Category: Canals

Monochrome Monday… Rainbow Bridge, Shardlow

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Rainbow Bridge, Shardlow, June 2018Rainbow Bridge, Shardlow, June 2018
Nikon FE2, Tamron Adaptall-2 35-70mm f/3.5 at 35mm – 1/250s, f8, – Lomo Lady Grey 400 rated at ISO 320

A couple of boats at Dobson’s Boatyard on the Trent & Mersey Canal at Shardlow… Taken during a recent ‘Photography Friday’ jaunt and the first outing for a charity shop find Tamron Adaptall-2 35-70mm f/3.5 lens… a bargain at a fiver!

Scan by AgLab with minimal cropping and tweaking in Lightroom Classic CC.

Photography Friday… The Chesterfield Canal

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57ft narrow boat 'Little Mester'57ft narrow boat ‘Little Mester’
Fujifilm X-T1, Fujinon XF 18-135mm f3.5~5.6 R LM OIS WR at 39mm, 1/80s, f11, ISO 1000

Today’s excursion took Rachel and I ‘gongoozling’ again, this time along the restored section of the Chesterfield Canal near Shireoaks in Nottinghamshire.

Turnerwood Bottom Lock No.37Turnerwood Bottom Lock No.37
Fujifilm X-T1, Fujinon XF 18-135mm f3.5~5.6 R LM OIS WR at 23mm, 1/110s, f11, ISO 400

The towpath can be followed all the way from Chesterfield to the point at which the canal meets the River Trent at West Stockwith, taking in some very peaceful countryside along the way…

Swans at Browns Lock No.32Swans at Browns Lock No.32
Fujifilm X-T1, Fujinon XF 18-135mm f3.5~5.6 R LM OIS WR at 46mm, 1/200s, f11, ISO 400

We only saw a couple of boats but at the moment the canal comes to an abrupt end at the eastern portal of the 2,884 yard long Norwood Tunnel near Kiveton Park but the Chesterfield Canal Trust have plans to restore the remaining nine miles to Staveley near Chesterfield.

Single frame… Large White butterfly

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Large White butterfly (Pieris brassicae)Large White butterfly (Pieris brassicae)
Fujifilm X-T1, Fujinon XF 18-135mm f3.5~5.6 R LM OIS WR at 135mm, 1/200s, f8, ISO 200

A much shorter ‘Photography Friday’ today with far fewer pictures taken.

This Large White butterfly (Pieris brassicae) rested briefly on the Great Willowherb (Epilobium hirsutum) growing beside the Chesterfield Canal at Tapton Lock Visitor Centre.

The shot is massively cropped from the original… I was doing my best to not fall in the canal!

Photography Friday… a trip to Wales

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Today’s ‘Photography Friday’ trip took us off to Wales… specifically to the Llangollen Railway and Pontcysyllte Aqueduct.

Llangollen lies on the River Dee in Denbighshire and plays host to the International Musical Eisteddfod, an event that we completely failed to realise was taking place this week and the town was packed with visitors (and performers) from all over the world!

The River Dee at LlangollenThe River Dee at Llangollen
Fujifilm X-T1, Fujinon XF 18-135mm f3.5~5.6 R LM OIS WR at 18mm, 1/240s, f11, ISO 400

After grabbing a bite to eat we boarded the first train to Corwen and I was surprised to find (given the recent dry weather and potential fire risk posed by a steam engine in such conditions), Great Western Railway (GWR) 5101 class ‘large prairie’ 2-6-2T No.5199 in charge of the five coach train.

Sadly (for some, not me, I like diesel locos too…) the return trip was handled by British Railways (BR) class 26 diesel-electric D5310 and No.5199 was returned to the engine shed.

GWR 'large prairie' 5199 pauses at CarrogGWR ‘large prairie’ 5199 pauses at Carrog Station
Fujifilm X-T1, Fujinon XF 18-135mm f3.5~5.6 R LM OIS WR at 32mm, 1/80s, f9, ISO 400

Following a delicious pub lunch overlooking the river at The Cornmill we headed off to see the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, a stunning structure that carries the Llangollen Canal (originally the Ellesmere Canal) over the River Dee at a height of 126ft!

