Lots of freezing rain to start the day off. The lock keeper came around an hour early. This is fair enough for if you want to go through the two locks to get to the tunnel he had better get the gates unlocked first :-)
The tunnel itself has lights half way down and at this point you discover the reason why you can't see the way out. There is a left hand turn to take you into the lock. Not a hard turn with the tunnel widening at this point. Plenty of room in all three locks. Hooray.
The lock itself is no wider than any of the other locks we have been through but by heck is it deep. Nineteen foot four inches in fact which is why it is the deepest lock in the country. Almost as soon as you get outside the canal seems to be narrower.
The three locks today have raised us up forty feet. Since Castleford a quick check says that we are now 250 foot higher up.
The canal is dug into the side of the hill and has a bank on both sides. Very steep in some places. The bridges along this section do not have the extra wideth tagged on to cope with the car and the ever widening of the road.
Rock formation is very different here to that just a mile away. It has a very blocky nature but without getting the hammer out its hard to say what it is.
After a while we see nb Pyxsis. As I pass I notice that a new use has been found for all those damn tyres that get discarded everywhere. He/she has made a series of steps up to the road above.
In places I feel the boat touching bottom and there is silt thrown up. There wouldn't be that problem with the River Calder as it is running very fast and somewhat higher with the rain we have recently had.
Bramwell Bronte lived around here at one time. A wooden carving has been put up to him on the side of the canal. Sadly that well know moron Carl M was given a pot of yellow paint to play with. He should have been hit round the head with it instead. Might have knocked a bit of sense into his thick skull.
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