Sheffield & South Yorkshire - Aire & Calder

[Mr Norman]

Could anyone please hazard a guess at how long it might take to cruise from Thorne to Calder Grove near Wakefield?

Are many locks on the Aire & Calder still operated by BW Staff?

 

Am hoping to shift a Hampton Safari from Stanilands to my new mooring by the Navigation pub at Broad Cut.

Thanks in advance.

[Guest]

Could anyone please hazard a guess at how long it might take to cruise from Thorne to Calder Grove near Wakefield?

Are many locks on the Aire & Calder still operated by BW Staff?

 

Am hoping to shift a Hampton Safari from Stanilands to my new mooring by the Navigation pub at Broad Cut.

Thanks in advance.

 

Canal plan says 14 hours or two days.

 

Since the demise of the commercial boats you will be lucky to find a lock being operated by CRT staff I would say, even when they did it was usually only a mobile lockie working ahead of a commercial boat. Or occasionally we used to find one on the Flood lock at Castleford or Whitley Lock, but it was rare.

 

PS - I really like Hampton Safari's - great little boats.

Edited June 3, 2015 by MJG

[Mr Norman]

Thanks very much Martin. How accurate do you think Canal Plan is? I've heard quite a few question it.

[Guest]

Thanks very much Martin. How accurate do you think Canal Plan is? I've heard quite a few question it.

 

TBH I think in that particular case it has overstated the times. In the summer with long days in particular it would be doable in a day easily I would say.

 

Your slowest bit will be along New Junction canal with the swing and lift bridges.

Edited June 3, 2015 by MJG

[Midnight]

A longish day would do it

 

I've done Thorne to Selby in a day and Thorne to Castleford in an easy day arrived about 4pm

[Mr Norman]

All useful stuff. Thanks very much.

[MisterDave]

Nobody else pointed this out, might be useful. All the locks on the Aire and the Calder below Fall Ing lock are electric, so minimal physical effort required. You only have 3 manual locks on the Calder & Hebble before you're at Broad Cut.

[cuthound]

Thanks very much Martin. How accurate do you think Canal Plan is? I've heard quite a few question it.

Canalplan is as accurate as you want it to be, as you can set your own times for average cruising speed and locking times, however on its default settings I find it is a little pessimistic.

[StephenA]

Canalplan is as accurate as you want it to be, as you can set your own times for average cruising speed and locking times, however on its default settings I find it is a little pessimistic.

 

Yet at the same time we've had people complain that it is too optimistic

 

It's possible that the speed for the Yorkshire waterways is a bit lower than optimal.

 

At the end of the day Canalplan is there just to help you work out if a route is reasonably possible or not.

[Guest]

Nobody else pointed this out, might be useful. All the locks on the Aire and the Calder below Fall Ing lock are electric, so minimal physical effort required. You only have 3 manual locks on the Calder & Hebble before you're at Broad Cut.

If we are including all the locks on the route in question there is of course Bramwith on the S&K which is not electrically operated either.

[benfordboy]

Thinking of when we last did this trip.......... (In a Norman 22 aptly!)

 

Left Torksey sometime in the morning on the ebb,,,, Arrived at Keadby around 12.00 to 13.00 (IIRC) made the trip up the S&K and stopped somewhere near the new junction canal (maybe)

 

Arrived at Castleford around 4pm next day (not a early start if I remember) - We traversed from Ferrybridge under heavy flow arriving Castleford under red conditions!!!! (So not the fastest trip upstream!)

 

That was a 2 day trip that CanalPlan lists as 3 days.....We didnt see hardly any traffic however !

[Mr Norman]

Just to round this thread off. Left Stanilands at 9.15am and arrived at Broad Cut, moored up and turned engine off at 9.45pm.

 

We were very close to "abandoning ship" at Stanley Ferry but thankfully persevered. Thanks for all information and suggestions.