Going back home

Here it is Tuesday and I haven't put finger to keyboard for a couple of days, very remiss of me, lazy.
On Sunday we completed our trip into Goole harbour. It was only a short run, so we didn't set off until about 10.00 o'clock.
Out journey took us past the end of the South Yorkshire Navigations, where we normally turn when heading south for the River Trent. At the junction there is a large lake used for sailing boats.

Two little wind jammers out playing

It looks as if they're trying to stop us riff-raff from the canal joining in their fun!

I think he's guarding 'his' rock

 We passed this one remainder of a tar works (whatever that is)

 At one point the canal heads straight for Drax Power Station

On arriving at Goole we found a spot on the visitor moorings. There aren't many of them, so we were lucky. The mooring is right in front of the Waterways Museum, and they were doing a roaring trade with their trips around the dock on a 'Tom Pudding' tug boat.

These boats, an idea by William Bartholomew. Originally, the idea was for up to 6 compartment boats, as was their proper name, to be pushed by the powered boat, but it soon developed into up to 20 compartments being towed by the tug. Some folk said that they looked like a string of black puddings.

We decided to take one of the tours around the harbour on her.

Wheldale, the last of the tugs

 The bridge of 'Wheldale'

And the all important engine

 There are some big boats around here

 Here they are handling bio mass for Drax 

 This is the Tom Pudding lift, which picked up and emptied the compartments full of coal

Goole was constructed solely as a port town. Before the canal was constructed there were only a few cottages here, but it quickly grew.

 The Lowther Hotel is said to be one of the earliest buildings on Goole

 This coal chute holds record for the fastest loading of ship.

It came in, was loaded, and left on the same tide.

 Salt and pepper. The old and new water towers in Goole.

When it was built, the large one was the largest in Europe.

 Some idea of scale, that's a 60 ft. narrowboat.

The man in the gantry crane unloading steel

 EEMS DELTA inching into Ocean Lock

Looks like there's still horse power coming along

We enjoyed our stay in Goole. On Monday we took a walk around to watch a large ship come into Ocean Lock. It's quite a sight watching one of these large beasts maneuvering in the estuary and then creeping carefully into the lock. I have a video of it, but can't edit it properly in time to get it on here.

Monday afternoon we set off heading back home in Leeds, only traveling as far as Whiteley Lock. Today we continued on as far as Woodlesford.

Passing Knottingley I noticed that the boatyard there seems to be doing a roaring trade. It looks as if they are converting several large river commercial craft into living accommodation, as well as 

maintenance on smaller craft.

A workman welding bits onto a narrowboat

We'll be back in Leeds tomorrow morning, dull and dreary again.