Bingley to Foulridge ish

 Eventually we reached the top of the Bingley Three Rise. Over in the background is a Co-op if you need topping up with wine.

  

Side paddles have either winders or a lifting beam.  The lifting beam is bit of a terror to use.

While waiting for the locky to turn up a hire boat arrives so we share a lock or five.

 Its a another 60 feet that we have risen up plus the 30 feet at the three rise.

 

At the top of the rise are some visitor moorings which we shall use tonight.

 

  With all the facilities at the top of the rise we stop for the night and use the showers.  Not one of the best but warm enough for a change. Nice view back down to the town.

 Underway next day with views over the valley

 and we soon pass the home of Puffer Parts.  We called in but didn't have the bits and pieces we were after. Cant win them all.

 The first of today's swing bridges.  They really are a damn pain.  I would hate to try and travel here on my own.  The moorings for the bridges are almost always on the wrong side with no means of mooring on the side you need to be on to operate the bridge.

 A lovely day with gentle hills to one side and woods on the other

 Long views over the valley.

 The canal wanders with loads of sharp turns so that the same view remains for ages. Somewhere out there is Silsden town.

 The start of Silsden. New houses everywhere.

 Stopped at Silsden boats and picked up a gas bottle.  Lee went off to see what shops had to offer and I pulled in to put the kettle on.

 Back out in the country.  Views down to places we have already passed

 and views ahead for miles

 Kildwick is in the distance.

 Some bridges its impossible to get to as a singleton with boats moored right up to the bridge.

 Through Kildwick with the village right up to the canal

 Out of the village and it must be quite lovely round here in the summer months.

 lots of woods

 The view astern

 Moored up in Skipton.  Good moorings and quiet.  Only minutes from the centre of town. Plenty going on including

 a Beer Festival which was held by sheer coincidnece on the day we arrived and the rest of the weekend. Over 60 beers on tap along with a cafe serving four different sorts of pies and peas.

 The main room held the wine and cider stalls.  It seems to have been a great success.

 The next day we go to the other side of the canal to top up with water

 A little further on and the arm going of to the right.  No turning up there for me so we carry on.  The water bus dropping off its passengers.

 The Ice Cream Tug.

 Looking back to the arm going off to the left.

 Bum.  First swing bridge and its broken.  The barriers are down but wedges under the bridge are stuck.  Three boats on either side waiting to get through and CRT on their way.

 Somewhere to moor for the night.

 The view out of the galley window.

 We cant quite get into the side

 The wind has got up and the boat weaves about a bit as we go along

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 Its getting flat up near the top of the canal

 Ahead too the view is similar.

 Off wandering in Gargrave.  A lovely village a plenty of walks roundabouts.

 Must be a story behind these windows.

 The River Aire as it goes through the village.

 Another day and we stayed in Gargrave a couple of days due to the wind.  Its still blowing a bit. Hire boats going passed flat out.  Told them to slow down and and I am told how are they supposed to know how fast to go.  Pity they find it difficult to read the booklets.

 The top of the final locks lifting us up the Pennines

The last part of the trip has been very windy and windy. Extremely sharp bends several of almost 180 degrees.  The double bridge at East Marton is rather unusual.

 East Marton church and next to it loads of humps and bumps in the fields that look like the remains of the old village.

Finally the view from the bows.  We have moored up for the night at Barnoldswick.

Arrived at Bingley Five Rise

A problem that we have have is the very iffy signal that allows the mobile to get onto the internet.  It is ok out of the boat but inside can be nonexistant.

 Lemonroyd lock.  Apart from the Marina this is also the site of the oil refinery that the tankers that are seen coming this way end up at.

Moored up and across the canal we could see this.  Very unusual shape.  It turns  out to be a generator unit.  The unit is anchored in the flow near a weir (I think) and wired up and off it goes.

The turbines are attached to the paddles you can see here.

Heading up stream past the refinery.

The lock is manned.  Hooray. Sadly the reason its manned is because there are hydraulic problems with the top gates. While I go through maintenance check out the system.

Concrete Bridge and the motorway ahead.

First boats for a while.  The river is quiet but maybe its because Spring is still light years away.

Coming up to the outskirts of Leeds.

 The Royal Armoury is just around the corner

 Through the bridge into the dock

Moored up in Clarence Dock right next to the Armoury. Not a lot of room and I bet it will be crowded come the summer months.

Plenty of things to look at inside and its free.

The mooring from the bridge over the entrance to the dock.  As you can see its pretty full already.

The view up into the large tower with stairs going around it and further views out over Leeds as you go up

Cromwell's horseman

and something from India.

Down into the heart of the Armoury.  Cafe and picnic spots on several floors.

From the tower and down to the lock

and over the middle of Leeds.

We spent one night at Granary Wharf which is right next to Leeds railway station.  Very quiet and minutes from the centre.  Visit the market and see the Victorian ironwork.

Out of the city and its back to countryside and Kirklees Abbey over the otherside of the river.

Multiple locks and I must say that I have never seen a towpath being so busy.  If only CRT could charge a penny for each user their money problems would be over. :-) There was hardly a moment without someone in sight who was walking, biking or running.

Still on the outskirts of Leeds and the number of flats that are here is enormous and they are almost all new.

Plenty of wooded areas

and more multiple locks.

The problem now are the number of swing bridges.  You do not want to try to travel far on the Leeds Liverpool if you are on your own.  With very few exceptions every mooring for the bridge is on the wrong side and there is absolutely no provision to get off of the side you need to be on to operate the bridge. No doubt it can be done but it would be such a faff and there are so many of them.

The view from the galley window  on mooring up for the night.

Quickly snapped this near Shipley.  Bit different isn't it.

A lovely day and its nice open countryside.

but it does get a little crowded in places.

 The flowers on the bows got themselves well watered as we go through the lock as the gates are leaking a bit.

More multiple locks and a number of them have brand new gates on them.

A multiple three in readiness  for the Bingleys

Views across country appearing through the hedges

Industrial buildings turning up.

The reason being that this is Saltaire.   Nice to see the buildings in such good nick.

Moorings all the way along here and icecream being sold just after it.

Stopped for the night just short of a multiple lock. Lots of work been done along here.

Barges being unloaded of spoil.

The end of the aqueduct has work going on and  the towpath is closed and routed around it.

The double lock just a few hundred yards short of the Bingley Three rise. A mooring just before it is very handy.

Coming up to Bingley

Stopped for a while at the Three as the lock gates at the top are locked and unmanned.  Rang up CRT and aomeone is on the way.

Underway and looking back down the flight. These take us up 30 foot

Past the blue cabin can be seen the Five rise.