Horse Drawn Journeys

Trevor Roberts reflects on Horse Drawn Journeys….

I love this image. It evokes so many thoughts. 
I see Sue trying to maintain the heritage and traditions of the Canal. Taking a horse drawn boat along the Leeds – Liverpool canal for the first time in 60 years. The event started in Leeds on a very wet miserable day. The event was unheralded and passed without recognition other than a very small party of hardy volunteers.

I remember my fear of coming to Leeds. I did not know anyone, I was on my own, I did not know the area, I was frightened of working on a river, I did not have an office and I did not have a boat !!!

I remember that the Horse Boat Project introduced a group of young people to the waterways. They contributed over 250 hours of activity which included cutting back saplings to prevent the horse boat snagging, learning about lock operating, learning something of the history and techniques of horse boating, filming the event, walking from Leeds to Bradford over 3 days in order to set the locks and acting as guides at World Heritage day.

This event was documented by local professional filmmakers who used digital media, new technologies and visual arts to capture the journey of a horse drawn boat travelling from Leeds to Saltaire, along the Leeds-Liverpool Canal.

The project resulted in the production of a professionally designed hardback book documenting and responding to the horse drawn journey and the canal environment, containing digital images, artwork and a series of short films on DVD, that was exhibited in the Saltaire Festival.