RIVER OUSE - 13TH - 20TH
SEPTEMBER 2008
7 Days, 67 Miles, 12 Locks
Day
|
Miles
|
Locks
|
From
|
To
|
1 |
3.5 |
2 |
Ripon Racecourse Marina |
Westwick Lock (Downstream) |
2 |
23.35 |
2 |
Westwick Lock (Downstream) |
York (Lendal Bridge) |
3 |
0 |
0 |
York |
|
4 |
0 |
0 |
York |
|
5 |
11.3 |
0 |
York (Lendal Bridge) |
Naburn - York (Lendal Bridge) |
6 |
23.35 |
2 |
York (Lendal Bridge) |
Westwick Lock (Downstream) |
7 |
5.5 |
6 |
Westwick Lock (Downstream) |
Ripon Terminus - Ripon Marina |
|
67.0 |
12 |
|
|
Saturday 13th September 2008
If we had planned this journey 7 to 10 days earlier
it would have been impossible due to the heavy rains and the fact
that the River Ouse was in flood, particulalry through York and
down to Naburn Locks. We were fortunate that the weather was reasonable
and the river level was falling fast; it was still higher than normal
by the time we reached York, but it was manageable.
The Crew at Ripon Racecourse
Marina
After stocking up with food at Morrisons in Ripon
we were on our way by early afternoon.The
first part of the canal was very rural and overhung with trees,
but soon we passed under Nicholsons Bridge with Ripon Motor Boat
Club (RMBC) marina on your right. Passing under Rentons Bridge we
approached Oxclose Lock, with the River Ure coming in from the left
hand side below the lock.
The tree-lined Ripon Canal
Straight away it is obvious that someone takes
loving care of Oxclose Lock and its environs, as the gardens are well
tended and looked after. The lock gates are equipped with walkways,
but it is necessary to lift a small "door" to enable the
gate to go to the fully open position.
Unique "door"
mechanism
We checked the water level on the River
Ure before descending Oxclose Lock to join the river, and found
the water level to be within the "green" indicator on
the lock wall. Within half a mile we passed Newby Hall (one of England's
renowned Adam style houses) on the left hand side, and then entered
a short cut towards Westwick Lock. By the time we
passed through the lock it was 4-30 p.m. and we had to decide whether
to moor up on the landing stage for the lock, or whether to press
on. It was by now turning into a pleasant evening, and the lock
was very quiet and peaceful. A passing boater told us that the towpath
was very muddy down at Boroughbridge, and that clinched it. We moored
for the night at Westwick Lock.
Moored at Westwick
Sunday 14th September 2008
A sunny day! We left Westwick Lock at 10 a.m. for a leisurely
cruise to York. We soon passed under the two bridges at Boroughbridge
and confirmed for ourselves that the towpath there was indeed very
muddy. A wise choice to have stayed at Westwick Lock the night before.
Passing through Milby Lock we headed for Dunsforth where there are
mooring pontoons on the river, but not a very inspiring place to
moor unless in an emergency. Passing under Aldwark Toll Bridge,
one of the very few bridges over the River Ure in this area, we
approached Swale Nab, where the river changes name to the "River
Ouse".
nb "Derbyshire Poacher"
out of Chesterfield
Watch out for scouts in canoes!
The landing stage at Milby Lock
was very muddy from the floods
At Milby Lock the red barrier pontoons across the river are right
next to the cut, making it impossible to take the wrong route. Not
so at Linton Lock. Here there is a tail of the River Ouse used for
mooring just above the weir, and the entrance to the cut leading
to the lock is quite narrow. Due to two GRP boats buttied-up doing
maintenance in the entrance of the cut we nearly missed it! Not
a place to go near, the Linton weir when it is in flood!
Linton Lock
Linton Weir
The rest of the journey to York was uneventful and
we were soon passing under the Scarborough Rail and Footbridge into
York itself. The best moorings are to be found between the Scarborough
Bridge and the Lendal Bridge, but due to the river being much higher
than normal the mooring platform and mooring rings were under several
inches of mud and water! We were fortunate that there was a space
alongside some steps half way along, and we moored up for the night.
Monday 15th September 2008
No chance of a lie in on Monday morning as we were
awaken by City of York workmen with a big compressor ond water
jet who had turned up early to clean the mud away from the steps
where we were moored. It was either move quickly or irsk being
splattered with mud!
We moved down the river and moored next to Lendal Bridge, although
it was a bit muddy on the landing strip. There are facilities for
boaters next to the bridge but they are not very special.
York is a great place for a short stay. We spent quite a lot of
time in the National Railway Museum, which is really interesting
and not just for anoraks! Then the narrow streets of York, the Minster,
the city walls , Betty's cafe etc etc provide plenty of things to
do.
Boat trips on the river at York
The National Railway Museum
The Yorkshire Wheel
We settle in for a good night's sleep only to be
awaken at 2 a.m. with a small GRP boat called "Filey Lass"
coming upto the moorings with a full scale party going on! The next
day we saw someone coming to retrieve this boat, which appeared
to have been stolen and abandoned, and when we saw the newspaper
billboards that morning we thought that one of the party-goers had
gone over board.
However it turned out to be a person in the nearby "Pitcher
& Piano" pub who had had too much to drink and had fallen
off the pub's balcolny into the river!
Tuesday 16th September 2008
We were ready for off by 10-45 a.m. and decided ot
vcruise down to Naburn Locks, arriving ther just after 12 noon.
The Bishop's Palace, on the way
to Naburn
The full extent of the floods becamne apparent as
we reached Naburn, and the locks were still closed for repair. Although
the water level was not a record, it was close to the highest previously
recorded level.
Naburn Locks
The water level at Naburn in the
floods
We stayed for a while at Naburn Locks and had lunch,
and to our surprise we spotted a seal in the water above the locks!
It seemed likely that it had been chasing fish up the Humber and
had come as far as Naburn. With the locks out of action it had no
way out. We made a quick call to the National Seal Sanctuary in
Gweek, Cornwall, and they agreed to have their local representative
check it out just to make sure that it was not in distress.
"Sid the Seal" at Naburn
Locks
We cruised back to York in the afternoon and moored
up again next to Lendal Bridge for some more sightseeing in York
itself.
Wednesday 17th September 2008
A lazy day wandering around York, with yet another
visit to Betty's formore of their delicious "Yorkshire Fat
Rascals". It is no wonder we are putting on weight.
Remnants of trees carried down
to Lendal Bridge in York
York Minster
Thursday 18th September 2008
We had been hoping for a lie in; after all we had
had compressors going one morning, the late night revelers the next
night...... surely we we in for a quiet time and a much needed lie
in! No such luck. We were awakened by the clanking of steel, rather
like being in the middle of a shipyard as men assembled a steel
pontoon right behind the boat!
Ex-Nato pontoon assembly at the
crack of dawn!
Apparently repairs were to be made to the span of
Clifton Bridge upstream from York, and York was the only place they
could get the pontoon into the water. We set off at 9-30 a.m. and
retraced out steps back towards Ripon, mooring up at Westwick Lock
at 5-40 p.m.
Friday 19th September 2008
We were soon back on the Ripon Canal and decided
to go past Ripon Racecourse Marina and to the terminus of the canal
in Ripon itself.
Ripon Basin
So, the end of another enjoyable week on Tumbarumba.
We overnighted at Ripon Racecouse Marina and headed home the next
day.
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