We took a train from Leeds to Silsden (about a half hour train ride plus a 20 minute walk) to the boat hire place in Silsden, and from there did a 4 day canal boat tour to Gargrave and back, about 10 miles each way (as they measure distance in this part of the world). (Actually we didn't quite make it to Gargrave - we turned around about a half kilometre short (we we measure distance in OUR part of the world) in order to avoid having to deal with locks.)
Anyways we had a very brief introduction to the boat where they showed us a video (basic boating, how to work the swing bridges and locks) and then gave us a tour of the boat, and how to use all the various features (like the toilet, most important) and then then they accompanied us on the boat to the first swing bridge. We were four on the boat so we had a team of two to open each bridge whilst the other two remained on the boat to drive it through. We would drop of a team before each bridge and then pick them up on the other side. We sidled our way down the canal this way, on average I would say we had to deal with a swing bridge every kilometre or so.
Here is a pickture just outside Silsden, past the first couple of swing bridges.
The canal is pretty narrow, but as we found plenty wide enough for two or even three boats to pass!
We were pretty casual at the till (Zoe and I did most of the driving).
And pretty casual on the stern (although this was from the first evening when we parked). (We parked right next to a riverside pub by the way.)
A lot of the countryside was very pastoral. We were all wondering how old some of the stone walls were.
Our second night we stopped in Skipton, which is boat central in this part of the world. We went for a walk around Skipton Castle (through the Castle Woods, where the Lord did his hunting back in the day,)
More wandering around Skipton.
A side canal (not the main canal). Not a main thoroughfare but used for parking some boats. In Skipton there were a lot of day boats as well as "hire boats" (i.e. us) plus there were a lot of live-aboards parked along the entire length of the canal.
We went for a tour inside Skipton Castle in the afternoon.
The next night we parked up near Gargrave (but not quite AT Gargrave). We turned around a bit early (at a "Winding Hole") because we decided we didn't want to deal with any locks. (There were 3 or 4 locks to get through Gargrave.) (Also we got there after 4pm and the locks only operate between 9am and 4pm. But we didn't want to deal with them locks anyways.)
The next morning a few swans visited us looking for a handout. They were pretty persistent and we figured a lot of boaters feed them. At one point they even started pecking the side of our boat. (We saw many swans pecking on many boats over the four days.)
Returning. Black clouds in the distance! (We had a little rain overnight a couple of nights but fortunately none during the day.)
A heron watching us pass. We saw many herons.
The third night we also spent in Skipton (boat central in this part of the world), and we did the walk through the Castle Woods again. If was beautiful with lots of creeks and waterfalls. (In the evening we went for a walk and joined a free showing of Grease!)
How we looked parked in Skipton.
Leaving Skipton the next day. The boat parked on the right is just like ours (same boat hire company).
More pastoral scenes on the way home.
Some beautiful reflections for me to paint!
We stopped at a small town called Kildwick and went for a hike. We came across lots of old monuments and cairns.
This one is estimated to date to 4000 BCE.
Here is a view on the return hike.
After the hike we had lunch at a local pub (one of many we've visited so far) and then boated most of the way back to Silsden. We parked close by because we had to return the boat early the next morning.
We dropped of the boat on Saturday morning. The boat hire opened at 8am and we had to drop the boat off by 9am, along with 4 other boats who all had to return on the same day. It was a bit of chaos juggling all the boats around but the staff had everything well in hand! (I guess they have to deal with this situation every week.) (Ours is the bottom boat third from the right, we had parked up against the second boat from the right but they had to move it around so they could turn around the fourth boat from the right!)
Altogether an excellent holiday, highly recommended!
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