The first week of July seemed to feature almost constant rain, with it landing especially hard at the end of the week, but the weather projection for the Saturday remained as sunny throughout, so despite declaring walking to be an almost certain impossibility on the Friday, I set out on the following morning knowing that Airedale has at least 7 hours of sunshine forecast for it. The crazy summer weather is looking like it will be keeping me alert and on my toes, but I'm gonna enjoy the season regardless of what the weather does!
Saltaire to Skipton, via the Leeds & Liverpool Canal path. 15.9 miles
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| Dowley Gap Aqueduct |
A 9.15am start and Saltaire looks somewhat different devoid of people and under a pudding grey sky, not looking like the industrial idyll it did a week ago. Hope that the greyness doesn't turn the day in ways that hadn't been forecast and set off on the steady Northwest path, soon out into the fields, trains running by on the left, with Saltaire sports club and a frustratingly hard to see Shipley Glen to the right, and beyond Hirst Lock and into the woods above the Aire, and in no time at all the Dowley Gap aqueduct is reached and the canal soars over the river to move to the north side of Airedale. The river is distinctly brown and churning below and one of the local dog walkers observes that 'the aqueduct is leaking a lot more than usual.', well, it is 240 years old, after all, so a little wear and tear is to be expected! Cross over the canal at Bridge 206 as the path moves to the south side, beyond Dowley Gap Two-Rise locks and soon enough Bingley starts to appear, in the form of tower blocks looming up out of the trees. Bingley seem fortunate to have had some very nicely turned out mill conversions and canalside development, but it's odd that the town completely lacks a wharf or marina of any kind. You can also make notes on how the A650 Aire Valley Road was snuck through the middle of town when it was competing for space with the canal, railway, river and town; they cheated and moved the canal. Seems like popular spot too, there are a lot of joggers out here, and then the Damart factory makes its appearance, one of the more entertaining industrial sites in the county, a mix of Italianate and thunderously functional architecture, and then its up alongside Bingley Three-Rise locks, which have lost some of the drama they have when viewed from the Railway, having seen other three-rise locks up close already. Thankfully, there is no drama-loss at Bingley Five-Rise, an engineering feat of considerable standing, one that actually boggles the mind somewhat when considering its age, and an appropriate monument to the ingenuity of the industrial age.
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| Bingley Five-Rise Locks |
The path alongside is is brutal though, a discouragingly steep ascent, but the good news is that it is the last bit of up for the day, and we are now at the start of the 17 mile pound as the Leeds & Liverpool Canal liked to get its ascents in early so upper Airedale could have nice long and level cruise along the contour. That makes for slightly less interesting canal landscape along the way though, but the cloud is breaking up and day warming too, so onward we go towards Crossflatts noting the proximity of Rombalds Moor, and seeing a field full of ducks slowly waddling their way down to the canal by Bridge 199 where a Mum and her boys are throwing quantities of bread to them, it really is quite a comical sight. It looks like Crossflatts residential association is having an open garden day, and it's damned tempting to put down my bag and see if I can snaffle a cup of tea and a piece of cake, but I'm not really cut our for such displays of cheek, so on we go towards Riddlesden. this is not a very interesting walk, only one stone bridge to see (198) and the gas holders of Keighley appear as you work your way north-west, but the town itself remains forever distant, off on the other side of the valley. Stop at Riddlesden for elevenses, and watch the comings and goings at the wharf, and also note a lot of fencing off in place, as well as notices of closure of the canal path for a week's time, and this is because Riddlesden Warehouse no.5 is scheduled to be demolished. It's not the prettiest of buildings, but its sad to see a piece of the industrial landscape vanish in the name of development, especially when one of the other warehouse has been retained and converted. So don't go looking for Warehouse no.5, because it's not there anymore.
