Sleaford - New Waterways Area

 
A Lovely Day for Trailable Boats, and Canoes
 
On a sunny 3rd of July the official opening took place of facilites to give trailable boats and canoes access to the Slea Navigation.  Sleaford is still isolated from the main network by the four miles and six locks still awaiting restoration, but now the campaign will be promoted by residents seeing craft using the river in the town centre.
 
A ribbon across the new slipway was cut, and Richlow's trailable flagship Schandelle was the first boat to descend to the river Slea.  The new liftbridge was raised and Schandelle had the honour to pass beneath.  By the slipway new moorings have been installed, there two Wilderness trailboats added to the colour of the event, as did a number of canoes.
 

Richlow's Schandelle launched at the official opening of Sleaford's new slipway.

Sleaford now has a lovely riverside area, with easy pedestrian access and adjacent parking off Eastgate.

Schandelle passing under the liftbridge, just downstream of the new slipway and moorings.  The new bridge, in a busy pedestrian area, also allows usage by pushchairs and wheelchairs which the old bridge did not.

One of the Wilderness trailable boats which added to the event, on passage back from Cogglesford Lock.

Updates - June 2010

  
South Pennine Ring - Part 1

Map 8.  Navigation Notes.  Access to lock 86 has always been difficult. Now a new fence along Canal Road, constructed to prevent drunken revellers from falling in the canal, prevents lock crews getting to the lock!
  
This is a picture of the original lock access point. Although there is a gate in the fence, we cannot recommend using it to access lock 86. Instead travel there by boat.

Map 9.  Navigation Notes.  Swing bridges 14 and 15.   When we surveyed this earlier in the year, the swing bridge locks were broken and a Watermate padlock and chain were fastening each bridge. Permanent locks have now been fixed which are opened using a handcuff key.

Generally the Ashton Canal was in good condition for an urban waterway and we had little difficulty navigating it. A number of lock paddles were inoperative (for some unknown reason these were always on the bottom gate on the towpath side!) We only had to go down the weed hatch once.
   

Updates - May 2010

  
Lincolnshire Waterways

Page 10.  Torksey Lock Tea Room.  Open 11.00, until at least 17.00, maybe later. Closed Mondays (except Bank Holidays). Home-made cakes, pastries, jams, pickles. No hot food.
  
Narrowboat on the Trent
      
Page 29.  Torksey Lock Tea Room added to facilites (see above).  New picture of Torksey lock cut.
   
South Pennine Ring  -  Part 1
   
Map 9.  Droylsden Marina.  Boater facilities - add WC, and Elsan Disposal.
  
Chesterfield Canal
  
Map 11.  Footpath closure notice.   We've been informed of an emergency footpath closure around Staveley from Bell House Lane to Norbriggs Cutting.

The closure will last for three weeks from Mon 17th May 2010. Please contact Derbyshire's Rights of Way team for more information. (Sorry, I don't have a link for this yet.)
   
The closure is to enable investigative work to be carried out related to the design of the new Doe Lea aqueduct, a crucial part of the canal's restoration. The closure notice hasn't been published yet on Derbyshire Council's web site, but as soon as it is, we'll include a link to the document which indicates an alternative route.

Images of - Witham Navigable Drains

      
These pictures were taken during one of Richlow's cruises of the Witham Navigable Drains, to update our knowledge of the enigmatic waterways.
     
As we state in our Lincolnshire Waterways guide, "these are adventure waterways and we recommend trying the easier routes first."  Available from richlow.co.uk
  
There are approximately 40 navigable miles of a 90 mile network. The Witham Navigable Drains are a world of their own, one of the few places where a cruise on a hot August bank holiday can be completed without seeing another craft. Nevertheless, they are an acquired taste - some find them remote and boring, others find them remote and peaceful.

Pontoon moorings on the River Witham, at the entrance to Antons Gowt lock. The entrance to the Witham Navigable Drains.

In Antons Gowt lock. A rare chance to lock down from a river.

Exiting Antons Gowt lock. Entering Frith Bank drain, the waterway on the network with the most bends.

