Gargrave.

It’s Monday 22^nd June, the temperature in London 23deg and the sun’s shining.  We’re moored at Riley Green, near Blackburn in Lancashire and the temperature is 12deg and it’s raining.  This seems to have been the story of the summer so far, we’ve had some nice days but more dull than sun. Tomorrow shows an improvement, its forecast to be dry with sunny periods, so we’ve planned a walk which includes a visit to Hoghton Tower, but more of that on another day.

We left Skipton on one of those sunny days following the edge of the Yorkshire Dales National Park for five miles to Gargrave, a picturesque village on the Pennine way split in two by the River Aire.  Iain Macleod (1913-1970) Chancellor of the Exchequer for just three weeks before his untimely death, is buried in the village church. 



Chugging to Gargrave
The hills of the Yorkshire Days National Park in the distance.

The village of Gargrave, taken during our walk on the Pennine Way.

Crossing the River Aire in Gargrave.

We stayed in Gargrave for three days.  On the first day we walked southwards on the Pennine Way in glorious sunshine and on the second day we caught a bus to the village of Malham and then walked to Malham Cove.  Malham is a small village in the Pennines, at the southern base of the Yorkshire Dales.  It's a pretty place, surrounded by dry-stone walls with a stream running through the centre of the village.


 

Malham

Dry-stone wall country surrounding Malham

The walk-in to Malham Cove, which can be seen in the distance.

Malham Cove is a huge curving amphitheatre shaped cliff formation of limestone rock.
The cliff is 250ft high.

Unbeknown to us there was a pair of breeding peregrine falcons on the cliff.  The peregrine is the largest resident falcon and hunts birds in high-speed chases.   The young had f ledged in the previous few days and we were extremely lucky to see parents and young flying around the Cove.  It made our day.

Flo watching the peregrines from the top of Malham Cove.

Lunch stop in Malham

Next Foulridge Tunnel.

Skipton

If there’s one place you should visit when travelling the Leeds & Liverpool Canal it’s Skipton.  A picturesque market town, the ‘gateway to the Dales,’ located amidst gently rolling Pennine hills.

Our mooring in Skipton

We spent three days enjoying its company.  Skipton’s main attraction is its castle, built in 1090; Skipton castle is one of the best preserved medieval castles in England.  Title to the castle was granted to Robert Clifford by Edward 11 in 1310 and it was his descendants who withstood a 3 year siege during the Civil War.

Castle Entrance - The following is displayed on the castle entrance.

The Civil War Siege of 1642-1645.

On 24^th December 1645 this very gateway withstood a remarkable site: the massive gates, which had remained closed against the Roundhead besiegers for three years, were thrown open; and out of the castle through the ranks of the enemy rode Sir John Mallory at the head of his staunch garrison. 

The long siege had failed to take Skipton castle.  It held out for the King until it was the last resisting castle in the North.  In the circumstances wise counsels prevailed, and the parliamentary, (Roundheads) forces agreed to most honourable terms for surrender. 

The Royal garrison marched away down Skipton high street ‘with colours flying, trumpets sounding, drums beating, matches lighted on both ends and bullets in their mouths, every trooper and every foot soldier with three charges of powder’ and was permitted to disperse with safe passage.

Outer Castle Walls

The Tudor Conduit Court with yew tree planted in 1659 by Lady Anne Clifford.

Skipton Town Hall is home to the impressive Craven Museum & Gallery.  The Museum’s exhibition of costumes, life on the Dales, archaeology and memorabilia is better than many museums of larger towns.  We really enjoyed it and were lucky enough to visit when there was a special exhibition of paper cutting art, which we’ve never come across before, we were very impressed.

Market Day in Skipton

The Whiskey Shop

The Whiskey Shop proved interesting for two reasons. Firstly the shop boasted 1200 wines and 900 whiskeys, making it a pleasure to wonder through and secondly a sign on the outside of the building which stated:

Near this place John Wesley preached to the inhabitants of Skipton 26^th June 1764.

