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Sorry....I hve been away in deepest Africa for three weeks with no e-mail access. Thank you - all - for the information. This is all very useful.

Again, thanks for all the information. Very useful!

Just realised that they are the Conduit Colliery Basins - only one is shown on Wikipedia map and mentioned in one book - but there were two. Connected by tramway to Conduit Colliery. Useful background also at http://www.bhills-history.fsnet.co.uk/coal_mining.htm

Wonder if any of the BCN experts can answer some questions. What were the two basins almost at the current end of the Cannock Extension? There are two infilled basins on the east side of the canal..about 400 yards before the end. On a slightly related note, where does the infamous 'bandit country' start and end? I know about the Harden estate, but can anyone recommend safe (or at least safer) mooring points either side of bandit country.

Are there any boat hire companies on the Curly Wyrley? I'm interested in seeing all the little corners of the system, and the W&E is intriguing. ("1001 Abandoned Wharves to See Before You Die"?) I've hunted about and done a lot of Googling but no joy so far.

No it's not. But it is full of people singularly focused on their own interests and objectives.

If there was a social mistake, then that has certainly been it. I have seen hundreds of situations where the resettlement villages or houses had insufficient land or farming areas. The groups I met were fortunate in that they had plenty of land and most had bought or built their own houses. As always, as everywhere a given perspective usually reflects the personal situation and experiences. I think the true situation will become clearer over the next decade, one way or another. There is no doubt that the dam is bringing new industry, services and infrastructure to the area which may bring some benefits: time will tell.

I think the water level is still at the 157m level that is has been for a couple of years. I have done the trip three times now, and twice through the dam, although always at night, which is am amzing experience. Is there evidence that they cannot support themselves on a widescale basis? I have met Three Gorges resettlers in Dunhuang in Gansu and near Yulin in Sha'anxi, and they were happy with the arrangements. A few grumbles here and there but nothing major. I am not aware of "they" (who would that be?) admitting that it was a social mistake. The process of migration, resettlement (voluntary and involuntary) and movement continues to be a significant phenomenon in China for many reasons. It's worth remembering that Britain involuntarily resettled the inhabitants of Diego Garcia island and have treated them rather unfairly: smaller numbers, but same principles. And what is known of the inhabitants of the drowned village in Ladybower Reservoir in Derbyshire?

Doubt it. As I said, China is keen to show off its technologies these days. The Danjiakou shiplock is visible in Google Earth, ut it looks really strange....as if it has been decommissioned. Something's not right with it, and the upper part does not look as it it is a shiplift at all.

Yes...aware of this (although there is only one shiplift). It is unlikely to be completed this year. There is a 14 page summary of the technical aspects of it on the KuK website (http://www.kuk.de/content/akt/inf/yangtze_bautechnik_en.pdf) and further articles in German. Although a bit pedantic, only four of the five locks are used currently. The top, fifth, lock will not be used until the water level rises to the final level. My point is where are the other shiplifts? For example, there is no shiplift at the Gezhouba Dam in the centre of Yichang, where there are three parallel locks - the largest two are 295m x 36m. I know of the other two in Hubei at Danjiakou and Geheyen, both of which are easily reachable from Yichang. The dam at Longtan is a little harder to reach (it's in NW Guangxi). But are there others?

Thanks .... That's a really useful link!

I am a little frustrated at various waterways directories because every builder is described as being able to do absolutely everything. I was tempted to ask who was the best restorer of traditional boats, but decided that would be a bit unfair. So.... ...who restores traditional boats? I am particularly interested in who restores wooden boats, and especially in the South East (within 50 miles of London).

This month's WW has an article reviewing a book about German shiplifts. In the article was the intriguing comment about the Three Gorges shiplift in China and the fact that there is little known about all the shiplifts in China "because of the inaccessibility of these to the western world and the lack of published information". I was a bit surprised by the 'inaccessibility' comment as I have found it possible to visit pretty much any facility in China, and the Chinese are nearly always proud to show off their infrastructure. Does anyone know the location (city and province) of any of these shiplifts? I regularly travel all over China and am happy to divert where practical to take photos or get information.

