Dowley Gap Take 2

Back in February BW drained the locks and aqueduct at Dowley Gap (see my report) in order to effect various repairs which included new lock gates and bank strengthening.

New lock gates at Dowley Gap

Bank repairs at Dowley Gap Embankment

Dowley Gap Aqueduct rewatered

 





What a shame that the top set of gates was not replaced at the same time as the other two sets.

Dowley Gap top gates still leaking ferociously

In order for the bottom gates to be opened I had to reverse into this waterfall which soaked my legs and swamped the rear deck.

5-3-2-1

The Leeds & Liverpool Canal lays claim to being the longest single canal in England. I would dispute this as the stretch from Wigan Top Lock to Jonson's Hillock when built was part of the Lancaster Canal. (aka The Walton Summit). It was never conceived as a trunk canal but evolved from the demand for improved local transport.  Hence construction started in Leeds and Liverpool simultaneously and the bit in the middle came later. It is the shortest of the trans-Pennine canals but took the longest to build. To the west of the summit the canal relies heavily on reservoirs and we have seen the problems caused in dry summers with the canal being closed from time to time.  To the east  there are more streams and rivers feeding the canal and so the Yorkshire section is less susceptible to drought conditions. There are other differences between the Red Rose and White Rose sections too.  There are more swing bridges and most of the locks are arranged in staircases.  Is this, I wonder, an example of the well-known Yorkshire characteristic of being careful with money? If locks are arranged in staircases the lower gate of one lock is also the upper gate of the next and fewer gates have to be constructed: also it is cheaper to install a swing bridge than to build up a road and  construct a decent stone one.

Bingley 5-rise Locks

As we descended from Riddlesden last week our route involved three staircases and a singleton-

Bingley 5-rise,

Bingley 3-rise,

Dowley Gap 2-rise

and Hirst Lock

Bingley 3-rise Locks

Dowley Gap 2-rise Locks

Slough Arm Closed

Following fast on the closure of Aylesbury Arm due to a lock wall collapsing narrowboatworld.com is reported that the Slough Arm of the Grand Union Canal is also closed.

Photo courtesy of narrowboatworld.com

This time it is a bridge which is causing the problem.



This is Reeds Bridge No 2A which is causing concern, particularly for the boats in Slough which were planning to attend the Canal Cavalcade in little Venice, London, this weekend.

Eating Chinese in Burnley

Burnley has more than its fair share of Indian food outlets probably because of the ethnic make up of the population.  In keeping with most of the UK, most of these are unimaginative and unappetizing making the search for a good establishment a lengthy task.
Finding a decent Chinese restaurant is also difficult  but for quite another reason: it is difficult to find any Chinese restaurants in Burnley. During our winter mooring we found an eat as much as you can buffet. One visit was sufficient for a lifetime.
Tucked away near the Bridge Inn and the multi-storey car park  The Red Lantern is buried underground. Carole will greet you as you enter and there is a bar area if you wish to wait for your table.  Carole's husband is from Hong Kong and he does the cooking which explains why the menu is predominently Cantonese.  In true Hong Kong style, all proceedings are supervised by the matriach seated at the front door.  The food is good, if limited in range: and the service is attentive.  Decor is very attractive with just the right amount of light to read the menu without destroying the ambience. Seating is arranged so that you can chat without being overheard. On Sundays there is a table buffet option:  dishes from a resticted menu are cooked to your order but no limit is placed on how many you can eat for the fixed price: this works well for groups and parties.
If you can venture a little out of town to Padiham and desire a more interesting menu and a high standard of cooking then The Summer Palace is where you should head.  They do not have a wedbsite but details can be found on Trip Advisor.

Hakuna Matata & Yorkshire Tyke

We were musing yesterday on the transient nature of acquaintances on the cut:  you may see another boat frequently over a period of two years and then newver again. In particular, I gave as an example two boats from Strawberry Island which we saw in 2006 and 2007 in Braunston, Fenny Stratford, Compton and London amongst other places but had not seen since.
We are moored for a few nights in Airedale Boat Club and whilst the first mate was away I glanced out of the window to witness the rare occurrence of another boat travelling the canal.  And it was Yorkshire Tyke!  I am not sure if Hakuna Matata was with them as they were out of site quite rapidly. They are headed the opposite way to us so maybe in five or six years.......

Water Babies

Where is everybody?
We cruised from Skip[ton to Silsden yesterday and, apart from a boat we caught up with and shared the swing bridges with, we didn't see another moving boat.
After an entertaining evening in the Kings Arms where it was acoustic jam night we pottered down to Riddlesden today. This time we didn't even have someone to share the swing bridges with. Not a soul is moving on this  stretch of the L&L canal.  In a couple of weeks it will be the waterways festival at Skipton: I hope there are a few boats around by then.
There is also a dearth of Kingfishers this year according to she who must be obeyed.
However yesterday we say our first duckings of the season: tiny and striped like bumble bees messing about in the water.