Gargrave next.

Keighley. East Riddlesden Hall, Steam Trains and Bronte Country.

Half way to Keighley we reached the famous Bingley Five Rise Locks.  Officially opened in 1774 each lock is connected to the next with no pound in between so the lower gate of one lock forms the upper gate of the next chamber, 5 chambers, 6 gates.  With a gradient of 1 in 5, a rise/fall of 60 feet over a distance of just 320ft they are the steepest lock flight in the UK.

Bingley Five Rise Locks

Bingley Five Rise from the top.  Bacchus is the second in the queue.

We spent 3 days at Keighley, having decided to take a steam train along the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway.  Very close to our mooring, was East Riddlesden Hall,  originally the Hall was the home of a 17th century cloth merchant and later the estate was a hive of farming activity. We spent a pleasant couple of hours there.

East Riddlesden Hall

The Great Barn is one of the most impressive in the north of England.  It is largely unchanged since it was rebuilt in the 17th century.

The Keighley & Worth Valley Railway line opened in 1867 its purpose to provide coal to the local mills. Now it’s a heritage railway and is the only complete preserved standard gauge line anywhere in the world.  Now running heritage steam and diesel trains through what is now known as Bronte Country.

The five stations on the line, including the platform used at Keighley station, still maintain their Edwardian splendour, one of which Oakworth, was the station used in the 1970 film The Railway Children, most famous for the “Daddy, my daddy” scene. The museum has many carriages on display and shows details of all the film and TV programmes they have been used in. End of the line is Haworth, where we spent the day visiting the Bronte parsonage and the village.  No shortage of wonderful cream tea shops.

Oakworth Station

The steam train on our journey to Haworth.

Haworth Station.

Haworth High Street.

Haworth Parsonage. The Bronte's Home.

The Old School Room Haworth.
Patrick Bronte (1777-1861) built this school for the children of Haworth. Charlotte, Bramwell, Emily & Anne all taught here. Site of Charlotte's wedding reception in 1854.

When the Bronte family lived in Haworth this was the druggist's house and shop.  Here Bramwell Bronte purchased the opium which was the indirect cause of his untimely death.

Skipton next.

 

Saltaire

We’d had three excellent days in Leeds and on leaving the plan was to make Apperley Bridge, moor for the night, and then proceed to Saltaire next day.  Perceived wisdom says that when travelling west from Leeds to complete your journey as early as possible, and not to moor before you have reached Apperley Bridge due to a history of unsociable activity in the area .  Although our experience was  fine, possibly due to the time of day and the help two permanent lock-keepers. 

Saltaire was the brainchild of Sir Titus Salt (1803- 1876).  Salt made his fortune in the Bradford textile industry, manufacturing fine woollen fabrics.  Bradford was a grim, grimy town full of disease and dreadful living and working conditions and Salt believed his workforce deserved better and decided to build a new mill on the River Aire on a greenfield site. The mill, known as Salts Mill was the first building to be completed and opened in 1853, it was the biggest factory in the world and employed 3000 workers.  Eventually housing was completed for his entire workforce and the town of Saltaire was born.

Salt Mill straddling the Leeds & Liverpool Canal

Sir Titas Salt

Saltaire church.
Salt also built a town hall, hospital, school and alms houses.

Examples of housing built by Salt.

Next mooring of interest is Keighley, see you then.

Leeds

Leaving Tuel lock meant it would be river all the way to Leeds.  The Calder & Hebble Navigation, with the flow pushing us on, with a width probably six times wider than a canal, and plenty of water under the hull resulted in us travelling at a far greater speed than normal. The C&H took us through Halifax, Dewsbury and Wakefield before reaching Castleford where we turned west onto the Aire & Calder Navigation heading for Leeds only 8 miles away, but now slowing, as the flow was against us.

Entering Wakefield on the Calder & Hebble Navigation.
 

