indicated that it would be some time before the flood locks at Wakefield and above would re-open. As a result, to avoid being completely stir crazy, we decided to navigate back down the canal section to Woodnook Lock where it re-joins the river.
On arrival the situation was ambiguous but a BW lock keeper appeared shortly afterwards and we had a long conversation, including him making a call on his mobile to a colleague who looks after Nostrop Flood Gates. The upshot was that it seemed safe to continue - which subsequent experience supported. In fact, both the Calder and the Aire were more subdued than the Trent when we came down. In any case, we had already been advisd that the Aire at Leeds was already down to amber in the early morning.
It was certainly a relief to be on the move again and we were determined to clear the river sections before stopping - more heavy rain is still forecast for the weekend. The sight of the Knostrop Flood gates open was an important milestone. Once in the centre of Leeds the architecture was most impressive - both the conversion of historic warehouses and the futuristic Royal Armories Museum.
Despite indications in Nicholsons and elsewhere, Leeds River Lock - the commencement of the Leeds and Liverpool canal - was unmanned and not locked up. (We had missed the deadline of 4 pm given in some listings by a few minutes due to a malfunctioning sluice in the preceding lock) However, our progress was halted after about an hour as the two-rise staircase (Oddy Two) was locked by BW. Hope for a good start in the morning!
The locks here are all protected with handcuff locks which take an extra amount of time to open - manipulating them on and off sometimes seems like a Chinese puzzle! The top ground paddles are also different - they are worked by turning a horizontal capstan-like mechanism.
