GODS OWN COUNTRY

 

How True !!!

The Captain will always tell you Lancashire is Gods own country really, and, not as a lot of people believe, Yorkshire, but as we all know its neither its my home county of Derbyshire.

On our trip across the Pennines, I must say that the views between Blackburn and Burnley are stunning. The towns are rather run down to be honest, and we probably wouldn’t moor in either, but the brooding moorland, rolling hills, and green fields as seen form the canal are spectacular. Both towns are a mixture of old and new, with many derelict buildings at the side of the canal reminding us of the areas proud manufacturing history, and the reason for the canal being built.

Its is also the canal of moveable bridges.

We didn’t cruise to far next day but stopped off near bridge 105A to do some shopping at Aldi, which is in easy walking distance from the canal, and there are rings so mooring is easy. There is also a B&M and a Home and Bargains on the same retail park. The Captain was planning to do 3 swing bridges. Lucky for me, at the first one we met another boat and were waved through. Due to a late start and shopping, the Captain reviewed his plan and stopped just before the second bridge. I wasn’t feeling great and my leg was still a causing problems. As he finished mooring up the other boat that had been following appeared, and being the helpful chap he is, he pottered off to get them through.

On his return he informed me that the bridge was hard work, and he had had to enlist the help of 2 people passing by to close it. But not to worry he would help me the next day.

And I did indeed need his help. But we were soon through, and I walked the 1½ miles to the next one. Which was easy to open and close thank goodness.

I was resting my leg when a series of bangs and scraps made me head to the back of the boat to see what was occurring. We had reached the Gannow tunnel, and the Captain was trying to get and sort out a light, and had momentarily lost control of the boat and had hit the side of the canal. No damage done. The tunnel was only 559yrds long and very straight, but a bit damp. It took us about 10mins to get through, and then I went back to resting my leg. As the Captain didn’t want to moor in Burnley we stopped just short of the town for the night.

I didn’t see much of our cruise through Burnley as I decided to rest my leg some more. The most interesting part is the Burney Embankment, a long straight stretch of canal above the town, with spectacular views of the town below and the hills that surround it, which I was sorry to miss.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burnley_Embankment

After another quiet night we tackled the 7 Barrowford locks, at the 2nd lock we met 2 boats coming down which was handy, and realised there was another boat behind us coming up, so we decided to wait for them, its a lot easier doing these big double locks with 2 boats. This turned out to be a big mistake later on. Whilst the Captain waited in the 3^rd lock I went back to help them through. I had a great chat with the crew of one of the boats descending whilst waiting for the ascending boat.

We were joined in the lock by NB Alyeska, which is Alaskan for Alaska apparently. I never got the names of its Captain and crew, but found out it was a new boat they had been fitting out, and the crew was an air steward, and the captain was a pilot. But then waiting for them came back and bit me in the bum. At the 5^th lock the heavens opened, and as I was left closing the lock up I couldn’t get a coat or umbrella to protect me. After 2 more locks I have never been so wet from just rain. I literally looked like I had had a shower with all my clothes on. Finally the last lock was done and I headed straight for a hot shower, even my knickers were wet. It was time for a beer.

Top of the locks and the rain stopped

Next morning and after discussing our plans, we decided to stop at Barnoldswick, or Barlick as the locals call it. But first we had to negotiate the Foulridge tunnel at 1640yrds long its one of the longer tunnels on the network. It is the summit of the Leeds Liverpool and takes the canal from Lancashire into Yorkshire. It is one way working and controlled by traffic lights. The Captain is always a lot happier when he knows there will be no boats coming towards us in a narrow tunnel. But the tunnel was quite wide, so we had no problems as we cruised through.

In the Tunnel

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foulridge_Tunnel

We found good moorings at Barlick near the Skipton Road and close to an Aldi. Just before Aldi is an unusual War Memorial outside an old Rolls Royce factory. The figures representing the various branches of the forces are knitted and look amazing.

Lest we forget

Of course there was a pub involved, The Barlick Tap, and the Captain had it on good authority they had VIP (Victorian Imperial Porter) on by Craven Ales. So off we went. At 6.8% it was very rich and tasty, but a little on the heavy side, so just 1 pint.

https://www.barlicktap.com/

https://www.cravenbrew.co.uk/#beers

A friend had suggested we try the McCullough’s Irish bar and music venue. It was just round the corner so off we went. Again a very happy Captain with a pint of their own stout. Chatting to the barmaid we found out that the bar was owned by an ex member of the band The Animals, Pete Barton, and that he would be playing the next night. We decided we would stop an extra day and see what the music was like.

https://www.barnoldswickmusicandartscentre.com/mcculloughs-bar

Having a pint.

The next day to pass the time I cooked and did a bit of gardening. We headed out around 7pm not knowing what the night would hold. Thinking we might be the only ones to turn up, we were amazed to find place packed with standing room only. It was obvious that a lot in attendance were in the music business, to which made tab hanging to a few conversations interesting. After the first session we decided to find a quieter spot in the bar, the band was playing in the cellar. We could still hear the music but sitting down. It was definitely worth hanging about for a day.

The locks came thick and fast next day with 12 in total. There were 3 at Greenberfield, 6 at Bank Newton, and 3 at Gargrave were we decided to moor for the night. Some were worse than others, the top lock at Bank Newton was leaking so badly through the bottom gates, it took both of us to open the top gates to let the boat in. I did find out that these gates are being replaced this winter, so some good news.

We took a walk into Gargrave, as we had never stopped here before, and found a pretty place with interesting stone houses and plenty of character. There were 2 pubs and we tried both, The Old Swan and the Masons Arms, they both do food, and both have real ales on, but none that suited the Captain. There is also a Coop.

https://www.pubanddining.co.uk/old-swan-hotel-gargrave

https://masonsarmsgargrave.co.uk/

Our final destination on this leg was Skipton, 3 locks and 5 manual swing bridges. At the first bridge I needed the Captains help to open it. It just would not budge, but the following 3 were easier, and at the last a boat coming towards us beat me to it, so I only did 4 of them in the end. We found good moorings on the Spring Branch for the night.

41 miles, 22 locks, 8 bridges, 2199yrds in tunnels and 1 canal