Milepost201501

January 2015 West Riding Branch

Contents Chairman’s Thoughts Region Chairman's Thoughts More on odd signing Mooring in Leeds Basin Update What is the Branch?

Tour de France and Tour de Yorkshire The IWA Covenant Agenda for Branch AGM In case you missed it/ Old Maps & Photographs Online Proposed Outings of the Stands E-petition for the Louth Canal Free mooring in Leeds Basin Auction of Maureen Shaw’s Plates How we can all help Rotary Navigation Walk People who help run the Branch 2014 / 2015 Directions and Location map List of Open Meetings

Front Cover and above — Granary Wharf, Leeds Basin 2

3 4 6 6 7 8 10 12 13 14 16 17 18 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

Peter Scott

Chairman’s Thoughts Greetings everyone,.

I hope you all had a good festive season and have not been too inconvenienced by the bad weather.

On the centre pages you will find the agenda for the AGM. Before that there is an article about the Branch. If you have any ideas about the Branch you can come along to the AGM, which we try and make as interesting and short as possible, and share your ideas in person. If you can’t make the AGM you can write to me or email your ideas and I will share them with the membership.

The future of the Branch is in your hands.

You may also see as your read through that we have had a readers letter (well email), covering several points from the last magazine including. This is great—it is good to know there is someone out there.

Thank you to all who have contributed to MilePost. More contributions always welcome.

Elaine Scott, Branch Chairman

A reminder Our best way to communicate is via email Of our 424 members we have email addresses for only 169 If you have an email, may we have it? It would be so much easier to consult you and give you information. It would be best to send it to tracy.higgin@waterways.org.uk Mllepost is a different thing—a hard copy is available to everyone who wants one And if you have a mobile number that is useful as well for sudden changes in plan.

My contacts details are elaine.scott@waterways.org.uk 3

07980 953880

What Others Think Of Us Steve Haywood, columnist for CanalBoat magazine, in the March 2015 edition (page 25) wrote that Canal and River Trust had failed to consult the National Association of Boat Owners about new arrangements for using the canal to Liverpool, and ascribed CRT's failure: "There's disquiet enough on the waterways already about CRT's cosy relationship with the Inland Waterways Association which it seems to have decided is its 'supplier of first choice' when it comes to the canvassing the views of waterway users. ... Today [IWA is] a mirror image of CRT itself, representing a rag-bag coalition of environmentalists, naturalists and conservationists."

Steve likes to challenge us all, and we need to welcome the debate. He is speaking on Thursday 9th April, 7.30pm to Leicestershire Branch and they say "A provocative talk can be anticipated! " https://www.waterways.org.uk/leicestershire/main Les Etheridge, National Chairman, has replied on our behalf, for publication next month: "Steve offers an opinion about IWA representing 'a rag-bag coalition ...'. This is not a description of IWA membership that I recognise, rather they are a body of people who support the waterways, not only through their subscriptions but also with over 40,000 hours of enthusiastic volunteer labour, directly applied in the last year to making the waterways better. ... IWA represents thousands of boaters and other committed supporters who care deeply about the protection, upkeep and restoration of Britain’s network of canal and river waterways, and who are prepared to dedicate their membership fees, donations and volunteer time in support of that cause."

While Les was writing his piece, I, @peterjohnscott was independently debating with Steve @Cutdreamer over Twitter: the 140 characters concentrates the mind (multi-tweets don't work well.) "@Cutdreamer berates IWA ... coz CRT didn't ask NABO about Liverpool. & when asked they said same as IWA. Wrong Target, Steve" " The issue I was writing about was CART's failure to consult NABO. Who should I have targeted?"

"What had 'Today IWA [is] representing a rag-bag coalition of ...' to do with the issue of CRT not consulting NABO, then?"

"It's an argument for why on this issue CART needed to consult with NABO which is a dedicated boaters organisation.

If you feel that strongly about my column write to the editor; I'm sure he'll publish a letter."

4

"Ta: I'll think on editor-letter. Assumed your twittername is in your column coz you want to engage with readers via twitter :-)" "Twitter talk's fine. Sometimes tho it's good to widen the debate. Les E has written a letter so IWA's views will be made."

