Action on the river

There was a fabulous sky when I was walking by the river.  It was good to see the rowers back in action too, though I was amused to see that this guy (apparently a novice) managed to fall in seconds after I took the shot! He was in the process of turning to return to the bank and I guess there is quite a current right there just in front of the weir. He obviously didn't take it into account! The river at that point doesn't seem too deep so he managed to swim or wade to the bank pulling the boat. Meanwhile various people rushed from the boathouse with ropes in case he needed help. I tried not to laugh.

Banana boat?

I've passed this vibrant yellow barge a few times, as it is usually moored at Shipley Wharf. I've mentally christened it 'the banana boat'! I believe it belongs to a charity, the JAMES Project (Joint Activities and Motor Education Service) which works with disadvantaged and 'at risk' young people to provide: 'an effective, caring and understanding environment where young people and families can overcome disadvantage and lack of provision to achieve their full potential in life through the enthusiastic delivery of relevant education, training and leisure opportunities.' Good stuff. They have workshops in several places and their marine division is based here in Shipley. 

Such bright colours made for equally cheerful reflections. 

Gearing up to go

After months of lying idle, the Saltaire Trip Boat has restarted its short cruises along the canal. The owner was hard at work washing down paintwork and generally making ready when I passed by one day. For the fairly minor sum of £4 (not much more than the price of a coffee, these days) you can relax and study the grandeur of Saltaire's mills and church from the comfort of the little narrowboat. (The bow end of the boat is open-sided so a ride can be enjoyed safely in the open air.) I keep meaning to sample the trip one day and have never yet done so. Perhaps this is the year to do it. Self-employed entrepreneurs depending largely on tourism must have been very badly hit by the Covid lockdown. It may be a while before tourists return too, so we locals should probably offer our support. Apart from the cars on the bridge, it struck me what a timeless scene this was. A sepia treatment seemed appropriate.

HB details

A few details that caught my eye during my wanderings around Hebden Bridge. The clock was installed on St George's Street to mark the Millennium in 2000. It has rings of orbiting planets that move around the clock face.

I spotted a round arched window in a building that I think is known as Machpelah House.

Who wouldn't like a turquoise door surrounded by pink rambling roses?

The prow of a canal boat moored on the Rochdale Canal.

Detail of another narrowboat - with daisies on the canal bank.

And another pink rose. I liked the delicacy of the flower against the gritty stone of the gatepost it was growing over.

Boat lift

I've not really taken much notice before of the boatyard at Gallows Bridge in Shipley. When I walked past a couple of months ago I noticed they have a huge machine for lifting boats into and out of the water. (That tractor thing with orange loops hanging down.) It is apparently a new initiative. They provide a number of services to boaters, including supplying fuel and gas, visitor moorings and toilet disposal facilities. Now they can lift boats to repair and paint them or put them on/off transport vehicles. If you look at their website HERE you can see pictures of the lift in action but it was idle when I passed by.

Negotiating the locks

This rather impressive widebeam boat moored just downstream from Field Locks whilst I was there. I had a brief chat (at a suitable distance!) with the boatman, exchanging information about our respective camera clubs. His was Harrogate, though, since he lives on the boat and travels around, he said he didn't get to club nights very often.

At one time Field Locks used to have assisted passage and a lock keeper used to sit in a little hut alongside, certainly in the summer months, waiting for traffic. The hut is still there but now there are smart instructional signs and the boatkeeper I spoke to had to run up and down opening paddles and generally sorting it all out for himself. He seemed to know what he was doing. A three rise lock is quite complicated to negotiate.

Going up, the top two locks have to be full at the start and the bottom one empty. The middle lock then fills the bottom one and the boat moves a step. The top lock then fills the middle one and again the boat can move. Then water from the canal refills the top lock and the boat can pass out from the lock chamber. You can work out the 'going down' sequence for yourself, perhaps!!

Mizzle

It looked like a beautiful day unfolding through my window, so I put my coat on and went for a walk. I soon found that looks are deceptive. Despite the blue sky, sunshine and apparent lack of rain clouds there was in fact a constant slight drizzle, so light you'd perhaps call it a mizzle. It was as if the weather was acting like an overtired child; as though it had simply got into the habit of being whining and tearful and couldn't stop grizzling/drizzling. I still enjoyed my walk (the usual route) but by the time I got home the light damp had turned into steadier rain. I gather we've had getting on for four times the average amount of rainfall in the past month in this area, on top of a rather wet winter overall. I'm not really complaining, as the alternative of drought is just as bad, but I'm looking forward to some reliably dry weather now.

A delivery

I've been doing quite well with my New Year resolution to have a walk every day, if I possibly can, even after the cataract surgery. There's always something of interest to see on my perambulations (albeit things are currently a little blurred). One day I happened to be on the canal towpath when a barge passed slowly by, carrying the new lock gates that have since been installed at the Dowley Gap locks. It was preceded by a pair of swans, so that it looked a little like a stately parade! There was some banter from the boatmen as they passed and they both gave me wide smiles for the photograph. The gates are huge, heavy things. It seems something of a wonder that the relatively shallow water of the canal can support such a weight, but it has been doing so since the 1770s, being originally built for carrying heavy freight between Liverpool docks and the mills and factories of Yorkshire.

