Frank’s soundtrack

For the last 12 hours the backgound sound to our moors here at Granary Wharf hasn’t been the faint hum of traffic or the rumble of a train coming into Leeds station. No, Frank has made his prescence felt in the splash and slop, gloop and gurgle of waves around and under the counter, the wind whistling in the roof vents and the creak and groan of mooring ropes and fenders.
So the poor old half-submerged north of England is now taking a battering from gale-force winds. We not seen the rain yet…

The river here has gone down quite a bit, in fact this morning the level marker below River Lock, although twisted out of shape, is just showing amber.
But we’re still not going to moving for a few days…

From Canal and River Trust -

Notice Alert

Aire & Calder Navigation Main Line
Location: Aire & Calder Navigation Leeds to Ferrybridge Flood Lock
Monday 28 December 2015 14:00 until further notice
Type: Advice
Reason: Information

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Update on 29/12/2015:

The original notice and instructions issued on the 28th Dec remain unchanged. This notice will be further updated 31st Dec at 15:30hrs or sooner if required.  

Original message:

Due to extensive damage caused by recent extreme weather conditions all vessels are advised not to travel on the Aire Navigation Calder Navigation between Leeds and Ferrybridge unless instructed by CRT staff.
The towpaths are in places covered with silt and mud extra care is required when using the towpaths.
CRT staff are on site making emergency repairs and assessing the situation. This notice will be updated 29^th Dec at 15:30hrs
You can view this notice and its map online here:https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/notice/6145/aire-and-calder-navigation-leeds-to-ferrybridge-flood-lock
You can find all notices at the url below:https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/notices
 
The height of the river in the early hours of Sunday morning is indicated by the debris left behind in trees and clinging to railings.

Where the towpath surface hasn’t been stripped down to it’s base layer…

…it’s covered in several inches of mud and silt.


The service pontoon didn’t fare as badly as I’d at first thought, only the upstream end has stayed buckled, the rest has dropped back down as the water receded. Thankfully the sanitary station’s plumbing also survived, although there’s no power in the building and the floor is covered by a half-inch layer of mud. 

Lock landing below River Lock, with flood debris decoration…
The river had topped the wall on the left, flooding into the adjacent carpark.
These last four pictures from Monday morning.

With a breach from the canal into the river at Knostrop, south of Leeds, to be repaired, there’s not much chance of our moving till at least next week. The Calder and Hebble and Rochdale Canals have also suffered, the C&H probably being the worst affected, with boats left high and dry on the bank and a road bridge damaged after the water went down. Report in the local newspaper here.
Then there’s the historic Tadcaster Bridge…

The effects of these floods are going to be felt for months.
I think there’s a lot of questions to be answered when Parliament reconvenes in the New Year.

Sorry that video on the previous post doesn't work, I'll try to sort it out. It's here, meanwhile.

Mike, I can't find any trace of a sluice here at Granary Wharf, I guess we must have lost it when the area was redeveloped. But, Carol, the river services still work. Just a shame they're a mile away... A long way with 20kg of poo...
Hi KevinTOO. Yeah, we're fine here. Just getting a bit bored...