I found out via twitter that there was a collective IWA response: tweeting is like that. Even better I had I been one of the hundred IWA members tweeting about Steve's column. That's the point and the attraction of Twitter. Where were you all? If we (we IWA) expect to be influential in a modern-communications world, then we (we the members) need to use modern communications. It has to be lots-of-people contributing to debates in internet-time; that's in seconds and minutes, not weeks and months . Of course Twitterstorms can be superficial and tiresome and sometimes abusive: they can also be fun, inclusive, informative and amusing. We can all be involved: but it won't help to appoint a Branch / Region / National Twitterer, though: it's the mass of different inviduals that create the influence.

But to where we started: Steve's colum has flaws in the logic: it's possible to use a boat to see t'cut from t'middle and be a member of IWA and be (for example) a conservationist. I'm an enthusiast for the heritage of our canal system, so that applies to me. Let's say it loud and together "I'm a rag-bagger".

It's also possible to be a passionate and campaigning members' organisation, as IWA is, and have policies about the Waterways' environmental role, about its support for Nature, about its role in Conservation and to seek the support of others in Steve's rag-bag in keeping the waterways alive.

We used massive effort to persuade BW to adopt policies for which we campaigned: to some extent CRT has done that: that doesn't make us redundant, and neither CRT nor the IWA the mirror image of the other.

NABO, a "dedicated boaters' organisation" as Steve describes it, would need to say for their members how many are conservationists etc, and whether there are any NABO policies that seek to keep the Waterways as a goingconcern by attracting other conservationists (etc) to support the Waterways cause. When my school chess-team lost again the headmaster would say "and they have more boys than us". Maybe just as irrelevantly, let's remember we have many more boaters than NABO has, and it's for CRT to decide how they can best collect the views of both groups.

5

Some Tweeters

Keith Noble on Peter’s article: Inconsistencies in flood level boards The flood indicators themselves are inconsistent. This was certainly true at one time on the Calder & Hebble and we came across another example more recently on the southern Oxford. Knowing that the indicator on the Cherwell above Shipton Weir Lock gave a very conservative reading, travelling upstream we ignored the 'red' and, as expected, found the river on green when we arrived at Baker's Lock, the head of the same reach. Incidentally fearing that the river might be in flood, we tried to find out its condition before leaving Oxford but, on a Saturday morning neither BW as they were then, nor EA offered a human response and the recorded messages were irrelevant. One further point is that too little attention is paid to keeping the flood indicators clean : some show only one aspect, dirty green!

Perhaps CRT could have been more explicit with regard to the inverted indicator. I suspect that this was at Lock 9W on the Huddersfield Narrow where they had had a sinking. Apparently the pound above was very low, leaving the lock a boat got nearly half way over the top cill and grounded. The bottom gates leaked badly, the level in the chamber dropped and the boat dropped with it. I saw a similar incident averted on the east side when it first opened. We were following, the boater ahead insisted on raising the paddles very slowly, giving time for the pound above to drain off through leaky bottom gates. Luckily we managed to pull him back in time to avoid sinking. I am not a 'notch at a timer' myself and any schadenfreude I might have enjoyed had he actually gone down would have been tempered by the realisation that we were following.

You'll be glad to know that the bottom gates at 9W are due to be renewed this winter so the extra signing will be superfluous and I hope it will be removed. ...Update on the interesting bridge numbers The Huddersfield Canal Society produced the oval plates in consultation with BW. On the Narrow they were fixed promptly but on the Broad there was protracted dithering ascribed to the need for listed building consent on some of the bridges.

Once this was finally resolved, barely had the last screw been driven in than CRT's new set of signs appeared displaying the conflicting system of numbering. I have already tabled a question on this for the customer forum later this month. ...And it worked: After this meeting CRT say they will be removing the conflicting signs during this winter.

6

Update From Keith Noble I do from time to time niggle at BW/CRT but sometimes they are right and IWA is wrong.

For many years Calder Navigation Society tried to educate BW into spelling Fall Ing correctly. It was complicated by the fact that that district of Wakefield is known as Fall Ings whereas the canal usage, as evidenced by all the C&HN milestones and original documents, is Fall Ing. Indeed, where you, Elaine, have added the 's' in your 'It's Good to Talk...' (Milepost September 2014) the article is illustrated with a photo of CRT's sign where it is spelled correctly.

Hopefully consistent in this issue! It’s all the more confusing with a plain font where l (lower case L) looks like I (upper case I)!

On the bright side there has been work done on Fall Ing Lock Observed January 2 2015 by Mike Tucknot.

