Down the Aire & Calder Navigation

We are now on a very different sort of waterway. The Aire & Calder was until recently important commercially as it was used to transport large amounts of coal from the mines to the power stations and also to transport gravel and oil. Most of this traffic disappeared with the closure of the mines, the vast majority of the boats are now leisure craft. However the canal width and depth and the locks remain appropriate to large freight barges.

Densie dwarfed by Lemonroyd Lock

These enormous locks were all manned, but now they are configured for private boater usage with electrically operated paddles and gates controlled from panels by the side of the lock. I believe lock keepers assist with commercial barges, but so far we have yet to see either a barge or a lock keeper.

The canal is a river navigation - partially canal and partially canalised river, in this case the Aire. However, when one is on the waterway the difference is not obvious. The waterway is wide and deep, and for the most part tree-lined.

We left Clarence Dock at at 9:25 after refilling with water. After passing through our first Aire&Calder lock just outside Clarence Dock we were able to travel down the canal with the engine roaring as it propelled Densie at the amazing speed of 5.7 mph (as measured by my satnav).

Going under the M1

After stopping for lunch and a quick birdwatch at Woodlesford where the canal towpath overlooks the river, we arrived in Castleford, a busy industrial town, in the afternoon.