Amarantine Adventure Part 2

After leaving the boat at Huddersfield for ten days(had to pop home for hospital appointments etc) - not sure now which is home 'house or boat??? we are now back on the cut and have had a very pleasant day going down the Huddersfield Broad Canal and onto the Calder and Hebble Canal. We are moored up for the night at Mirfield near Dewsbury.

Our obstacle of the day was a lift bridge. You don't see many of these, it lifts completely verticle.

I wanna go home!!

We are at the moment suck above lock 8E on the Huddersfield Narrow Canal. This canal has been a bit trying at times but is now getting me down. We need to be in Aspley Basin in Huddersfield by tomorrow night as we have train tickets to go home on Wednesday morning.

The picture tells the story, no water!!!!!

We caught the British Waterways guys trying to fix the problem.

I just hope there is some water in the morning or we will be 'high and dry' again tomorrow.

Yippee, Pictures!!

Just thought I would give it a shot at loading up images, yippee here we are.

The Standedge Tunnel doesn't look a lot from the East Portal, just a tiny mouse hole!!














Its a different tunnel to any we have been through as you can see from the rocky face.














After the chaperones have togged you all up in hi-vis jackets and hard hats its off through we go.















We have been struggling a bit with lack of water, from this post you can see by how much the canal is down.















Power lines and pylons straddle the canal!!!!!

Standedge Tunnel

After a sleepless night, grounded on the slosh we got up early Wednesday to assess the situation with the water in the pound feeding the lock we needed to go through. No better than the evening before when we rang the BW emergency line. So we put into action what we had been told to do, filling and re-filling locks and managing to fill the pound. We managed to slog our way through to the bottom lock of the Standedge Tunnel, but it was extremely hard work.

We were booked to go through on Monday 19th, which made us 4 days early. We decided to take a walk up to the mouth of the tunnel at Diggle. We were lucky there was one of the guide/minders there so we told him the situation "Get ya boat up here and you can go through today". We made haste back down the hill to get our boat. 10 Locks uphill later and we were at the mouth of the tunnel. I was really tired out at this point and in pain from my injuries after falling in yesterday.

It is an experience I wouldn't have misssed for the world. The tunnel is the longest at 3.25 miles, deepest at 635ft below the hill at the deepest point and highest at 648ft above sea level in the the country. The tunnel sides are a mixture of rough rocky stone and brick arches. I would post pictures, but once again, there is not enough of a signal to do so.

We are at present in a valley surrounded by hills in what would be desribed as 'Wuthering Heights' type countryside. The views are absolutley stunning. A lot of people won't come up the Huddersfield Canal as 74 locks and a 3.25 mile tunnel in the space of 20 miles cab be a bit off putting. But I can hand on heart say, it is worth it (and we haven't even had any good weather whilst on this canal yet).

There are another 30 locks to go until we reach our desitination - Aspley Basin at Huddersfield. We will set off in the morning as there is a shortage of water even more acute this side of the tunnel than there was the other side. By leaving it 24 hours the water levels should have recovered.

We have 5 days to do a 2 day journey from here to Huddersfield. With luck on our side we will make it. I am praying for a torrential downpour, but all we keep getting is a lot of wind and an occasional squally shower.

A couple just stopped by the boat and told us there are two boats stuck high and dry further down the lock flight!! Perhaps we will have to club together and work out a strategy to get us all moving.

On a lighter note they informed us there is a small town with pub, restaurant, shops etc. so with push bikes at the ready, thats this evenings plan.

Falling in the Cut!!

They say your not a proper boater till you have fallen in, but more of that later.

The day started well. We had been moored up at Ashton-Under-Lyne and we got a reasonably early start and turned right up the Huddersfield Narrow canal. Everything was going swimmingly (ha ha), until we met a boat coming the other way just after lock 9W (where the sewage filter beds are) went to go out the next lock and of course not much water because he'd used a lock full and we had used a lock full. We kept getting stuck on the bottom and this is when I made my big discovery a bicycle in the canal, Ken fished it out and I fell in, so he fished me out as well - now I am a 'Proper Boater'.

Met another boat stuck on the bottom just out of lock 18W. Helped him to get underway and with the aid of the centre rope managed to pull ourselves into the lock. Filled the lock and low and behold, there was a puddle the other side!!!!!!!!!!!! to make matters worse the paddles were leaking so badly that it slowly lowered us back down again. So we reversed out of the lock and are spending the night grounded in the middle of the cut. A nice man at BW said that things should have sorted themselves out by morning.

It is at present raining, but really I would like a torrential downpour!!

Our original plan to make this trip via the tidal Trent, seems right now to be a very wise plan (which of course we changed at the last minute, as you do).

Stunning and Scorching!!

We have been travelling the Macclesfield canal today, what stunning views and countryside. We had to be at Marple by mid afternoon ready for visitors arriving tonite. We made it and set off in search of a local hostelry to sample in readiness. Sampled and booked for 8.30pm.

Ken rather liked the particular place we picked as it had beer and barmaids to match!!!!!

Our friends, Dot and Stuart, are at this very moment in time zooming towards us on their motorbike. Hope they get here soon I am starving! Ken is having a nap, so he will be on top form tonite.

We like where we are at the moment so will probably stay for a couple of days. Not to mention the grand prix is on on Sunday and also there is a local brass band that Ken seems determined to listen to. So we were not going anywhere!!

Yippee Pictures!!!

Yippeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!! I managed to upload some piccys.

A little selection of things here.

Ken with the sweetest little visitor to our boat, she invited herself.



A slipper with a stone gaffer taped to it?? If anyone can tell me what this would be used for I would be eternally grateful. We didn't get a chance to ask the owners.

Some random shots of our BBQ and various sights along the way. The village with all the black and white houses is Alrewas, which we fell in love with. Mind you it is the first place I have ever been where they have a prolem with smoking dogs!!

Goodbye John and Mary

Sorry again folks, I know its been a week since I last updated but the weather has been fab and the signal for the computer poor, hence once again no pictures (really upset and frustrated about this).

We spent a couple of nights at Alrewas, which is the prettiest village ever. We tried the fish and chips, then the local. Low and behold, live entertainment in the form of 'John the Fiddler' (bit of a dogdy name I thought). He was fantastic!!! We had a great night. The following evening we had our final drink with John and Mary, as the following morning we were heading off in different directions at Fradley Junction. We are travelling alone now and we will miss them very much. I wonder where they are now?

Most days are very samey. Get up, set off and cruise. Moor up, find food and pub. It is the different people at the locks and on other boats that make it interesting, not to mention the scenery. Some of it is very much like home and other parts, the industrial parts are quite amazing and quite sad. Sometimes you can image how it used to be when it was bustling with activity and horses pulled the boats.

We have now reached Congleton, needing supplies only to find that it is half day closing on Wednesdays, just our luck. Mind you I bet there is a pub open somewhere!!!

One of the highlights on the way was the Harecastle Tunnel which took 45 minutes to get through. We didn't see the ghost, but there was a strange misty bit in the middle of the tunnel!

Last night we were at Stoke on Trent, which is nothing to write home about. Anyway, we went to a friends house for a drink and he dropped us back at our boat in his car, using the pub car park nearby. Anyway, while he happened to be on our boat chatting the car park gates got closed and locked!! So, seeing a small bush, decided he could drive his car and make a get away OVER the bush, after all he had seen this done in the movies. WRONG move, car got stuck on the bush and he had to call a friend to tow him off!! Fortunately no damage was done to his car. But he might think twice before trying to copy something he's seen on the telly!!