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This video is about Going North on the Great Tidal River Ouse, travelling via the Selby Canal joining the River Ouse at Selby Lock, heading towards York City. We stayed in Goole for around two weeks, we had a few visits from Pats sister and brother in law while there. On one visit we went for a short cruise down to Rawcliffe Bridge to the Black Horse pub but because it was a week day they were closed at lunch time and only opened in the evenings. so we winded then cruised back to Goole and ended up in a Wetherspoons.
We also celebrated Pats 60th birthday, Carol and Colin took us to a lovely coach house where we had one of the best meals ever and they presented him with a canal cake all beautifully iced. We left Goole and travelled back along the Aire and Calder and up the Selby Canal. We stopped at a great little mooring called Gateforth Landing. It was a bit tricky to get on and off the boat as the bank was very high but it was a lovely secluded spot with only the sound of a distant train. This was where Pat managed to have a little practice with a recently acquired toy (oops sorry Drone!) We left Gateforth Landing on 8th September and headed towards Selby. It started raining quite hard so we stopped prior to the swing bridge that gave access to Selby Basin but we were next to a busy road so was quite noisy, however there was an Aldi about half mile up the road so we managed to top up with a big shop. We moved into Selby basin on 10th September as the next day we had passage booked through Selby Lock at 0730. We lefty Selby Lock with some trepidation and excitement and travelled up the tidal River Ouse, this was our first tidal river. It was a bit scary exiting the lock but as we were going on the up tide the force of the river took the bow of the boat on the tide. It took us 2.75 hours cruising time to do the 14 miles from Selby to Naburn Lock, there was a lot of debris, tree trunks and branches on the river floating towards us which we had to avoid but it was good fun. It was still a bit windy with the occasional spots of rain so er left our pram cover up for the journey. We were listening to a VHF radio for all of the journey and were comforted by a report of our location as we passed a bridge to the lock keeper at Naburn Lock. At Naburn there was good 48 hour moorings on rings and a full sanitary station.
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Our Narrowboat Journey from Castleford to Goole. once again experiencing high winds. We left Woodlesford on 19th August after Becky had left with Chloe and Charlie. We travelled down to Lemonroyd Lock where we stayed overnight and from there we cruised to Castleford arriving on 20th August. We moored up just passed the boat yard, where there were some 48hr moorings and longer term moorings slightly further up. The town centre was about 10mins walk from the canal, although tired looking it had a nice indoor market and a few shops and we managed to top up on our grocery supplies. While there we arranged to meet Shaun and Colin (Foxes Afloat)who are YouTubers vlogging about selling their house and buying a narrowboat. (Mmhm sounds familiar!)
We left Castleford on Thursday 23rd August and travelled to Ferrybridge where we stayed overnight. There were good moorings on the right just passed the lock, the moorings on the left had no access to the town. It was here that we picked up a good wood supply to start our winter hoard. On Friday 24th August we left Ferrybridge on a beautiful sunny day, we had been cruising for about 2 hours when the weather changed. It suddenly became cold and windy and we needed our windproof jackets and within 10mins the heavens opened, so we moored up at some lovely, quiet moorings in Pollington. There were no local shops here but some nice walking by the canal. We stayed in Pollington for the weekend and travelled the nine miles to Goole on Monday 27th August. It was an uneventful journey, very industrial at times but interspersed with open countryside. In Goole we moored on the opposite side to the museum as there were no spaces available, however access to the town was better on the side we moored. The town was about 30 mins walk and had plenty of shops, cafes and pubs. Leaving Leeds Dock on a very windy day and a week with the grandchildren. Eileen went back to Kent by train from Leeds and picked up Chloe and Charlie. They arrived at Leeds station and we came back to the boat by water taxi from Granary Wharf. They spent the week with us taking in the Armoury Museum which they really enjoyed and they loved playing on the turfed section of the docks. We left Leeds dock on an exceptionally busy day with lots of boat traffic and high winds, not the ideal cruising weather as Patrick had trouble getting out of the basin. Eileen and the kids had already made their way over to the lock to set it. There was a tricky turn as well just outside of the basin, the high winds made it even more difficult. Just after exiting the lock another boat bumped into us as the wind took him.
We cruised up to Woodlesford on the Aire and Calder Navigation where we found a lovely mooring and visited a country park and took the kids blackberry picking. We then cruised onto Woodlesford Lock where there were lovely visitor moorings above the lock. There we found a playground for the kids, enjoyed a bit of fishing and walked to the local Lidl which was about a mile into town. It was a difficult but enjoyable week trying to keep Chloe and Charlie entertained. It may have been easier if we were on the canals where there are more locks, tow paths and shallow water rather than a river with few locks which were all mechanised, less tow paths and deeper water. Chloe was easier to entertain as she took more interest in boaty things. Their Mum travelled by car to the boat on Saturday and they all returned to Kent on Sunday. Our Narrowboat Quest. Grounded in Leeds heading for the River Aire Arrived in Granary Wharf at Leeds, the last stopping point before going onto the River Aire. We moored next to the Hilton Hotel where the water levels were already very low however the levels fell even further and we became grounded. The narrowboat moored next to us had come over from the Lancaster Canal across the Leeds and Liverpool( they were the boat that we came down to Leeds from Rodley with) and needed to return home for work however the Huddersfield Canal and Rochdale Canal were both closed due to low water levels. They therefore informed CRT, caught the train home leaving their boat at Granary Wharf to return when one of the routes across the Pennines reopened.
The Granary Wharf area had some lively bars, restaurants and cafes. Its modern architecture mixed with some interesting historical canal features weave below the train station above. Leeds city centre is five minutes walk away with an array of shops and shopping centres. We stayed beside the Hilton for 3 days, after that a CRT employee let some water down from the previous lock and we were then able to re float the boat. At this point we moved out onto the main canal and spent a night in front of The Lock bar where we spent a rather noisy evening. The next day on a rather wet and windy day we moved through The River Lock, the first (or in our case the last)lock on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal which consequently closed behind us as has happened throughout our journey on this canal. We travelled down to Leeds docks where we moored on the visitor moorings next to the Armouries Museum. The area is being regenerated with some residential housing in waterside apartment blocks and a few businesses who have moved into the area, there is still more work to be done. The main attraction is The Royal Armouries which attracts around 1.5 million visitors a year and has free entry. This video is about our descent to Leeds from Rodley on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal Arriving in Rodley on 3rd August, we stayed for 4 nights. Rodley has good visitor moorings, a couple of pubs and some nice walks. We didn't find any shops so ensure you have plenty of supplies. Rodley is quite popular as it is the recommended stopping place prior to the descent into Leeds as the Nicholson Guide recommends uninterrupted passage from Newley to Granary Wharf.
We teamed up with another boat and started our descent, taking turns with the 4 swing bridges and 12 locks, cruising for 6 hours and covering 6 miles although we did stop to fill our water tank. This section of the canal is full of contrasts with some lovely views, wooded areas and becoming more urban as Leeds approaches. We moored in Granary Wharf on the 48 hour pontoons beside the Hilton Hotel. Leeds main railway line was directly above us but surprisingly did not keep us awake at night. There are several bars in the Granary Wharf area which did get noisy in the evenings. The water levels by this time were pretty low and we ended up staying an extra night at Granary Wharf as we became grounded. As soon as the levels came up we moved our boat onto the main canal mooring right outside a bar overnight which for us wasn't great but we were concerned that we might ground again. The next day we passed through No.1 Lock (River Lock) to exit the Leeds and Liverpool canal just prior to its closing due to low water levels. |
August 2021
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