Field Locks - Leeds-Liverpool Canal

It was nice to see a bit of boating activity today on the Leeds-Liverpool canal.  The barge in the picture is just entering Field Locks between Esholt and Thackley.  The old iron bridge in the background once carried a small steam tank engine across the canal, it was part of the nearby Esholt sewage works and last ran, I think, in the early 1970's.

Unsafe Trees?

I went for a bike ride along the Leeds-Liverpool Canal this morning and came across these workmen felling trees on the opposite bank.  We have had quite strong winds this summer which have brought down large branches in the woods and along the canal so it's probably a worthwhile safety measure.

Marina at Apperley Bridge

I went for a bike ride this morning along the Leeds-Liverpool Canal before the rain arrived.  This is the marina at Apperley Bridge, it's on the border between Bradford and Leeds.  I had a small lightweight camera with me, it didn't have a lens wide enough to capture the scene so this is five images merged together.

Leeds-Liverpool Canal at Bingley

Took grandchild number one for a bike ride along the Leeds-Liverpool canal yesterday.  The picture shows the canal just above the Five Rise Locks at Bingley.  The canal once had a link to the centre of Bradford. There was talk of reinstating it at one point, but I don't think there was the money to do it and it never happened.

Drama On The Canal

These young drama students were taking part in a fund raising walk along the Leeds-Liverpool canal on Saturday. I didn't manage to get much in the way of information from the group, the heavens opened as soon as I got my camera out and I had to run for cover.  I believe they were walking all the way to Leeds, quite a distance, especially in the pouring rain.

Five Rise Locks - Bingley

It looks like the cold weather we have been experiencing over the last five or six weeks has finally gone, it has been pleasantly warm here for the last two or three days.  I took the opportunity yesterday to visit the Five Rise Locks on the Leeds/Liverpool canal at Bingley, luckily, there was a boat descending the locks and I was able to get a picture of it leaving the bottom lock.  When I last visited, over the winter period, the lock gates were being replaced and it was possible to walk along the bottom of the drained locks (along with several hundred other people who also turned up for the open day) which was quite an experience.  I believe the gates last around thirty years, so I probably won't be around when they next need replacing.

A Sandwich And A Cup Of Tea

Yesterday was the first time out on the bike this year, just a short ride along the Leeds-Liverpool canal, a sandwich and a cup of tea and then back home again.  The stretch of canal in the picture is just beyond Apperley Bridge in the Leeds direction, and the bike, well that's my 'canal' bike, mudguards, prop stand and a big old fashioned canvas saddlebag.  And what do I need a big old fashioned saddlebag for?  For my big old fashioned flask of tea and sandwiches of course.

Horse-Drawn Boat - Saltaire

This horse-drawn boat was making its way along the Leeds-Liverpool canal at the weekend as part of the Saltaire World Heritage Site celebrations.  The lady in the picture gave a harnessing demonstration and a little talk about the boat and the horse before setting off.  The boat (which you can't see very well in this picture) is known as a fly boat, shorter, lighter and with a more restricted cargo area than the larger boats.  It would have travelled 24 hours a day with the horses being changed at intervals to give a quicker delivery time.

Five Rise Locks - Gate Replacement

The Five Rise Locks on the Leeds-Liverpool canal at Bingley are currently closed to waterway traffic but have been open to the public this weekend. The locks were built in 1774 and are the steepest lock staircase in Britain. Four of the six pairs of lock gates are being replaced as well as repairs to the lock chamber brickwork. I went along yesterday but hadn't expected a queue of several hundred people patiently waiting to descend into the drained locks, an hour or more queueing didn't appeal to me so I came away. I returned this morning at opening time and joined a queue of around a dozen people (more my kind of queue), but when I left around half an hour later the queue had grown to several hundred people again, I had no idea our industrial heritage could be such a crowd puller!

From The Old Iron Bridge

This is the view from an old iron bridge which crosses the Leeds-Liverpool canal just a short distance from Apperley Bridge. I walk in this area quite often and always stop on the bridge for a minute or two. It doesn't seem long since the trees were sprouting green leaves and we had the summer to look forward to, now the leaves are turning brown and we have the winter to look forward to, I don't know what happened to the summer, we just didn't seem to get one!

Leeds-Liverpool Canal - Apperley Bridge

This is the Leeds-Liverpool canal at Apperley Bridge on the outskirts of Bradford. Beyond the canal boat there is a modern marina surrounded by modern housing, probably not the most picturesque section of the canal, but it's only a five minute walk to open countryside in the Leeds direction and in the opposite direction the canal heads for the historic village of Saltaire.

Leeds Liverpool Canal - Dobson Locks

The Leeds-Liverpool canal is the longest canal in the North of England at one hundred and twenty seven miles and has a total of ninety one locks. The first section of the canal was opened in seventeen seventy three but it was another forty six years before the canal was fully completed and the cost was five times the original estimate. This two-rise staircase lock is at Apperley Bridge and was completed in seventeen seventy seven and is now a Grade II listed structure. The boat in the picture is much wider than the usual boats, I think it is referred to as 'wide beam' which limits the canals it can be used on, many of the canals in the UK are much narrower and can only take 'narrowboats'.

Five Rise Locks - Bingley

It's quilte interesting to watch the boats working their way up the Five Rise Locks at Bingley. On this occasion there weren't any boats so I had to look around for something else to photograph. I think this picture looks a bit like one of those Victorian post cards, the white car parked in the lane spoils it a bit, but the scene is probably the same as it was a hundred and fifty years ago.

Aussie Mossie From Down Under

We don't get that many visitors from Australia here in Bradford, and I would say that not many arrive by canal boat either. The unusually named boat belongs to John and Jenny Ellison from Wellington, South Australia who spend six months of the year here in the UK and six months in Australia. John is a big fan of traditional jazz music and the couple are hoping to attend a jazz concert at a Leeds pub tomorrow. The pendant at the back of the boat (I think I've got my facts right here) is from John's boat in Australia, a beautiful replica paddle boat, a lovely picture of the boat is on John's card here in front of me. John did comment on how beautiful the countryside was along this stretch of the canal, which pleased me as I often wonder if local people really appreciate what is on their own doorstep.

Canal Boats - Leeds-Liverpool Canal

There is something about canal boats, chugging along at four miles an hour, it's supposed to be a very relaxing way to take a holiday, I don't know, I've never tried it but it certainly looks relaxing enough. I waited quite a while at this spot on the Leeds-Liverpool Canal for a boat to come along and then two came along at the same time, a bit like waiting for a bus.