Above Broad Cut Top Lock, Calder and Hebble Navigation

"Where the Hell is the lock?"

On the right - just after the bridge. Believe me.

Thornhill Flood Lock -and it should have been open, but it wasn't. I had to climb up a vertical ladder from the deck of the boat to get the gate open so we could get through. Where is Health and Safety when you need some?

We took the left turn at Coopers Bridge and are now on our way back to Leeds. This is the first time we have been "down" the Calder and Hebble and it is a lot more difficult than going "upstream". Apart from having to wiggle about in the locks to get the bottom gates open getting back onto the boat on the river sections can be quite tricky, what with the current, lack of decent mooring opportunities and those damn flood gates which should be open but are partially closed. Going up you can nudge them open, but this way you can't get away with that.

The sun was out today and everything looked so pretty. Acid green leaves, wild flowers, butterflies, birds, ducklings and lovely smells wafting through the breeze.

There are faint traces of the old industrial use of this canal. Here are two huge bollards amongst the trees. No sign of what was once there, or what they were used for.

I have also noticed today lovely new black signs on all the bridges. They are BW black corporate colouring with the little white boxes down the left hand side like the licence and a white bridge in the bottom right hand corner. The name of the bridge is then printed in white. Very useful. BUT there is no number! Our Nicholson's only shows bridge numbers. So we are lost! Does no-one in the office have any idea what it is like from a boaters' point of view?

A Tigger Card. I can't remember now, but I think it was a peel-off sticker from one of those big rolls, which I stuck onto card and then cut out. The orange and black gingham was some wrapping tissue paper with was distressed around the edges. I then added the various flowers and bug which were also stickers.