From mwickett@decisionsolutions.com Mon May 3 21:40:27 1999 Date: Thu, 23 Apr 1998 09:35:59 +0100 From: Mark Wickett Reply-To: canals@blacksheep.org To: Canals Mailing List Subject: TRIP REPORT: Out and About on the Cut - Day 3 [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] OUT AND ABOUT ON THE CUT - day 3 Recap: Catherine, Richard and myself have made our way from Apperley Bridge to Skipton through millions of swing bridges and a handful of locks - including the eight at Bingley. Tuesday: It started dry this morning and we paid a much-needed visit to the handy supermarkets (Co-op across the footbridge, Tesco the end of the road the other way from the footbridge and a Morrisons can be found by turning left after you climb the steps on the road bridge - next to a Great Mills too for those handy DIY bits you forgot!) We set off late morning, annoying the traffic at another swing bridge that has proved difficult in the past to close (Brewery Swing Bridge - 177) and at the second swing bridge, I got talking to a man out walking his dog who told us about how he still walks to East Marton from Skipton and after seeing "Apperley Bridge" on our boat, what it used to be like when he lived there fifty years ago! Out of Skipton and the houses drifted away to reveal the bleak countryside that was to accompany us to Gargrave that morning. High above the Aire, we could see that the rains had had a significant effect on the water levels - evidence was everywhere of flooding in fields some distance from the river. Gargrave came and went - punctuated by a little conversation with a Silsden Boat - "Drummer Boy" - who ascended the locks very carefully in the now considerable rain shower. "Where are you heading for tonight?" I ventured. "No idea - don't know what's ahead" he replied, before disappearing inside to don his waterproofs. The rain got too much at the top of the Gargrave flight and after a swift maneourve around the trying-to-pull-into-the-side-but-now-drifting-out-across-the-channel hire boat, we pulled in for some well-earned lunch just before the aqueduct. Once the rain had eased to a downpour, we set off once more, our bodies replenished by our lunch and warmed by the stove - though we'd yet to build a really good fire that lasts. Bank Newton loomed ahead of us and we now shared the pretty locks with our German friends on "Mohawk". This flight of locks was the first time "she" had taken the boat into a wide lock - "he" had always done it so far and a hearty exchange of German words was had between them as she banged the boat around. She was very apologetic for knocking us as well as the lock walls but no damage was being done other than making a little more work for touching up the bitumen on the rubbing strakes. Catherine managed to decipher some of the words the couple exchanged but it's best not to repeat too many of them here... boating is so relaxing...? The frustration of the rain was compounded when one of our handcuff keys slipped through Catherine's hands at the top lock. Bank Newton is a pretty flight of locks - especially at the lower end where there is the lock-keeper's cottage (and I remember from a couple of years back, an elderly gentleman appearing from the house about 5pm one evening with the shiniest brass windlass I've ever seen who nimbly helped us on our way). Above the first lock are a couple of houses on the left - which used to be canal workshops. They look amazing places to live though I wouldn't fancy mooring our boat in the short pound). As you ascend Bank Newton, the locks become more secluded, when after leaving the final chamber and hearing the final splash of water as the final gate closes on its partner, you glide past another house - this time hardly acknowledging the canal outside - and under an arched bridge. Lining up your boat with the white paint on the bridge edge, trying to convince yourself that the mark *is* in the centre of the channel, you disappear from the seclusion of a hedged waterway to the open countryside of the Yorkshire Dales. This section of the L&L is beautiful: yes, it's bleak, with only the sheep and crows for company, but with hills in every direction as far as you can see, and the evidence of the human intervention restricted to the dry stone walls and the canal itself, it's a fantastic experience to drift slowly around the tortuous contours of the valley hugging waterway - which provides a disorientating diversion when you can see "another canal" on the other side of the valley just a few hundred yards across from you. You could see the reasoning for the towing rope post at one particular sharp hairpin bend! Soon, we entered a pleasant wooded cutting before it opened out for the haven of East Marton. After stopping for water opposite the farm, the aroma of the country persuaded us to move a little further up beyond the double-arched bridge and just before the towered church partially hidden by the budding trees. Just over five hours cruising (9 miles, 12 locks) meant we had plenty of time to devour our vegetarian shepherd's pie (made from vegetarian shepherds :-)) and to make good progress through our selection of wine: Bulgarian Merlot and South African Chardonnary tonight. A short walk up the hill to check out the Cross Keys pub that had served us extremely well for food on previous occasions but just a couple of pints of Black Sheep to finish the evening before we retired to bed. Tomorrow: New crew members, an out and back trip and a good but disappointing meal Mark Wickett n.b. Ruddy Duck