The top-lock gate paddles can easily be lifted by one handed windlass action and the gates both move smoothly. The repaired bottom gates both move smoothly and although heavy my own body weight of 89 Kgs was quite sufficient to move them with no real extra leg muscle action.

However it was noticed that both gates are leaking through the new seams and there is a more serious leak from between the gate bottoms and the sill. This causes the lock to fill somewhat slower so that on nearing the full mark it is taking a little longer due to the pressure increase of leaking water at the bottom gate before the top gates can be cracked.

When locking down after shutting the top gates the level of the water can actually be seen to be slowly decreasing due to badly leaking bottom gates.

The balance beams from the bottom gates stored across the lock 7

West Riding Branch What is the Branch?

An administrative unit of the IWA. A group of people who care about the canals and want to help preserve and restore the waterways in our area.

To do this we - all our Branch members - have joined the IWA and we pay our subscriptions. This is great, but, the IWA is a membership organisation: apart from a few administrators at head office, the entire work is carried out by volunteers.

What does the Branch do?

Come to the AGM in April for a report on the achievements and activities in 2014.

In summary, we represent the IWA, and thus our members, at waterways events throughout the year. This may involve work with diverse organisations from the Canal and River Trust, canal societies, to Incredible Edible in Todmorden and formal consultations with local authorities.

We take our Branch stand to several events to advertise the IWA and interest the public in the waterways.

We hold an open meeting each month, September to April, to meet our members and others and discover new things about the waterways.

We keep an eye on waterway related planning applications and comment where we can.

We consult with CRT on waterways matters, such as moorings in Leeds, and represent the views of our members.

We produce a magazine MilePost three times a year.

There is a lot more we could do – the IWA website has a list of things that ideally every Branch would do.

Who does the work?

Well, the organisation of the Branch is done by seven of us who meet for light refreshments and chat about once every two months and talk about what is happening. The work to be done is shared between us and a few other stalwarts who either turn up to help with the stand or volunteer to work for us at Open meetings, from home, on the phone or online.

There are a couple of dozen more members who attend the open meetings – a good place to meet one another, learn what is going on, and have an entertaining evening.

8

This has all worked fine over the years but depends very much on these few members. Two long-serving members of the committee are standing down at this year’s AGM . They are happy to continue helping run the Branch stand but have other things they want to do; others are likely to be in a similar position in the near future.

In order to have a Branch we need members to take the formal titles of Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer. In order to be a useful Branch we need more people to volunteer for specific jobs, and hopefully do them independantly and reliably. We know that not everyone can actively help, but more volunteers are needed if we are to keep our level of involvement, and monitoring what is happening on the canals. Jobs can be done remotely and the need for physical meetings is less than it was when we relied on the postman, though it's still fun to compare notes face-to-face.Your current Officers need new ideas, and new volunteers, to motivate the Branch.

We are trying a Saturday lunchtime meeting in March to test if more people can attend during the day: some of our current active members can be there to run the meeting.

The West Riding Branch has been in existence for over 40 years. It would be sad to stop now, just because our members do not feel able to continue supporting it; that is what we are approaching, and the health of the IWA as a national force in the Waterways does not allow us to pretend we have a Branch when, in effect, we do not. The Branch will continue for 2015, but without more help it is likely to stop being a viable unit at some time during the year. This would be very sad, because we think there is a lot of enthusiasm among our 350 members, and members who could have the skills and time to help us.

Now is the time to say you can help.

elaine.scott@waterways.org.uk Dear Elaine I might be able to help with ///. Please let me know what it involves.

Regards/.

9

Tour de France 2014 Ian Moore Back in 2013 Paul and Diana Monahan came up with the idea of organising a boat gathering after it was announced that the route of the Tour de France would include the road between Hebden Bridge and Mytholmroyd which runs alongside the Rochdale Canal.

They approached the IWA to see if we could provide insurance for the event and a bank account for cashing boat booking fees. We spoke to IWA Head Office about the insurance and said we could process booking fees through the branch bank account and badge it as an IWA event.

The Canal and River Trust and the Calderdale Rochdale Canal Linear Park Group were involved but Paul and Diana did a lot of the organising. And the event would not have happened without them.

A good example of a project undertaken with only minimal support from the Branch.

Picture Steve

Finally, a few weeks ago in January 2015, it was announced that the new Tour de Yorkshire in May 2015 would cover this section of the Tour de France route but in the reverse direction from Mytholmroyd to Hebden Bridge. So Paul and Diana Monahan are looking to do it all over again.The Canal and River Trust and the Calderdale Rochdale Canal Linear Park Group were involved but Paul and Diana did a lot of the organising. And the event would not have happened without them.

