Canals

Dukart's Canal was built to provide transport for coal from the Drumglass Collieries to the Coalisland Canal in County Tyrone, Ulster, Ireland. It opened in 1777, and used three inclined planes, rather than locks, to cope with changes in level. There is little evidence that it was ever used, as the planes could not be made to work properly, and they were dismantled in 1787. The most prominent canal structure still extant is this ashlar stone aqueduct at Newmills, built around 1768, where the canal was carried over the River Torrent.

A trip up the Huddersfield Narrow Canal ended at Uppermill where the lock proved too narrow for the boat to exit. Having backed down to Greenfield the lift bridge at the entrance to the marina had to be lifted to allow us to wind (turn) the boat and head back towards Manchester.

The tanker narrowboat is well and truly stuck at Bridge 86 on the Huddersfield Narrow Canal due to a combination of rubbish in the cut and low water levels. Use of block and tackle and the application of a number of passing walkers to pull on the rope soon had things moving again.

The Middleport Pottery opened in the 1880s and has continued in production to the present day. In 2009 with the business facing closure it was purchased by the Prince's Regeneration Trust and the buildings underwent restoration and regeneration. The boat is typical of those that carried pottery materials to the works and probably finished ware away for export.

Kelpie - a water spirit of Scottish folklore, typically taking the form of a horse and reputed to delight in the drowning of travellers. The Kelpies are horse-head sculptures standing next to the extension of the Forth and Clyde Canal. The sculptures were designed by Andy Scott and were completed in October 2013. They form a gateway at the eastern entrance to the Forth and Clyde Canal, and the new canal extension built as part of The Helix land transformation project. The Kelpies are a monument to horse powered heritage across Scotland. Built of structural steel with a stainless steel cladding, The Kelpies are 30 metres high and weigh 300 tonnes each and form the largest equine sculpture in the world. The site has become a major tourist attraction and was very busy when I visited. The various tea rooms were very welcome after walking down from Falkirk.

The dry dock in the former Shropshire Union Railways and Canal Company maintenance yard at Ellesmere dates from 1806. As well as for boat maintenance it was used as a gauging dock to establish the draught of boats with various weights of cargo so that the correct tolls could be allocated. Along with the rest of the maintenance yard it remains in use and is listed Grade II*.

Gailey was originally built as a butty boat by Fellows Morton and Clayton at their Saltley Dock in 1899.It was converted to a motor boat at Yarwoods in Northwich in 1937. The boat continues in service as part of the Canal & River Trust maintenance fleet. It is seen here between Disley and Marple on the Peak Forest Canal.

The gauge indicates the profile part way through the Froghall tunnel on the Caldon Canal. Beyond lies the Froghall basins where limestone was loaded and also the first (restored 2005) lock of the Uttoxeter Canal which was abandoned throughout in 1849. Most leisure boats do not fit through due to the very restricted headroom but there are some who make every effort to get right to the end of the canal. A friend asked for as many of his mates to come over and act as human ballast and, after filling the water tank to the brim, we successfully navigated to the basin. I have no idea how he got back because after going to the pub to celebrate we all went home leaving him on the wrong side of the tunnel.

In order to make new oak planks fit the curve of a wooden boat the wood needs to be made pliable by placing it in a box of steam and heating to as near to 100 degrees celsius as possible. After a couple of hours the 2 inch thick piece is ready to apply to the boat and you have a very small window before it cools and loses its flexibility. Juggling a heavy piece of wood 30 ft or more long can be interesting and requires plenty of people to handle it. This box was made for this repair job and comprises five plastic drums with the bottoms cut out and two steel drums at the ends. Water is poured into the bottom drum through a hole which is seen here with a wooden bung in. The plank sticks through a slot in the top drum and can be seen disappearing around the side of the boat. The bending is only required at one end of the plank so it doesn't all have to be steamed. The steam box/tube is raised at one end so that the condensing steam runs back to the bottom. The main tube is wrapped in loft insulation and plastic sheet. Water is heated by propane torches in a small brick hearth. Simple but effective.

