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Issue 153 - Winter 2005

PenninePennine

Issue 153 - Winter 2005

Magazine of the Huddersfield Canal SocietyMagazine of the Huddersfield Canal Society

239 Mossley Road, Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire, OL6 6LNTel: 0161 339 1332 Fax: 0161 343 2262EMail: hcs@hcanals.demon.co.uk Website: www.huddersfieldcanal.com

President - David Sumner MBE Administrator - Bob Gough

Huddersfield Canal Society Ltd

Council Members

Neville Kenyon Meadow Head, Tottington, Bury, Lancashire, BL8 3PPChairman Tel: 0161 339 1332

Trevor Ellis 20 Batley Avenue, Marsh, Huddersfield, HD1 4NAVice-Chairman Tel: 01484 534666

Steve Picot HCS Ltd, 239 Mossley Road, Ashton-u-Lyne, Lancs., OL6 6LNTreasurer Tel: 0161 339 1332

John Fryer Ramsdens, Freeman & Co., 18 Lewisham Road, Slaithwaite,Company Secretary Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, HD7 5AL

Brian Minor 45 Gorton Street, Peel Green, Eccles, Manchester, M30 7LZEditor, Pennine Link Tel: 0161 288 5324 gbm@talktalk.net

Vince Willey 45 Egmont Street, Mossley, Ashton-u-Lyne, Lancs., OL5 9NBBoats Officer Tel: 0161 339 1332

Alwyn Ogborn 14 Stanhope Street, Mossley, Ashton-u-Lyne, Lancs., OL5 9LXChair - Promotions Group Tel: 01457 833329

Ken Wright Bridge House, Dobcross, Oldham, Lancashire, OL3 5NLMinutes Secretary Tel: 01457 873599

Jack Carr 19 Sycamore Avenue, Euxton, Chorley, Lancashire, PR7 6JRCouncil Member Tel: 01257 265786

Eric Crosland 44 Marina Terrace, Golcar, Huddersfield, HD7 4RACouncil Member Tel: 01484 659748

Keith Gibson Syke Cottage, Scholes Moor Road, Holmfirth, HD9 1SJCouncil Member Tel: 01484 681245

Keith Noble The Dene, Triangle, Sowerby Bridge, West Yorkshire, HX6 3EACouncil Member Tel: 01422 823562

David Sumner 4 Whiteoak Close, Marple, Stockport, Cheshire SK6 6NTPresident Tel: 0161 449 9084

The views expressed in Pennine Link are not necessarily those of Huddersfield Canal Society Ltd

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Editorial 4Chairman’s Report 5HCS Council News 6Disconnected Jottings 8The Hollinwood Branch 12Shuttle’s Return 16Photographic Competition Results 18The Story of DB1- Part 3 30The IWA National 2005 34BW Works on the HNC - West Side 36

Cover: Redbrook Engine House on Standedge Moor. Photo: Bob Gough

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PennineIssue 153

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The Modern Navy? 38Nosh on the Narrow 40Crossword - 48 42Christmas Quiz 43What the Papers Said 44The Waterfront Quarter 46Patricia Bayley - Marketing Officer 48Letter to the Editor 49The 74 Club 50

Currently undergoing a refit, what will2004 have in store for the Standedge

Visitor Centre?

A freshly repainted ‘Marsden Shuttle’leaving Portland Basin, en route to Marsden

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EditorialIt seems as thoughmany of our longterm ChristmasWishes arecoming to fruitionthis year.

The news that aPrivate Members Bill in the House ofCommons, presented by David Heyesthe Ashton MP, asking for protection ofthe line of all canals has got past its firstreading is incredibly cheering. I knowthat Ed Mortimer has worked hard onthis, but I should think that the exampleof the successful opening of ‘our’ canalhas impressed Mr Heyes.

During the time we were still restoring,David Sumner was the driving forcebehind persuading MP’s to propose therescinding of the Railways Act that closedthe Canal. This had the effect of helpingevery other restoration project that hadbeen blighted by the 1946 Act. This newBill, mainly to help the proposedHollinwood Branch (see page 12), willbring joy to every other project in thecountry.

British Waterways are spending a lot ofmoney on maintenance this Winter.Stabilising the bank between the RiverTame and Canal just above Scout Tunnelis estimated to cost over €1M on its own.There are several other jobs going on andthe canal operation should be easier thanlast year, although bringing the locks upto the dimensions required by thehistoric narrow boats is not on the list forthis year.

All that it needs now is for the very fewidiots we have in the area (and it is notjust in the North West unfortunately) touse their ‘talents’ constructively awayfrom the canal and it will become agentle pleasure navigating from Ashton toHuddersfield.

British Waterways have appointed an exPolice woman to help with the problemsof the yobs, and she has decided to startwith re-educating the school children.I think she is absolutely right with thisstrategy. Apart from the odd person whois intent on vandalism, most of thetroubles seem to come from the 15 to 20year olds. If the up-coming generationcan be taught to respect theenvironment, in a couple of years theproblem will have gone away completely.

Can I add my voice to thanking KenWright for all his work for the Societyover the past years, Ken has run theTranshipment Warehouse, worked thedredger, edited Plink, run thephotographic competition and takenminutes at Council meetings in additionto being involved in almost everythingelse we have done. Enjoy a bit of quietboating Ken, in 2006, and occasionally,just occasionally, as the ice cubes tinklein your G & T’s think of us fondly!

And finally, can I wish you all a veryMerry Christmas, a prosperous andhealthy New Year, and calm waters for allyour cruising.

Brian Minor

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Chairman’s ReportSince restorationthere has been acontinuing debatewithin our Societyas to its presentand future role.Several initiativeshave developed in

line with our general conclusions that weshould move away from concentratingexclusively on the boating community andwiden our appeal to all potential canalusers. The restoration certainly benefitedboaters and the letters we receiveexpressing enthusiasm for our canal confirmthis. Indeed we have now issued no lessthan 76 of our special plaques to those whohave navigated the entire length of thecanal, its 74 locks and the StandedgeTunnel.

However, we have tended to neglect theimmense attraction of the canal to membersof the public with no particular interest inboats! Our monthly meetings with tourismofficers from each of our three localauthorities are helping to focus ourattention on the canal’s wider attractions.We are due to publish a new,comprehensive tourist leaflet in conjunctionwith Tameside, Oldham and Kirklees localauthorities for national distribution.There will be an initial print run of 100,000copies which feature all the salient points ofinterest along the length of the canal.

Tameside also sponsored a photographiccompetition for pictures taken of the canalwithin the Tameside area. This was verysuccessful and some of the stunningphotographs will feature in the next issue ofPennine Link.

Working together with the tourism agencieshas created a bond with the localauthorities that has initiated an in-depthstudy of the potential value of the canal to

everyone within the community. This isbeing carried out on a professional basis byPR students at The University of CentralLancashire.

As a part of this exhaustive project aquestionnaire is being sent out to allrecipients of this issue of Pennine Link.A post paid envelope is included - so pleasehelp the Society by completing andreturning the form. I know how tediousthese things can be but even if you feel onthe very fringes of our membership, pleasedo send it back!

We are delighted that Andrea Fisher hastaken on the mantle of East Side BoatCoordinator. She carries out her work withthe minimum of fuss and has the fullsupport of her boat crews. Talking ofwhich, I would pay tribute to the team whoreturned the freshly painted MarsdenShuttle from Ashton to Marsden - (see page16). As a passenger on day one of the trip,I was impressed by the energy andenthusiasm of the boat crew!

Finally, I would pay tribute to Ken Wrightwho has decided to retire as a member ofCouncil. I thank him for his massivecontribution to our Society over many yearsand in particular the help he has given tome since I became Chairman. Whenever Ihave needed any help I have been able torely on Ken as a source of historical andtechnical information. He has always donewhat he has promised and I will miss hiswise contributions to our Council meetings.Thankfully, he is remaining a member of theSociety and I expect to continue to seek hiscounsel where appropriate.

I hope you all enjoy your Christmas andwish you a Happy New Year. The Society islooking forward to an exciting 2006.

Neville Kenyon

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HCS Council NewsThere havebeen twoCouncilmeetings sincethe lastPennine Linkand this time I

managed to attend both of them!Main items of interest recently are themove of the office into the transhipmentshed, the continuing improvement in theactivities of the Promotions Group, thenow firmly established workingrelationship with local tourism officersand the growing interest in a back-pumping scheme for Marsden. No latestnews when going to press of the bigdevelopment in Greenfield.

28 September 2005

Following Ed Mortimer’s talk re theHollinwood Canal restoration a meetinghad been held with Oldham Councilofficers who were generally supportive ofthe scheme, as are officers at Tameside,particularly regarding a major canalsidedevelopment in Droylsden.

Chairman and Council were concernedat Bob Gough’s absence due to a bout ofglandular fever and wished him a speedyrecovery.

Little progress recently on the proposedalterations to the transhipmentwarehouse.

Meetings with tourism officers going well;a new “Pennine Link” leaflet is beingprepared, for national distribution, by thethree local authorities and the Society.

The University of Central Lancashire arepreparing a marketing exercise, usingpublic relations students as part of theirPR course.

Our finances continue to be in goodorder.

Trying to run the office, in Bob’s absence,has demonstrated the need for a newcomputer system - probably to coincidewith the move to new offices.

Volunteers were still painting the Diggleflight and hope to finish before winter.

