Just heading back towards Leeds

Monday 19^th June to Saturday 24^th June 2017

After a peaceful and very quiet night at Mytholmroyd we move off relatively early for a week-day; our only concern for the day being that we needed to get through Lock 3/4  today or else it would involve a call to CaRT to make a booking for tomorrow.

There is a lock-keeper on duty there from Friday to Monday (inclusive) every week (8:30-16:00) – other times need to be booked.

We knew that there would not be any problems (or at least we hoped not) – and there wasn’t.

We hit Sowerby Bridge around mid-morning and we were all tied up before 11am, which left us time to get things done – I still had work to get through and Diane had her prescriptions to pick up from Lloyds Pharmacy (we had left them there before we headed off).

But first there is always time for a coffee first (the Weatherspoons variety was not too bad).

The side of this disused building was made into a rock-climbing
business - large-scale recycling

After that it was time for tennis – Queens was starting and her indoors will almost always be found enjoying the court game).

One more day here would be necessary, some of the pills were not yet available and whilst we had no pressing concerns we thought a relaxing day would be worthwhile and it most certainly was.

Sometimes it is easy to forget just how much the fresh air environment can make you a bit tired, and those heavy lock gates don’t help either, so this a most welcome break.

Next day, Wednesday, we were again on the move earlyish, but had made up our minds that Elland would be the stopping point for the day – it was only 3 locks and 5 miles – and we easily found a space to moor up.

Not having been here before we wanted to have a bit of a wander around the area to see what was there – we were in need of a few things and google-maps told us that a Morrisons was just nearby, so we headed that way.

oooh, look at that hair (hat hair)

and I do love a good sign where the creative juices have
been active

We were in for a bit of a shock as we walked further and further. We found the Morrisons alright, but when Diane suggested that we carry on just a bit further – just to see what was there, we kept on finding more and more shops and stores and buildings (in use) and plenty of people around – bus stops and plenty of buses to stop there and lines of cars – it was a real eye-opener – a bustling hub in the making.

Strange how many times we have found places such as this where there was an expectation of much less.

Back on board it was essentially for the usual – tennis (she) and work (me).

Travelling now was a bit like going through the motions of going along knowing that we just simply had to be in a certain place at a certain time, that essentially would be to be in Leeds around the first few days on July – we would start the journey across the Pennines via the Leeds and Liverpool canal, with a booking for the boat to be blacked in Skipton in mid-July.

Struggling with the stick but...

...by the end of it, she had made it

Not quite Betty Grable, but that's her..

All of this is not to say that we do not enjoy simply cruising – we certainly do – and we really enjoy the chance to cruise on any river sections that come by – but mooring on these is not possible, so you become limited to the same places you have been before.

One pleasant surprise we came across was in Mirfield – the Railway Pub was a most pleasant place to have a couple of drinks – it has been renovated, but we are not traditionalists – we like the old pubs but also like to sit down in a bit of comfort and enjoy the feel of the place.

We caught up with Jan and Colin and then we left them again

Further along came Wakefield where we did a bit of walking around the city centre and found the museum and also the free bus service, so that saved a bit of a walk back to the boat.

By this stage we were a bit tired and needed a chance to relax – I am not saying that there was anyone nodding off in the lounge, but it got a bit quiet in there (as I was working away) – and there was only one other person on the boat with me.

But still, the dozing must have been needed; there are times when it becomes very hard to find much needed sleep.

25 Miles, 31 Locks, 1 Tunnel

YTD:  601 miles (967 km), 315 Locks, 19 Tunnels, 9 Lift Bridges, 19 Swing Bridges

Total: 5233 Miles (8422 km), 3466 Locks, 143 Tunnels, 75 Lift Bridges, 191 Swing Bridges