Leeds to Keadby

[Pete & Helen]

This stretch never seems to get a mention, so any advice from anyone, Places to stop etc...

 

[Tim Lewis]

This stretch never seems to get a mention, so any advice from anyone, Places to stop etc...

 

We did the trip last year stopping stopping at Sykehouse Lock, ferrybridge and Thorne. Not much at Sykehouse but a nice mooring below the lock. Fortunately we met Mr Leech of this forum moored up and I seem to remember a nice drink on Kennets's deck.

 

Nice mooring at Ferrybridge, village not much to shout about with some downmarket shops but we did find out what Scufflers were.

 

Thorne nothing special but has a useful Sainsburys and a couple of boatyards

 

Tim

Edited May 23, 2015 by Tim Lewis

[Mac of Cygnet]

Woodlesford is a good place to stop, with a good pub.

 

Ferrybridge is the pits.

 

Great Heck has a little mooring and a very good pub just up the road The Bay Horse, with its own brewery And Pollington is also good, but the King's Head was for sale the last I heard.

 

Contrary to what Tim says, a pleasant walk across the fields brings you to The Old George at Sykehouse.

 

 

Reasonable mooring outside the pub at Staineforth (Sp?)

 

Thorne is a good mooring, with excellent shops. But the swing bridge is an absolute b*gger.

 

Some of the other swing bridges down to Keadby can be hard.

 

The sliding rail bridge just before Keadby is interesting - you just wait and it's opened for you when there's a gap in the trains.

 

Keadby is awful since the pubs disappeared - one shut down, one burnt down. A couple of basic stores. I usually spent a quiet night by the Medge Hall swing bridge watching the occasional train.

[Guest]

This stretch never seems to get a mention, so any advice from anyone, Places to stop etc...

 

From Leeds, the first decent place to stop is Woodlesford. Very nice moorings above the lock. A bit of a walk to the shops, but not too onerous. Chippy, Chinese takeaway, pubs and a Co-op.

 

Next decent stop is Castleford in the cut after coming off the River Aire. Two sections of VM's one with a SPO Machine if needed. The walk into town is a bit 'grim' particularly close by the moorings but Castleford is gem. Typical West Yorkshire town but has just about everything you need.

 

Next stop Ferrybridge. Not on the VM's but moor on the left after the flood lock on the old commercial boat moorings. Crossing the bridge takes you to a good sized Morrisons.

 

Next stop Whiley Lock just below the lock, VM's on the left. Nice quiet open spot with picnic tables.

 

After that Pollington where we used to moor. Two sets of VM's one above one below the lock. Aim for the ones below the lock on the left. Nice pub the Kings Head in the village. Walk up the lane from the old swing bridge, turn right at the road. 15 mins.

 

After that Sykehouse junction. Nothing there but peace and quiet.

 

Barnby Dun is worth a slight diversion, nice Chinese in the village. VM's are a bit close to the road but not too noisy.

 

Doubling back Thorne would be a good stop. Moor near the lock and walk up Lock Lane turn right at the main road for a decent sized Sainsbury's and lots of shops/pubs.

 

HTH.

[Pete & Helen]

Woodlesford is a good place to stop, with a good pub.

 

Ferrybridge is the pits.

 

Great Heck has a little mooring and a very good pub just up the road The Bay Horse, with its own brewery And Pollington is also good, but the King's Head was for sale the last I heard.

 

Contrary to what Tim says, a pleasant walk across the fields brings you to The Old George at Sykehouse.

 

 

Reasonable mooring outside the pub at Staineforth (Sp?)

 

Thorne is a good mooring, with excellent shops. But the swing bridge is an absolute b*gger.

 

Some of the other swing bridges down to Keadby can be hard.

 

The sliding rail bridge just before Keadby is interesting - you just wait and it's opened for you when there's a gap in the trains.

 

Keadby is awful since the pubs disappeared - one shut down, one burnt down. A couple of basic stores. I usually spent a quiet night by the Medge Hall swing bridge watching the occasional train.