Summer Sunday stroll 5

Bingley Five Rise Locks

[The end point of my walk from Saltaire to Bingley along the towpath of the Leeds-Liverpool Canal - although I did walk all the way back home again.] 

And so, we arrive at the famous Five Rise Locks just in time to see a wide beam boat being lifted in stages up the staircase. Two traditional narrowboats can fit in a lock side by side, but the wide beam boats take up a lot more room. Some of the longest boats don't fit either. Lock sizes are not standardised across the waterways network. The locks on the Leeds-Liverpool canal are about 19m long and some locks in the Yorkshire network are even shorter than that. 

Some of my readers may recall the time (seven years ago, yikes!) when I went walking in these locks, when they were drained for restoration of the lock gates (see HERE). The chamber walls look so high when you're at the bottom.

Looking back towards Bingley, the locks drop away so steeply that you can't really see them all. 

The Five Rise Locks are permanently staffed by a lock-keeper, often with several volunteers assisting too. It's such a complicated obstacle to navigate and things can go badly wrong if you don't know what you're doing. There's a lovely tribute to Barry Whitelock (HERE), the country's longest serving lock-keeper, who worked here in Bingley from the age of 19 until he retired in 2017. I don't know who has taken over from him, but there must be some satisfaction in carrying out such an historic role.

When the locks are not busy (rare in summer), the lock-keeper hangs out in his office at the top of the locks. I expect there's a kettle in there but, if not, he can always nip over to the café across the road.

The Five Rise Locks café is a very popular spot with walkers and cyclists. There's usually plenty to watch, if you choose a table on the canal side. Next to it is a service facility for boaters, with toilets, showers and sewage disposal. This stretch of the canal from the locks towards Crossflatts also operates as a marina, with some permanent mooring for boats.

Summer Sunday stroll 2

Hirst Lock to Dowley Gap Lock

[Continuing my walk from Saltaire to Bingley along the towpath of the Leeds-Liverpool Canal] 

Beyond Hirst Lock, the path passes through Hirst Wood itself, a shady and rather mysterious stretch of the canal with trees lining both sides. Views open out when you reach the aqueduct (above) that carries the canal over the River Aire. It is such a broad bridge that you don't really feel as though you're on a bridge (unlike, say, the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct in the Welsh Borders, which is rather hair-raising to cross). 

My brisk walking pace was almost keeping up with the cabin cruisers that had set off just before me when I passed Hirst Lock. 

There is an old mill on the left here, now converted into dwellings. It would be such a nice place to live... were it not for the sewage works just over the fence, with its distinctive aroma! The foliage along the canalside now more or less obscures the view of the changeline bridge, where the towpath passes from one side of the canal to the other. It's a pity as it's quite an attractive bridge. I suppose, sooner or later, someone will come along and trim the bushes back as part of the waterway maintenance. 

It's from this spot that you can see my two favourite trees, up the hillside. Some trees were beginning to look a little autumnal at this stage of the summer, but not these two. 

Here, I did catch up with the two cabin cruisers, as they had to stop to get clearance to negotiate the locks at Dowley Gap. The scene from the bridge looks much more interesting when there are boats moored.

There were a lot of other people about, enjoying the beautiful late summer weather. I have to be careful as I never hear cyclists coming up behind me, and some of them ride rather too fast.

As I reached the top of the locks, a narrowboat had just finished its journey up the 20 foot (6 m) rise. The cabin cruisers lower down faced a bit of a wait, until the water levels in the two lock chambers were regulated to allow them to enter the bottom lock. It's a fascinatingly complicated enterprise. You have to know what you're doing, so you don't waste a lot of water. Some of the locks have lock-keepers to operate them and there is a lock house at Dowley Gap, but I'm not sure if these locks are manned or not. This particular boat looked to be doing a good job of negotiating the locks. Narrowboats can often fit through if just one gate is opened, but the advice is to open both gates to avoid damage to the gates. (Not everyone heeds the advice!)

Summer Sunday stroll 1

(Continuing my series from last summer, whilst my eye settles down after the surgery)

Saltaire to Hirst Lock
It was such a lovely, late summer's morning that I decided to walk from Saltaire to Bingley's Five Rise Locks and back, a good six miles round trip. It's a very familiar walk and I've shown photos of the area before on this blog. I thought it'd be fun to string some together in order this time, to illustrate the whole route.

Once out of Saltaire, through the short stretch of shady trees (see yesterday) the view opens out across the area of playing fields that belongs to Salts Sports Club. Sunday morning meant football matches were underway, the juniors at one end and a senior game at the other.

There were fishermen on the canal bank, having a real Sunday morning treat - able to watch their rods, watch football and cook a fry-up of bacon and eggs on a camp stove, all at the same time. (Breakfast smelled delicious!)   
I did take a photo... but I don't think you'd want to see the bum-crack the cook was displaying as he leaned over - ha!