The Promotions Group had been busyagain. They had a successful weekend atthe IWA National at Preston Brook.Working to improve stall management fornext year.

The Society has entertained two groupsrecently. Trevor Ellis took round a partyfrom the New Jersey Canal group andKen Wright acted as tour guide to theState of New York Canal Society - a tripof such import that it was honoured bythe presence of IWA National andRegional Chairman, John and MargaretFletcher, and the editor of ‘WaterwaysWorld’, Hugh Potter.

Andrea Fisher has taken over as boats co-ordinator on the East Side.

There is still hope that the StandedgeVisitor Centre will reopen fully next year.The Advisory Group has three members,all new, and Keith Sykes represents HCS.

The Society is contributing to a signagescheme in the Milnsbridge area.

It was suggested that the Marsden back-pumping scheme and the rumouredclosure of Standedge Tunnel were

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suitable subjects for the upcoming BWUser Group meeting.

23 November 2005

After the Chairman had welcomed BobGough back to the fold, following hisillness, he reported that a planningapplication had now gone in for thetranshipment warehouse and that it wasnot a listed building.

The PR survey being carried out byUniversity of Central Lancashire isproceeding according to plan.

Our new ‘Pennine Link’ visitor andtourism leaflet, produced in conjunctionwith our three local authorities, shouldbe distributed nationally by next Easter.

We are looking for ways of involving newmembers in Council work, representingnew disciplines in line with the Society’sfuture role.

Our website is being upgraded to containmore information and be more userfriendly.

The lack of progress on the possible back-pumping scheme to the summit pound

(which could equally affect East and Westside) is causing concern and we areapproaching BW for their views.

The Promotions Group is steaming alongand already preparing for next year’sfestivals and rallies. They are alsosuggesting an ‘art’ competition, perhapsto alternate with the photographiccompetition.

Keith Sykes is the Society’s ‘rep’ on theEast side and is getting very involved inthe many schemes lined up for the ColneValley, mainly to do with signing, butthere is also a proposed sculpture trail.The Society has also been consulted on aproposed major redevelopment on theline of the canal in Huddersfield - the siteof Sellers Engineering, where the canal ispresently in a ‘tunnel’ under the workscar park.

Before the meeting ended the Chairmanreported that Ken Wright was retiringfrom Council and thanked him for all hisefforts on the Society’s behalf over thelast twenty years.

Ken Wright

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Standedge Visitor Centre - hope for the future?

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Disconnected JottingsThe roundabout ofreorganisation atBritish Waterwayshas turned yetagain, removingwhat at firstseemed to be akey tier of senior

management. The jobs of the ManagingDirectors, North & South no longer exist,and the general managers of the waterwayunits report directly to Chief Executive,Robin Evans. Managing Director North,Derek Cochrane, takes on a new role asRegeneration Director where (amongstother things) he will be responsible formajor waterway restoration schemes.

With almost all of the funding requiredbeing in place, Derek should move intohis new role in time to see work begin onthe restoration of the Droitwich andDroitwich Junction Canals. In addition,his experience should be useful for theCotswold Canals where BW is submittingStage 2 of the canal partnership’sapplication to the Heritage Lottery Fundand the detailed application for grant tothe Regional Development Agency.If approved these will allow restoration ofthe Stroudwater Navigation and theThames & Severn Canal betweenStonehouse and Brimscombe Port (wheremy publisher’s office will overlook thecanal). Fears that the cost of this work hadincreased to a level beyond the scale ofgrants that may be obtained seem to havediminished after the Heritage Lottery Fundagreed to accept a delayed submission ofthe Stage 2 application to allow for a moredetailed investigation of certain costs.

The Cotswold Canals partnership is alsolooking towards work at the eastern end ofthe Thames & Severn Canal. The idea of

restoring the canal from the Thames to itsjunction at Latton with the derelict NorthWiltshire Branch of the Wiltshire &Berkshire Canal is being considered aspart of a large-scale scheme includingrestoring the North Wilts to Swindon.The Wilts & Berks Canal Partnership(which includes the W&B Canal Trust, theIWA and local authorities along the canal)and the Cotswold Canals Partnership arejointly preparing a funding bid for thiswork to the National Lottery forsubmission under the Living Landmarksscheme.

On 14 September, it was announced anOrder is to be made by the governmentunder the Transport & Works Act inconnection with the Ashby Canal and thiswill be accompanied by a directiongranting deemed planning permission forthe work allowed by the Order.

This is the first Transport & Works Actorder to be made for a waterway.Although still complex and costly, thismethod of authorising transport works wasintroduced as a means of simplifyingprocedures. An Act of Parliament wouldpreviously have been required. Indeed,you may remember that HCS, the localauthorities and BW had to spend over€100,000 nearly twenty years ago toobtain an Act of Parliament rescinding theclause in the 1944 closure act makingnavigation of the Huddersfield NarrowCanal illegal.

The Leicestershire County Council (Ashbyde la Zouch Canal Extension) Order grantspowers to acquire land (by compulsorypurchase if necessary) and to build theproposed 9 miles of new canal from theexisting terminus of the Ashby Canal atSnarestone to Measham.

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The original canal on this route wasabandoned in the mid twentieth centurybecause of mining subsidence. The newcanal will be built part along the originalroute and part on the line of a disusedrailway. After a public inquiry last year,the inquiry inspector concluded thatrebuilding the canal to Measham wouldhave significant local economic benefits inan area suffering high unemployment afterthe closure of the coalmines. Rebuildingthe canal will encourage newemployment. It will restore derelict land,provide a valuable wildlife resource whilsthaving only a limited impact on existingwildlife, and have health related benefitsfor the community. The next step is tofind the money. The fact that the CountyCouncil promoted the Order and hasalready restored the canal in the Moiraarea is important here because theCouncil has experience of funding bidsand seems intent on rebuilding the canalas quickly as possible. Indeed, speed maybe important because the Order requiresthe works to begin within three years andbe complete within five.

British Waterways has secured the fundingrequired to build the Liverpool Link Canalthat will extend the Leeds & LiverpoolCanal through the Central Docks alongsidethe river Mersey, across the Pier Head infront of the famous Three Graces Buildingsand linking to the South Docks at Canning& Albert Docks. Two large grants, both of€7.5m, will come from the EuropeanMerseyside Objective 1 Programme andfrom the North West RegionalDevelopment Agency. Together with€1.7m from English Partnerships and othersmaller sources, about €17m will beavailable. That might seem a huge sumfor 1€ miles of canal, but this will beheavy engineering in an urban settinginvolving expensive alterations to theexisting docks.

Work should start next year and becompleted in time for Liverpool’s City ofCulture celebrations in 2008. The newcanal, like the extension of the AshbyCanal, will create a destination that shouldbe more attractive to boaters than thepresent insignificant end of the Leeds &Liverpool Canal. It is anticipated that thenew canal will attract an extra 200,000visitors annually to Liverpool, be thecatalyst for around 200 new jobs andgenerate an extra 4,500 boat movementsper year.

Much nearer, work has started on theMiddlewood Locks project in Salford.This large-scale redevelopment schemeincluding multi-storey apartment blocks,hotels, restaurants and bars will surround anew canal that will become the first thirdof a mile or so of the Manchester, Bolton& Bury Canal. Not a huge length of canalbut, perhaps, the most important part ofthe canal and the most difficult to restore.

The junction with the river Irwell (almostopposite Granada TV studios) will berestored, and then the canal will tunnelunder the Inner Relief Road. The originalstaircase pair of locks from the river,infilled after the canal was closed and thendemolished to allow for the Inner ReliefRoad, will be replaced by two new locksforming central features of the newdevelopment and the existing lock threewill be restored. In addition to acontribution from the developers,European money and a grant from theNorth West Development Agency, SalfordCity Council will contribute towards the€4.2m cost of the canal works whichshould be complete by the end of nextyear. Our congratulations to our friends inthe Manchester, Bolton & Bury CanalSociety. Once this crucial link to the restof the waterways network is in place, itshould be much easier to find the money

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to restore the canal back to Bolton & Bury.The concrete box of the tunnel under theInner Relief Road was constructed whenthat road was built. The waterwaysrestoration movement hoped that it wouldset a pattern for all future occasions whennew roads were built on the route ofwaterways under restoration or with aprospect of restoration, ending many yearsof new roads arbitrarily cutting off theroutes of canals. (Think how much easierit would have been to restore ‘our’ canalwithout all those new bridges.)

After the Lichfield & Hatherton’s problemswith the M6 Toll Motorway (overcome bythe aqueduct that the Canal Trust builtacross the motorway after a massive fund-raising effort), government issued advicewithin its Planning Policy Guidance Note13 to local authorities and the HighwaysAgency issued more detailed designadvice in its Roads & Bridges DesignManual. The effect of these was to advisethat where a new road would affect awaterway with a reasonable prospect ofrestoration, suitable provision for thewaterway should be made so that itsrestoration was not made any moredifficult or more costly. Ironically, aftertheir problems with the M6 Toll Road, theLichfield & Hatherton Canals RestorationTrust has found out the limitations ofgovernment advice. Part of the route ofthe derelict Wyrley & Essington Canal (theTrust refers to it as the Lichfield Canal)through the south of Lichfield was notconsidered viable for restoration. TheTrust had identified a new route that theDistrict Council had safeguarded throughits planning policies for the area, alongsidethe proposed South Lichfield By-passroad. Unlike our situation with unitarylocal authorities, a two-tier situation stillexists outside of the former MetropolitanCounty areas and the County Council isthe highway authority in Lichfield.

