Page published 17 May 2023
Day 6 - Thursday 17 July 2003
To learn a little more about this cruise read the Background page. or simply go to the Day One report and my start from Lancaster at the beginning of my cruise with the Tuesday Night Club.
After Blackburn
It was another early start for the crew. We set off at 06:15 from our mooring by Bridge 106, between Blackburn and Rishton. The weather had changed dramatically and was now overcast and proceeded to get darker still.
After some 18 miles we stopped at Nelson to pick up supplies from Morrisons store there. I confess I remember nothing of that and am left puzzled by Neil's notes on the stop which he says lasted from 11:50 to 12:25.
The off-side supermarket had turned it's back on the canal and there were no moorings provided. A new towpath wall hole was in the process of being created and the provisioning party had to clamber round this.
How can a hole in a wall on the towpath side of the canal give you access to the supermarket on the other side of the canal? All this seems to have happened at Pendle Street Bridge. Google's current StreetView images suggest there is much new in this area and maybe there was a hole then, but I can't make out where it might have been then. Neil's notes continue with information on our passage up the Barrowford lock and through Foulridge Tunnel.
We did not meet up with anyone on Barrowford Locks and arrived at the top at 13:40, just having missed the Foulridge Tunnel timed passage (**:30 to **:40 northbound).
My 2003 Nicholson indicate a water point by the top lock while the tunnel is a mile further on. I assume what Neil meant is the the 15 minute travel time to the tunnel mouth meant we were aware we would have to wait for a 14:30 passage through the tunnel. This appears to be confirmed as he continues:
The handy water point was made use of and at 14:15 a local boater took off, so we followed him up, arriving at the tunnel entrance at 14:30, just as the lights turned green. The local boat winded at the other end, so yet again we were off on our own.
There's no winding hole shown at the north end of the tunnel in my Nicholson so I assume the local boat was quite a short one.
Salterforth
At 15:20 I got my camera out and took my first pictures of the day. At first glance you'd think you could be anywhere, but Google's satellite images are most useful. Scanning the area that I thought we might have reached by that time, I quickly found a string of moored boats, and zooming in confirmed the photographs were taken at Salterforth. Zooming in allowed me to confirm the presence of the overhead cables in just the right places.
Why I should choose my first photo of the day to be the moorings a few hundred yards south of Salterforth Bridge remains a mystery. It's my first photo showing Molly on the helm.
Swinging around to the north we see the remaining boats at Salterforth. In this direction the automatic exposure better captures how the clouds are getting more ominous.
The evidence suggests that at this point we still have not had rain, but that did change. Neil reports:
The next section was during a large rainstorm, the captain made haste below and left Molly and Trevor to brave the elements. At 16:10 we were at the top of Greenberfield Locks, where there was a brief respite in the rain. Beyond this over the beautiful East Marton pound, the weather was foul, too bad for even the shortest of photo shots.
Neil's final sentence omits to report the change in helm. I swapped places with Trevor. I have a very distinct memory of sharing my time on the tiller with Molly in the extremely picturesque zig-zags of the canal between bridges 163 and 164. It was the worst rain we had had by far on that section. Both of us retired from that stint needing a complete change of clothes right down to our underwear. Nothing could hold that rain at bay!
Bank Newton Locks
However, Neil was right about taking photos! It was not until 18:27 that my camera came out again, after Neil had "lost" his!
At the top of Bank Newton Locks Neil decided to get wet during the lock wheeling, so attired in minimalist attire - Linda's flip flops, some old cut down jeans and a dirty T shirt.Upon trying to alight the boat with Nikon camera half stuffed in pocket, disaster struck, the Captain slipped on the grass bank and went in, to half way up his shorts. Greg helped Neil out in rather a hurry to limit digital camera immersion and to ensure Linda's still attached flip flops were not lost.
Here you see Neil, at Lock 37, after the camera incident, but still in Linda's flip-flops.
It is 18:30 and I was walking in advance of Earnest, seen here emerging from Lock 37, on my way to prepare the bottom lock of the flight for our arrival.
Fifteen minutes on and I capture the wonderful view looking north from Priest Holme Aqueduct. At least it wasn't raining at that point.
Gargrave
Below the Bank Newton locks you continue down hill with locks every few hundred yards with a couple by bridges in the centre of the village of Gargrave. Just east of the Higherland Bridge (170) a small estate of recently built split-level houses caught my eye.
I thought these split level houses backing onto the canal in what I now learn is "Old Hall Croft" architecturally interesting.
It's 19:31 and the gloom is a clue to the state of the weather as we pass through Eshton Road Lock in Gargrave.
We've completed our passage through Gargrave and are approaching Holme Bridge Aqueduct. The rain finally seems to have passed as well
Neil was not the only one to have has a calamity. I had one too but I can't recall at what point during the day. Neil's description of me speedily coming to his assistance when he fell in suggests it must have been after that event and I certainly can't imagine that I'd have been walking between locks afterwards, so I think it must have happened after completing passage of the Bank Newton flight. But, I can't find anywhere after Bank Newton that has a particularly tight right hand bend with the tow path on the inside of the turn.
Where ever it took place I made a complete beginner's mistake! At the time I was sitting in the forward well on the port bench with my legs stretched out in front of me. The boat was failing to turn enough to the right. The left bank was heavily treed and I thought I'd just give a slight push on a bough of one of the trees to help us round the bend.
I totally miscalculated the boat's momentum and my strength. I lifted my leg to push on the bough but, inevitably, rather than turn the boat it kept going and my leg was twisted backwards over the side of the boat. I was incredibly lucky that nothing cracked and all I was left with was a very severe strain that kept me only partially mobile for a week.
Skipton
We reached Skipton at 21:15 where there was only one space left big enough for us which, unfortunately was under the footbridge. We all made our way to Bizzy Lizzies Fish and Chip Shop. Neil reports that he was feeling somewhat miffed at this point. A combination of a poor overnight mooring and concern about whether his camera would ever work again was probably the reason. In the end we all returned to the boat and to bed after the meal and, as Neil adds, without visiting any pub.
(The outcome was that within three days the camera had been dried out enough to work perfectly, apart from whenever the batteries are changed, a slight whack is needed to get it to come on. The lens / CCD assy was fortunately untouched, apart from initial fogging. The CF card is also OK. Finally after destroying a perfectly OK CF card, the camera is now perfect again!!!)
The story continues with my report for Friday 18 July 2003. It covers How I went from Skipton to the Bingley Five Rise before leaving to return home.