Narrowboat and short boat side by side under the Warburton toll bridge on the Manchester Ship Canal.

A small convoy from Manchester to Ellesmere Port is passing the Stanlow oil refinery. Narrowboat Victoria leads the way with Short Boat Severn close behind and then some way behind comes tanker narrowboat Spey. An easy short day's boating compared with the long haul via Middlewich and Chester.

Southern end of the transshipment warehouse at the terminus of the Peak Forest Canal in Whaley Bridge. It is listed Grade II*. The first warehouse at the head of the Whaley Bridge Branch of the Upper Peak Forest Canal was built in 1801 and it is attributed to Thomas Brown who was the Resident Engineer for the construction of the canal. This was a three-storey building of gritstone construction positioned at 90 degrees to the canal. It was five bays wide with the central bay straddling the canal. There was an arched shipping hole in the central bay that permitted two boats to enter, side-by-side, so that they could be loaded and unloaded undercover. The potential of the Peak Forest Canal was considerably enhanced when it became the northern terminus of the Cromford and High Peak Railway in 1831, offering a route for Midlands carriers from the Cromford Canal to reach Manchester and the North West via the Peak Forest Canal. The capacity of the 1801 warehouse was adequate for effective day-to-day operation until the railway brought about a considerable increase in traffic for the Peak Forest Canal at Whaley Bridge and it was deemed that the existing storage facilities were no longer adequate and neither was there a connection with the railway. Consequently, it was decided to increase the storage capacity and make a railway connection by adding an extension of gritstone constructionto the original building. The extension was built in 1832 and a stone tablet over the central bay of the south elevation, is inscribed with the date, '1832'. It was built by Manchester contractor David Bellhouse Junior. The Ordnance Survey map of 1875 shows the railway approaching the north and south elevations of the warehouse on the east side. However, this was later changed to a single-track line entering the western bay of the extension through a doorway in the south elevation. This line had a curious arrangement in that it did not provide direct access from the main railway line. Rather, it curved in from the siding of the Bingswood Print Works and an amount of shunting by horses would have been required before waggons from the main line could enter the warehouse. A possible explanation for this arrangement is the possibility that a considerable amount of goods associated with the print works were carried on this line. The original 1801 warehouse and the 1832 extension remained intact until 1915 when, for reasons now lost, the top floor of the warehouse was removed. The remaining north, east and west elevations of the original building were then re-modelled and re-roofed to match the 1832 extension. The water feed from the Toddbrook and Combs Reservoirs reaches the canal through the warehouse, emerging from a culvert behind the metal fence. Thanks to Peter Whitehead for the information.

Former toll office adjacent to the Leeds and Liverpool Canal in Leeds. I prefer the old signage to the modern stuff.

Swing bridge over the Manchester Ship Canal at Moore. It now provides access to a large nature reserve.

I visited the locks at Marple on the Peak Forest Canal today. The sheer number of large blue signs erected by the Canal and River Trust was astonishing, I have never been welcomed to so many things in one morning and this included a picnic table! The whole lot jarred very badly with the historic structures and added little or no value to the experience. I already know that this is the Peak Forest Canal, Marple Locks and a picnic table so don't need loads of money wasting on signs to welcome me to them. On the other hand I have no idea what a Welcome Station might be, but it clearly needs a big sign on a historic building to ensure that we know where it is so that we can be welcomed to it. Presumably some manager has been tasked with ensuring full and effective corporate branding in all directions.

A pleasant afternoon working the tarboat up the locks at Marple on the Peak Forest Canal. On the approach to lock 3 our Jefferson observes the action.

The former feed mill at Market Drayton has been converted to offices. The adjacent corrugated stores alongside the Shropshire Union Canal have survived so far and add greatly to the atmosphere of the wharf area.

This corrugated iron building at the top of Tyrley locks on the Shropshire Union Canal may well have been used as a warehouse for small amounts of goods delivered or collected by the fly-boats that traded to a regular timetable. Somewhat neglected these days, at least it is still standing.