The Trust had established what theyhoped were good relations with theCounty which is building a new bridgeover the canal on behalf of the Trust atCapper’s Lane. The proposed by-passroad is being built in a piecemeal fashionby developers to provide access to newdevelopment in this part of the city.

When Persimmon Homes proposed adevelopment of 230 dwellings with accessfrom that part of the by-pass roadalongside which the canal route had beenidentified, the Trust hoped that thisdevelopment would provide a significantstep forward in restoring the canal,possibly even including physical workstowards constructing the canal. Thingshave not worked out quite as they hoped.

The District Council, as planning authority,arranged by a legal agreement with thedevelopers that land required for the canalwould be gifted to the Council, but the by-pass road as designed by the CountyCouncil makes less suitable provision forthe canal than the Trust thought should bethe case. In particular, a new trafficroundabout connecting the by-pass toBirmingham Road includes no bridge orculvert for the canal beneath the junction.

The County Council presumably had nomoney in its own budget to build the by-pass and was anxious not to ask too muchfrom the developers in case the road costsmade the development uneconomic.The Trust, no doubt, wishes it had lobbiedthe developers and the County Councilmore effectively when it was makingrepresentations to the District Council onthe planning application. The DistrictCouncil may possibly realise too that,rather than rely on a legal agreementabout the provision of land and trustingthe County Council to design a suitableroad, a condition could have been addedat the outline planning permission stage

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safeguarding the entire route needed forthe canal. That would have required theentire road design, including the newroundabout, to make suitablearrangements for the canal. It is very easyto be wise after the event. This may notbe the end of the matter however.

The waterways movement, includingBritish Waterways, feels very strongly that -welcome though it is - the provision ofland alone is not enough. Constructingthe canal will be more difficult andexpensive than it would have been had

the design of the by-pass road not been asproposed. Accepting that governmentadvice is advice - it is not an instruction,the two local authorities achieved lessthan might have been expected, especiallybearing in mind the increase in propertyvalues likely from a waterside location.Although very late in the day with workpresumably starting on site, there may stillbe room for negotiation if goodwill can beshown on all sides.

Keith Gibson

Ken Steps DownAfter 20 years loyal service to the Canal Society DirectorKen Wright has decided to cease his active service at theend of the year.

I had not appreciated how ‘involved’ Ken had been until hesummarised his various roles over the years.Whether or not this is something of arecord, his invaluable

helpto the Society

should not be underestimated.And don’t think that Ken will be ‘taking it

easy’; with such a broad range of interests and talents,his ‘retirement’ is something of a misnomer, to say the least.

Ken assures me he will keep in touch and be generous, as ever, with hisexpertise on Society matters. Good luck Ken!

Bob Gough

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The Hollinwood BranchEd Mortimer (secretary of the HollinwoodCanal Society) gives us the latest news onthe restoration proposals for theabandoned Hollinwood Branch of theAshton Canal.

Daisy Nook

The Canal Society submitted a bid for aGrant of up to €100,000 to celebrate theDiamond Jubilee of the IWA in 2006.The bid was to completely reopen onemile of canal in Daisy Nook Country Park,from Crime Lake to Bardsley Bridge.It was prepared in partnership withOldham Council, the owners of thislength of canal. It was in the final short listof nine, but was beaten by a bid for theWilts & Berks Canal Trust’s AbingdonJunction project.

Crime Lane aqueduct (not far from CrimeLake) has developed several leaks.The leaks and are not from the aqueductitself, but from the canal bankimmediately adjacent. Oldham Council ismonitoring the situation. The Society hasexpressed serious concern to the Counciland has highlighted the very real andserious consequences of a failure (there isa lot of water in Crime Lake that woulddo a lot of damage).

Elsewhere the large aqueduct over theRiver Medlock has received someattention from Oldham Council.They have cleared the majority of thevegetation (which included some smalltrees) that was growing within thestonework.

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At Valley Aqueduct a working partyweekend was held at the beginning ofDecember. This was in conjunction withWaterway Recovery Group North West.Most of the work consisted of clearingsmall trees and saplings growing withinthe stonework. About twenty-fivevolunteers attended on both days,stopping overnight in a nearby school.

Droylsden

Detailed design work is at a veryadvanced stage for the massive €120mdevelopment at Fairfield Junction,Droylsden. This will include thereopening of the Hollinwood Branch fromthe junction to a new marina.British Waterways (who will take over the

Below left: Theworking party getstuck into clearingsaplings.

Right and belowright: ‘Before’ and‘after’ views of theValley Aqueduct.

Photos: Martin Clark

14 - Pennine Link

responsibility for the canal when it iscompleted) are doing some of thedetailed canal design work for TamesideCouncil.

Site investigation has found that theoriginal canal walls are still in existencein places, but are not in goodcondition. The final design is to buildcompletely new walls.

There had been some earlierenthusiasm (mostly from the Council)for a bridge at the entrance.Historically there never was a bridge atthe entrance. The final design (whichhas the support of the Society) doesnot include a bridge.

Tameside Council and the CanalSociety agreed that a new boaterstoilet facility block be provided, butnot in amongst the new cafes andshops! The final design is for a newbuilding close to Lock 18, away fromthe development.

In the earlier proposals the canal linewould have been completely blockedby buildings. In 2004 this decision waschanged following intervention by theCanal Society. The final designincludes a building spanning the line.

The last bit will not be built as a canaljust yet. The stumbling issue has beenaround who pays the maintenanceafterwards: a shallow water featurebecomes a liability for the council, anda fully reopened canal is a cost toBritish Waterways. The Society pushedfor a fully reopened canal, pointingout that it would have value now asmoorings. The final design includes forsome of the canal walls to be built,and then infilled and paved over fornow. A decision that the Society hasdecided to accept.

Tameside Council will be carrying out apublic consultation exercise very soon,with displays at various local places, withan aim of submitting the planningapplication soon afterwards. Constructionof the new canal could start in April.The reopened canal will not be availablefor use until after the development iscompleted, which will take several years.The proposed new facilities by Lock 18are likely to be opened sooner.

Hollinwood

In Hollinwood, at the other “end” of theproposed restoration, Oldham Council isconsidering including a new canal as afeature within a large regenerationproposal on the former gasworks site.In addition, the Hollinwood andFailsworth Area Committee (OldhamBorough is divided into six areacommittees) have agreed to make theregeneration of the Hollinwood BranchCanal their main priority. To quote“Officers agree that the project has meritand would bring another dimension to theregeneration of the area”.

London

Meanwhile in the Houses of Parliamentthe Hollinwood Branch and the Societywere part of a speech by David Heyes.He is a Society member, and is also theMP for most of the route. He was giventhe opportunity to put a Ten Minute RuleBill. I felt very pleased to be able to workwith David Heyes on this, and was quitestunned at how he was so quickly able totransform my thoughts into some finewords. “That’s because I’m a politician,”he said!

Here is some of what he presented toParliament on 30 November to introducehis Abandoned Inland Waterways(Protection) Bill.

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The Bill will safeguard opportunities forthe restoration of inland waterways,especially canals, by ensuring a moreconsistent approach to planning anddevelopment activities that affect theoriginal lines of abandoned waterways.

I should start by explaining how I came toattach importance to the need for thisBill…, and I should declare an interest as amember of the society that is workingtowards the restoration of the abandonedHollinwood branch of the Ashton canal.In some places, especially through theDaisy Nook Country Park, this canal hasbeen cosmetically refurbished. In otherplaces, it has been infilled and built on.What is more, the construction of the M60motorway has severed the original line intwo places. Despite that, the HollinwoodCanal Society believes that it can berestored. I agree, but we are realisticabout the time scale, which could be aslong as three decades. I know that similarchallenges are faced by many hon.Members in their constituencies

Planning guidance already exists in relationto inland waterways. The difficulty is thatplanning guidance is just that - guidance,and not mandatory. It is open tointerpretation by planning officers, andone planner’s “viable” is another’s “non-starter”.

One volunteer in my constituency …

(speaking about my experiences indealing with the local councils)

has expressed frustration that preservingthe line of a canal can hinge on whetherthe senior council officer with localresponsibility for inland waterways issympathetic and enthusiastic or cautiousand pessimistic about restoration.Given the time scale involved inrestoration, changes in personnel are

inevitable and that brings the risk ofinconsistency and uncertainty.

So, the problems are the lack ofconsistency of approach between localauthorities; lack of consistency ofapproach between rural, urban and inter-urban areas; an over-reliance on theexistence, skills and abilities of volunteers;the fact that construction projects thataffect the line of disused inland waterwayscontinue to be allowed, all too oftenwithout adequate consideration of theimpact on the potential for futurerestoration; and the fact that PPGs areopen to wide variations in interpretationand are guidance rather than beingmandatory.

We must act now to prevent planningdecisions continuing to be made that closethe door forever on the eventualrestoration of many of our inlandwaterways. I commend the Bill to theHouse.

Fine words, although it has little chance ofbecoming law (because it is unlikely toreceive sufficient parliamentary time toprogress). The Bill was unopposed on itsFirst Reading and the Second Reading wasset for 12th May. Such Bills may not oftenbe enacted, but the content was certainlywell presented. It excellently highlightedthe issues for better planning protectionand the precarious nature of existingprojects such as the Hollinwood Canaldepending on the whim and persuasionof local authority councillors and planningofficials.

