Rodley to Dowley Gap

We set off from Rodley yesterday morning in a misty haze that had turned into glorious sunshine by the time we moored up at Apperley Bridge 40 minutes later. A walk up the hill to Sainsburys & an hour later we were on our way with well stocked cupboards once more.

The Dobson two was made easier with the help of lockie John & once through we pulled on to the service point to offload rubbish & take on water which was very slow so whilst waiting we had lunch. We didn’t mind the wait as it is a lovely spot especially at this time of year with the blossom on the trees, fields of buttercups & some stunning views.

There is also a BW yard here and stacked in the yard are these old lock gates

which reminded me that on Monday whilst going up the Newlay 3 & chatting to the lockie we got talking about the Leeds City Council entry for the Chelsea Flower Show which for those that didn’t see it was a ‘lock scene’ & won a gold, well Newlay had new gates in January & the old top gates were the ones to go to Chelsea.

Cows keeping cool near the Dobson 2

definitely not a shiny gin palace!

Once watered & fed we trundled on to Shipley stopping briefly at the Aldi which is very handy just behind the small visitor mooring & a bit more shopping so the cupboards are not just well stocked but jam packed!

Then it was on through Saltaire, we didn’t stop this time, nice as it is to visit as the restrictions on lock use due to the water shortage ask that you don’tuse the locks after 4.30 pm & as we still had Hirst lock to go we pressed on & got through at 4.15pm mooring up below the Dowley Gap 2 at 5pm.

When I was struggling with Moss swing bridge Mark gave it a gentle nudge with the boat, only it turned out to be not so gentle after all as we found that the corner of the cratch cover has been caught, pulling out some of the stitches & removing the stud. Ouch!! I will ring Chris, the canvas man as we are in his neck of the woods to see if he can sort it for us.

After a peaceful night we moved up through the locks onto the visitor moorings, then on with chores. The washing is done & most of it dry, the sliding hatch is off & the brass strips removed, there was some rusty bits so all has been sanded, vactaned & given a coat of paint. No hurry to reassemble hatch as it is again a warm (hot!), sunny day so it can wait until tonight.

The visitor moorings are next to the Fisherman's pub so blow the expense we plan to eat there later. Right now it's a cool shower & off to sit outside in the shade & try to catch a bit of a breeze....