CRT and The Tour de Yorkshire The Canal & River Trust is looking for volunteers to be part of the event; chatting with spectators, handing out flyers, and helping them explore waterside cycling routes during the course of the festivities. This could be next to water or at other key event locations. This is a really great opportunity for us to promote safe cycling on our towpaths and encourage visitors to the canal to ‘share the space’!

We are offering a two or three day volunteering experience consisting of one training day and one or two days volunteering as an ambassador for the Trust.

The training will take place at the end of April, refreshments provided and reasonable travel expenses reimbursed. The event is in May and there will be a chance to socialise after each day of volunteering. There will also be follow up opportunities at other events such as Leeds Waterfront Festival.

Interested? Please contact Claire McDonald Claire.McDonald@canalrivertrust.org.uk 10

Rochdale Canal Boat Gathering for the Tour de Yorkshire Sunday 3 May 2015 organised by the IWA West Riding Branch Last year saw Le Tour de France come to Yorkshire and 33 boats enjoyed the race as it came by the Rochdale Canal. This year, the Tour de Yorkshire is taking place 1st May to 3rd May with the Rochdale Canal again featuring on the last day as the race comes through between M ytholm r oyd and Hebden Bridge. IWA West Riding Branch with local volunteers are organising a free, informal boat gathering encouraging boats to come and stay before the 3rd May 2015 and to linger Picture Steve Gibson afterwards. This helps with the canal water supplies. Voluntary Lock Keepers may also be available to help. Moorings can be reserved between 25th April and 10th May as required.

There are likely to be travel restrictions in place along the main road (A646) on Sunday 3rd May. At all other times there is a good bus service and railway service along the Rochdale Canal. The railway service connects to other places on the Tour de Yorkshire. The Tour de Yorkshire Ride also takes place on the 3rd May. This year the race will be descending Cragg Vale but why not try out for yourself, on your bike or walking, this longest continuous ascent in England, approximately 5.5 miles? If a less strenuous pursuit is to your taste, then Hebden Bridge is holding a Beer and Cider Festival and a Burlesque Festival over the long weekend.

Closing date for reserving mooring: 20th April 2015. Late entries may by accepted if space still available.

Booking forms will be acknowledged by email and any further details will be sent by email. If printed acknowledgement is preferred, please enclose stamped, addressed envelope.

Contact: tdymoorings@paul-diana.com Diana Monahan 7 New Road Hebden Bridge HX7 8AD

Some of the Happy Helpers 2014

11

The IWA Covenant Ian Moore Everything done by your local IWA branch is done by volunteers.

Simply paying your subscription does not run the branch, it is members’ time and effort that does that.

There is in effect an unwritten agreement at the heart of the IWA, that a small proportion of the membership will do more than just pay their membership subscription and actually run the association. This is both the strength and weakness of a membership organisation.

What can you do?

• Run a facebook page of Branch activities • Run a couple of meetings • Adopt a meeting - find a speaker, turn up to great them, enjoy the • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

meeting Arrange a meeting near your home and invite the Branch Officers Paint a Milepost Look at Planning Applications Help on the stand Edit an edition of the Newsletter Wash up after a meeting Put up a poster somewhere Take pictures of your local canal and submit them to the newsletter Tell us about your holiday Organise a working party Attend a CRT meeting Collect stamps for wrg Write something for this magazine Send us a favourite picture

You don’t need to struggle on your own. We approve of job sharing!

12

Branch Annual General Meeting The Annual General Meeting of the West Riding Branch of the Inland Waterways Association will take place on Friday 13 April 2015 at 8.00pm, in the clubhouse of the South Pennine Boat Club, Wood Lane, Mirfield WF14 0ED.

Agenda •

Apologies for absence

•

Approval of minutes of the 2014 AGM as published on page 18 of the May 2014 edition of MilePost

•

Matters arising from the minutes

•

Chairman’s report

•

Secretary’s report

•

Treasurer’s report

•

Election of Committee members - Nominations for the Branch Committee may be made at the meeting Current committee members

,

Elaine Scott (prepared to stand but only for 1 year) Ian Moore (until 2017) William Jowitt (prepared to stand) Chris Pinder (not standing for a further term) Liz Pinder ((not standing for a further term) Peter Scott (until 2016) Mike Tucknott (may be prepared to stand) Remaining time to be filled with tea, coffee, nibbles, and pictures you have brought.