The one at Woodlesford, is that the Two Pointers? Mooring before the lock going east

[tillergirl]

It's worth walking down to the working mens club in Keadby someone will sign you in. Good Fish and Chip shop there too. And if you re there of a weekend and Spider T is there walk round if there's someone there they will let you on board for a look round. Bus into Scunthorpe which will drop you off near the Tesco Extra and other stores at the retail,park on the outskirts of town

[pearley]

Nobody's mentioned our favourite mooring just upstream of the oil terminal at Fleet. It was the lay by for the Water Haigh Colliery. A vast expanse of water and quite peaceful.

 

There are two swing bridges at Thorne, a hand operated one just above the lock and an electric one by the road bridge. We spent a winter at Thorne and found that you sometimes needed to lean on the barriers of the footbridge to make the switches work.

 

Moors Swing Bridge has a timer so if it doesn't return to the shut position within a certain time but will lock out. We waited there for an hour waiting for CRT as we didn't notice the remnants of a car headlamp that was jamming the track. Bridge opened ok but wouldn't close. Great fun turning all the cars back!

[Pete & Helen]

Thanks for the info on moorings guys (and gals) I am assuming that most of this is just canal like with bits of river thrown in for good measure.

[Guest]

Thanks for the info on moorings guys (and gals) I am assuming that most of this is just canal like with bits of river thrown in for good measure.

 

It is basically as described ie a canal but it is very different from the narrow muddy ditches like perhaps you are used to, Everything is 'bigger' for a start particularly the locks which are mostly operated hydraulicly. The lift bridges are big hydraulic operated affairs, different from the twee little things you get on narrow canals. The navigation is much wider and deeper. You can wind the boat just about anywhere, even a 60 footer like we used.

 

Then as you say the navigation is interspersed with river sections, the river sections on that route being in central Leeds itself to Knotstrop Flood Lock and then between Lemonroyd near Woodlesford to the West end of Castleford Cut (Castleford Flood lock) and then from the East end of Castleford cut (Bulholme Lock) to Ferry Bridge Flood Lock.

 

After you pass through Ferry Bridge Flood Lock it's then man made navigation all the way to Keadby.

Edited May 24, 2015 by MJG

[Pete & Helen]

Thanks thats nice to know

[Guest]

Thanks thats nice to know

 

I should have added that although there are river sections they are normally pretty benign unless there has been a lot of rain. Most of the time it's not much different from boating on the man made/canalised sections.

[pearley]

I should have added that although there are river sections they are normally pretty benign unless there has been a lot of rain. Most of the time it's not much different from boating on the man made/canalised sections.

 

Except you can go faster!

[Timleech]

Except you can go faster!

 

AFAIK the speed limit is 6mph throughout, (unless you know otherwise?) though we did pass a plastic cruiser one one of the river sections doing considerably more than that last year (and doing no obvious harm).

 

Tim

[Jim Riley]

I love going on those river sections, the wide open space after the cuts. mind you, some of it from Lemonroyd to castleford is man made, afaik they had to recreate the banks after subsidence and flooding.

[Mac of Cygnet]

I always find the manmade river section between Lemonroyd and Castleford rather spooky and isolated - the original river emptied itself into an opencast mine and flowed backwards for more than a day!

[Guest]

I love going on those river sections, the wide open space after the cuts. mind you, some of it from Lemonroyd to castleford is man made, afaik they had to recreate the banks after subsidence and flooding.

Actually yes good point, although it is a 'river' section a good bit below of the lock at Lemonroyd is indeed man made navigation which joins directly to the river section.

 

Constructed after the breach at S. Aidens which occurred in 1988 near the old Lemonroyd lock.

 

 

© unknown

Edited May 25, 2015 by MJG

[pearley]

If you walk down the riverside path from the weir by Lemonroyd Lock the remains of the original lock can still be seen to the left. The new river section also eliminated Kippax Lock but I'm pretty sure any remains are under the new river.

[Guest]

If you walk down the riverside path from the weir by Lemonroyd Lock the remains of the original lock can still be seen to the left. The new river section also eliminated Kippax Lock but I'm pretty sure any remains are under the new river.

 

Indeed, there are some excellent pics. of the old abandoned lock in this post here, including one of the lock as seen from the navigation before it was abandoned.

 

http://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=43634&p=1086112