Aqueducts of the Inland Waterways: Huddersfield Narrow

Sunday, 4 September 2011

Tame Aqueduct

Tame Aqueduct
Huddersfield Narrow Canal

Just to the west of Stalybridge you come to the last (or first depending on your line of travel) aqueduct on the Huddersfield Narrrow.

Its a precarious iron trough carrying the navigation channel over the River Tame but unusually it has a parallel stone bridge to carry the towpath.

Tame Aqueduct, Stalybridge

Royal George Aqueduct

Royal George Aqueduct
Huddersfield Narrow Canal

Lying just to the west of Uppermill is the Royal George Aqueduct - one which nearly got away.

Royal George Aqueduct

The rain was slipping down but eased off just enough to let me slide down the bank and grab a single photo before the heavens opened again and I had to hastily tuck my camera inside my waterproofs.

Old Sag Aqueduct

Old Sag Aqueduct Dobcross
Huddersfield Narrow Canal

Just to the east of the Dobcross Transhipment Warehouse lies Old Sag Aqueduct which carries the canal over Diggle Brook.

Right from the start this aqueduct suffered and the profile of its arch distorted under the weight of water it carried. Like a weebil, it wobbled but didnt fall down, bending but stabilising itself. When the canal was reopened it was repaired using a new steel liner, but the peculiar sag was left in place.

Old Sag Aqueduct, Dobcross

Colne Aqueduct

Colne Aqueduct
Huddersfield Narrow Canal

Having crossed to the southern side of the River Colne just north of Huddersfield, the canal now switches back to the north side, just above a pretty weir which serves as a swimming hole for the locals.

Colne Aqueduct

River Colne

Paddock Foot Aqueduct

Paddock Foot Aqueduct

Huddersfield Narrow Canal
Update August 2011
2011 saw a return visit to the HNC, this time tackling it from the eastern end. Vegetation growth prevented me getting a better shot of the north side of Paddock Foot, but I did get an image of the south face, complete with a water cascade which is a result of a very leaky adjacent lock chamber.

Paddock Foot Aqueduct Huddersfield

Carries the Hudersfield Narrow Canal over the River Colne and into a lock of the same name, overlooked by a stunning railway viadict on the outskirts of Huddersfield.
Built around 1811 and closed to navigation in 1944, when the canal was abandoned. Reopened in 2001as part of the HNC restoration project.
Is located at the end of an impossibly filthy and shallow pound. Good luck to all who sail along it (the rest of the canal is fab!).

The Captain's own collection

What this site is about:

Most elements of the UK's inland waterways are best appreciated from the water, either in a boat or from the towpath. However, the same can't be said of the many aqueducts without which the inland waterways system couldn't exist.

There is always something amazing about seeing a boat floating across the skyline. This was true when Brindley built the first aqueduct over the Irwell at Barton, and the thousands of tourists that flock to Pontcysyllte each year will probably say the same today.

From a boaters perspective, these impressive structures often appear as little more than an extended narrows, perhaps with a fleeting glimpse along river, road, railway or canal down below.

To see these structures in all their glory you have to leave the safety of your boat and scramble down to some pretty weird vantage points. This site provides a new perspective on these impressive memorials to the work of the canal builders over 200 years ago.

The site is being populated on an ad hoc basis, so don't expect to find an A-Z gazeteer anytime soon!

I can't claim credit for all the photos. Google Images has provided a rich seam of quality material and, where possible, I have credited the originator.

My apologies if I have got any wrong!