13

In case you missed it ..

October River waterways of north-east England John Pomfret John Pomfret gave a very interesting talk on the navigable north-east waterways, going clockwise round the region. Several we knew something about and some were quite new. One of these was the Ouse Burn in Newcastle. John has been involved in the construction of a lock at the entrance to the Burn.

This magnificent structure is designed to hold 0.5m of water in the river for environmental reasons and to allow for navigation at all states of the tide. There is a boat yard up stream of the lock. This inspired us to go and have a look when we were passing.

The lock was confusingly open both ends. But the structure is very impressive.

November Community Boats Trevor Roberts

In November Trevor Roberts came to talk to us about Community Boats . He gave us a short, illustrated talk and then got us all involved in discussing what we thought community boating meant. We expressed our views as to how boats can be used to get community involvement.

14

December Christmas Social

We had the usual good selection of festive treats for refreshments. In the pauses between eating and drinking there was the chance to try the competition. Pictures were placed around the room and all that was needed was to locate the canal depcited. To aid the process each canal had a letter and a clue. When we had all done our best, Peter took us round the canals that had been travelled by his boat Copperkins ll during the summer.

Clue

January Caledonian Canal Peter and Elaine Scott A most enjoyable and informative talk illustrated talk. Having walked the Great Glen Way between Fort William and Inverness which uses the tow path of the Caledonian Canal it was great to revisit it with a talk that followed the route in the opposite direction Inverness to Fort William (and then onto Oban). The scenery is wonderful and having seen the cruise ship making its way through the locks at Fort Augustus it was very interesting to follow its progress right along the canal, to see the inside of the boat, and hear about how the accommodation, meals etc. are organised. We also learned a lot about the history of the canal and the variety of boats that have use it.

A superb journey combining a leisurely cruise with spectacular scenery, its defiantly inspired us to plan a return visit and if you haven’t visited the Caledonian Canal we can highly recommend it.

Thanks Peter and Elaine for a good evening.

Liz Pinder 15

Old Maps & Photographs Online Anybody interested in waterways history may be interested in the following websites http://maps.nls.uk/ The National Library of Scotland has Six Inch OS 1888 - 1913 series for all of Great Britain online, that will zoom in very well without losing detail and has a split screen facility that will display modern mapping alongside. http://collections.canalrivertrust.org.uk/home Last year over 37,000 archive records and 22,000 historic images from the National Waterways Collection were published online as part of an on going digitisation project. http://www.britainfromabove.org.uk/ The Britain from Above website features images from the Aerofilms collection of aerial photographs from 1919 - 1953.

Thanks Ian, for finding these for us. I would allocate plenty of time to look through them—there is some fascinating stuff.

A Picture from the CRT Collection Herbert Dunkley 35mm slides, box 4, Aire/Calder/M.S.C. (Wakefield/Hull/Barnsley/Leeds 16

Proposed Outings of the Stands This year so far we have the following dates where we hope to have the stand

Sat 2 to Mon 4 May Skipton Waterways Festival

Sat 2 May South Pennine Boat Club You may notice the above dates clash—we have two stands but could do with extra help Sat 28 to Sun 29 June Thwaite Mills Helpers required Sat 22 to Sun 23 August Brighouse Canal Festival Helpers required At these events we erect the stand and put up the (already prepared) display boards. There are also some items, clearly marked, for sale and a lot of leaflets to hand out to anyone interested. We then sit in our camping chairs and talk to anyone showing an interest.

17

Free mooring in Leeds Basin The moorings in Granary Wharf have returned to CRT. This means that there are no charges for mooring within Leeds Basin. The water point above Office Lock is now working and there is hope of a pumpout being available in the Basin.

Signs are being prepared but it is hoped to have a variety of time limits from 48 hrs to 5days, both in the Basin and above Office Lock.

This should encourage more boats to moor in Leeds.

Watch this space for more information.

E-petition for the Louth Canal Paula Hunt, Secretary at Louth Navigation Trust, a corporate member of IWA, has an e-petition on government website which she asks all our members to support and sign, to help restore the canal and overcome ownership issues. It only takes a minute to sign online.