Pontcysyllte AqueductPontcysyllte Aqueduct
Fujifilm X-T1, Fujinon XF 18-135mm f3.5~5.6 R LM OIS WR at 26mm, 1/250s, f8, ISO 400

Completed in 1805 at a cost of £47,000 the aqueduct is a Grade I listed building and a World Heritage Site and still carries boats from the village of Froncysyllte to the canal basin at Trevor. The towpath is open to walkers but a head for heights is definitely recommended!

Photography Friday… Shardlow

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The Trent & Mersey Canal, ShardlowThe Trent & Mersey Canal, Shardlow
Nikon D5500, AF-S Nikkor 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 G II at 30mm, 1/160s, f11, ISO 125

In recent weeks Fridays have become ‘Photography Fridays’ with myself and my camera finding friend Rachel taking ourselves off out for the day with far more photographic equipment in tow than is sensible…

Today we ended up in Shardlow in Derbyshire, a village on both the River Trent and the Trent & Mersey Canal, and spent the day snapping and ‘Gongoozling’ (and managed a pub lunch!)

These shots are pretty much as they came out of the camera (my wife’s Nikon D5500) but I also managed to get through a roll of film in my Nikon FE2. Rachel was also shooting film (a new thing for her) and somehow (on such a glorious day, with such a colourful subject) we both managed to have black & white film loaded!

Narrow boats, The Wharf, ShardlowNarrow boats, The Wharf, Shardlow
Nikon D5500, AF-S Nikkor 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 G II at 26mm, 1/200s, f11, ISO 125

Monochrome Monday… Trent Lock

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Barges on the Cranfleet Canal, February 2018Barges on the Cranfleet Canal, February 2018
Nikon FE2, Nikkor 35mm f/2 – 1/125s, f8, – Lomo Lady Grey 400 rated at ISO 320

Trent Lock is a major canal navigation junction on the borders of Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire, south of Long Eaton. Here the 11½ mile Erewash Canal from Langle Mill and the River Soar meet the River Trent. The Cranfleet Canal (or ‘Cut’) allows boats to access the Trent heading downstream/east (avoiding a weir) and boats heading upstream/west soon arrive at the beginning of the Trent & Mersey Canal at Derwent Mouth, the point at which the River Derwent flows into the Trent.

Trinity, Erewash Canal, February 2018Trinity, Erewash Canal, February 2018
Nikon FE2, Nikkor 35mm f/2 – 1/125s, f8, – Lomo Lady Grey 400 rated at ISO 320

The area is still home to a couple of boatyards and a dry dock facility is available on the Erewash Canal immediately north of lock no.60 (the last lock before the River Trent). Visitors can also enjoy the Lock House Tea Rooms and the Trent Lock and Steamboat Inn public houses… (the food and beer in the latter being particularly good!)

Erewash Canal, February 2018Erewash Canal, February 2018
Nikon FE2, Nikkor 35mm f/2 – 1/125s, f8, – Lomo Lady Grey 400 rated at ISO 320

Scans by AgLab with minimal cropping and tweaking in Lightroom Classic CC.

Single frame… Canal Cottage

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Canal Cottage, February 2018Canal Cottage, February 2018
Canon Sure Shot Sleek, – Kentmere 400

This cottage stands beside the Cromford Canal in Derbyshire, at the point where the ‘Nightingale Arm’ meets the main canal. Built by Florence Nightingale’s uncle the arm served a lead smelter at the village of Lea Bridge. Known as ‘Aqueduct Cottage’ (due to the proximity of the Leawood Aqueduct over the River Derwent) it was originally home to the Nightingale Arm’s lengthsman (the worker responsible for the maintenance and repair of a section of canal).

Another shot from my first roll of Kentmere 400 film, one of three that was a Christmas present from my wife, the Canon Sure Shot Sleek was yet another charity shop find.

Scan by AgLab with minimal cropping and tweaking in Lightroom Classic CC.