With only a short cruise today we had a lie in and eventually pulled ropes through rings at 08.40. We are just hoping that we can pick up a mooring in Leeds basin which now seems to be known as Leeds Dock .
As usual we are in a bit of a rush as Carolyn wants to have some time in Leeds as she has heard there is a rather good shopping centre there and with good links from the Dock she has my credit card ready to go.
At the moment there’s a lot of flood prevention work going on around Leeds with contractors everywhere. We were a bit shocked when this happened as we came out of Knostrop lock. There was a Banksman directing the crane who had watched us come up in the lock . Then unbelievably he guided the crane right over the top of us with this huge lump of metal attached to it. If it had slipped off it would have crashed down on top of us . Needless to say I shouted a few choice words at the idiot Banksman.
We just love passing all the old wharfs . It’s just a bit of a shame that the waterways cant be used to transport more cargos around the network and avoid so many needless road journeys.
Entering Leeds and just look at all these flats . There’s no way that we could live in one of them especially on the top floor.
After a good few hours cruising we arrived at Leeds lock and had to wait for a boat to lock down . How good is it to see that a lot of the old mills and warehouses have been converted in to living accomodation and offices instead of being knocked down.
What a brilliant idea is it that this is on hand to save the life of anyone that has fallen in to the water . But by the time you have rang 999 and waited to get through and then read the instructions the poor sod that had fallen in has probably drowned . I totally understand why this system is in place as we have passed so many locations where the lifebuoy or safety line has been vandalised or just thrown in the water.
This is where we leave the Aire and Calder navigation and join the Leeds and Liverpool canal .Hopefully at the top of this lock it’s a very tight turn left and then a lovely mooring just sat there waiting for us.
How lucky are we being able to moor here , We have heard so many stories about the Leeds Dock/basin being full and visitors being unable to moor. We had planned to spend just one night here but a local just happened to mention to Carolyn that this was the third biggest city in the UK and it has an amazing shopping centre and it was going to be even better than she had previously thought it would be. Looks like we may be here for a day or two…
Happy Days
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