"To allow the Louth Navigation Trust, a registered charity to restore the full length of the Louth canal and bring watercourse back into full operational use. This would encompass renovating or renewing existing locks and associated canal structures including banks together with an operational depth put in place for boats/craft to use as a navigable waterway." http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/70914 http://www.louthcanal.org.uk/ includes information on a Louth Canal Walk Sat 30 May 2015 Start at 12.30pm at 18

Auction of Maureen Shaw’s Plates Many people will still fondly remember Maureen as they pass through Wardle Lock in Middlewich, whether they knew her or not. There is memorial interpretation board by the towpath for us all to refer to as we pass by.

Most of Maureen’s possessions have been redistributed or kept in the family. The last items are mainly her plates plus a few other decorative items and it was thought that some of her friends and acquaintances from the waterways might like to have something of their own to remember her by.

To this end an auction has been arranged and it will take place on Maureen’s birthday in 2015: DATE: TIME: LOCATION:

28TH March 2015 1pm to 3pm Middleport Pottery, Port Street, Burslem, Stoke-onTrent, ST6 3PE www.princes-regeneration.org/middleport-pottery Tel: 01782 577866

Middleport pottery has recently benefited from restoration through the Prince’s Trust and was reopened on 1st July 2014. It offers guided tours, pottery sales and a canal-side café serving beverages, snacks and meals, Maureen liked her food and would have been in her element here, in more ways than one. It was felt to be a fitting location for the auction as it in the heart of the Staffordshire Potteries by the Trent and Mersey Canal, which was one of the many waterways that Maureen travelled when she was growing up and after she married.

There are 70 lots in the auction, the sale will be cash only to avoid additional administration and you can view the items and see the descriptions by visiting

www.tamcs.org.uk/auction It is hoped that this will be an occasion when many likeminded people come together and renew old friendships, recall old time and remember the old boaters who have shared their experiences with us.

19

How we can all help Mike Tucknot As we cruise the rivers and canals we come across various anomalies which we either try and remember for next time or take notes down to support our fading memories.

Examples could be as follows; Selby Canal from West Haddlesey to Selby Swing Bridge.

Due to the recent Dredging of the canal at the present time of January 2015 the centre passage varies from 5 to 6 feet in depth which is a great improvement.

Some weeds were also removed during the dredging.

Bank Dole Lock (Knottingley) Aire & Calder Navigation When locking down it is advisable to secure on the River side wall. The Lock wall on the land side has quite a few holes where the water pours out as the lock empties. There must be quite a large chamber behind the wall as the jets of water are still continuing for some time. Advisable to ensure all windows, hatches etc are closed before operating the top gate paddles.

Observed January 2015.

For these type of observations I usually make a note in my Nicholson's Guide so that I can be prepared for the next cruise.

If the faults have been repaired then I have lost nothing but who knows how long it may take to be rectified.

Jon Horsfall has often asked that we let them know of problems we encounter.

He may not be able to do anything, for whatever reason, but by telling CRT we can ensure they know of the problem and if they get lots of reports it helps the process of prioritising remedial work.

We could, if someone will set it up and moderate it, have our own facebook page to share sure knowledge with others.

And Jon’s response to Mike’s comments Thanks . The works have had the desired outcome, though I understand that because we did the works without dewatering fully we were unable to do the cills and trim the gates as effectively as we could in those circumstances. We do plan to resolve the issues with the leak and boil.

20

Rotary Navigation Walk The 2015 Walk Although we had only 220 registrants on the 2014 walk, they and their sponsors were as generous as always and so far we have raised over £10,000 and are hopeful of a final total over £12,500 including Gift Aid. That means that the four walks completed have so far raised over £50,000 for our local hospices.

The 2015 walk will be held on Sunday 19th April and the route has been extended and now incorporates the Rotary Club of Huddersfield A splendid flat walk almost exclusively on tow-paths of the Hebble, Calder, Huddersfield Narrow and Broad canals. This year the extension of the walk to take in the canals from Marsden to Cooper Bridge will add a welcome 11 miles.

Who is it for?

The walk is for everyone who wishes to join us in raising funds for the four Hospices which provide excellent service to the public of Calderdale, Kirklees and Wakefield namely, Overgate Hospice, Kirkwood Hospice, Wakefield Hospice and the Forget Me Not Children's Hospice. Each Hospice will receive an equal share of whatever money is raised by the event.

The Start and Finish points will be: The Wharf, Sowerby Bridge; The Barge and Barrel, Elland; Bethel Street Car Park, Brighouse; The Navigation Tavern, Mirfield; The Navigation Inn, Horbury.

