Dowley Gap to Skipton

Friday

There were 4 of us moored overnight at Dowley so we paired up with Sylvia & Edmund on 'owd ard', making our way up to the 3 rise for 9am with the other 2 boats hard on our heels. As we approached the 5 rise we could see a boat just starting its ascent so we knew we were in for a wait but not a problem on a warm sunny morning & there is no hurry....

So even with lockie Barrie's expert handiwork it was still 11.20 by the time we reached the top...

Top of Bingley 5 rise

...after filling up with water we continued on to Keighley, mooring up outside Puffer Parts where we managed to part with some cash, rope for another centre line, some brass thingies ( don't know proper name) to stop said centre line rubbing the paintwork, a couple of piling hooks & 1 LED MR16 bulb just to try out, it seems ok if a bit bright, LED's seem to be the future so we'll get there eventually.

Passing some great gardens

just worth a pic

We eventually moored up at 4pm a couple of hundred yards before Holden Swing bridge after several aborted attempts due to the shallowness, a peaceful spot with extensive views over the valley. Before too long we were joined by 3 Silsden “drum” hire boats, no doubt a good spot to overnight before returning the boats to base Saturday am.

The view from the stern doors

Saturday

Off at 9am & a straight run through to Skipton interspersed by 9 or10 swing bridges, I lost count!

One of many

Poppy approaching a bridge

Lots of hire boats on the move, this was the busy scene at Snaygill as they were getting their fleet ready to go out.

Once in Skipton we moored up at the service point to offload rubbish & empty cassettes then moved round the corner & went up into town for a pub lunch, we tried the Narrow Boat 1st as it has a glowing write up in Nicholson’s but found the menu a bit short on veggie stuff ( & expensive!) so tried the Rose & Crown, better menu & better prices. We also tried the local brew, Copper Dragon, very nice!

Fed & watered we went in search of a pet shop to get some ear drops for Sid, I thought he had ear mites as his ears are always yucky with brown gunge, but they have been sprayed with some stuff twice at the vets who said he doesn’t have mites so maybe he just has waxy ears? Anyway will try some drops for a few days. Then we moved a few hundred yards through a couple more swing bridges & moored up in a more rural setting opposite the park.

Sunday

Awoke this morning to a wet drippy cool day, shouldn't moan, the Leeds and Liverpool needs the water! Had a walk to Morrisons to top up the cupboards then lazed about eating lunch & reading the papers, what else are Sundays for ?

We had moored near some trees yesterday as they provided some welcome shade but although we had a good signal for phone & internet we had no TV, not really a problem as nothing much worth watching last night apart from Dr Who & that is repeated tonight so today we needed to move, just a few hundred yards or so we thought but had more problems with lack of water again. We ended up going 3 miles before we finally found a spot just past Highgate swing bridge & about a mile east of Gargrave.

It really is a beautiful spot even in the rain so we may stay here a day or two & enjoy it.