Visit the website for more detailswww.hollinwoodcanal.co.uk

Ed Mortimer

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Shuttle’s ReturnShuttle’s ReturnShuttle’s ReturnShuttle’s ReturnShuttle’s ReturnShuttle’s ReturnShuttle’s ReturnShuttle’s ReturnShuttle’s ReturnShuttle’s ReturnThe Society’s tripboat ‘MarsdenShuttle’ needed a re-paint and recently,Society volunteersnavigated her fromMarsden to PortlandBasin Marina forsome TLC.Resplendent in‘corporate blue’,Marketing OfficerPatricia Bayley is seenattaching the tillerarm, while ChairmanNeville Kenyon (left)ponders the returntrip ahead.Photos: N Kenyon

And they’re off, heading for the ASDAtunnel and Lock 1W on the Narrow.

Safely under the Millbrookpylon. L to R - Alan Kershaw,Mark Nield and Martin Clark.

A dramatic view rising fromLock 12W, Scout Green.

Lunch ahoy! Roaches Lock, Mossley.

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Watch the paintwork, Martin! Sharing Lock 18W,Greenfield.

Spectacular Pennine scenery, Greenfield.

On the Diggle Flight. L to R -Peter Ruffley, Inclined paddle

gear, Inclined Kershaw, MartinClark and Mark Nield.

18 - Pennine Link

Photographic Competition ResultsAfter all the publicity and offers of richrewards this year’s competition producedonly slight improvements in the numbers ofphotographs and photographers. We had 106pictures from 15 entrants as compared to 82and 13 last year - and still just ONE Juniorentry, albeit from a new person.

Judge Geoff Hope commented on theconstantly improving standard of entries butwarned against relying too much on‘automatic’ cameras, particularly digital ones.Several entries were spoiled by the exposurebeing incorrect, due to the camera ‘seeing’the brightest part of the ‘shot’ and assumingthe whole picture is of the same brightness.Similarly with automatic focus - it is possibleto be taking a photo of two people in close-up and the camera actually focuses itself on adistant object between the subjects’ heads!

Geoff recommends that owners of automaticcameras should check their manuals to see iftheir camera has an “exposure lock”,sometimes referred to as AEL. For focus it isusually recommended to focus on the mainsubject, press the shutter button halfway to‘stop’ the focus, adjust the picture to thatrequired, then press the shutter button fullyto complete the ‘shot’.

Geoff has typed 11 pages of notes, one foreach entry, and the relevant ones will be sentback with the photographs.

Unfortunately, he has opted to retire fromjudging the competition after this year. Hehas been our judge since we started in 1997,this year being the 9th competition. In thefirst one we had only 36 photographs fromnine entrants so Geoff’s workload hasincreased considerably over the years.

On behalf of the Society and all thephotographers who have benefited from hisexperience over the years I want to thankGeoff sincerely for all his effort - this year thenotes alone took ten hours to compile.

As you will read elsewhere I am retiring fromactive Society work after this edition of

Pennine Link so it’s new blood all round nextyear! So, it’s goodbye from Geoff andgoodbye from me.

Ken Wright

RESULTS

CATEGORY ‘A’ - HNC - SENIOR

WINNER - John Harwood - Eyam, (who hascompiled our Crossword ever since it started)“Scout Tunnel”

RUNNER-UP - Julian Morgan - Guildford“Stalybridge”

Highly Commended - Alan D. Bezer,Paul Leeman

Commended - Allen Green, John Harwood,David Chadderton.

CATEGORY ‘C’ - OTHER WATERWAYS -SENIOR

WINNER, OVERALL WINNER, CHALLENGESHIELD WINNER - Julian Morgan - Guildford“River Wey Navigation, Guildford”

RUNNER-UP - David Chadderton -Saddleworth “Pontcysyllte Aqueduct”

Highly Commended - Julian Morgan,Anita Crosby

Commended - C. Brian Holmes,Alwyn Ogborn, Alan Crosby

CATEGORY ‘D’ - OTHER WATERWAYS -JUNIOR

WINNER - Ben Mitchell (13) - Meltham“Barton Broad, Norfolk”

Julian Morgan is the overall winner yet again.He had a year off last year after winning in2002 and 2003 but don’t be put off.The competition is improving by leaps andbounds as the published photos show.

Nice to see John Harwood’s name amongstthe winners. John has compiled our CanalCrossword ever since its inception and is nowapproaching the 50th version!

Julian will receive the Challenge Shield forone year, together with a cheque for

Pennine Link - 19

€150.00, and a replica shield to keep.John will receive €50.00 and the runners-up€25.00 each. Ben will receive €50.00 and thesurprise Judge’s prize. All winners, runners-up, ‘highly commendeds’ and ‘commendeds’

will also receive a signed certificate. And allphotos will be returned to entrants togetherwith valuable individual comments from thejudge.

Ken Wright

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20 - Pennine Link

Top - John Harwood - Winner - Category AI like this a lot. This photo is full of interest and colour.Bottom - Julian Morgan - Runner-up - Category AAn excellent picture giving the viewer plenty to see. A very good use of reflections.

20 - Pennine Link

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Top - Ben Mitchell (13) - Winner - Category DGood shot showing the expanse of water available on the Broads.

Bottom - David Chadderton - Runner-up - Category CA very good photo showing one of the most important features of this masterpiece of engineering.

Pennine Link - 21

22 - Pennine Link22 - Pennine Link

The Highly Commendeds: (above and clockwise)Julian Morgan - ParisAlan Bezer - Whitehead’s Lock, HNCAnita Crosby - Moored on the Rufford CanalPaul Leeman - Longroyd Bridge, Huddersfield

Pennine Link - 23Pennine Link - 23

The Commendeds: (above and clockwise)David Chadderton - Rimmon on the HNCAllan Green - Near the Trans-shipment WarehouseAlan Crosby - WindermereAlwyn Ogborn - River WeaverJohn Harwood - Lock 17WC B Holmes - LLangollen Canal

The Huddersfield Narrow & Broad Canals

30 - Pennine Link

The Story of DB1 - Part 3 Photos: Alwyn Ogborn

Society Director Alwyn Ogborn’s DIYDutch Barge takes shape ...

Right! You know about the gloriousengine. I’m so looking forward to itbeing commissioned and pushing usthrough the water, nice and gently on thecanal, then showing its pedigree on tidalrivers and coastal waters. But mostly theformer - a nice, steady pace of lifepreferred.

I left you last time at the point of havingfabricated the ribs. The next stage was toget the base plates assembled ready toreceive the skeg. The base came in threepieces - two huge and one smalltriangular piece for the stern end. I say‘came’, but the small piece was missingand both the large pieces were exactlythe same profile (they should have beendifferent). In other words, I had 2 B1sand no B2 or B3. I have mentioned thisbit before, but not the fact that the largebase plates are by far the heaviest lumpsof the whole kit.

The plates are 12mm thick, 1 and 2 are20ft long and varying widths up to 9ft.At almost 1 tonne each, my little forklifttruck has to be weighted down at theback to keep the steering rear wheels onthe floor. It will easily lift a tonne, butbecause of the width, the plates had tobe load-strapped back to the fork trucklifting framework, this moving the centreof gravity forward. It took a lot ofpersuasion to convince my ‘perfect’suppliers of these mistakes, and thatmany other sections were eitherduplicated, wrong or missing. This was ataste of things to come.

Eventually, a lorry turned up carrying thecorrect base pieces, and, bearing in mind

my description of the weight problems,plates were swapped over and the lorrysent on its way. The next job was to laythe plates onto a prepared bed of oldrailway sleepers set at intervals on a goodsolid section of my works yard. A centreline was marked with a series of centrepunched dots down each plate. With thetwo mating edges pushed together, thesedots should have been dead straight foreto aft. They weren’t! A lot of grindinghad to be done to make them so.Eventually a good chamfer was groundonto each plate to give good weldpenetration and the two joined together.

The next stage was to attach the skeg tothe keelson (above left) - these are thebits that hold up the rudder - and fixthem onto the base plate (below).

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This, of course, is the underside of thevessel, so the whole lot had to be turnedover. 1 tonne fork truck? No way.A crane was called for. A local firm Iknow have a crane hire business and asmall crane known as the Iron Fairy.I don’t know if this is a trade name ortheir term of affection for it!

Anyway, the crane came and set up on itsstabilisers and lifted the now 40ft lump ofsteel with ease. Rotating through 180°was achieved and the base re-laid right-side up on the sleeper supports. To seesuch a lump of steel waving about like agiant sheet of hardboard as it was in avertical plane is a fearsome sight.Your mind tells you it’s a ridged massand should stay straight, but gravity andmalleable steel have other ideas.I should mention that the underside wasgiven two coats of coal tar hull paint,before turning, to protect it. A deep Vgroove on this side of the joints nowallowed another good deep weld to finishfabrication of the base.

During the steady process ofconstruction, many people (gongoozlers)would stop to look over the boundarywall from the road and ask questions,like, ‘What is it?’ and ‘How will you getthat into the canal here?’ To which the

answers are, ‘It’s a boat’ and ‘It won’t gointo this canal, it’s too big.’ But we hadour regulars who seemed to followprogress with great interest.

We were now ready to start fitting thepre-assembled ribs at the 2ft intervalsmarked by small nicks on the base.As this progressed, the image (left)changed from that of a giant toast rack atfirst, to a whale carcass washed up on abeach. Being flat sections with no returnangles (unlike angle iron), these alsowaved about alarmingly at the slightestprovocation. This was resolved with thefitting of the chine side plates (below).

