Colne Valley Beagles and other things of interest.: NARROWBOAT IN SEPTEMBER

An assortment of odds and ends in no particular order, photographed on the trip between Skipton and Leeds while on or around the Leeds and Liverpool canal.

There is a lot of affluence around Skipton

Although not everyone is affluent! This chap, who may of course be a multimillionaire, was resting on the steps of Gallows Bridge over the canal in Skipton when I first saw him. Clearly his early morning shop at the supermarket has exhausted him as it is around 9am.

He had moved to the rear of the waterway’s ‘facilities’ where there is a more comfortable seat.

The ‘facilites’ for boaters, behind which the chap was asleep, are adequately basic. Rubbish in bins behind the wooden gate. There are two water points, one was inoperable as the Yale type lock on the metal door protecting the tap from vandalism had been hammered by vandals to prevent a key being inserted. There is a sluice on the left for emptying chemical toilets and on the right is a toilet. Despite the hive of boat activity in Skipton there is no shower, which one can find here and there on the cut at better equipped places. OK so boats like caravans have showers and baths but sometimes it is nice to submit to a long leisurely hot drenching having subscribed to the waterway’s facilities.
Copyright image by David Swanbury

Boating terrier on watchC

opyright image by David Swanbury

Dog Watch

This ‘decal’ is on a very classy narrowboat called Swamp Frogs. When I first appeared on the scene of the L&L canal there didn’t seem to be too many really smart boats about unlike the Midlands of the time, but I think it has caught up and now there are some really superb ones and this boat was certainly one of them. Not sure how they manage to keep them looking so pristine.
Copyright image by David Swanbury

The fine traditional style bows of Swamp Frogs with its name on the top of the gunwales as a discreet touch.

Figure on a field mooring near Skipton

An old British Waterways tug that has been recreated as an ice cream stand.

Traditional style canal ware on top of a boat. I saw more on that boat than on the whole trip. Sometimes narrowboats have tubs of flowers.

The stool intrigues me as it looks like a big casting. Nice wood on the ‘seat’.

I never noticed the boat name

A rather mundane row of houses by the canal with one very interesting garden. In fact I just couldn’t do it justice when I tried to capture it.

On the flat roof of the outbuilding the owner has created this delightful layout with a model of a working narrowboat about to go down a lock.

This lovely little display was part of a larger bit of garden on the banking of a narrowboat’s field mooring near Skipton. I think this effort is an absolute cracker!

There are certainly two of these displays around in Skipton.

Two ladies going to the Saltaire Festival - looked like mother and daughter.

Saltaire Festival was a big weekend event with huge crowds and closed local roads.

Interesting rotating cowl on a boat chimney

Couple of monkeys on a boat.

Taking the sun. The weather in September was pretty good.

Another narrowboat at Skipton

This is a brilliantly clever bit of car tyre origami. I haven’t quite figured out how this swan was created.

A small garden in Saltaire with a novel and interesting approach to gardening.

The collection of debris that looks as though it has been collected by a beachcomber was fascinating and kept me there for some time.

This large disturbing illustration, well disturbing to me, graced a big section of the end wall in ‘The Fisherman’s’ on Dobb Kiln Lane at Bingley where we had a very enjoyable midday meal. I wonder at the significance of the lower case ‘e’ on ALONe? Some sort of artistic tweak I suppose. I guess the Kiln in the address comes from the fact there used to be lime kilns nearby.

These ladies had just set up their wares under the road bridge at Saltaire. The owner of the narrowboat, on the right, lives aboard and is one of the itinerant licensed traders of the waterways.

They were lovely people and interesting to chat to before the crowds arrived. They made a nice colourful scene in the sun in their hippy garb to complement their display. Both highly educated too.

Donkeys arriving to give children rides at the Saltaire Festival

I really enjoy wandering around the back alleys of Saltaire, unfortunately cluttered with the inevitable wheelie bins which are the scourge of the age. Cats are everywhere in these alleys and little gardens.

Actually this is a Skipton cat which is quite overfed compared to the Saltaire alley cats.

A fine doorway with a waiting resident.

Titus Salt built his model village along with other facilities, excepting pubs, for his workers, to give them decent housing and a wholesome environment. I was told that the sloping site defined the hierarchy of the dwellers. The higher you were in the hierarchy at the mill the higher up the hill you lived. An unrelated lingering thought is that mill owners and other entrepreneurs and ‘top people’ of that era tended to live to the west side of the industry they created as the prevailing west wind kept them free of the pollution.

The Saltaire Festival was a big event.

Crowds visiting the Saltaire Festival

The balloon seller was kept pretty busy and was replaced by a chap in the afternoon when it was even busier.

Just liked the image at the time. Might have been better to get a different angle and a close up to show his gold facial metalwork for a character shot.

With that facial profile they have to be brother and sister. Not seen anyone in that sort of style for a very long time. Is it coming back?

Maybe he wants to be a boater. The Canal and River Trust now run the inland waterways. I keep seeing these little tents with leaflets at strategic times and places. I think they are trying to broaden the use of the waterway environment. Towpaths no longer have a use as towpaths as no one, apart from the odd die hard enthusiast display type boats use horses for locomotion. In fact it wouldn’t surprise me if they don’t want horses on towpaths now as many are being given a smooth flat asphalt or other type of smooth surface. So now they are being encouraged to be used as some sort of linear recreational facility.

These two street musicians seemed to get a fair number of contributions not least from encouraged small children. The chap on the guitar was also the singer and I don’t know how his vocal cords sustained the continuous stress of his particular penetrating repertoire.

At Saltaire, in one of the closed off streets, was a food market which I will briefly illustrate on a separate post as it was really diverse and interesting. These two caught my attention as they stood chatting at the end of that street.

This advertising in Leeds caught my eye too as I was walking up into Leeds centre. When I took the photo I hadn’t realized it was a bloke until he asked to have a look at his image on the screen.

A superb sculpture that stands on a high pedestal outside an entrance to the Trinity Shopping Mall in Leeds

Some improvements have been sponsored.

I doubt cyclists are going slow enough to read this. Many certainly disregard it.

The major problem and hazard for pedestrians of all ages and ability as well as animals, is the cyclists, who can now use the smooth towpaths as a race track. I don’t know why pedestrians have to compete for space at risk of life and limb with helmeted lycra and sweat clad lunatics, well not all wear lycra, who try to maintain their 35mph average regardless of obstacles. It can be quite frightening and is potentially dangerous. If you are lucky a single ping from a bike bell might register as they come up behind you and are about blast past. If you are in the way they will expect you to give them immediate priority. Maybe attire makes people act out of character and so a quiet unassuming junior executive is transformed into an aggressive thrusting speed fixated menace.

Anyway this chap didn’t fall into that category and not all do. Many commute around Leeds on the towpath on foot and on bikes and some bikes are ridden sensibly.

Another heron pic for a calming ending

Monday 5 October 2015

NARROWBOAT IN SEPTEMBER - BITS AND BOBS

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