Boats come in all shapes and sizes!

Silsden is home to a large boat hire business so the canal through the town itself is currently lined with moored hire boats, with their distinctive livery. Silsden Boats have a drum logo and many of the boats have 'Drum' in the name: Hum Drum, Drummer Boy and so on. The lockdown has meant no-one can get away for a canal-cruising holiday. Some miles further on, I came across three boats moored - and they were all very different: one a fairly traditional narrowboat, one adapted with a tall wheelhouse and then the tiniest narrowboat I've ever seen! I don't know if it is a normal one cut down or whether some are built like this. I suppose it would be easier to get through the locks but there can't be much useable space inside. Cute though...

Near Silsden

This is still the Leeds-Liverpool Canal but it's a stretch some ten miles up the valley from Saltaire, near the little town of Silsden. With some shops and services beginning to re-open, I finally managed to get my car booked in for the service that had been cancelled when the coronavirus lockdown was first imposed in late March. My garage is in Silsden so I took the opportunity for a walk whilst I was waiting. I think I've walked this part, from Silsden towards Riddlesden, only once before but it's quite a nice walk. The towpath is tarmac and easy to navigate compared with some of my more local bits that tend to be rough and stony or muddy. The canal winds through farm fields and woodland, with an open aspect giving some nice views of this broad, flat part of the Aire valley. The dry, sunny weather that we've enjoyed right through April and May has finally broken. It was cooler, a very pleasant temperature for a walk, and I only got slightly damp from a brief light shower. It's actually quite a nice change to see some clouds in the sky. Unbroken blue sky isn't really all that great for photos.

I wonder how many herons live on the banks of the canal? Each stretch seems to be patrolled by its own resident bird. This one was huddled up, its neck retracted. I think it had already had its breakfast and was settled down for a snooze.

Walking back to Silsden

Walking back from Bradley to Silsden in the sunshine was most pleasant. It's odd, I think, that often a return journey seems to feel much quicker than the journey out, even when the distance and time taken are actually similar. Or is that just me? The route passed through Farnhill wood, then under the Farnhill bridge:

and into the village of Kildwick, with its unusual houses along the canalside. The sides backing onto the canal have four storeys but the road on the other side is higher so that they appear to be only two storey houses from that side. In my photo below, an old chapel was being converted into a residence, with new balconies overhanging the canal.

There's another pretty footbridge by Kildwick church, with a glimpse of part of the graveyard through it, full of daffodils and blossom trees.  

The church itself is huge, one of the longest naves in the county. I wrote about it here. Once again, it was all locked up so I couldn't go inside.

Between Kildwick and Silsden, the views from the towpath sweep right across the valley. The buildings in the middle distance (below) are the Airedale Hospital. It's the largest hospital in the area, with a busy A&E department.

On the towpath, you feel a world away from the busy life going on in the valley: the hospital, the railway and the busy trunk road. You can, however, hear the hum of the traffic and the occasional sirens of emergency vehicles.

A fine day for a walk

I took my car to the garage in Silsden for its annual service and first MOT. (It passed!) Since I had several hours to kill and it was a glorious, though chilly, day, I went for a long walk along the canal. (Ten miles!)  Silsden is a small town up the Aire valley on the way to Skipton. It is expanding fast as new properties are being built and some of the old mills are being converted to housing. As I walked west out of the town, I noticed there's a new estate growing up on both sides of the canal. From here, Silsden Boats hires out its canal cruisers. At this time of year, out of season, the canal is lined with all their narrowboats. 

My route took me through the village of Kildwick and on to Bradley, another old village that has expanded with lots of new houses. I'd never actually been there before, as it sits off the main road up a lane that really only leads to the village, so one tends just to whizz past in the car. Here again, the textile mill that led to Bradley's original growth in the 19th century from an agricultural hamlet, has been converted to apartments. 

There seemed to be few amenities in the village apart from a chapel, a village shop and a cricket field but it seemed a nice little place. 

There was a small park, nicely cared for, beside the canal so that was a good place to stop for a rest before I retraced my steps to collect my car.

Soft light

Little to see here, in a way, and yet I thought it a beautiful scene and very peaceful. The diffused light suited the soft colours of the sky, reflected in the water, and the haze of fresh green on the bushes.

The photo was taken further up the valley, alongside the Leeds-Liverpool Canal near Silsden.

Romance in the air!

I decided a while ago to get winter tyres fitted to my car, since I have to drive over the high Pennine moors to my daughter's home periodically. I find it a hair-raising drive at the best of times and, whilst I don't deliberately drive in snow if I can help it, there is always the chance of getting caught out by bad weather. So, the expense and hassle of specialist tyres seems worth it. It meant a bit of waiting around at the garage in Silsden, so I went for a walk. The Leeds-Liverpool canal winds its way through the centre of the little town. I took a snap from the bridge on my iPhone and then added some textures to the image, whilst I waited for the car to be finished. Much better than being bored! The end result gives a decidedly romantic flavour to the scene.