Arnac

This one? It looks well worth a visit. Will be in the Wigan area for a while so will check it out. Thanks for the heads up. https://swanandrailwayhotelwigan.co.uk/

Colliers Arms, Aspull. Just up the Wigan Road from Bridge 59A, Springs Bridge. Re-opened in November '23 having been closed 2 yrs. Found it purely by chance out walking. Not on any guides as far as I'm aware, although it's been there since 1700. Owned by: https://www.escapebrewery.co.uk/ Lovely beer. Well worth a visit. For info.

Around Sept I believe. Eating there on Thursday - food looks good - basic, honest pub grub. Nothing flash. Couple of real ales always on tap - landlord keeps a good cellar.

Moored up next to The Anchor now. Happy to say that it's opened again and business is thriving under new tenants.

For those heading towards Skipton, L&L noe closed at Nelson for at least six weeks.

Are the water tap and pumpout still at Long Sandall? Yes they are. Taps either side of the lock and pump out in the lock under the lock keepers tower.

Don't let that put you off. It's still a great destination.

Cheers Neil, just arrived at Selby today. I'll keep an eye out at Selby lock and quiz any adventurers coming up from that way. The dead cow sounds interesting. At Goole I awoke to a stench and discovered a decomposing deer wedged between the bow and the bank 🤢

Has anyone been along this canal recently and if so could you give a quick update on the weed situation etc. Currently at Selby and considering a trip up there over the next month, but have been told it can be so bad (weed and water depth wise) as to almost be non navigable. Thanks in advance.

There are at least 10 similar vessels, in various condition, moored next to her. A sad sight to be honest. No doubt they would sell for a fortune down South.

She's currently moored up opposite Goole Marina. Looking a bit unloved.

Thanks for the tip.

We are still slowly discovering our narrowboat's workings and so the following may be obvious to some, but I post simply in order to help any others who may find themselves in a similar position. When filling our stainless steel water tank we would have a Vesuvius of air and water as the tank neared the end of its fill with no obvious overflow or vent pipe apparent which I thought was odd. After replacing the filler cap, a small vacuum would form as we used the water which would then became progressively worse, resulting in the tank banging as it flexed and the pump struggling. This would be solved by releasing the filler cap to allow air in to get rid of the vacuum. Having trawled the forum for advice, I lifted the front cratch inspection cover and with a torch and some yoga moves, discovered that the fresh water tank did indeed have a flexible hull venting pipe but that it was not accessible from the inspection hatch. It was also coiled in two loops. I threaded a flexible piece of thin, hard nylon tube through the hull vent outlet (from the exterior) removed it and then gave the vent pipe a few short blasts of high pressure water to ensure it was clear. Hey presto, problem solved. Upon filling the vent pipe now overflows as it should and no more vacuum. Thanks to all previous contributers on the various threads. Couldn't have worked it out without your contributions.

