Tuesday 30 June 2015

Day 2: Tuesday 30 June.

Shipley to Keighley. ~8 Miles.

We left our hotel, the IBIS in Shipley, around 9:40am. The hotel is right beside the canal.

The first slide shows Shiel, on the canal, near the hotel, turning to see what was holding me up. I was taking the first photograph of what was to become a warm, bright and sunny day.

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The next slide, taken looking east along the canal, on passing through Shipley, gives a bit of an idea of what it was like in the mid 20th century, when lots of chimney stacks reached up into the sky, in those days belching out thick, black, smoke. 
The clear reflections in the canal show how little wind was blowing today.
The next picture was taken as we approached Salt's Mill, in Saltaire, a World Heritage site and well worth a visit. Google "Titus Salt" to read up about it. 

The  sculpture, in the RHS foreground is one of 13 in a series laid out beside the river Aire. They are the result of a collaboration between a sculptor, Mick Kirby Geddes, and local schoolchildren. The one shown is of a slug snd saltpot.
We next came across the smartest fisherman we have seen to date
and a little further along, a comparatively rare form of transport on the towpath, a gentleman on a mobility scooter.
A little futher along the canal was channeled into an aquaduct to pass over the river Aire 
and we made a slight detour from the canal towpath to obtain the side view of the aquaduct shown below.
The main feature of the canal today was the Five Rise Locks at Bingley. 
We paused for tea and cakes at a cafe adjacent to the locks. It was there we  ate our first "Yorkshire Scallywag."
We have seen many geese, duck and swans along the towpath but today we saw our first heron. It had just caught a fish.
The final 3 photographs were taken as we were approaching our stop for the night, Keighley.

Friday 26 June 2015

Day 1: Saturday 28 June.

Leeds to Shipley:

We left our hotel near the central station just after 9 am and within 5 minutes we reached the canal towpath. It was a sunny day, no need for a waterproof jacket or even a sweater.

The area beside the canal had a very rural feel, even in the centre of Leeds, and the atmosphere was one of leisure time pursuits and recreation rather than that of an industrial transport corridor. Times have changed! 

It was very busy with many of people out and about. Lots of joggers and cyclists and families out for day walks. We even met a chap on a mobility scooter.

The canal 'furniture' was ineresting and varied. Single locks and locks in flights. Lots of different types of bridge, even swing bridges, something I wasn't expecting.

It is strange walking beside a canal. Most of the walk is flat, very flat. There are only occasional uphill sections, beside the locks.

About halfway through our trip we stopped at a nice little cafe at Rodley, right beside the canal. We ordered two Yorkshire cream teas. It's not easy to find clotted cream in NZ, so cream teas are a bit of a novelty for us.

Our progress was pretty slow, we were averaging only about 2mph!  We arrived at Shipley just before 4pm.

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Our first lock of the day. Office Lock.
Rural aspect, even near Leeds.
Sadly the canal signage was invariably obliterated by graffiti, especially near Leeds. Things did improve further along towards Shipley.
Lots of cyclists use canal towpath. It is a major cross country route.
Our first fisherman of the day.

Lots of bridges, of all shapes and sizes, along the route.
Quite a few swing bridges also!
Lots of very attractive house locations beside the cannal..
We even passed a wedding party!
A flight of locks and a bit of a climb.
Back to a more urban aspect approaching Shipley.

Day 0: Friday 26 June.

This morning we headed East, from our hotel near the railway station, to find the start of the Leeds and Liverpool canal. The receptionist said we would find it down behind the Corn Exchange. We did find a canal, but it was the Aire and Calder Navigation.The picture below shows the last lock on that canal. The building on the right is the Royal Armouries Museum 

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In front of and to the right of the museum lies the Clarence Dock, shown in the picture below.

We were not quite sure where the Aire & Calder Navigation ended and the Leeds to Liverpool started    so we just followed the canal to the West.

The bridge in the background is Crown Point Bridge and it has a poignant memorial to a homeless woman beneath the bridge, facing the towpath. I've shown it below. 
The area beside the canal has undergone a major redevelopment recently and even sightseeing boats now operate on the canal.
There are smart new office blocks and central city flats boardering the canal..

The first lock on the Leeds to Liverpool canal is River Lock, its sign is shown below.
and this is a photograph of the actual lock.
The Leeds Basin separates River Lock from Office Lock. Office Lock is the second lock on the canal, and the place from where we will continue our walk  from tomorrow.
Leeds Basin.
Office Lock.
The Canal Office, shown above, is situated on a road bridge over the canal, that separates Office Lock from the Leeds Basin.
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IN MEMORIAM

The final picture below was taken in Leeds City Square. Two of the eight nymphs surrounding the square can be seen in the photograph. These statues were favourItes of my uncle Stanley.

Stanley, sadly now deceased, lived in Harehills, a suburb of Leeds. This picture is to thank  him for the many weekends he and auntie Edie came to Heckmondwike to take us out in their van. We didn't own a car.