These rivers were canalised in the mid 18C to allow commercial river traffic to support what was then the beginning of the industrial revolution in the UK. These larger craft meant that lock size was considerably larger than canal locks, as can be seen in the next four pictures showing Bacchus at Lemontroyd Lock just short of Leeds.

Leaving the wide Aire & Calder Navigation to enter the Lemontroyd Lock.

 

Flo emptying the lock - note the pressure of water leaving the lock.

 

Bacchus entering the lock.

 

Flo's in charge of the lock operation.

Leeds is a modern city that was born out of the industrial revolution. It stamped its name from the vast mills and warehouses that thrived along the Leeds & Liverpool Canal. Now clothing, printing, brewing and engineering plus a vast array of the arts makes it leading city not only of the north but of the whole of the UK.

We spent three days wondering around and doing the normal tourist things. The Town hall, civic hall, cathedral, city museum and the royal armouries museum, to name just some of what’s on offer.  Oh, and a little shopping.

The Civic Hall



Clarence Dock

In 1777 this robust stone building was constructed as a terminal warehouse for the Leeds & Liverpool canal. Started in 1770, the canal was finally completed in 1816 at a cost if £1,200.000 nearly five times the original estimate.  This lock saw us leave the river for the last time and to join the Leeds & Liverpool Canal as we left Leeds for Saltaire.

 

 

 

Over the Pennines

We reached the Ashton Canal before lunch to discover that the flight of locks was closed due to a lock paddle issue similar to the problem on the Marple flight; the difference here being that the broken paddle needed to be taken to a local workshop for repair and no one would commit to a completion time.  There was already two boats in front of us waiting so we decided to spend the night in a local marina and continue the journey the next day.

Straight down the flight next day, into Manchester and the beginning of the Rochdale Canal.  The Rochdale Canal was not an enjoyable trip. It’s short of water, extremely dirty and full of rubbish  and to complete the journey to the summit, on top of the Pennines to Yorkshire, is the matter of thirty two miles and ninety two locks.

The rubbish in the canal caused us considerable delays as the prop became fouled 6 times and one of the prop blades was damaged resulting in a slight bend to its tip.

This was the sixth fouling, Ken was beginning to feel p***ed off.

It took us 3 days to reach the summit pound.  The bank of our first choice of mooring was covered in bird droppings which clogged up our shoes and was a good foot above the bow, Ken stepped down to secure the rope, lost his footing and fell between the boat and the bank.  Fortunately there was no one else around as he needed to stand on the stern to undress before jumping into the shower.

Bugger!!
 

Guess what? We decided to move to a new mooring by passing through the highest double lock in England and mooring at 601ft above sea level on the summit pound.

Summit Pound Mooring

Highest Double Lock in England

The journey down the Rochdale canal to its junction with the Calder & Hebble River provided stunning views and interesting towns as we passed by Gauxholme, Todmorden, Hebden Bridge, Halifax and Sowerby Bridge. Much more enjoyable than the trip up.

Gauxholme Mooring

Gauxholme Mooring

Todmorden

 

 

Great Wall of Tod



Situated in the town of Todmorden this massive blue brick retaining wall which rises directly from the canal to support the adjoining railway line.  An estimated 4 million bricks were used to create this plain unbuttressed feature.

 

 

Hebden Bridge showing one of the many old mill  chimneys

Hebden Bridge

 

Hebden Bridge another chimney

 

Hebden Bridge on a sunny Saturday

 

Our mooring at Hebden Bridge

 

Basket maker next to our mooring at Hebden Bridge

  Next came the town of Sowerby Bridge with England's deepest canal lock with a rise of 19ft 6ins. Fortunately this lock is manned and all the work is done for us.  Out onto the river Calder and Hebble.

 

Tuel Deep Lock at Sowerby Bridge.
 

 

Onto the Calder and Hebble River
 

 Next Halifax, Dewsbury, Wakefield and then onto Leeds, it's river all the way - see you in Leeds.