High Waters

Nigel, the lock-keeper at Selby, had warned us there would be a spring high tide on Friday but once the tide had started to come in he could let us through the lock.  So on Friday morning a small group of us, including another narrow boater who was also going up the river, stood at the top of the lock peering through the mist waiting for the tide.  We heard it before we saw it; then the tide came roaring in on a small bore.  It broke against the mud-banks and left a series of ever decreasing waves in it's wake.  

The bore breaking against the mud-banks in front of the lock

Once the waves had settled we returned to our boats and Nigel dropped the lock.  On the river we picked up speed and hurtled round the Selby Bridges at 8mph and as we maintained this speed for most of the trip we arrived at Naburn in under 2 hours, a record time for us. 

As I pottered around Naburn Lock with my camera someone told me a balloon was preparing for take off in the field used by a local balloon club.  

The balloon just lifting from the ground

That evening Nic and Gaz, Shaun and Laura, and their families arrived to stay on Naburn Lock Caravan site.  We enjoyed an evening chatting and the next day everyone came on board for a day trip to York.  

Tied up On Kings Staith at York for our day trip

Wandering through the Shambles we were enticed by the sweet buttery aroma from Roly's Fudge Pantry.  Who could resist?  We certainly couldn't.  

The Shambles in York.  The buildings in the centre of the photo are reputed to be close enough for the occupants to shake hands through their top windows.

We also had a look round the Railway Museum.

Stephensons Rocket, a delicate looking engine compared to the enormous diesel locomotives in the museum

On our return to Naburn we enjoyed an excellent evening carvery at The Blacksmiths Arms. At Sunday lunchtime we said our goodbyes but Kev and I stayed on at Naburn until Tuesday morning when we sailed back to York.

On our second visit to the city I had a walk round the craft shops including the Viking Loom which has an interesting array of beads; I was some time making the selection for my pick and mix container.  

That night we had torrential rain but the water level had risen only slightly the next morning.   We decided to change our mode of transport and caught a train to Malton, a small market town, where we had a potter round and did some shopping.  

Back at York we noticed the water level was now rising and decided to sail back to Naburn where there are floating pontoons if we need them.  Initially we stopped on the moorings which are easier for the dogs but by 8 pm Kev though it would be prudent to move onto the pontoons.   The next morning we could see we'd made the right decision; the path at the side of our previous mooring was under a foot of water.

Moorings under water.  The submerged path is between the white hoops which are the top of the emergency ladder and the wall.

There was an advantage to being on the floating pontoon; it was nearer to the road for our deliveries from Coopers coal merchants and ASDA.  The water levels started to drop and Kev came across about 80 lamprey which had been stranded on a concrete slab.   He wasn't very keen to touch them because of their similarity to snakes so I mounted the rescue and tossed them back into the river.

Kev's photo of the stranded lamprey

By Friday tea-time the river level had dropped enough for us to return to the moorings where we stayed for the weekend.    

Our route from Selby to York