Bingley 5

 

We pulled ropes from around bollards at our mooring below Bingley 3 locks 07.50 and went onto the lock landing on the other side of the canal . We waited until well after 08.00 and couldn’t see any sign of a Lockie . So we walked up the lock flight only to discover that we had to ring the Lockies on the 5 rise to get them to come down to us and lock us through . A quick call and within 10 minutes we had a lockie with us unlocking all the paddles on the flight.

By 08.30 we were on our way up the Bingley 3 stair case locks and after only 30 minutes were at the top and on our way to the Bingley 5 rise.

This is what I have really been looking forward to ever since we planned this trip. I have seen so many pictures and read so much about this flight of locks . Arriving at the flight and mooring on the lock landing it looked nothing like I imagined it would. The Lockie on the 3 rise had rung the Lockie on the 5 flight to let him know that we were on our way ,so when we got to the bottom lock all was set for us to enter.

The five locks lift us up 60 feet and further towards The Pennines. You can see the water rushing in to the lock on the left as the ground paddles are opened.

In the end it was a very uneventful locking up as we finally reached the top . It took us just over an hour which is not bad going . At the top we stopped and picked up a well deserved Bacon Butty from the cafe at the top.

Cruising on and we passed this boat which is called Noah’s ark . I think it’s an old ships lifeboat that has had a bit of a paint job.

Looks like work in progress on this boat with the bath sat there waiting to be fitted.

Yet another swing bridge and this time Carolyn takes Inca through . We have said that I will do all the manual ones and Carolyn would operate the electric ones.. I’m not sure how many there are on this canal ,but there are certainly more than we have ever come across before and every one of them is different.

Climbing up towards Skipton and the landscape starts to change as we pass through some beautiful countryside.

After a most enjoyable 6 hour cruise we picked up a mooring in Skipton. Luckily there was enough time for Carolyn to go and have a look around the town where she managed to pick up a new pair of walking boots.  We would have liked to have spent a few days here ,but with Liverpool booked we need to be on the move again as soon as possible ,so hopefully another early start in the morning.

 

                                                                                                 Happy Days