The boatyard and the navigation guides did/do warn about the gate paddles, recommending that you always use the ground paddles. However, what we were never warned about was that once hydraulic (gate) paddles are opened they cannot be wound down again because of the pressure of water. So if you over-open, you cannot close them (even slightly). In this case, either there was no ground paddle or they weren't working. I knew that you have to open the ground paddles first. This incident was my fault, not least because we didn't have the bow rope properly secured. However, I felt then - as I felt now - that more information about the gate paddles would have been helpful and probably been sufficient warning to take extra special care with the hydraulic paddles. I will always be extremely wary of hydraulic paddles in future, no matter where they are fitted. However, I would love to do the C&H again and have tentative plans to do it+Rochdale next year.

It was the upper gate paddle and - if I recall correctly - the lock had no ground paddle. Your reply brought back further memories and I am sure we had used the ground paddles at Kirklees. I did remember the warning from the boatyard about the gate paddles, but my mistake was that I opened the gate paddle too much and then couldn't get it down again. It didn't put me off the Calder & Hebble at all though - other than that one event it was a fabulous few days and we had a great Italian meal in Brighouse (in the old mill building) and a few bottles of wine.

Thanks for that!

I was told by one of my in-laws that some of the last boats that Walkers built were hire boats. They "went north" apparently. Anyone know where they went and are they still afloat?

1) Designed the Huddersfield Narrow Canal to hold a lot more water. 2) Never let the abandoned canals become abandoned all those years ago.

It came through in a good number of posts from a variety of people....

There was a plan....long, long ago....to link the Stort Navigation at Bishop's Stortford with the River Cam at Clayhithe, but it never got off the ground. I'm interested in learning more about the proposed canal and hope to walk its route. Does anyone know if a book (or article) has ever been written about it?

I'm quite surprised at the venom aimed at the Challenger owners in some of the replies. Seems like mass stereotyping. On our most recent trip - admittedly in 2004 - we found it was impossible to predict who would be friendly and who would be ...errr.... grumpy and arrogant. It's not about the boat, it's about the person.

UPDATE: Funny how the mind plays tricks. After thinking something wasn't quite right I checked some of the details, and seeing a few YouTube videos jogged the memory! I'm sure now that the upper gate paddles are operated hydraulicly....so it wouldn't be the handspike at all. Then I remember that at the time someone had explained that this was a disadvantage of the hydraulic operated paddles...that they can't be closed easily under high water pressure.

