Diary The Journey Home

23^rd July 2004

Launch day at last ! together with “Kittle” we make contact with the water. Quite an appropriate day in the end – what a birthday present for John.

We’re still nowhere near being actually finished and we have postponed the holiday which is to be the cruise home from Ledgard Bridge to “Bridgewater Marina” on the Bridgewater Canal, near Worsley.

Betty gently “hits” the water.

Well from that day on Betty became more & more complete, and throughout late August and early September we went for weekend cruises to Elland, Huddersfield and Dewsbury all as shakedown cruises and giving us some essential practice at locks again after nearly 10 years since our previous experience. Worth it yes, but for those who have to “suffer” the Calder & Hebble on a regular basis our sympathies, because now that we are home having encountered more than 100 locks en-route we know just how bad those on the C&H really are.

Moored @ Ledgard Bridge after a weekend cruise, next to Kittle & Bendigo.

16^th September 2004 – Let the journey commence !

About 8.00 in the morning (after collecting the keys off Keith at nearly midnight the night before – ask him what he was doing in the pub!) we finally gathered as a leaving party – John, Pauline and Mike our able crewman who came along for the first three days because he likes locks! and what a worker he was.

John steering, Mike enjoying the tranquillity, somewhere on the first day.

Oh it really is this peaceful.

This first day was a long mad dash down the Calder & Hebble to Castleford, turn left up the Aire & Calder to Leeds. We encountered one ‘orribly large commercial freighter doing a “3 point” turn and then he was off never to be seen again leaving a tidal wave from his prop’. And we thought there was supposed to be a speed limit.

About to pass under the M1 – blissful.

So we’ve finally left the Calder & Hebble, hooray, no more use for that awful handspike and those seized mechanisms and heavy gates. Mike suggested we keep the handspike though as it would be useful for repelling boarders!

The saloon from the bow, the bed settee fits, thanks Keith (gently done unlike another we were told about that really did involve a very big hammer!).