Last Thursday afternoon we received the telephone call from Barry's elder brother Ray we'd been both anticipating, and dreading. Sadly, Barry's mum's life drew to a calm close in the early hours of last Thursday, 24th July, New Zealand time. Her quality of life had been unsettled since the end of 2010 when she became increasingly … Continue reading Saying goodbye to June – an eerie experience
Month: July 2014
Uncovering hidden history in Huddersfield
I'd never really been terribly interested in family history until I lived in New Zealand for nine months in 2001/02. There I became familiar with the term 'whakapapa', and longed to learn more about my own blood-line. "Papa" is anything broad, flat and hard such as a flat rock, a slab or a board. "Whakapapa" … Continue reading Uncovering hidden history in Huddersfield
Friends on board – a few challenges and achievements with the ‘ests’
We welcomed some beautiful people on board during our Hebden Bridge soiree. Friends I grew up with in Sutton Coldfield during the 1960s now live in nearby Todmorden, so it was such a treasure to be able to see them. Because of my visit to Brighton, it was a bit of a squeeze to see … Continue reading Friends on board – a few challenges and achievements with the ‘ests’
A mosaic workshop aboard the crafty snail, aka Crafts Afloat
It became a little complex, our visit to Hebden Bridge, without intention. My daughters and I had tried to find a 'free' weekend to get together in Brighton, and when we booked the first weekend of July I had no idea we'd be in Hebden Bridge at the same time and I'd miss the once-in-a-lifetime … Continue reading A mosaic workshop aboard the crafty snail, aka Crafts Afloat
Hebden Bridge and Heptonstall – avec Le Tour de Yorkshire!
Blogging once again hasn't been the top of my priority list for a few days as we've had some fabulous friends from New Zealand staying with us. My intention is to get up to date over the coming week - Barry's photos are too good not to publish albeit some time after events! Heptonstall We'd been … Continue reading Hebden Bridge and Heptonstall – avec Le Tour de Yorkshire!
Our journey from Littleborough to Hebden through Barry’s eyes – part Three
The final leg of our journey to Hebden Bridge was on Tuesday 1st July, when we travelled the four and a half miles and ten locks from our overnight mooring at Todmorden. Here's Barry's pictorial view of the pleasures of the passage ... We'd read about Hebden Bridge in the 2007 book by Stuart Maconie 'Pies and … Continue reading Our journey from Littleborough to Hebden through Barry’s eyes – part Three
Our journey from Littleborough to Hebden through Barry’s eyes – part two
There's a few more photos on this post - Barry must've seen so much worth keeping for posterity! And so we finish this post in the tantalising town of Todmorden - the county boundary of Lancashire and Yorkshire. If you've never visited this area, we'd recommend you make some time to do so as it's so … Continue reading Our journey from Littleborough to Hebden through Barry’s eyes – part two
So is it a gunnera?
Does anyone know what this plant, that we discovered growing by a lock, is called? The only feedback I've had is from a friend on Facebook who thinks it's a gunnera ...
Our journey from Littleborough to Hebden through Barry’s eyes – part one
As previously promised, I've persuaded Barry to choose a selection of his favourite images taken during our journey along the Rochdale Canal from Littleborough to Hebden Bridge, which we made from 28th June to 1st July. Littleborough to Summit What a talented husband I have. Of course photographers have the skill to make images look … Continue reading Our journey from Littleborough to Hebden through Barry’s eyes – part one
Heavenly Hebden – well worth the extra effort
We finally arrived at our destination of Hebden Bridge on Tuesday 1st July. What a delightful part of Britain it is. Our initial impressions were extremely favourable, especially in the light of all the extra effort of the long and tiring days which we now knew were worthwhile. We'd also seen some terrific sights along … Continue reading Heavenly Hebden – well worth the extra effort
Not on our Tod anymore by Todmorden
On Sunday we moved further up the Rochdale to a place called 'Summit' - oddly enough it's at the summit of the locks! There were still a few hurdles to cross en route, but the scenery was definitely improving. Summit was a fabulous spot for sitting out on the bank and watching the world go … Continue reading Not on our Tod anymore by Todmorden
An unavoidably late start and finish – to avoid ‘Dead Man’s Stretch’!
We realised after last Thursday's fiasco of a day that starting out early on this canal was probably a very good idea. The catch was we weren't able to as we had to wait for a Home Brew Boat supplies delivery. Finally starting out after lunch last Friday (27th June), within minutes we'd managed to … Continue reading An unavoidably late start and finish – to avoid ‘Dead Man’s Stretch’!
Continuing on The Rochdale Canal – Barry gets a bit bruised
On Thursday we set off on what was to turn into a bit of a nightmare trip. Two boats had already left when Patrick knocked on our door around 9am, and we said we'd really appreciate sharing the days' travails with him and Shelley (not that we knew their names at that point, but boy … Continue reading Continuing on The Rochdale Canal – Barry gets a bit bruised