All the steel sections are delivered flat.The chines were lifted into position oneend at the stern and at 90° tacked on atappropriate spots, and progressivelypushed round to form the shape of the

32 - Pennine Link

hull. Three sheets each side made upwhat is mainly the underwater part of thehull. This is where further signs of poorprofile cutting began to appear. At leastone of the sheets had to be re-positionedtwice due to its progressive misalignmentas it was folded round. The final positionleft a V gap between the joined edges ofthe sheets, subsequently filled up withweld. After lots of pushing with forktruck, pulling with chain blocks, steelwedges and various clamps, the plateswere forced into shape and a semblanceof a boat shape emerged.

Next to go on were the two swim plates.These are the flat pieces at the stern overthe swim and stern gear, followed bytacking the deck and gunwale plates ontothe top of the ribs (visible middle right).This gave considerably more rigidity tothe structure.

Then came the major cold ‘brute force’bending of the side plates. Theseare the largest of the 6mm sectionsand the two stern pieces are acomplicated profile to form theclassic outward curved sweep of aDutch barge ‘rear end’. This is amajor part of what I find soaesthetically pleasing about thiskind of vessel. Anyway, to say itwas a bit difficult would be anunderstatement. (Fill in thevocabulary required yourself.)The sheer size of the plates, liftedat only two points, meant that theywere waving about alarmingly asthey were swung into position (topright - note the welding flash as thebottom corner of the side plate istacked into place).

The problems experienced withthe chine sections described before

Pennine Link - 33

were multiplied with these sections,particularly on the port side. Tacking onand pulling round to find misalignmentand grinding off the tacks becamefrustratingly common. We finally made itbut with a gap of 12mm to nothingbetween the vertical edges of two plates.The obvious inaccuracy of the profilecutting was now becoming alarming.The expended man hours were aboutfour times the expected. Still, it wasdefinitely boat shaped now (middle left).

Adding the wheelhouse sides, floor andthe low side plates at bow and stern, leftone in no doubt that it was a boat. Theregular gongoozlers usually had cheerycomments, mostly ‘It’s coming on now,isn’t it?’ We always exchanged a cheeryword and I think most of Mossley nowknows of the project. It rarely escapes acomment in the local pub and buttyshop. The back part of the wheelhousewas one of the few pieces bent by

machine. This went to a local specialistfirm along with several other pieces for‘rolling’ - bending into shape. Foldedalong marked lines to details given madethe part fit nicely into the shape of thedeck plates and floor (bottom left).This is the fixed part of the wheelhouse.The top section will be made of woodand glass and will have to fold down toallow passage under low bridges andtunnels.

We were now galloping on towards fittingthe cabin sides and roof. Quite excitingto see it taking more and more shape,but conscious that most of it is onlytacked together. The major welding runs(which I referred to as ‘seams’ and gotlaughed at) are to be completed at a laterdate.

I finally have news about a name.Tadddaa! From a chance remark by Joanabout not having been anywhere lately (it

was only a few weeks, but who’scounting?), she said ‘I’ve got itchyfeet.’ ‘That’s it,’ I said. How aboutITCHY FEET. We tried foreignversions*, including Latin, but thiscontained the word Pedus, whichwas sure to be corrupted by themischievous... We’ll stick to theEnglish.

More in your next edition ofPennine Link.

Alwyn Ogborn

* Now there’s a thought ... pleasesubmit some phonetic translationsfrom other languages, the moreobscure the better, and we’ll keepa list going with Alwyn’s accounts.How about ‘Serbi me krakut’(Bulgarian) to start!

34 - Pennine Link

The IWA National 2005 - Preston BrookThe first thing to get out of the way - neverone for the suspense touch - is that we didn’twin the magazine trophy this year.I saw a couple of copies of the CotswoldCanal Society’s winning entry and apart fromthem being full colour, there was nothing wewould want to ‘lift’ from them.

The National this year was held near PrestonBrook. The site was between the arms of thecanal where the end of the Bridgewaterdescends through the Runcorn Locks into theShip Canal with the main line running intothe Trent and Mersey. Just for the benefit ofthose odd people who don’t know - theRuncorn Locks were closed a few years agoand there is now an active restoration groupvociferously trying to reverse this bit of short-sightedness.

T’was also nice to see my old boss from theCommonwealth Games performing theopening ceremony in her current job asChairman of the Waterways Trust. FrancesDone was the mainspring behind the gamesworking so well and I hope that the LondonOlympic bid team contact her before they getinto real trouble!

The immediate area is one of those dreadful‘new towns’ that have no centre andeverywhere looks exactly the same. Thehousing is of high quality and I’ve no doubtquite expensive, but not one to inspire desireand jealousy. I went out one night toexperience the delights and flesh pots butcouldn’t find anywhere apart from identical

housing estates. Ann and I ended up at abranch of the Co-op and bought a ready mealto take back to the ‘van.

As usual there were several hundred boats, alarge field full of caravans and mobile homesand an even larger field for the show itself.

All p

hoto

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rian

Min

or

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The showground was, in fact, too big.My main reservation was the fact thatbecause of this large amount of space theorganisers had spread things out so much thatit became a long trek simply to get to our spotin one of the marquees. The main arena wasanother long stretch away and there were bigspaces between sections of the show. Fromthe pure marketing point of view a betteratmosphere is created by exhibitors crammedclosely together with narrow pedestrian waysbetween them. Go round your local marketand see what I mean. Several of thecommercial stallholders were unhappy aboutthis as they felt that they were getting no‘passing trade’ with these empty spacesbetween them and the next point of interest.

There was a good mix of entertainment in themain arena, sponsored by the Trafford Centreincidentally. The highlight each day was thecavalry show (below). This was good, eventhough it was obvious that apart from one ormaybe two of the participants, no one hadever actually been involved in the seriousbusiness of cavalry (i.e. cutting the enemy tosmall pieces.) But the riders were good andhandled their mounts well, and the animalswere obviously in good condition.

One very impressive show was the birdhandlers from Cheshire Wildlife, based nearNorthwich (top left). I treated my son-in-lawand grandson to half day courses with themlast year which they thoroughly enjoyed. Iasked whether they were still running thecourses; they were, but, because of thetremendous success, they had stopped takingbookings until they had cleared the backlog.

There was also a strong man act, featuring thepopular ‘Bed of Nails’. Not really my thing,but I still watched expecting to see the bloodwhen he got up, but not a drop - perhaps thenails were blunted!

We had quite a good position in one of thebiggest marquees and seemed to attract quitea bit of interest (middle left). The problemwas with an 8 foot frontage, just a couple ofmembers stopping to say ‘Hello’ blocked thepitch completely. As the whole idea is to talkto current members and attract new ones, itsometimes became very difficult. Still I thinkwe kept everyone happy.

Can I thank everyone who did a ‘stint’ on thestall (below) and in particular thanks to Triciaand Bob for setting it up and working outwhat would fit in where and to Simon fortaking it back! Everyone who did a sessionfound it was a pleasure to be there as all ourmembers are lovely people and come to seeus with smiles on their faces.

Next year the National is going back to BealePark when Bob, Alwyn and I with theassistance of Keith and Margaret Sykes, andJulian and Sally Morgan from Guildford ran it.Now we are contemplating our return andhaving a local canals grouping on the samestall; with the Hollinwood and the Stockportsocieties joining us. This should provide agreat opportunity to promote our Northernwaterways and more ‘manning power’, whichwill make life a bit easier for everyone!

Brian Minor

36 - Pennine Link

BW Works on the HNC - West Side

Inside Standedge Tunnel

Since January the team working on thewest side of the Huddersfield NarrowCanal have been busy carrying out anumber of improvements to the canal.

As part of British Waterways Veg Pledge,all towpath side vegetation has beenremoved with spraying and additionalworks will commence in Spring 2006, offside works will start in January 2006.

Mooring bollards have now beeninstalled at 70% of all locks and landingswith our aim to be 100% completed byApril 2006.

Twenty new Bat homes (below) havebeen installed along the canal following astudy that discovered only a few sightingsof bats roosting on the canal. Working inpartnership with Greater Manchester BatGroup, the new homes should now helpthe conservation of bats in the area.

Shown below is the emergency stoppagewe carried out on the 28th August whenthe tail gate cill became detached andthe concrete backing failed. The teamrepaired this in ten hours working on aBank Holiday weekend.

A €1.3million pound refurbishment tothe Scout Tunnel embankment has begunin Mossley. The major repair worksinclude strengthening the canal with theinstallation of a new canal bed lining,rebuilding and constructing of new canalwashwalls.

Other improvements to the canal overthe winter stoppage season include; newtail gates at Lock 17 west, new head gateat Lock 12 west and lock grouting atLocks 22, 23 and 24 west. Furtherimprovements will include wash wall andby-wash reconstruction at Lock 15 west.

Pennine Link - 37

Phot

os:

Briti

sh W

ater

way

sTowpath improvementworks in Uppermill and thesection at Brownhills is stillongoing due to weatherconditions, we aim to haveit completely refurbishedvery soon.

In addition to these workswe have removedapproximately 600m3 ofrubbish from the canal,worked alongside theEnvironment Agency toprevent a potentially seriouspollution incident atDobcross and carried outgeneral maintenance on theCanal.

