From mwickett@decisionsolutions.com Mon May 3 21:40:15 1999 Date: Thu, 23 Apr 1998 08:12:52 +0100 From: Mark Wickett Reply-To: canals@blacksheep.org To: Canals Mailing List Subject: TRIP REPORT: Out and About on the Cut - Day 2 [The following text is in the "iso-8859-1" character set] [Your display is set for the "US-ASCII" character set] [Some characters may be displayed incorrectly] Sorry for the delay between day 1 and 2 - I've been researching the bridge numbers! OUT AND ABOUT ON THE CUT - day 2 Recap: Catherine, Richard and myself left Apperley Bridge on the n.b. "Ruddy Duck" and made our way to Saltaire for the night. Monday: We slipped our lines and our rain-soaked boat glided past the ornate Victorian church at Saltaire to Hirst Lock. An easy start to the day, assisted by a couple swinging the adjacent bridge on the way to work, but there was little opportunity to rest before Dowley Gap's manicured lawns gave way to a noisy Bingley and the prospect of a ninety feet rise before lunch. We met Barry (the Bingley Lock Keeper) cutting his grass in the rain and he reminded us to ensure that the top chamber of the Three Rise was full enough to fill the middle chamber as he'd had two boats ground on the sill over the weekend. The Pearson's "Pennine Waters" guide aptly describes working through Bingley with Barry as reminding you of a "Brian Clough training session at Derby County". Once in the bottom chamber of the Three Rise he disappeared to set the more impressive Five Rise in our favour and we slowly ascended the slopes of the Aire, watched only by a breathless Dipper searching for his breakfast. By the time we entered the bottom lock of the larger staircase, Barry had everything under control. We talked about his boat - a shortened FMC 1922 Josher with a Bolinder that was "only 1 of 2 left working in this country". He told us how he'd spent an entire day preparing her and talking to her after months of inactivity - before waiting for the next morning to start her up. Before long, we'd wished him well and tied up alongside the newly refurbished facilities. Typically, we'd arrived on the only day of the week the cafe was shut but we made good use of the other facilities - though not the showers on this occasion. If Bingley wasn't energetic enough, the numerous swing bridges between the top of the Five Rise and Skipton are enough to keep you occupied for the four hour trip. We easily handled the first few that are electrically controlled (199, 198, 197a and 197) - enjoying the feeling of power as the gates lowered and the traffic patiently waited for the bridge to swing. The three huge canal warehouses at Riddlesden are sadly empty but for some BW storage facilities and an excellent chandlery - Puffer Parts run by Ian Sutherland and his wife. We seem to spend a fortune every time we come here, but a few pounds for a chimney hat was a welcome change! The remainder of the swing bridges were made easier by the leap frogging of us and a Jannel Cruisers hire boat "Mohawk" - crewed by a German couple out on a three week ring from Burton via the Trent, Aire & Calder, L&L, Bridgwater and T&M. They told us that the Trent was "a bit of an experience" in the prelude to the big floods that were to follow later that week and "it was good to be back on an ordinary canal" after the massiveness of the Aire & Calder. Some of the bridges were particularly stiff or difficult to open: bridges 201 (at the top of the three rise - particularly embarrassing when you have an audience) and 188. Bridge 187 just outside of Kildwick seemed to shift only when pushed by a person at each side of the bridge (and it takes a run-up to close it properly); also bridge 182a has a foot pedal release in addition to an handcuff lock that I failed to notice for a few minutes (and of course, the pedal is just out of reach if you're trying to provide sufficient force to swing the bridge so you'll need two people for this). Bridge 190 (I think!) appears to be locked open so no need to get muddy feet for that one! And we discovered that holding bridges open for some people can be rewarding - a couple on the boat "Godswill" threw us a bag of kindling for doing just that! We ended the day at Skipton opposite the Bus Station and admired the glowing sunset as we enjoyed our risotto together with a good bottle of Californian Ruby Cabernet followed swiftly by some bottled Black Sheep ale over a good game of Trivial Pursuit (good because I won!) Tomorrow: Rain, more rain and a downpour for good measure - and "what's that canal over there?" Mark Wickett n.b. Ruddy Duck