It had been a peaceful day for us, if a little energetic. We were more than halfway through our one-way hireboat cruise from Ashton to Sowerby Bridge. Locking down the final few pounds of the Huddersfield Narrow had been the energetic highlight of this long-awaited journey. We had lived in Glossop in the late 1980s and often walked the unrestored Huddersfield canal up to Diggle. Sixteen years as expatriates in far-flung places had kept us away from the canals of England, but in July 2004 we wanted to introduce our young teenage children to the joys of The Cut. Where better to do this than on the canal we had walked and admired all those years ago? The Narrow was easy. My wife and I had first journeyed around the BCN, Grand Union and Oxford Canal as students, and always at the best times of the year - middle of winter, pouring rain, deserted canals and dripping locks; crisp sheets of thin ice crackling as we headed for Stratford, Braunstone or Walsall. Now two decades later we were heading out in peak season, and there were boats everywhere. The last time I stood at this spot in Stalybridge, it had been a car-park: I remember reading of the plans to divert the canal and laughed. Never. Not in my life-time. Now here I was, thanks to the bruised knuckles, sore backs and a thousand Mars Bars of hundreds of volunteers, I was able to lock up towards Diggle and then on down into Yorkshire, the place where God was born according to my father-in-law. The party of seven, the four of us, the in-laws and a young nephew, were truly loving every minute, and ironically the highlight had not been the canal, but striding across Marsden Moor watching the village unfold below us as my father-in-law Bill and I opted to go across the top. There are few finer landscapes in the world than found in England - and having lived in and visited 72 countries now, I am fairly well qualified to judge. A day later, Bill had to leave us and head back for London, while the six of us - three adults and three children, motored on through decreasing amounts of water. By the last pound we were exhausted and navigating a 56 foot boat through less water than the basin of a shower cabin. We were also heartily fed up with the exploits of Harry Potter who was being discussed avidly by the younger party members. "Wouldn't it be good if we could use a Wizard of the Dark Locks to magically fill and open each lock just before we arrive? That would save me all the effort!" my daughter suggested. "And how would we know?" her brother replied unkindly. The Broad Canal was plain sailing apart from one lock with a badly damaged lower lock gate. A solemn-looking lengthsman was inspecting it and sighing. We gingerly eased our way through, but evacuated the boat just to be on the safe side. I wondered if the state of this lock explained the lack of water on the Narrow Canal. We cruised on, marvelling at the wildlife and the decreasing frequency of boats. Our next challenge was the Calder & Hebble. My wife and I had discussed this with some trepidation. Despite our experience down the years we had never actually set out on a river - ever. They just hadn't figured on any of our earlier journeys and although we considered ourselves fairly experienced boaters, it had amused us that despite all those adventures, we had never once been out on a flowing current in a narrow boat. Helen steered out onto the benign Calder & Hebble, feeling the slight tug of the current across the bow, while I stood in the bow, knees trembling slightly. "Dad! A kingfisher!" a child shouted. I didn't notice it, concentrating on the steer as Helen brought the boat out perfectly into the main stream. Within minutes I felt foolish as we motored on up the river, and reflected on how easy it was. We pushed on through the Kirklees Cut, sailing unimpeded through the upper flood lock. The last stretch to Brighouse was just delightful, with a thick canopy of trees guarding the quiet waters (contrary to the description in the Pearson guide!). The reflective atmosphere and relaxation was about to change though, in an episode that happened so quickly that it left us all shocked, shaking and frightened. I must confess that some of the details are probably wrong here: everything happened in a blur. Helen steered the boat in and I leapt out with the hand-spike. We had felt it to be a curious implement, but had quickly got used to it. The hire-company had warned us of the considerable force of water from the gate-paddles and we had been cautious at Kirklees Low Lock where all had worked smoothly. The boat was eased into the lock - our final of the day as we planned to moor up in Brighouse Basin just above the lock. Alongside the lock were two boats belonging to a Yorkshire family (from Castleford?). Through sloppiness and casual neglect, common towards the very end of days when everything had worked smoothly, I pulled the bow rope to a small post and tied it back loosely. After closing the lower gates, I picked up the hand-spike and wedged it in the cog, then wagged it several times. Nothing. I wagged one more time and was astonished to see a jet of water fire across the lock. It was like the spillway of a big dam. I tried to close it off but nothing happened. The rope whipped off the post and the bow flew across the lock, hitting the other wall with a bang. My heart pounding, I shouted to Helen to get the stern across but the boat had been jammed at the back. My mind was racing and almost paralysed. The children and my mother-in-law were inside the boat, no-one had life rafts on and the water was pumping straight into the bow. The front door was closed but the lock was awash with spray and water. What do I do? I couldn't think straight and my first thought was to open the lower paddles to try to get the boat back out of the lock. I realised later the stupidity and hopelessness of this, but it seemed logical in the frenzy. The owners of one of the boats moored nearby came running with another handspike, shouting "Open the other one!". He worked quickly, the hands of a real expert, and while the fury in the lock got much worse, it was clear within a few seconds that the jet of water was spraying over the bow and into the clear water on my side of the lock. Helen looked shocked, as did I. The children emerged wearing life-jackets, as my mother-in-law had realised that something was seriously wrong. Within a minute, the fury had subsided, and the boat, still rocking, was going to stay afloat. The kind boater who rescued us, then showed me how to tie a quick release knot that we used thereafter. (To my embarrassment, not having been out on a boat again since, I have forgotten how to tie it now) Sadly, the following morning, these boaters departed early back towards Castleford, as I particularly wanted to thank them again for their help and counsel. Maybe they will read this. The final day was uneventful, and we spoke to the yard about the incident. They were extremely busy with changeover though, and said that they had warned us (which they had) of the force of the upper gate paddles on the Calder & Hebble. However, we felt that the practical message of using the hand-spike very slowly **and** wait for a second or too to judge how the water emerges, would be valuable. Furthermore, we didn't realise that once the paddles are raised with these cogs they cannot drop down again so there is "no way back" if you over-open them at first. **That** warning might have made us more cautious. But ultimately, I have no-one to blame but myself: over-confidence, sloppiness and being too casual about the operation of locks at the end of a long day. We had a great holiday, the children are hooked on canals and maybe we did need the Wizard of the Dark Locks on just the one occasion. I'd like to dedicate this first post of mine to the angels of Castleford who dashed to help us, but also to the volunteers who worked hard over the decades to reopen the Huddersfield Narrow Canal: we toasted both sets of people numerous times that week - and since.