On West Fen drain, one of the widest waterways of the network. Heading towards Frithville.

Richlow's Madeley Wood continuing along the West Fen drain, at the Frithville junction.

Our friends' boat Woolwinder, jammed by its ornate tiller-pin (of all things!). Extra crew from Madeley Wood, for added ballast, and the skipper grazing his fingers eventually got the boat through.

Having moved his crew to Woolwinder to help as above, John was left alone on Madeley Wood. With the benefit of experience, he had already replaced his boat's usual tiller-pin with one of a low basic design.

Richlow attention to detail. Measuring the air draught at the troublesome bridge on the West Fen Drain. The water levels on the drains differ at various times of the year. Our Lincolnshire Waterways guide gives details of how to check. See richlow.co.uk

Madeley Wood turning on to the Newham drain at Westville, taking care about the over-hanging tree branches.

Newham Drain, on the way back to the River Witham, via Antons Gowt lock.







The Witham Navigable Drains are covered in our Lincolnshire Waterways guide.
Available, post free, from richlow.co.uk

Richlow Guides   -   "Written by People Who Go There".

Phyllis of Barton

      

Phyllis is a Humber sloop, but rigged for sea-going trade on the Humber estuary and up and down the east coast.  She is typical of hundreds of sailing sloops that carried cargoes on those waters.  She is privately owned by two members of the Humber Keel & Sloop Preservation Society, and can often be seen in company with the HKSPS's keel Comrade and sloop Amy Howson.

Photograph by Kate Smith

Built 1907 by Warrens of New Holland for James Barraclough of Barton, Phylllis is 68ft long by 16ft beam and iron construction. She was engined in1943 and stayed with the same owner all her working life until sold off with the rest of the fleet in 1974. After an excursion to Scotland with a new owner she was bought by her present one, towed back to the Humber and is now being restored to her former self as a cutter-rigged Humber sloop of her time.  Full details from http://www.sloopphyllis.com/
   

Phyllis (left) and Amy Howson (right).  The two sloops at their winter moorings at Barton Haven, in March 2010. (The wheelhouse near the stern of Phyllis belongs to another vessel beyond her).  This picture was taken during an exceptionally low tide and shows extensive mudbanks on the Humber.

   
   
   

Syntan of Beverley Beck

     

Syntan is owned by the volunteers of the Beverley Barge Preservation Society.  http://www.syntanbarge.org.uk/

Beverley Beck is an off-shoot of the River Hull, and Syntan may be chartered for trips down to the Humber Estuary, with a crew of 4 and a maximum of 12 passengers.  The trips are tide dependent and last for a maximum of 6 hours.  She operates April to October.

Syntan was built 1949 in Beverley, and was one of a fleet of 16 barges based in that town, owned by Richard Hodgson Tanners.  The fleet carried coal and hides into the tannery, and collected from Hull docks raw materials used for tanning from India, South Africa and Paraguay.  As well as trading between Hull and Beverley, they also carried general cargoes such as grain, flour, paper, and nuts, to South and West Yorkshire.  Therefore, Syntan is a "Sheffield size" barge, 61ft 6ins long, and 15ft 6ins wide.

   
Syntan was bought by the Beverley Barge Preservation Society in 2001 and after years of hard work she has been restored to her original condition, and is once again moored in, and operates from, the town where she was built.

Syntan on her moorings near Beverley minster

 

Entrance to the Black Sluice Navigation at Boston

     
Why boats cannot stay on the pontoon moorings

This picture shows the pontoon moorings in the tidal River Witham at Boston, called The Haven, where boats moor before entering the lock at the entrance to the Black Sluice Navigation (left foreground).  But it shows what the conditions are at low-water, when the mud-banks are plain to see.  Of course, boats will not be (cannot be) sent down from the Grand Sluice Lock at this time of the tide but it adds to crew information to see the image.

In the background, upstream, Boston's fishing fleet is on its moorings.  On the right, the frontage of Boston docks where sea-going coasters are often moored for cargo handling.