Today it was the the turn of the Greylag goslings to show themselves.
I was so busy looking for fellow travellers that I took no photographs so here is a picture from RSPB or a Greylag Goose.

Happy Saint George's Day

St. George is the patron saint of England (and many other countries, apparently) and this is the flag we use in England to represent him. Those Englishmen who remember him do so particularly on April 23.  That's today!
The legend of St. George and the dragon seems to have arrived in England from the Crusades but appears in many countries, cultures and religions.  He is unusual in being venerated by Christians of all denominations and also Muslims and Jews.
Although the location and the other parties involved vary from one story to another the gist is this:

St. George & the Dragon (Blackburn Museum)

A village relies for its water supply on a pool or stream which is guarded by a dragon.  To appease the dragon each day it is offered a sacrifice. Initially this is a lamb but later its taste turns to maidens.  Selection of the maiden is made by drawing lots and all goes swingingly until the King's daughter draws the short straw.  The King pleads for his daughter to be spared but to no avail: his subjects are particularly egalitarian. However, just at the crucial moment, who wanders by on his travels but George?  He sees the maiden in distress (whether he knows she is a princess is not recorded) and, protecting himself with a cross, he slays the dragon.   So being a king does carry some benefits when it comes to dragons.

Celebration of England's patron saint is less fervent than those of Scotland, Wales and Ireland which I attribute to the natural reserve of the English.





But The House of Flowers in Barnoldswick has gone to town with its window display which includes a dragon with red flashing eyes.

A County Mile

We all know the expression A Country Mile. 
It refers to a distance which is greater than expected.
I have always thought it a confection to confuse town-dwellers and  found it particularly efficacious employed as such.  However there are academics who have more academic explanations and  adduce such literary references as:
Frederick de Kruger's The Villager's Tale (1829)

The travelling stage had set me down
Within a mile of yon church-town;
'T was long indeed, a country mile.
But well I knew each field or style;

Or:

The Treasury of Knowledge and Library of Reference  (1850)

Robin Hood shot a full mile; and, according to his bard, a north-country mile was equal to two statute ones.

I leave you to come to your own conclusion regarding its etymology as I believe I have identified a new measure - the County Mile, or rather the Lancashire Mile
This is smaller than the statute mile and so leads to inflation of distances. I cite two instances only, (but am sure there are many others):  both from the Leeds & Liverpool Canal.

Burnley's Straight Mile

The canal  embankment in Burnley is known as The Straight Mile

It would be churlish of me to dispute the straight description, but 1225 yards was never a mile in my books.

A few statute miles away, or, indeed, a country mile away, is the Foulridge Tunnel, known locally as the Mile-Long Tunnel. 
It is, in fact, 1640 yards long.
I cannot, or rather, do not dare to, suggest a reason for this phenomenon but offer it up for consideration.

High Winds & High Water

After the gales on Tuesday which we decided to sit out after the most hair-raising descent of Greenberfield Locks, the long pound to Bank Newton was glorious - not sunny, but the views were still magnificent.  We met only two boats all day and had no-one to share the nine locks which took us to Gargrave. Fortunately there was a lock-keeper on hand at Bank Newton to assist as one lock we could not open because the water level in the pound above it was so high.


At Stegneck Lock the water was so high it reminded me of our first descent of the Rochdale Nine in a hire boat thirty years ago.




Soon after mooring in Gargrave the gales returned.  Overnight it felt like we were at sea.








And this morning one of the unoccupied boats behind us had loosed its stern mooring and was across the cut.

Recovering and retying that delayed our bus trip to Settle, but at least it didn't rain on us.

Escape from Aylesbury

Twenty-two boats are escaping from Aylesbury Canal Basin: about twelve today and the remainder tomorrow.  Canal & Rivers Trust arranged for boats to be lifted out by crane and transported to Willowbridge  on the Grand Union near Milton Keynes. This escape has become necessary because one of the sixteen locks on the Aylesbury Arm has collapsed. The lock wall on the towpath side of Buckland lock, number twelve, subsided on Thursday 28th March. (see blog report)
leaving many boats stranded, unable to get out from the arm: this was all the more serious as it occurred at the  beginning of the boating season.

Photo by Annie Brown

There was a delay of an hour so when  one of the three lorries had a blow-out but here we see Xilion Rose successfully escaping from her winter moorings in Aylesbury basin.

Photo by Annie Brown

And under way at last: but not under her own steam - yet.