Iain WestonBW Waterways Supervisor

Above: Temporary works to conserve water prior to themajor refurbishment of the Scout Tunnel embankment.

Below: Towpath improvements in Uppermill.

In both cases, workboats on the canal provide an idealmode of transport for materials.

38 - Pennine Link

The Modern Navy?On board HMS Victory with the ModernNavy ...

Nelson: “Order the signal, Hardy.”

Hardy: “Aye, aye sir.”

Nelson: “Hold on, that is not the message Idictated to the signals officer. What is themeaning of this?”

Hardy: “Sorry sir?”

Nelson (reading aloud): “England expectsevery person to do his duty, regardless ofrace, gender, sexual orientation, religiouspersuasion or disability.” “Whatgobbledygook is this?”

Hardy: “Admiralty policy, I’m afraid, sir.We’re an equal opportunities employernow. We had the devil’s own job getting‘England’ past the censors, lest it beconsidered racist.”

Nelson: “Gadzooks, Hardy. Hand me mypipe and tobacco.”

Hardy: “Sorry, sir. All naval vessels havebeen designated smoke-free workingenvironments.”

Nelson: “In that case, break open the rumration. Let’s splice the mainbrace to steelthe men before battle.”

Hardy: “The rum ration has beenabolished, Admiral. Its part of theGovernment’s policy on binge drinking.”

Nelson: “Good heavens, Hardy. I supposewe’d better get on with it; full speedahead.”

Hardy: “I think you’ll find that there’s a 4knot speed limit in this stretch of water.”

Nelson: “Damn it man! We are on the eveof the greatest sea battle in history. Wemust advance with all dispatch. Reportfrom the crow’s nest.”

Hardy: “That wouldn’t be possible, sir.”

Nelson: “What?”

Hardy: “Health & Safety have closed thecrow’s nest, sir. No harness. Also they saidthe rope ladder doesn’t meet regulations.They won’t let anyone up there until aproper scaffolding can be erected.”

Nelson: “Then get me the ship’s carpenterwithout delay, Hardy.”

Hardy: “He’s busy knocking up awheelchair access to the fo’c’sle, Admiral.”

Nelson: “Wheelchair access? I’ve neverheard anything so absurd.”

Hardy: “Health & Safety again, sir. Wehave to provide a barrier-free environmentfor the differently abled.”

Nelson: “Differently abled! I’ve only onearm and one eye and I refuse even to hearmention of the word. I didn’t rise to therank of Admiral by playing the disabilitycard.”

Hardy: “Actually, sir, you did. The RoyalNavy is under-represented in the areas ofvisual impairment and limb deficiency.”

Nelson: “Whatever next? Give me full sail;the salt spray beckons.”

Hardy: “A couple of problems there too,sir. Health & Safety won’t let the crew upthe rigging without hard hats. And theydon’t want anyone beathing in too muchsalt - haven’t you seen the adverts?”

Nelson: “I’ve never heard such infamy.Break out the cannon and tell the men tostand by to engage the enemy.”

Hardy: “The men are a bit worried aboutshooting at anyone, Admiral.”

Nelson: “What? This is mutiny.”

Hardy: “It’s not that, sir. It’s just that

Pennine Link - 39

K Bo

lton

they’re afraid of being charged withmurder if they actually kill anyone. There’sa couple of legal-aid lawyers on board,watching everyone like hawks.”

Nelson: “Then how are we to sink theFrenchies and the Spanish?”

Hardy: “Actually, sir, we’re not.”

Nelson: “We’re not?”

Hardy: “No, sir. The Frenchies and theSpanish are our European partners now.According to the Common Fisheries Policy,we shouldn’t even be in this stretch ofwater. We could get hit with a claim forcompensation.”

Nelson: “But you must hate a Frenchmanas you hate the devil.”

Hardy: “I wouldn’t let the ship’s DiversityCo-ordinator hear you saying that, sir.You’ll be up on a disciplinary.”

Nelson: “You must consider every man anenemy who speaks ill of your King.”

Hardy: “Not any more, sir. We must beinclusive in this multicultural age. Now puton your Kevlar vest; it’s the rules.”

Nelson: “Don’t tell me, Health & Safety.Whatever happened to rum, sodomy andthe lash?”

Hardy: “As I explained, sir, rum is off themenu! And there’s a ban on corporalpunishment.”

Nelson: “What about sodomy?”

Hardy: “I believe it’s to be encouraged,sir.”

Nelson: “In that case ... kiss me, Hardy.”

Reproduced with permission, Stuart Barnes,Macclesfield Canal Society

The Society had some interesting entries tolast Issue’s ‘Caption Competition’ and thewinner is ...

“Cross that? What do you think I am,a hydraulic Ram!”

sent in by: Mr & Mrs J Pond, Bason Bridge,Burnham-on-Sea.

who receive a €10 Marks & Spencer voucherjust in time for Christmas!

40 - Pennine Link

Nosh on the Narrow

The Royal Oak in Millbrook used to be atypical local, serving a pie and a pint pluspork scratchings and crisps.

It ain’t no more! It’s been transformed into asmart restaurant serving some of the bestfood around.

The interior has been completely revamped,with the entrance now on the side instead ofthe front, and consists of a small bar areaand two table layouts with a low wallbetween. It’s tastefully decorated,comfortable and, best of all, non smoking.

Joan and I visited on the 12th July, oursecond time since it opened, having walkedfrom our Mossley home to Grove Roadalong the canal towpath.

The Royal Oak is a 7 minute very leisurelystroll from the BW service station, just abovelock 8W, where there are moorings for anovernight stop.

I had a starter of asparagus, olives, sun driedtomato and Parma ham followed by smokedhaddock and monk fish for the main course,

Starters

Soup of the day

Ripe avocado and prawns served witha fresh salad and Marie Rose sauce.

Tiger prawns pan-fried in garlic, limeand coriander and served on a bed ofsalad with a spicy chilli picklechutney.

Asparagus, olives, sun-dried tomatoand Parma ham salad served with atraditional French dressing.

Homemade pat€ served with saladand a fruit coulis.

Main courses

Fillet steak served with a Diane sauce,consisting of mushrooms, onions,cherry tomatoes, French mustard andred wine.

Pieces of smoked haddock placed ona monkfish, sweet pea and leekrisotto and finished with cream andwhite wine.

Sweet chilli chicken supreme with stirfried vegetables and noodles.

Me

Director Alwyn Ogborn andwife Joan sample the culinarydelights of the refurbishedRoyal Oak, Millbrook. And itsproximity to the Narrowmakes it an ideal venue for aspecial evening meal.

Pennine Link - 41Pick your arch, Barrow Navigation, Graiguenamanagh

while Joan chose avocado and prawnsand a main course of fillet steak. Housewhite wine for Joan and a bottle of SouthAfrican red for me.

Although the sweet menu had sometempting offerings, we were both so fullwe couldn’t have done them justice andso declined. The whole lot came toaround €64 and we thought it was worthevery penny.

The menus aren’t extensive, but there’s agood enough selection to suit most tastes.

The offerings available on our visit arelisted below and the menu is changedregularly. All the food is freshly prepared,so don’t expect the instant delivery youget in places we refer to as OFFIMOP. i.e.Out From Freezer Into Microwave OntoPlate.

Anyone wishing to visit from the canalshould walk (cycle, hitch a lift), alongGrove Rd, eastward on the towpath side,to the main road. The restaurant isdirectly across the road on a sharp bendat the bottom of a short steep hill.Beware of traffic on the corner. My onlyone regret about its transformation froma local pub is that hand-pulled cask ale isno longer available, only nitrokeg andlager. I can’t drink that stuff, but that’s apersonal choice. Don’t let it put you offvisiting.Succulent duck breast served with an

orange, brandy and caramelisedonion reduction.

Rack of lamb brushed with honey,cinnamon, mustard powder andbrown sugar, pan-fried and servedwith creamy dauphinoise potatoes.

Venison served with greenpeppercorn and brandy sauce.

All with vegetables of the day.

Desserts

Chocolate fudge cakeToblerone cr€me br€l€eApple pie cakeMocha meringue torteItalian almond rollPecan and toffee cheesecakeChampagne and strawberry torteWhite chocolate tiramisuTrio of ice creamVarious coffees

enu

Seen going through Slaithwaite centreon Tuesday 11th October 2005,steam launch ‘Rimmon’

It had been slipped into the HuddersfieldNarrow Canal at Slaithwaite slipway,above the guillotine lock,and then wenton to descend it and through Slaithwaitecentre, intent on completing 6 locks.

The steamboat was built in Uppermill andis kept at High Compton, Oldham.

Keith W Sykes

Alwyn Ogborn

42 - Pennine Link

Crossword 48

Across5 Last of the Summer Wine’s siren finds

employment where boats get together (6)7 Male deer at a high place helps supply

the Chesterfield canal with water (8)9 Roost Ben found beside the Chesterfield

Canal between Ranby and Worksop (8)10 Anthem played for an Avon lock above

Bristol (6)11 Developer Eve lost in a former lake in

Holland (6)12 Loyal metal compound (5)14 Master a small river (6)16 Centre of horticultural excellence not on

an isle in the Wey! Direction lost (6)19 Loosen unit on a riverside village above

York (6,2,4)22 A book on how to do it or do it

by hand! (6)

23 Former branch of theErewash canal nearlyknown to RupertBear? (8)

24 Village by Saddingtontunnel on theLeicester line (8)

25 Sacrifices to boats? (6)

Down1 Fluvium Deva - ask

any Roman (8)2 Purveyor of Sodium

Chloride (6)3 Brow link found near

arches on theNorthern Oxfordcanal (8)

4 Famous Yorkshirecoastal town (6)

6 Rows what viaduct used to cross theErewash canal at Cotmanhay (8)

7 Where to lock into Bristol Avon (6)8 Male river crossed at Braunston Puddle

banks (4)13 Ropers he taught at an Avonside town (8)15 Holy man with territory on a former

Scottish canal (8)17 Southernmost junction (mesh lost) on

the Staffs & Worcs (8)18 Shire (6)19 A lunch available in a small boat? (6)20 Famous canal engineer associated with

the Butterley company (6)21 Autumn in America (4)

When complete, rearrange the letters in theshaded squares to find the hidden, seasonalmessage! Solution on page 50.

