I walked up to the Five Rise Locks at Bingley, always a busy spot with boats and people. The locks themselves were taped off, allowing only CRT (Canal and River Trust) staff members to walk around them. There is a wide (steep) towpath alongside so it is still possible to walk along the canal but I suppose they need to keep the gongoozlers (people like me, who enjoy watching the activity on the canal) out of the way because of the need for social distancing during the pandemic. There are staff permanently on duty here at the Five Rise. It is such a complex staircase of locks to navigate and, with the wrong sequencing, a lot of water can be wasted. (See HERE for a photo of the locks themselves).
Beyond the locks the canal is wide and there are always boats berthed. The moorings on the right are permanent moorings. Those on the left are boats stopping for a breather and/or queuing up to go down the locks.
It was such a dull day - the banked grey clouds made the water look like steel or ice.
A little further along, by the Crossflats swingbridge, the "Fellowship" boarded her passengers on Sundays for trips to Silsden. The owner,my friend and professional boatman named Billy Thorpe had bought her from Jonathan Renard's Apperley Bridge yard where she had been converted from a traditional wooden short boat. Seeing me racing along on my bike to open the swing bridges the passys once generously gave me 17 shillings and sixpence, a lot of money for a schoolboy. Billy would be utterly astonished to see all these "cigar boxes" as there were only working wide boats then.
ReplyDeleteI rather like that silvery look to the water, contrasting with the colourful boats.
ReplyDeleteExcellent reflections of the boats. I like seeing the men on the boat on the left, it gives a better sense of the size of the boats.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful photo. Icy steel. :)
ReplyDeleteIt is a busy place!
ReplyDeleteA wonderful shot.
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