Kirklees Top Lock (Calder and Hebble Navigation) - Sunday 7th July

Eat your heart out Terry Wogan – it was the turn of the Brighouse and Rastrick Brass Band’s version of The Floral Dance which kept going through my mind today!

Salterhebble Locks Lower Pound

Salterhebble Guillotine Lock

It was a lovely morning and we were soon going down the third of the Salterhebble Locks.  You may remember that when we were in Todmorden I said that it is unusual to see a guillotine lock outside East Anglia – well we have done another today.  I have to admit that with a straight bottom gate our 60 feet wasn’t too difficult - but the rest of the locks made up for it!  We soon worked out a system.  Richard would take the boat into the lock and put a rope round a bollard.  I would then collect the bow rope and slowly start to open the bottom paddles (of course we had closed the top gates first!)  My job was to make sure that the bow went under the lock walkway by holding the boat back then as soon as the bow was clear I pulled the boat forward and Richard pulled on his rope to keep the stern off the cill.  Once a bottom gate was open I used the bow rope to pull the boat round the pointed gate.  It sounds complicated but it works!

The stern just missing the cill

The bow jammed up against the front gate

Pulling the bow round the lower gate

Richard operating the hand spike

We cruised through Elland and on into Brighouse

I thought I could hear the curious tone

Of the cornet, clarinet and big trombone

Fiddle, 'cello, big bass drum

Bassoon, flute and euphonium

Far away, as in a trance

I heard the sound of the Floral Dance

OK enough of the Floral Dance.  There is a Sainsburys alongside the canal just before Brighouse Top Lock so I popped in to buy more supplies for the barbecue.  We passed Brighouse Basin and saw Cwm who we had spent last weekend with, glad to see that Ian got back safely on his own, then it was down through the Top and Bottom locks and onto the River Calder.  It’s only a short distance along the river before going through the Anchor Pit Flood Lock and back onto the canal.  Our destination for the night was just below Kirklees Lock and we had a perfect spot all to ourselves though there was a traffic hum from the M62. 
 

Elland

Brighouse Basin

Richard cooked a barbecue and we ate outside on the towpath and sat outside chatting until quite late.
 

Salterhebble Lock Lower Pound to Kirklees Lock

5.77 miles
12 locks





12 locks