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| Lodge Wood |
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| Riddlesden Warehouse no.5 |
Onward for a long stretch into the countryside, away from Keighley, spotting the swing bridges and observing more Heron action as well as Swans and Ducks living the sweet life (ducks really are the most chilled-out of creatures), passing Keighley Golf Course and then finding the canal taking a sudden swerve to follow the contour around Lodge Hill, pretty close to half a circle, which must make for fun times when boating. Fun for the cyclist too, it seems, but as National Route 69 leaves the canal path here, it means that the nice hard surface enjoyed since Leeds is replaced beyond Bridge 194 with a much softer and grassier track. I'd though it would be hard surface all the way, but it looks like I am going to get muddy after all. Squelch onward to Silsden which seems a long time coming as it's quite bit further away from when it was first seen, matters regarding distance are not helped by me not having seen a numbered mile post since Crossflatts. Silsden seems like a pretty leafy place, and it one of those places i know nothing about other than it sharing with Steeton a railway station which has one crazy car parking problem. Dodge the rambling scout parties and note that Silsden seems to be at the heart of the local leisure boating industry, sensibly enough at the middle of the long pound, and there are comings and goings in both directions as I pass through looking for a lunch spot. Park myself on a wall just past the end of town to watch the orienteerers going by on the opposite bank, and look on towards many hills, recognising the west end of Rombalds Moor and looking on towards others to the southwest which I have seen many times but have no other knowledge of.
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| Kildwick |
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| Silsden |
So go on, getting the feeling that I'm going to be following (or being followed by) a pair of boats from here to Skipton as one 14ft Barge and one short narrowboat seem to be puttering along at close to walking pace, regularly stopping to traverse the swing bridges. The river and the previously unnoticed town of Glusburn pass to the south, and the next village is Kildwick, and even though the canal actually swings around the south side of the village, the perspective makes it look like the canal is cutting right through it, like the canal is the high street of a Northern Venice. Then we get another fun swerve in the canal as it goes around Farnhill Hall, perched on its hill and getting sight of the familiar shape of Flasby Fell makes me get the feeling that we must be almost at our destination, Skipton does seem to be a long time coming though. The A629 now rolls up alongside the canal, so feelings of remoteness pass away, and carrying on I spot a small monument by the canalside and at Humblethorp Swing bridge (183) there's a much larger one and an explanatory notice indicating that it is in remembrance of 7 Polish airmen, killed in accident in 1943, a surprisingly moving testament to those who fought Nazism, in the most unlikely of places.
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| The Polish Airmen Memorial |
After watering, the path is regained and it's a straight lie to Skipton now, aside from the long curve along the contour past Low Bradley, and passing the A6131 roundabout meet the bottom tip of Skipton, which is a deceptively long way from the town centre. Pass the Snaygill boatyard and press on as the day starts to feel hot, and resist the temptation to stop at the Bay Horse for a pint, and it's only by accident that I manage to spot the mile post that indicates that is only 99 miles to Liverpool, meaning that I have gotten 28 miles of the canal down beneath my boots. That also explains why it has felt like a long way, that's because it was (and didn't my colleague ST walk that whole distance in a single day a couple of years ago?). Meet the town proper beyond the railway bridge to the lines to Embsay and Rylstone (179B), and it's a boatyard, mill conversions & terraces, then carpark and bus station until you meet the moorings at Belmont Wharf where the crowds of people are to be encountered. I'd want for fish and chips if the day hadn't turned out do warm, and I'm not feeling moved towards a stroll up the Springs branch, and there crowds watching a medieval play of some sort on the north side (or Dobbin from Rentaghost has found himself a good-paying gig?). Spot my day's fellow cruisers both mooring up, and see the only Rastafarian inspired canal boat on Britain's waterways too, it's called "Jammin'" (cue rendition of the Excellent Bob Marley Joke (TM)).
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| Skipton |
Love the mill conversions along here too, a place to aspire to if if it wasn't so far away, and feel like the long walk has come to its end at the rather inauspicious bridge 176, the entrance to Aireville Park and the closest point on the canal to the railway station, it's 4pm and trying to push on to Gargrave to link up to my first Dales walk is clearly not an option. It's the right moment to call time on my longest day on the trail, a healthy 16 miles, and to lament that there isn't a convenient pub at Skipton station. No matter though, it's been an unexpectedly good day, and the rain doesn't come until I'm riding homeward through Bingley.
1,000 Miles Cumulative Total: 237.8 miles
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