Friday Jume 15th - Chelburn Wharf - Warland

Today has been a day of real contrasts. After a night of heavy rain, it was grey but dry when we set off and soon after the sun came out and things improved. No specific photos today, just some lovely scenery.

We had been asked yesterday by Ray the lockkeeper to wait for a couple of boats to come down, but in the event we were asked to go up the lock after the first narrowboat – ‘Chloe’ came down.

We were soon joined at the lock by Ray who helped us. He had been helping a widebeam ascend the eastern summit lock and across the summit and had wanted the narrowboats out of the way. He felt he was going to have problems not only getting the widebeam through the two less than full width locks on the western side we came through yesterday but also ensuring sufficient water for them. Having said that he told us the summit level had risen 9-10” overnight with all the rain.

And then for a glorious few minutes we were all alone on the summit level surrounded by majestic moors and crags, although the nearby road ensured we stayed in the C21st. The scenery has to be seen to be believed. It is just stunning.

Old blackened stone built farms – some converted to private residences and some still in operation judging by the sheep – clung to the steep hillsides. Even with the main road it must be pretty bleak in winter.

By crossing the summit we moved from the red rose county of Lancashire to the white rose of Yorkshire.

Longlees Lock (Eastern Summit Lock)

The summit is only a mile in length and all too soon our crawl at a deliberately slow speed came to an end as Longlees Lock (the eastern summit lock) came into view. A delightfully converted & modernised former lock cottage stands alongside.

Locks come thick and fast now, not really thinning out until Todmorden, about 18 locks further down. At the next one, Warland Upper Lock we came across a swing bridge. A perfectly normal swing bridge, operated with a BW key and a bit of muscle power.

However, there comes a moment in everyone’s life (at least it does in mine) where we have a Homer Simpson “DOH” moment. This was mine for today, as I tried my hardest to get the bridge to move. Would it budge? No it didn’t. Just as I realised what I was doing wrong, Elaine called out – “push the other way”. What she really meant was “You Blithering Idiot”, or words to that effect!

Recovered from that temporary mental aberration, we calmly made our way down more locks with water gushing everywhere. Over the by-washes, over the top gates, over the bottom gates….you name it, it was gushing.

This was no doubt the result of the overnight rain – and the forecast was for more. No water shortage here, then!

Some of the locks hereabouts have wonderful names – Bottomley, Winterbutlee, Nip Square, Smithyholme and Shop. And it was after Winterbutlee that we decided to tie up on a nice bit of low towpath on the outskirts of Walsden, home to Grandma Pollard’s renowned Fish & Chip Emporium. Pearson raves about it, and we had also been recommended to try it.

As we pulled in, the heaven’s opened and we tied up in torrential rain. This was but the first of a whole series of heavy rain storms (and one very violent hailstorm), but the fish and chips made the world look good again.

Given the forecast for tomorrow, which is for torrential rain through most of the day, coupled with gale force winds, we’ll stay put and see what Sunday brings!