Pennine Link - 43

Christmas Quiz

1. What is Bruce Wayne better known as?

2. Name the seven dwarfs.

3. In 1988 Cliff Richard had a Christmas Number one – what was it called?

4. According to the song, what was the only thing the singerwanted for Christmas?

5. Who wrote ‘A Christmas Carol’?

6. How many Gold Rings in the song ‘The 12 days of Christmas’?

7. What was the pen name of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson?

8. What was the pen name of Samuel Langhorne Clemens?

9. Which Football Club is known as ‘the Trotters’?

10. Which English Leader banned Christmas?

11. In what country is Father Christmas known as Kriss Kringle?

12. What is the group name for Ants and for Bats?

13. What is Number 8 in the Beaufort Scale?

14. Mars has two moons or satellites what are they called?

15. Who was Scrooge’s partner?

16. In what year were electric lights first used on a Christmas Tree?

17. Who invented the ball point pen?

18. Who invented the battery?

19. Which famous book opens with the following words ‘Far out in theuncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the western spiral of thegalaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun’?

20. Who died on Christmas Day in 1977?

21. What does GI stand for when refering to an American soldier?

22. And finally ... which word in the English Language has the greatest numberof meanings?

Answers on Page 50

44 - Pennine Link

What the Papers SaidHuddersfield Daily Examiner

Slaithwaite residents were protesting overplans to extend a toilet block in thevillage. Since restoration of the Canal,the facilities have seen increased use andBritish Waterways were granted planningpermission by Kirklees Council to extendthe block. However, the residentsclaimed a mis-measurement concerningthe proximity of the new building workmeant the Council’s decision did notcomply with their Unitary DevelopmentPlan policy. Despite this objection,Kirklees confirmed their decision toapprove planning permission and work isdue to start next year. (16/9/05, 4/10/05)

Brian Badminton will be a name familiarto the early campaigners for the Societyand Brian and his wife have recentlycruised the Narrow. Pictured in theExaminer (29/9/05), their journey wascertainly an emotional one, especiallywhen passing through Lock 23W(Dungebooth) in Uppermill; a lock Brianhelped restore in the early 80s.

The Canal Society of New York Statevisited the Huddersfield Narrow recentlyas part of a three week tour of Britain’swaterways; also taking in the museum atGloucester, Anderton Lift and FalkirkWheel. The group of 29 wereparticularly impressed with the Narrow,especially when they took a trip throughStandedge Tunnel to see this famous featof engineering at close hand. (5/10/05)

Sir Clive Booth, chairman of the BigLottery Fund, visited the Colne Valley tosee how grant money was being used toimprove the River Colne corridor throughthe River Corridors Greenway Project.

He also took time to visit the restoredHuddersfield Narrow Canal at Linthwaitefor a ‘balance beam’ photo opportunity.(3/11/05)

Colne Valley Chronicle

In a front page article entitled ‘Standedgereprieved?’ the Chronicle gives an earlyassessment of the discussions betweenBritish Waterways and the MillenniumCommission and their efforts to re-openthe Standedge Visitor Centre. Societydirector Ken Wright commented that theSociety would be happy to help out withvolunteers to reduce overheads and BrianMinor’s editorial from the last issue (152)was quoted in its reference to thewarehouse and cottages. (2/9/05)

Oldham Evening Chronicle

The much needed resurfacing of thetowpath in Saddleworth between theBrownhill Visitor Centre and Uppermilltown was reported as past the halfwaymark. The resurfacing stone was beingtransported by ‘barge’ and offloaded tothe towpath for spreading. Included inthe €100,000 project wereimprovements to the mooring bollards atWool Road and the SaddleworthMuseum and dredging. (28/7/05)

Twenty new bat boxes have been put upalong the Huddersfield Narrow inUppermill as part of the Daubentons BatRecovery Programme. Encouraging thebats to roost should result in many morebeing seen feeding along the canal;another attraction for those leisurelyevening strolls! (25/9/05)

In their ‘Chronicle Living’ section,reporter Geoff Wood gave a glowing

Pennine Link - 45

account of boaters cruising the restoredand ‘revived’ Huddersfield Narrow Canal.Despite the number of locks andoccasional stiff paddle gear, it’s theCanal’s picturesque setting, convenienthostelries and, of course, StandedgeTunnel that are proving a winner. TheSaddleworth Tourist Information Officeand Brownhill Visitor Centre also haveseen a significant rise in visitor numberssince the Canal re-opened. (27/9/05)

The Evening Chronicle’s assessment ofthe proposed re-opening of theStandedge Visitor Centre in its originalwarehouse location, concentrates moreon British Waterways plans for the future.BW Yorkshire’s Service Manager, JanetBaverstock, was quoted at length andhoped they would be able to “provide asustainable and attractive visitordestination which will please our existingcustomers and attract new ones to theHuddersfield Narrow Canal.” (20/10/05)

Oldham Advertiser

In a piece headlined “The village of ‘oncewas’”, Diggle’s claims to fame are seen asbeing for what it no longer has.The Narrow Canal comes off poorly, withit having “virtually no canal traffic and nocelebration of its (the tunnel) existenceother than an iron grid over the entrance....” (4/8/05) (The latter point shouldsoon be rectified with environmentalimprovements and a new set of bespokegates planned - a project financiallysupported by the Society. Ed)

Tourism in the Oldham Borough is on theup and one of the factors in the boomhas been attributed to the reopening ofthe Huddersfield Narrow Canal throughSaddleworth, with many narrow boatenthusiasts visiting from as far away asthe Midlands. The article quotes some

impressive statistics for visitor spend andestimates numbers are up by a thirdcompared to 2000. (25/8/05)

The Hollinwood Canal Society havemade a bid for the Inland WaterwaysAssociation’s celebratory grant of €100kand in an ‘exclusive’, project manager EdMortimer outlined the plans for the grant,if successful, in restoring a section ofcanal in Daisy Nook Country Park.A decision was due on Bonfire Night, soit was ‘fingers crossed’. (3/11/05)

British Waterways are spending €1.3m oncanal improvements on the Mossleystretch of the Huddersfield Narrow. Thework includes installing a new canal bedlining, rebuilding washwalls, upgradingthe towpath and clearing obstructingvegetation. (24/11/05)

The Independent

Robin Evans, Chief Executive of BritishWaterways, in an interview with JeremyVine, outlined his plan to make thecanals and rivers under its control, self-sufficient. His ‘risk and reward’ strategyhas seen a 50-50 joint venture withScottish and Newcastle waterside pubs,sub-towpath fibre-optic cables forMarconi and consideration of erectingradio masts on BW sites to generateincome which would help free theorganisation from Government grantdependence. (25/10/05)

Cuttings collected by: Patricia Bayley,Keith Sykes and Ken Wright.Compiled by: Bob Gough.

46 - Pennine Link

Plans have been announced to build whatis being called the Waterfront Quarter inHuddersfield.

About five hectares (twelve acres) of landto the south of the town centre betweenManchester Road, the river Colne andChapel Hill are planned to be the site of alarge-scale mixed development of mainlyapartment blocks and offices.A central open square is likely to besurrounded by caf€s, restaurants and bars,and, perhaps including a hotel.

The site is currently occupied mainly bythe Sellers Engineering Company and theKirklees Council owned West RidingHouse. The canal, that had been blockedhere, was restored through the site as partof the huge Millennium project in 2001.From Chapel Hill Bridge, the canal nowruns underground in a narrow tunnelbelow Sellers’ works to emerge justbeyond the works at the new Lock 4E.

The timescale for the developmentrequires Sellers and the Council offices tomove to new sites before redevelopmentcan start (perhaps as early as 2007) withthe redevelopment then being phasedover something like the next five years.

The scheme is planned by Ramsden andColne Developments, a company jointlyset up for this purpose by SellersInternational and a developmentcompany, Castlebridge Developments.

Leeds architects, DLG Architects, havebeen appointed and early sketchproposals for the site can be viewed onthe Ramsden and Colne company’swebsite www.ramsdenandcolne.co.uk butthese will be subject to considerablechange depending on discussions withCouncil planners and developments in the

The Waterfront Quarterreal estate market as the plans comenearer to fruition. It is hoped that anoutline planning application to obtainapproval in principle for redevelopment ofthe site will be submitted to KirkleesCouncil very soon.

There have been comments to the effectthat it is unfortunate that these plans didnot come sooner, and that theredevelopment of the site could then havebeen better co-ordinated with restorationof the canal, perhaps allowing for thecanal to have been rebuilt at ground levelrather than in a tunnel.