Perhaps it was because the season was drawing to a close, or perhaps just the weekend effect, but there seemed to be more boats on the canal than I've ever seen. Some were moored, like the narrowboats I passed, still having a lie-in, perhaps? The towpath passes the lock at Hirst Wood. Just beyond the lock there were two cabin cruisers, a type of boat we rarely see on this canal. (They made so much more noise than a narrowboat!)

Skipton

The town of Skipton, about 16 miles north of Saltaire, styles itself as 'The Gateway to the Dales' though you'll reach the Dales much quicker if you take the Skipton bypass around the town. The town has a very good market on four days of the week, which takes up all the space along both sides of the long and wide main street. The origins of the market are ancient: a centre for trading sheep and wool.  Nowadays, the sheep are traded at the auction mart on the edge of town and the market sells all manner of goods, from clothing to sweets, hardware and gifts. When it's not market day, as on the day I last visited, it is still a very congested town centre with a line of queuing traffic almost always inching its way through. That just demonstrates, however, what a thriving centre it is and how important for the surrounding rural communities. Skipton regularly comes near the top of 'the best/happiest places to live' in Yorkshire/England/the world. 

It has some good small shops, with a fair few independents as well as some of the usual high-street names. At the north end of the main street (behind me as I took the top picture) sits the large parish church of Holy Trinity (below) and, behind that, Skipton Castle. (I keep promising myself to visit the castle again... Not made it so far.)  The main street is a bit tricky to photograph as it runs due north-south and the best view, from the slightly elevated churchyard wall, is always into the sun. You can get the general feel of the place from the top photo: a nice mix of very old buildings (several old pubs and coaching inns) and some solid, provincial Victorian edifices like the library in my photo and and the town hall opposite. The war memorial doubles as a roundabout at the top end of the street, where the road splits east and west round the castle. 

The Leeds-Liverpool Canal runs through the town parallel to the main street before turning west, giving an extra layer of interest around the canal basin, where there are always plenty of colourful boats. 

(Photos taken in October, before my eye op). 

The harbour

Harris, day four
A little further beyond the church is the village of Rodel, once the historic capital of Harris, situated around a harbour that used to host the Skye ferry. Those accolades now fall to Tarbert and Rodel is much more tranquil.

I really enjoyed taking a few 'mini-landscape' shots here. There was much to inspire me: old boats, rusty chains, knotted ropes, seaweed and lichen. Some lovely colours too...

For some reason I can't quite define, this shot of seaweed caught in a gap in the decaying harbour jetty is probably one of my favourite images of the whole trip. The shapes and colours just seem very pleasing to me. I think it's an archetypal feminine image in some senses - a bit Georgia O'Keefe, albeit not a delicate flower. 

Busy doing my thing...

My thing, as everyone knows, is wandering around with a camera, snapping anything that takes my eye. Other people have different 'things'.

How about: paddle-boarding along the canal with the kid (and yes, he did have a lifejacket on, under his hoodie).

Or going over the white lines again before the weekend football starts. I wonder what his music of choice to accompany the activity is?  'A Whiter Shade of Pale', maybe?

For many people, it is messing about in a boat, in this case accompanied by a faithful pooch. Nice hat, mister.  (But you should open both lock gates, tch tch!)

So, what's your thing?

Too much red wine?

I bought myself a book on creative photography techniques recently and have been trying out a few ideas. This was my first attempt at an impressionistic multi-exposure. I think I need to be even bolder with the technique to avoid it looking like camera shake, an earthquake or too much red wine. (I hadn't touched a drop, honestly!) Still, it's such fun trying out these ideas.

It at least gives a slightly different view of the much-photographed stretch of the Leeds-Liverpool Canal between Saltaire's two huge mills: Salts on the left and the New Mill on the right. The boat was nicely placed for a photograph too. You have more chance of seeing one in the short-term day moorings here in the summer, when there are more hire boats around. People often want to stop and explore Saltaire.

Solitude

The theme for my online photo group for July was, simply, 'boat '. That's not a difficult subject round here, with plenty of opportunity to photograph boats on the canal or river. I thought, however, I'd try something a wee bit different. I was walking along the river and this lone sculler passed me, hardly making a splash in the water - a picture of tranquillity and solitude. She was (handily) wearing a red top so she stood out nicely against all the summery greens. I thought I'd try to process the photo to give it a dreamy, soft quality, leaving her small in the frame to emphasise her aloneness. (Notwithstanding this mad photographer clicking away on the river bank - ha!)

Harbour life 2

Fishing boats come in all shapes and sizes. Most of those in Bridlington harbour are small boats for catching shellfish, as the lobster pots piled up on the quayside suggest. It is, apparently, the largest shellfishing port in England. You can wander around the harbour and get very close to the action. There are pontoons for mooring leisure craft and a quay with warehousing, where the larger trawlers still berth.

The boats and floats make for colourful pictures, even on a dull day. 

'Svalbard' seemed unnaturally clean and neat ... perhaps they never use it?

Nowadays there are small motor craft and catamarans among the fleet, but at one time the local small boats were cobles: open sailboats with wooden hulls and flat bottoms, traditional to the north-east coast of England. Some have been preserved, like the 'Three Brothers' on the left of the picture below, built in 1912 and restored in 2013.