Floods

We awoke to the sight of very, very heavy rain. We navigated a short distance to Stanley Ferry Marina - the main reason was that we had seen on an internet web site that a boater had acquired a Calder and Hebble hand spike from the boatyard here. We crossed the new aqueduct, which cross the River Calder with about a foot clearance, alongside the older one which was built to a design that anticipated the Newcastle and Sydney Harbour bridges.

After waiting for the boatyard to open (luckily there was a couple of seats shelterd from the rain) we were told that they do not stock them, despite saying that they have been asked three times for one! The owner advised that we may be able to get one from Dewsbury or we could just use a mooring spike!



On then to the next lock - just a short distance - only to see the flashing red light warning against trying navigate the river section. The height board was also well into the red so it was a 'no brainer' to decide that we were to be moored here for the duration! A man living in the former lock cottage, who described himself as a former lock keeper, was also keen to make sure we were not so foolish as to attempt to proceed and, in any case, it would not be possible to pass Wakefield itself. As we monitored the water level against the old marks (in Roman numerals) we realised that the fast-flowing river had risen two feet in little over two hours!

After lunch, Mike and Andrew opted to go into Wakefield in search of food supplies, leaving Christine to read and look after the boat! From the top of the lane a bus route runs into the city centre and a text message service
confirmed that the hourly service was due in a few minutes.

The city Tourist Information Centre happily supplied us with a map and directed us to the shops we were seeking. After raiding an independent butcher and Morrisons (alas) as well as being disappointed by the supplier of fresh bread, it was time to return. A bus was indicated as due in a few minutes but is never appeared so we resorted to a taxi from the nearby rank.



The river continued to rise and could be seen to have over-flowed the banks beyond the lock, filling the flood plain. By the time the rain started to abate around 5 pm it was up by nearly two metres! However, as this blog is being written, there are signs that it has reached its peak - for now, in any case. Watching the local news shows that we have not been as badly affected as others - only inconvenienced by being able to continue with our trip.