 £200.00

MEMBERSHIP RATES

Individual £9.00Family £11.00Life £90.00Associate £15.00Corporate £150.00

COPY DATE

Articles, letters and commentsfor Issue 164 of Pennine Link

should reach the Editor atTranshipment Warehoue, Wool

Road, Dobcross, OL3 5QRby 14th November 2008

HUDDERSFIELD CANAL SOCIETY

welcomes the following new members

Pennine Link - 47

Full colour, A5-sized, pictorial guide to the Huddersfield Narrow Canal.90 pages, over 500 colour photographs and 36 detailed maps.

£4.99 plus £1.50 p+p (ISBN 978-0-9514270-1-9)

Available from the Society Office. Please make cheques payable to ‘Loxvend’

2770 Miss Jayne Pellatt,

2771 Ms Helen Morton,

2772 Mr & Mrs Michael & Margaret Platt,

2773 Mr Richard Worsnip,

2774 Mr Fred Carter,

2775 Mr Thomas W Mason,