GUIDE TO BLACK BROOK

(Barkisland Paper Mills to Elland)

NAME OF RIVER: Black Brook.

WHERE IS IT? Near Elland, Halifax, West Yorkshire. OS sheet 104 Leeds/ Bradford.

PUT-INS/ TAKE-OUTS: Put in Barkisland Paper Mills, Barkisland, Halifax (SE069201).

Take out on the River Calder at Elland (SE100214).

APPROX LENGTH: 4 km.

TIME NEEDED: 1-2 hours.

ACCESS HASSLES: Access situation good, rarely paddled.

WATER LEVEL INDICATORS: Gauge at Elland? Check the water flow under the mill at Barkisland mills.

GRADING: 3+ with weirs sluices.

MAJOR HAZARDS/ FALLS: A narrow beck with trees and victorian dams and weirs! Concrete post river wide in west vale. River borne disease!

GENERAL DESCRIPTION: A tree infested foray into the industrial becks of West Yorkshire!

Don't bring anything bigger than a spud. Fast and not for the faint hearted.

Put in 300 m above Barkisland mills, Barkisland but downstream of the paper re-processing plant.

* rapidly flowing narrow stream at this point leads to Barkisland mills.

* 1.5m weir leads to tunnel under mill! (20m, runnable, check 1st for trees!)

* under road bridge.

* house on left 3 small weirs could be fun in higher water.

* brook leads into mill dam with 2 exit options...

1] Rt 2.5m drop (Picture "sluice right")over sluice into deep water check 1st
2] left 2.5m 3 tier (picture "sluice left 1 2") easier drop into same pool

* next 500m steady drop through mill complex and open farmland - watch for trees.

* 1.75m easy sloped weir watch for trees

* narrow section through (picture "ditch") open farmland - watch for trees.

* Holwell brook from the Right.

* West vale village - short gorge section grade 3-.

* watch for big eddy rt before mill.

* concrete post across river - portage! Left bank.

* Greetland road tunnel run river left.

* Greetland cricket club section grade 1-2

* 200m to rugby club weir - 1m - watch for wheely bins!.

Pictures of the epic first descent, March 2002.

OTHER NOTES:

CONTRIBUTED BY:Andy Craven and Paul (Heffy) Heffernan.