Thought I would give an update on this very under used waterway and try to encourage people to make the effort to get all the way to Sheffield. Here is a brief résumé of the steps on our journey. We started from our temporary winter mooring at Long Sandall. There are good visitor moorings here too and a little further North good CRT services at Barnby Dunn. All locks from Long Sandall to Eastwood are large and automated to accommodate the 60m long oil barge 'Exol Pride' that runs roughly twice a week between Goole and Rotherham. The locks are operated using your CRT key unless lock keepers are present. Doncaster. Well worth a visit and exploring for a few days. Good, safe 3 day visitor moorings right in the centre of town. From Doncaster you quickly go through some lovely countryside on the river Don Sprotbrough. Two day visitor mooring just after Sprotbrough lock. Some wonderful walking around the area including Sprotbrough Flash nature reserve, Conisbrough Castle, Conisbrough viaduct and Cusworth Hall. Next stop was Pastures, just after Mexborough Low Lock. Mexborough itself is a depressing town, however, where the canal passes through it is delightful and known locally as the 'Meccy Riviera'. Special mention to the Gorilla Brewery Tap room just after Station Rd Bridge. Space for two 57' NB's to moor up outside and sample the goods Apparently you can also moor overnight here if you seek permission of the owner. After Mexborough there is a CRT mooring available just before Waddington lock at Swinton. We didn't stop here, but it looks safe, gated and secure with what appears to be services that are not shown on the latest Nicholson's guide. Perhaps someone could confirm? Kilnhurst. Mooring available. No facilities. Probably ok for an overnighter. Eastwood (Rotherham). Safe gated visitor mooring here with CRT services (shower/toilets/elsan etc) and a huge retail park nearby. However, mooring space was limited due to some 'permanent' residents and an apparently abandoned craft with 'notice for removal' sticker on it. From here we booked our passage on the Tinsley flight via CRT. (24hrs notice required) Rotherham town centre (30 min walk from Eastwood) is well worth visiting. They're really making an effort to improve the town and I would encourage you to go there and see for yourselves. Leaving Eastwood, we stopped overnight on the lock landing before Holmes Bridge lock.(no problem with this as in the evening nobody will be descending the flight) It is from here the CRT assisted passage starts for the Tinsley flight and the lock keeper met us at 9am the following morning. It takes around 4hrs to do the Tinsley flight. We had four excellent and friendly CRT members in attendance and they know their stuff. It's a lovely flight. The final hour into Sheffield is very interesting and ends at Victoria Quays. A lovely terminus a short walk from the city centre. CRT seem to have handed over responsibility to CV Marine, but we never saw a single person from the company. The office was permanently closed. The showers are permanently closed. Cost is officially £50 a week to moor. Only two days visitor mooring allowed. We stayed nearly three weeks. We loved Sheffield. First impressions are bad though as the Castlegate area near to the Quays is rough. It is a fascinating city, easy to walk, full of history and culture. The beer pub and music scene is outstanding and access to the magnificent Peak District is easy via public transport. We highly recommend it. In the three weeks we were there only three boats arrived. One stayed overnight and left the following day having been put off by the Castlegate area. Such a shame as they missed a lovely city. In summary I would say this section of the system is a hidden gem and extremely under utilised. Sections of the river Don are an oasis of tree lined tranquility and most travelling days we were blissfully alone. I would encourage people to put aside any preconceived thoughts of the areas industrial reputation. Sections of the navigation are absolutely stunning. One caveat, just keep an eye out for the weather as the Don can flood rapidly. I hope this brief synopsis is helpful. Enjoy. For photos see my wife's Instagram page 'Lock and Quay'

'Carlos'. I shall avoid everyone called Carlos from now on.

Lol ... I prefer the dust tbh 😉

Thought I would give you an update on my Bubble diesel stove. I've got rid and replaced it with its solid fuel Bubble equivalent (stop laughing at the back). The bloody thing started driving me mad, I could never get it running consistently. I did try, honestly I did ....... 🙄

It certainly is. Just to add, the extending section is on heavy duty nylon casters at the two ends and in the middle. The slats on the LHS lift out in two sections to access the storage. The two original drawers were left Insitu and he adapted the extension around them. Access to the drawers is therefore unchanged. There are two heavy locking pins which lock the extension in the closed and open position.

We have just had our standard 4' narrowboat bed adapted to give a new extended width of 1.60m as per the attached photos. Really happy with the result. The mattress will be 'hinged' for stowage during the day. The guy that did this for us has reasonable rates and is based in Retford. I'm happy to supply his e-mail to any interested parties. If you're a keen DIYer it will give you an idea too.

I got around to servicing my inherited and previously mentioned Bubble Stove today. Don't think it's been used for years . Anyway, working logically from the tank I changed the main feed fuel filter, then removed and cleaned the filter in the oil regulator. Next I opened up the top access lid of the oil regulator (no need to detatch the entire regulator unit from the main diesel line). The spring loaded oil feed - the one with the narrow slit - was clogged shut with muck. Took it out along with the float mechanism, cleaned everything carefully and reassembled. I then checked the fuel feed from the regulater to the burner and finally cleaned out the burner pot. She's now burning on a nice blue flame on the lowest setting. Toasty. Thanks for all the advice on the forum. I wouldn't have known where to start without it.

Thank you. Really appreciate the advice.

I've inherited a temperamental Bubble stove which I am going to attempt dismantle and clean thanks to this excellent servicing thread. In addition I found the following video that explains the basics of oil regulator mechanics which all work off the same principles. Hope this helps too.

Good advice 😅

I've inherited a temperamental Bubble stove which I am going to attempt dismantle and clean thanks to this excellent servicing thread. In addition I found the following video that explains the basics of oil regulator mechanics which all work off the same principles. Hope this helps too.