Tuesday 18th August, 2015 in Wakefield.
The forecast for today was good, so we were not happy to wake up to persistent rain. Refusing to be daunted by such a minor irritation, we set off after breakfast through Kings Road Lock. A kind gentleman called Trevor, from the boat opposite, helped us through the lock.
Above the lock, the countryside changed again. We were back on a wide alluvial flood plain and sailing on a very wide and deep canal (it was designed for coal carrying boats called "Tom Puddings" which could carry over 200 tons of coal each).
Birkwood Lock is the last electric, push button lock and M photographed the hydraulic sluice gear that looks a bit like an American "Nodding Donkey" when in use.
Stanley Ferry has two claims to fame on the waterways. The first is one of only two C&RT workshops where lock gates are made.
Outside, old gates are stacked alongside timber waiting to be turned into new gates.
The second claim to fame is a steel aqueduct built in 1839 - an iron trough suspended under bowstring girders that is supposed to have inspired the design of the Sydney Harbour Bridge 100 years later. British Waterways thought that it might not be strong enough to carry the large commercial loads and so in 1981 they built a second, ugly, concrete aqueduct alongside it. Happily both are now in use side by side. We elected to cross on the original one!
Ahead of us was nb "Tamara 2", last seen going into Leeds yesterday as we were coming out. We caught her up at the next lock called "Fall Ing Lock". Its name really is "Fall Ing" not "Falling" - odd though it looks! It was reassuring to have company here as we had heard dire warnings about the fierceness of the water flows and also it is a very large lock - but manually operated - so the more help the merrier!
It was still raining when we arrived in Wakefield, so we moored up for the day and had some lunch in the vain hope that the rain would ease off.
During lunch, we were disturbed by a loud whooshing noise in the water alongside MM as if a water skier was whizzing by. It turned out to be a swan rushing down the side of MM, running her beak along the gunwhale.
It seemed to be the Pen of a family with two cygnets and she alternated between trying to eat MM and rushing from one end to the other at full speed! Or was she merely laughing at us????
When we walked into Wakefield after lunch (in the rain) she was still trying to eat MM.
It is now supper time and she has just returned! We are not sure if she is being territorial or she is just hungry. Either way, she often has her wings "up" in a typically aggressive pose.
It is quite a long walk into the City centre, across very busy roads, but worth the effort. Everything centres on the Cathedral, which is quite literally right in amongst the shops and therefore very accessible to the public. Oh, and if you look closely, you may just espy a Costa peeping through the trees! Well I never!!
As Cathedrals go, it is relatively small and undergoing significant building work that entails replacing the flooring. In 2012, it had a beautiful new altar, pulpit and choir stalls, all fashioned exquisitely in various English woods.
Behind the altar, the east half of the Cathedral was sealed off for the building works, behind wooden panels.
M's cousin, Jonathan, is Archdeacon here and we did enquire if he was around today, but nobody seemed to know where he was. It would have been nice to say hallo to him as M has not seen him for some years.
There does not seem to be much left of "old" Wakefield, but we did find this very attractive cobbled street, with the imposing Town Hall in the background.
Today: 5 miles, 3 locks and 2.8 hours.
Trip: 257 miles, 152 locks and 162.9 hours.
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