Tag Archives: canal

Jul 20 2020
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architecture, Daily Post

Watershed

Monday 20th July 2020, 2.15pm (day 3,252)

Watershed, 20/7/20

I went on a walk today along the Rochdale Canal from Littleborough to Walsden. Along that route one passes across the main watershed of northern England, which is marked by this sculpture, and poetry that you may enjoy (although the third and fourth lines are illegible on this reproduction — my apologies).  If I were to have passed water at this spot, random chance would have led to it either bouncing to the left, and thus flowing into the Irish Sea at via the rivers Roch, Irwell and Mersey.  Or, to the right — to flow into the North Sea, via the Calder, Aire and Humber.  A very real line — as the poem says, a “liquid equinox” — but not a visible one, not without this memorial.  Nice touch.

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Oct 19 2019
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Daily Post, Hebden Bridge, Transport

Rain shower at the marina

Friday 18th October 2019, 3.00pm (day 2,976)

Shower at marina, 18/10/19

Yes, I would rather the box was not there. But one can’t have everything. Otherwise this rain/sun combination did catch my eye as I came home early from work — very early, but then again, it is Friday.

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Sep 22 2019
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Daily Post, Flora/Fauna

On the Huddersfield Narrow Canal

Saturday 21st September 2019, 11.00am (day 2,949)

Huddersfield duck, 21/3/19

This canal — and its birdlife — have featured once before, in Slaithwaite. But whereas that’s a fairly rural spot, this picture was taken in the midst of the industry of Huddersfield itself. Still, it delivered a mallard so superbly lit it might have employed a Hollywood lighting director, which graciously posed in the midst of slurping up the nearby vegetation.

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Jun 24 2019
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Daily Post, Transport

Canal Street lock, Manchester

Monday 24th June 2019, 9.05am (day 2,860)

Canal Street lock, 24/6/19

It’s nice to be reminded that the canal that runs through the very centre of Manchester still operates properly, a couple of hundred years after it was first built; and as ever, shots like these also remind me that this is the same canal, the Rochdale Canal, as runs through Hebden Bridge. So this boat could have been chugging through my home town a week or so ago. I imagine a few things about this scene have changed since the 1820s, however.

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May 25 2019
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Daily Post, Hebden Bridge, Transport

On the canal

Friday 24th May 2019, 10.05am (day 2,829)

On the canal, 24/5/19

One of those highly uneventful days when even everyday scenes are hard to come by. Still, the sun shone, and on such a day, drifting along the canal has a certain appeal, whether you’re human and have to use artificial contraptions to do so, or a goose, who can just use what nature provides.

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Feb 14 2019
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Daily Post, Landscape

Clachnaharry sea lock, Caledonian Canal

Thursday 14th February 2019, 2.55pm (day 2,730)

Caledonian canal, 14/2/19

This is Clachnaharry sea lock, the northern end of the Caledonian Canal, completed in 1822 after a mammoth building project that finished years later than planned and way over budget, and so late that one main reason for building it — to protect shipping against Napoleon — had become obsolete years before thanks to Waterloo. Sounds like some modern infrastructure projects we could all name.

I did get another half-decent picture of the Old Town in Edinburgh this morning but having done that yesterday, let’s choose one from further north on the day’s journey. Taken through the window of the train as it left Inverness (which is my excuse for the grainy quality); but that was the way I saw most of the day.

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Dec 11 2018
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Daily Post, Flora/Fauna, Transport

Ducks and barges

Tuesday 11th December 2018, 2.40pm (day 2,665)

Ducks and barges, 11/12/18

The first four-in-a-row for Hebden Bridge since June — the 14th to the 17th June, in fact. Yes, I record these things. I did get a bit further away from home today than on the last two days.

Here, I like the way the red and blue theme is repeated both on the barges and the reflections of the windows in the water. The ducks are a bonus, really.

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Oct 09 2018
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Daily Post, Hebden Bridge, Transport

Towpath repairs

Tuesday 9th October 2018, 9.20am (day 2,602)

Towpath repairs, 9/10/18

One of the hi-vis army does his valuable stuff on the banks of the Rochdale Canal. A beautiful morning today, and a real ‘Indian Summer’ day. Fine by me.

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Aug 31 2018
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Daily Post, Transport

The Bridgwater Canal, Manchester

Friday 31st August 2018, 1.25pm (day 2,563)

Bridgewater Canal, 31/8/18
Manchester’s a big city and I only tend to walk through a narrowly-defined part of it when following the usual beat. Got off this track today however, and here I am on the banks of the Bridgewater Canal, built in 1761 and generally reckoned to be Britain’s first canal in the modern sense. A roaring success economically. And still operational — not long after I took this shot of the reflections under the bridge (not dating since 1761…) a barge chugged past. It’s a peaceful spot.

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Apr 12 2018
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Daily Post, Urban scene

In Amsterdam

Wednesday 11th April 2018, 1.05pm (day 2,421)

Canal bridge, 11/4/18

The story of how I ended up spending this afternoon in Amsterdam is a long one, and to spare you the details I will say only, ask Air France (more specifically their trade union). But I guess there are worse places to be laid over for a few hours, particularly when it was a pleasant, sunny day. Ample excuse to feature it on the blog for the first time since January 2012, thus, 6.3 years ago more or less. Time I came back here for a proper visit.

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