Racking up the locks

A leisurely Sunday morning saw us in St. Catherine's church down Doncaster Road in Wakefield where the rural dean gave a good sermon. The church building was quite unlike a "conventional" mediaeval or Victorian pile. It burnt down a couple of decades ago and an excellent modern church was erected in its place. The church does a large amount of work to support the needy in the community with a café and a food bank supplied from local businesses (top marks to, among others, Sainsbury's and Greggs).

It was about 1230 when we untied. Our first job was to deliver an empty aluminium beer cask across the cut to the Ruddy Duck pub opposite whence, no doubt, it had come. It had been nestling up to the back end of Jubilee.

About a mile before Horbury Bridge Andrew and Bekka joined us, having walked along the towpath from Brewery Bridge. We called in to the services at Horbury Bridge, watering up in the disused lock which used to connect to the river through the basin. The rain started after we left there, getting quite heavy at times.

It must be many years since Andrew last did some locks. The paddle gear at the Figure of Three Locks looks heavy.

We called in at the Nelson pub at Brewery Bridge hoping for a Sunday roast meal, but they did little more than bar snacks. I was tempted by the beef in a Yorkshire pud but it wouldn't have been quite the meal I was hoping for. We ended up at the Ship Inn by Shepley Bridge, a Hungry Horse pub advertising two Sunday roasts for £10. Unfortunately, by the time we'd got drinks and decided what food we wanted, they had run out of roast meals. Ho hum. We settled for something from the grills menu instead.

Andrew and Bekka (with Caspar the dog - how could I forget him?) drove back to Sheffield from the pub. I was interested to learn that Andrew had done a man-with-a-van job for Sarah of Chertsey. Perhaps Sarah will blog about the cabinet (or whatever it was) destined for her boat at some stage.

Looking back at today's photos I was amused to see Jan apparently caught between two paddle racks.

It really needs someone wittier than I to come up with a caption. Anyone?

Tomorrow's destination is Huddersfield. On Tuesday we have to get to Marsden for our booked passage through Standedge Tunnel the next morning. That's 41 locks in one day - eek! That really will be racking 'em up. Perhaps we'll overshoot Huddersfield tomorrow to make Tuesday a little easier. At least it might not rain tomorrow.