Leeds to Skipton
(Leeds & Liverpool Canal - via Bingley 3 & 5 Rise)
£`1250pp(£2500 per charter)
Trip 8 – 11th to 18th June (7 nights)
Fully Booked
Leeds (River Aire) to Skipton (Leeds & Liverpool Canal)
This is a trip of 29 miles , 29 locks and 33 swing bridges.
Depending on where we’ve been able to get in, this cruise will either begin at Granary Wharf (right next to the train station) OR Clarence Dock/ Leeds Dock (down the river on the river taxi) .
We’ll expect our guests to arrive about 1.30pm on day 1 and after an introductory blah blah (and most probably a glass of something fizzy) they’re welcome to go off and explore Leeds until Dinner time…and maybe even go out for drinks afterwards as we’ll not be casting off until the morning.
Next morning (after a simple DIY breakfast), we’ll cast off and head up our first few locks – including Oddy Locks (our first staircase for a while) and aim to lunch around Kirkstall. In the afternoon (assuming CRT haven’t applied any new restrictions), we’ll head up Kirkstall lock, then Forge and Newley Staircase locks. Hopefully we’ll be able to get tied up at Rodley for todays mooring - either just before or after Rodley Swing bridge. There are numerous pubs within walking distance if guests fancy a libation after dinner.
Day 3 will see us topping up the water (and possible Diesel – maybe even a pump out) at Apperley Bridge marina… It’s been a few years since Ellis has been here but I know we’ll be made welcome. We’ll probably lunch here too before pressing on up Dobson Lock followed by Field (another staircase) – the top of which will probably be our mooring for the night.
The next morning we’ll chug off through Shipley towards Saltaire and tie up on the visitor moorings for lunch and the afternoon to explore Salts Mill. We can’t moor over night here (local restrictions which are a pain to be honest) but we CAN moor in Hirsts Wood after Hirst Lock and swing bridge. We MIGHT take a bit of a gamble and press on to try and get outside the Fishermans Inn for the night (mooring is rare but pleasant) and then we’ll be ready to tackle Bingley 3 and 5 Rise locks the following morning.
Assuming there hasn’t been TOO much of a queue, we’ll stop for lunch(and top up the water tank) at the Top of Bingley before we chug off in the afternoon and aiming to moor for the evening in Riddlesden (Keighley).
Our penultimate day will see us chugging Silsden and Airedale (swing bridges abound on the section of canal between Bingley and Skipton). There’s a pretty mooring near Kildwick Church where we can lunch (if there’s space) and then continue on to Bradley for the end of the day.
The last day of this trip will see us arriving in Skipton around Lunchtime where the afternoon will be free for exploration . It’s a lovely place to walk through the woods or sit and have a drink watching the world go by. With luck we’ll have been able to moor in the centre opposite Pennine Cruisers… if not, we’ll just have to fit in wherever we can. This trip will end here and our guests will depart the following morning after breakfast.
