Colne Valley Beagles and other things of interest.: A TRIP TO HEBDEN BRIDGE

The May issue of Caravan and Motorhome had a short article on Hebden Bridge with coincided with a canal trip there for a weekend. Maybe this will be a bit brighter than their offering. I wandered around with my small point and press camera although often I cannot see easily what is on the screen in bright daylight so mostly I don’t even look so just point and press.

Going up a lock one has to be careful of strong water flows. Not having a boat that fills the length of a lock I have found the best way for going 'uphill' is as shown. I have an extending paint roller pole with the handle of a paint roller screwed on and a length of the metal of the roller cut off and formed into a more or less right angled hook. I use it to collect the bow rope as the boat comes into the lock and take several turns around a bollard. This allows the pull of the boat to tighten the turns trapping them and preventing the boat banging about in the water flow. It also allows for a quick release if need be as by pulling the tail end of the rope up it unwinds off the bollard. After years of boating on canals I find this works a treat in broad locks and it avoids having to throw ropes up or hang on to a cabin top rope or leave the boat loose to wander about. It also leaves the boat lying happily in a still area with the paddle open on the boat side, and dare I say it, one can confidently open gate paddles more fully sooner. So if you see a bloke with an extending yellow paint roller pole you know why. Without the rope, and it is a good one, this picture would not have been taken.

Tuel Lane Lock, the deepest canal lock in England and Wales at Sowerby Bridge at the beginning of the Rochdale Canal, has to be operated by the lock keeper and any of the Trust volunteers that are in attendance. It replaced two original locks and is approached through a curving spacious tunnel underneath a road junction of the very busy A58. It was originally opened on the 11th April 1996 and we went through it shortly after, before the official opening on the 3rd May.

A foundry casting of a hawk alongside Broadbottom lock before Hebden Bridge.

Alleyway in Hebden Bridge. An old mill and market town with significant water sources which helped its development and which probably also contributed to the last couple of inundations, the last being Boxing Day 2015.

The bluebells were out on the wooded railway embankment.

And the wild garlic made a heady contribution.

At one time there were two resident white geese in Hebden Bridge which were known by name locally, but which I forget, that ruled the central canal stretch.

The original two but I discovered they had gone by a 2014 visit

They disappeared for some reason a few years ago but currently there is a pair of Canada geese with some young and a companion cum minder white one. Further down the canal by Broadbottom lock (LINK to short video) was a white goose with three Canada geese and about 18 assorted small goslings. I don't know if these are part of that group but if so they motored on to get here so quickly.

So now it seems to be this trio in Hebden Bridge. For how long I wonder; but the three adults seem inseparable.

I saw someone's wedding photos a while ago and the photographer thought it very fashionable to have a large selection of his photos taken at angles like this. They did nothing for me, nor the recipient, but this shot was the only way I could grab this image before it was lost. The couple moved quickly past me and joined the conventional looking mother of one or both and were gone. In Hebden Bridge one can wear anything comfortably as it is a bit hippy and informal.

I was told all about this by the nice lady passenger, her husband being a bit shy, but not knowing anything about trike builders all I remember is that has a 1.5 litre engine.

It really is quite a monster. When he has finished with it the chassis part would probably make a good cattle grid. However if you have upwards of thirty grand to spend one could be yours from Boom Bikes - LINK

There is a public dry dock in Hebden Bridge which seemed to be in constant use. A boat is just going in then the 'gate' will be dropped into the slots at the sides of the dock and the water drained out. Bottom blacking is a regular maintenance item especially with the acidic moorland water and I am advised that it needs to be done pretty regularly depending what is applied, but can be every two or three years.

We missed visiting last year because of the flood damage and with the navigation being closed, bridges having collapsed etc. The towpath edging was tumbling into the canal in places until then but seems to have been repaired. There are still rocks and protruding edges one can bang against or ground on especially as this pound falls rapidly if there are a number of departures downstream. So you may find the boat lying at a uncomfortable angle on top of big submerged stones if you haven't picked the right spot

Must be some sort of collection that has not happened yet.

There is always the odd street performer. This one was playing his instrument which was so quiet that when I walked up closely I could hardly hear it. Not much amplification at all.

Hebden Bridge is in an area famed, in the past at any rate, for fustian, which is corduroy. Most woven pile fabrics are made with a special warp forming the pile which is cut across in the weaving process to give the pile. Fustian is made with weft loops cut so that a rib of pile runs the length of the cloth. After weaving with specific weft loops the fabric is sent to a specialist fustian cutter that uses long needle like knives to slide down the rows of weft loops to cut them. This thing in the centre of St George's Square is a scaled up image of a fustian knife end-

Sundial, with the gnomon in the shape of a fustian cutters knife or needle.

The one-tonne sculpture of a "fustian knife" was unveiled on the Summer Solstice by the Mayor of Calderdale, Cllr. Conrad Winterburn and the Mayor of Hebden Royd, Cllr. Susan Press.

Fustian knives were used in the manufacture of corduroy, a fabric for which Hebden Bridge was known throughout the world.

This large scale replica of a Fustian knife points directly north towards Nutclough Mill, former home of Hebden Bridge Fustian Manufacturing Society Ltd, founded in 1870. Pecket Well mill was the last mill in Britain to manufacture corduroy fustian cloth ( 1858 – 1989 ). ref LINK

See more about fustian? - LINK

They are into things like summer solstices in Hebden Bridge.

There was a small Sunday market off the Square and some enticing smells.

And some enticing produce.

The lady in the centre being pensive is wearing typical female Hebden Bridge garb. Also I read that if you are a lesbian it seem this is a place to be - LINK

Cheese specialist.

The enticing smell stall but only bhaji on show.

Sunday lunch. I wonder if I was noticed?

An early morning start by an old boat with a rather worn out diesel engine.

It didn't get any better. What's more I had to follow him later and he left the bottom lock gates open and a paddle up, which I had to close before I could refill them, but he was on his own I suppose.

The boat on the right always brings back memories when I see it. It is called Annie and belonged to the late Michael Clay with whom I went on my first ever trip abroad around 1976 to buy some double plush rapier looms. In those days flying was still a wonderful easy comfortable adventure.

The geese seemed to spend the nights on the bank behind the boat.

A house on the canal bridge at Mytholmroyd

The unique Calder and Hebble Navigation gate paddle gear. To operate it you need a 'spike', generally a shaped length of wood that fits the slots and works the what looks like a windlass lying on its side. Simple but effective.

Saturday, 27 May 2017

A TRIP TO HEBDEN BRIDGE

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