Post by naughtyfox on Apr 3, 2018 16:27:04 GMT
Last Wednesday Finnair came up with a reasonably-priced return Helsinki to Manchester with good departure times, and I grabbed it. I had four days free at Easter. And I had six boxes of books to take to my daughter in Helsinki. So, after work, and after washing my bus, on Thursday, I set off for the 500 kilometre journey South by car. With the roads being in the condition they are, snowy and icy, I decided to stick to the big roads, from Kannus to Toholampi and Kaustinen, Evijärvi and Lappajärvi. From Lappajärvi there is only one road south to Kuortane - I have driven this before and know the bends are to be respected and was happily driving at 60km/t (t= tunti = hour) (40mph) and thinking how wise I was to be taking it slowly. There began to appear patches of ice and snow. After the series of bends the road is straighter, but then on a gentle curve I encountered a long stretch of glacier-ice with grooves in it and the car swung left, then right, then spun right around anti-clockwise and I thought I was going to end up alongside the snow bank beside the ditch - but, no! I plunged through and had snow and ice showered over the windscreen like a starburst and ended up at 45 degrees, back left wheel up in the air. My first time ever 'in the ditch'.
Luckily a woman driving her car coming the other way stopped and knew the man whose farm was just 100m back, and drove me there. She said he had loads of heavy machinery. We couldn't find him so she drove me past my car to the neighbouring farm, just another 100 metres south - as she hit the ice her car too swung round, as mine had, and I thought she might hit mine and shove it further down into the ditch! She said this was a particularly bad stretch, and she said she had seen that I was driving slowly. The neighbouring farm lady phoned to the first farm and the man was at home, we went back and he pulled a giant tractor out of the barn and went to pull me out of the ditch. Back at his yard we inspected the car and it seemed undamaged, apart from a plastic under-sill protector which had come off (and I had chucked in the car) - and the front plastic grill was pushed in a bit. After phoning the insurance company, just in case there was damage that was unseen, I carried on towards Helsinki, sleeping in the car at a gas station to the south of Hämeenlinna for 4 hours.
Up again 0530 and at my daughter's by 0715, and she and her two daughters (ages 3 and 7) came with me, via a shopping centre, to the airport for my 1605 plane to Manchester. They went back by train, and I had 4 trains to catch - first to Huddersfield (via the Standedge tunnel - saw the Huddersfield Narrow Canal and its tunnel entrance from the train window), then to Mirfield, then to Halifax via Brighouse, and the 4th train to Sowerby Bridge. I got to the boat at 2050. First jobs were stove on, 240v cable connect to shore, and gas on. And then to turn on the 'intelligent' battery charger to top them up overnight. Minestrone soup and ZZZzzz......
Saturday morning first job to Tesco's to get six 5-litre water containers; 2 for drinking, from the other four I poured the water away so they were lighter to carry back to the boat. These are for when we change the engine coolant this Summer, containers to store the old coolant/antifreeze mix in. Next job was breakfast at Wetherspoons, 5 minutes' walk, and a very nice breakfast it was in a quiet 'Spoons. And then off to Halifax, via the motorhome dealer in Copley - I wanted some 12v bulbs for some lights we had won from Ebay.
My first time 'in the ditch' - was doing about 30mph, would have been different at 50mph I guess. Luckily no damage or injury ( - sorry, everyone!)
Daffodils from the kitchen window.
Sowerby Bridge Wharf.
Copley Viaduct - the railway from Sowerby Bridge (to the right) crosses the Calder & Hebble Navigation to get to Halifax (to the left).
Copley Viaduct crossing the River Calder, the Calder and Hebble Navigation and Wakefield Road. c1851. For the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Company. Snecked rock-faced sandstone. 23 arches in all on tall piers: 15 semicircular, with rock- faced voussoirs brought to course and 4 at each end, wider, segmental, with similar voussoris in Ashlar. Easternmost arch over Wakefield Road considerably flatter. Plain band at impost and cornice level with parapet above. Mostly in the parish of Halifax. The Sowerby bridge to Halifax Branch line was opened 1 January 1852. 
Stopped here by Copley Lane bridge, where I walked the 5 minutes to Richard Baldwin Motorhomes and ended buying three 12v lamps instead of just 12v bulbs.
View from my table at the Brewer's Fare pub/restaurant at the end of the Halifax Arm. Smoke coming out of the chimney. Scampi and chips and peas, and a pint of Black Sheep.
An hour's run back to our parking spot in Sowerby Bridge. Off to Tesco's for some vegetable Spring rolls.