The fact is, however, thatthe property market inHuddersfield has changeddramatically since planswere made for restoring thecanal. Relatively goodmotorway links, thefrequent (although oftendesperately overcrowded)train service to Leeds andManchester, the growth ofthe University and changesin fashions have led to ademand for high qualityapartments within the townthat would only have beena pipe-dream indevelopers’ eyes when thecanal restoration plans wereformulated ten years ago.Indeed, the restoration ofthe canal has itself been acatalyst for this.

The influential 1535, TheMelting Point scheme thathas seen the formerironworks at PriestroydMills converted to

Pennine Link - 47

apartments could hardly have taken placewithout the canal alongside having firstbeen restored to navigation.

Several members of your Council havehad a preliminary meeting with thedevelopers and we hope that contact willbe maintained as the scheme develops, toensure the best possible outcome for thecanal and its users.

Although we may like to see the canaltunnel opened up and the channelwidened through the site that is unlikely tohappen because the approximatelytriangular shape of the land means thatthere is a very tightly confined spacebetween Manchester Road and the river.

If the canal were to occupy a wider openchannel here, little space would remainfor development.

One thing that does seem likely, at thisearly stage, is that the part of the canaltunnel passing under the main centralsquare of the development may beopened up into a wider water area thatwill form a visual centrepiece for thedevelopment. We are keen to ensure thatthis is carried out so as not toinconvenience waterway users and to ahigh visual standard.

Keith Gibson

Artist’s impression of the Waterfront scheme

DLG

Architects

48 - Pennine Link

Patricia Bayley - Marketing OfficerThe Society’s newly appointed MarketingOfficer, Patricia Bayley, tells us about herselfand her love of canals.

I was born in Nottingham, a veterinarysurgeon’s daughter and from an early age Ihelped out in the practice. After college inGrimsby I was a microbiologist in two canningfactories in the Fens, then married DavidBayley and had my first child, William.

In 1985 we moved to Birkby in Huddersfieldfor David’s job and had a daughter, Christinaa year later. Since the late eighties I haveadministered companies for David sellingequipment and chemicals for industrialeffluent treatment and for ten years I was onthe Executive Committee of the SeasonalAffective Disorder Association, helping todevelop and publicise the charity.

I have always loved the Pennine Hills and aswe explored the area we became aware ofthe Huddersfield and Rochdale Canals.A walk up the towpath followed by a cuppaat Tunnel End Cottages or the MoonrakerFloating Tearooms was a favourite way tospend Sunday afternoon and entertainvisitors. We briefly explored the Huddersfieldend of the Narrow from the University butwere rather stunned tomeet a blank wall atBates Mill and it felt tooisolated and derelict tovisit again. How differentthat area is now.

In 1997 after my maritalseparation, I saw my firstcopy of Pennine Link atthe Moonraker Tearooms.I thought it was a brilliantmagazine so I joinedHCS and attended acouple of socials and awalk from Grove Road toScout Tunnel. FromPennine Link I began tounderstand more aboutthe canal system and I

found the tale of the building of the canal andthe years of struggle to reopen it inspiring.

I went to watch the Re-Opening Ceremonyof the Narrow at Huddersfield University on1st May 2001 and congratulated ourneighbour Alan Stopher, who was theHuddersfield Canal Company ProjectEngineer on the final phases of theRestoration. Through him I met Peter Smart,who later became my partner. Peter wascrewing Shire Cruisers “Leicester” for hissecond cousin Cynthia Sully and her husbandJohn, who was HCS Treasurer at the time.

Peter and I share a love of music and heintroduced me to narrowboating aroundBirmingham and on the Leeds-Liverpool.We have also joined John and Cynthia onthe Rochdale, the Falkirk Wheel and theLancaster/Ribble Link. We both had previoussailing experience, standing us in good steadwhen we became boat crew at Tunnel End.

Since my children had gone to University Iwas looking for a new challenge, so I wasdelighted when offered the part-time job asMarketing Officer for HCS.

Patricia Bayley

Nev

ille

Keny

on

Patricia at the helm of the ‘Marsden Shuttle’ approaching Roaches Lock.

Pennine Link - 49

Letter to the EditorDear Sir,

Why are there so few boats on theHuddersfield Narrow Canal? Do yourreaders have any opinions? The scenery isas good as any. The pubs, if you take timeto look, are as good if not better than most.Facilities for restocking the galley areadequate and sensibly priced. Waterquality is not a problem, a bit rocky andshallow in parts but so are others. Thelocks are not difficult to operate, indeedthey are easier than some on busy crosscountry routes. Access to both ends of thecanal is reasonably convenient frompopular waterways. So, why are there sofew boats on the Huddersfield Narrow?

Is it that some boats will not fit? Thisrestriction is not unique to the HNC, manycanals have dimensional limits of one kindor another. Could it be that some boaterswould like to linger awhile, do nothing for acouple of days but get their breath back ina pleasant setting and then take a closerlook at the more interesting bits? There areplenty of these for the culture-starved plaindwellers. The Pennine Way, industrialarchaeology, pack horse trails, Tunnel End,Summer Wine locations, moorland geology

and so on. After their relaxing break someboaters might even, dare I say it, turnaround and go back the same way. Thiswould be a pleasant two week cruise fromlots of places. If this is the case, theobvious places for popular visitor mooringswould be on the East and West of thesummit pound. Would it matter if boaterschose to spend a day or two moored onthe summit? I think not. The water levelstend to recover overnight, or they did whenwe ran trips many moons ago to and fromSlaithwaite. Lock passages could still bebooked or grouped, again this is notunique. More to the point, stricttimetabling, which is a pain to mostpleasure boaters, would be unnecessaryexcept for those actually passing throughthe Tunnel. Even for these, a more relaxedand flexible relationship with the waterwaymanager would evolve if the visit were notreduced to being a fleeting, clock watchingtask from beginning to end. Pleasureboating and clock watching areincompatible.

Are there any other views out there?

Yours faithfully,(Name and address supplied)

Bound to the timetable -boats waiting atDobcross to ascend theDiggle Flight

50 - Pennine Link

The 74 ClubThe Society has commissioned a plaqueto acknowledge boaters who have ‘done’the Narrow.

Transit of the Standedge Tunnel isaccepted as proof of navigation. Simplycontact the Society on 0161 339 1332 orEMail (hcs@hcanals.demon.co.uk) torequest an application form.

We are pleased to welcome the followingboaters to the ‘74 Club’.

S&C Hayes KYMEM Ogden LITTLE MESTERJ Singer BRACKENR Webster YORKYS&G Marsden* LAURAMr Turlington* CORNWALLK Sykes MORNING MISTS Haywood JUSTICED Airey LADY ANNL Evans MISSTRESM Rolfe WAVERLEYMr Green AQUILAD Farrell ENA MAYD Tomlinson NELLR Waterlow SILKSTONEW Sibley MINNEHAHAValerie Buck AMBER CRYSTALJ Parker LILLIAN ROSEA Hayes* THE ARKENSTONEB Hindle DEVONG Harman ANTARESP Green NORTHUMBERLANDA Rayson FRILFORD

* also joined the Canal Society

Solution to Crossword 48

The plaque is available at €5.00 formembers, €8.00 for non-members and€4.00 for non-members who join theCanal Society at the time of applying.Postage & packing is €1.00 per plaque.

Bob Gough

1. Batman 2. Bashful, Doc, Dopey, Grumpy, Happy,Sleepy and Sneezy 3. Mistletoe and Wine4. My two front teeth 5. Charles Dickens 6. Five7. Lewis Carrol 8. Mark Twain 9. Bolton Wanderers10. Cromwell in 1647-60 11. Germany 12. Colony13. Fresh gale 14. Phobos and Deimos15. Jacob Marley 16. 189517. Ladislao and Georg BIRO 18. Allesandro Volta19. The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy20. Charlie Chaplain 21. Government Issue 22. SET

Christmas Quiz answers

And the hidden greeting is ‘Merry Christmas’!

The Back Page

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COPY DATE

Articles, letters and commentsfor Issue 154 of Pennine Link

should reach the Editor at45 Gorton Street, Peel Green,Eccles, Manchester, M30 7LZ

by 28th February 2006

“Pennine Dreams” (ISBN 0 7524 2751 Z) and “Pennine Pioneer” (ISBN 0 7524 3266 4) arepublished by Tempus Publishing Ltd. and are available from the Society office at €16.99(p&p free to members, €1.50 to non-members) each or from your local bookseller.

Please make cheques payable to ‘Loxvend Ltd’

HUDDERSFIELD CANAL SOCIETYwelcomes the following new members

Pennine Link - 51

PENNINE DREAMSthe story of

THE HUDDERSFIELDNARROW CANAL

PENNINE PIONEERthe story of the

ROCHDALE CANAL

by Keith Gibson

2715 Mr & Mrs David & Diane Calverley, 2716 Ms Annette Hetherington, 2717 Mr John Stuart Broadhurst, 2718 Mr J Ulrich Singer, 2719 Miss Jean Helliwell, 2720 Mr Steve Haywood, 2721 Mr & Mrs Paul & Susan Turlington, 2722 Mr Ross Waterlow, 2723 Mr & Mrs Stuart & Gillian Marsden, 2724 Mr & Mrs Robert & Linda Barth, 2725 Dr Alan John Hayes, 2726 Mrs Jackie Jones, 2727 Mr & Mrs Anthony James & Jennifer Wilkinson, 2728 Mr & Mrs David & Valerie Lee,

UK: £1.00Free to members