Aire & Calder Navigation

We join the Aire & Calder Navigation at the head of The New Junction Canal. Tonight we plan to moor at Great Heck, having been here before we know the pub half a mile down the road is good so it's a nice place to stop. Sadly the wind is bashing us into the bank and we take refuge in the Selby & York Boat Club across the waterway. The visitor mooring there is calm and we can hook up into electricity which means a hot shower in the morning, however we can't get to the pub - beer, shower, beer, shower? Difficult choice but we've beer on board so shower wins!

The day dawns quite pleasantly, the boat club we are moored at is full of huge cruisers and only one other narrowboat. The boats are all smart and well looked after, one of the berths even has topiary on the bank - very civilised. Life looks nice here but we have to move on.

The waterway becomes much more industrial from here, we pass Kellingly Colliery, one of the deepest mines in England where recently a miner was killed in a roof fall. The mine is obviously still working as there are huge piles of coal of varying sizes alongside the canal (behind a big fence of course!). Knottingley is next, signs of industries long since finished very visible from the water. The waterway here is still used by industrial craft, oil tankers that go to Goole and on to The Humber.

The Ferrybridge flood lock is huge. You could fit about 30 of our boats in it. It is quite rediculous that we have to fill and empty the whole lock, we just need a little bit inside it. Under the enormous towers of the Ferrybridge power station the waterway widens quite dramatically and becomes a huge river. As we enter Bulholme lock at Castleford we are on new ground. This lock was frozen solid last time we were here just short of 3 years ago. As we operate the lock the heavens open, thankfully a BW man is working in the lock office and he finishes operation of the lock for me. Oh those boys in blue.

After lunch we continue on our way through Castleford and a couple of miles onto Woodnook Lock. Here we have to battle with the boat as the wind is so wild. It is really impossible to continue and after a long days boating we are forced to moor for the night. We console ourselves with beer, the last of the wine and a lovely meal of pork chops with prunes. Must walk tomorrow...

Thankfully it is beautiful when we get up. Lexie and Adrian play football until one of them manages to kick the ball in the river and it's full-time. We head off towards Wakefield and everything looks rosy again.