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Thornes Cut (Calder and Hebble Navigation)

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Thornes LockThornes Lock at Calder Island. The River Calder has a large loop at this point and Thornes Cut by-passes this to rejoin the river further on upstream. Between the cut and the river is Calder Island - home to car showrooms, a pub, a fish and chip restaurant, a leisure centre and, the other side of the busy Denby Dale Road, the council recycling centre (the tip).

The navigation cut is a pleasant corridor of peace and quiet through this part of Thornes.

 Click to enlargeView upstream of Thornes Lock. By the lock the towpath is Public Right of Way Wakefield 91. The footpath continues along the towpath under Denby Dale Road. Further on, after the river and canal merge, the path continues on the north bank of the River Calder opposite the Calder Wetlands, via Wakefield Footpath 56 and Horbury Footpath 51 to Lupset Pond and Horbury Lagoons.

At the western tip of Calder Island the towing path meets Horbury Footpath 44 (National Cycle Route 69) that runs inbetween the railway line and Wakefield Lagoon.
Sustrans
Click to enlarge

Thornes Lock looking downstream to Wakefield. The River Calder rejoins the navigation at the far end of the lock.
© John S. Sargent 2009.

 Click to enlargeThornes Lock - a narrowboat entering the lock from the direction of Wakefield. The river loops round to the left, the navigation cut and the river meet at the far end of Calder Island.
© John S. Sargent 2009.
Click to enlargeThe loop of the River Calder and the canal cut meet at Thornes Lock. In the distance, the ruins of Sandal Castle on the mound.
© John S. Sargent 2009.		 Click to enlargeThe lock viewed downstream from the towpath near Denby Dale Road Bridge. To the right is Calder Island. © John S. Sargent 2009.

Click to enlargeA narrowboat heading downstream towards Thornes Lock. The lock is a double lock, although only one is now in operation. The lock was doubled circa 1838. The lock still in use was lengthened in the 1880s.
© John S. Sargent 2009.

Click to enlargeDownstream view towards Wakefield.
© John S. Sargent 2009.
Click to enlargeUpstream into Thornes Cutting. The Denby Dale Road bridge is in the background.
© John S. Sargent 2009.		 Click to enlargeView upstream in Thornes Cutting. The council tip is to the left with an industrial estate to the right. Here, it is relatively peaceful.
© John S. Sargent 2009.

Click to enlargeBlack Ash, the refuse from the long vanished Hodgson and Simpson Calder Soap works. The River Calder lies hidden between the canal bank and the refuse heap. Photographed from the navigation tow path.
© John S. Sargent 2009.

For more about Hodgson & Simpson click here.

 Click to enlargeThe ancient Thornes Middle Flood Gates, apparently unused for some time. View upstream.
© John S. Sargent 2009.
Click to enlargePeace and tranquility - the Thornes Cut. The noise of the busy Denby Dale Road and the proximity of the council tip can be forgotten for a while.
© John S. Sargent 2009.		 Click to enlargeThe Thornes Middle Flood Gates, apparently unused for some times. View downstream towards Thornes Lock.
© John S. Sargent 2009.
Click to enlargeA narrowboat at the Thornes Folod Lock where the navigation and the river meet at the western end of Calder Island. View upstream.
© John S. Sargent 2009.		 Click to enlargeClose-up of the Thornes Flood Lock .
© John S. Sargent 2009.
Click to enlargeThornes Flood Lock, looking downstream. © John S. Sargent 2009 Click to enlargeThornes Flood Lock, looking downstream. The navigation cut is on the left, the River Calder on the right. In the middle is Calder Island.
© John S. Sargent 2009
Click to enlargeView from Thornes Flood Lock. In the distance is a row of houses at right angles to Denby Dale Road, and beyond that the mound of the ruins of Sandal Castle.
© John S. Sargent 2009		 Click to enlargeThe view downstream towards Thornes Flood Lock. The small breast-shaped mound on the right is the ruins of Sandal Castle. © John S. Sargent 2009
  Sources include:
Wakefield Canal Trail, John Goodchild, Wakefield Historical Publications, 1985 ISBN 0 901869 22 8.


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