Marsden Railway Station Huddersfield, Aspley - Turnbridge Who are the organisers?

Rotary Clubs from the Kirklees, Calderdale and Wakefield areas have combined forces to organise, administer and then manage the Rotary Navigation Walk. For 2015 and beyond, the Rotary Club of Mirfield is taking the lead on the administration and financial management of the event on behalf of the other clubs. Many other Rotary Clubs from within West Yorkshire are also lending their support. You can make contact with the organisers via the website, http://www.rotarynavigation.co.uk/ or by telephone to The Registration Officer Rotarian Roy Carrington on 01924 492976 or by mail to Carldon House, 1A Hopton Lane Mirfield WF14 8JT 21

People who help run the Branch 2014/ 2015 Chairman *

Secretary *

Treasurer *

Elaine Scott 3 Moorbank Drive Sheffield S10 5TH 0114 230 1870 07980 953880 elaine.scott@ waterways.org.uk

Ian Moore 2 Eric Street, Bramley Leeds LS13 1ET 07989 112581 westriding@ waterways.org.uk

William Jowitt 35, Lowfield Crescent Silsden BD20 0QE 01535 657256

Membership Secretary * NE&Yorks Region *

Minutes Secretary*

Chris Pinder 152 High Street Yeadon Leeds LS19 7AB 01132 509371

Peter Scott 3 Moorbank Drive Sheffield S10 5TH 0114 230 1870 peter.scott@ waterways.org.uk

Peter Scott (temporarily)

Committee Member*

Committee Member*

Telephone Contact

Mike Tucknott 4 Royds Avenue Birkenshaw Bradford BD11 2LD 07885 951099

Liz Pinder 152 High Street Yeadon Leeds LS19 7AB 01132 509371

Volunteer needed

Speaker Finder

Badges, Stamps & Raffle

Website

Volunteer needed

Ellen & Ailsa Sayles

Committee member indicated by *

22

David MackDavid.Mack@sdgworld.net

Directions to South Pennine Boat Club – information from the web site http://www.southpennineboatclub.co.uk/

By Road: Follow the A644 from Junction 25 of the M62 towards Dewsbury and Wakefield. Just before the Pear Tree Inn, turn right over the bridge labelled Battyford Toll bridge. The SPBC is on the left, through the gates before the second Bridge Buses: The 278 from Wakefield, Dewsbury and Mirfield for Brighouse & Halifax, stops outside the Pear Tree Inn. The 278 Bus from Halifax and Brighouse for Mirfield, Dewsbury & Wakefield stops across the road from the Pear Tree Inn. Buses to Leeds & Huddersfield (203) or Bradford (253) run from Mirfield town centre.

Trains: Mirfield Station is about 1 mile from the club on the Huddersfield Line. It provides direct connections to Manchester, Huddersfield, Brighouse, Sowerby Bridge, Hebden Bridge, Leeds, Dewsbury and Wakefield.

By Water: The SPBC is on the Calder & Hebble navigation by Battyeford Lock Taxi: Station Cars Tel 01924 490 444 Mirfield Cars Tel 01924 490 999 Central Cars Tel 01924 490 000 23

Programme of Open Meetings for 2015/16 Meetings take place (usually) on the second Friday of the month In the clubhouse of the South Pennine Boat Club, Wood Lane, Mirfield WF14 0ED. 2015 Friday 13 February 7:30 for 8

“Slopes, slides, strings and structures�

Geoff Auty

Saturday 14 March 11 am to 1pm

Friday 10 April 7:30 for 8

A Canalling Miscellany Peter and Elaine Scott Bring you own sandwiches tea, coffee and cake provided

AGM

Any other meetings in 2015/2016 needs a volunteer or two to organise them.

All the meetings organised by the West Riding Branch are Open and everyone is invited. We are delighted to welcome any member of the general public and members are encouraged to bring their friends. To find out more about the waterways or the IWA come and join us at one of our meetings or visit the website http://www.waterways.org.uk Closing date for contributions for the next issue 1 May 2015 Contributions can be hand written, typed or in electronic format.

Pictures can be prints or digital.

The views expressed in this publication are published as being of interest to our members and readers and are not necessarily those of The Inland Waterways Association or of its West Riding Branch.

The Inland Waterways Association Registered in England no 612245 Registered as a Charity No 212342 Registered Office: Island House, Moor Road, Chesham, HP5 1WA Tel: 01494 24 783453