Day 1 of the holiday, and we make our way to Sowerby Bridge to meet up with the lovely people at Shire Cruisers, and to get our briefing and take over the boat, the good ship "Gloucester".
We are experienced boaters by now, but there are still things they need to tell us about the Aire and Calder Navigation - flood locks, getting on and off the river, wrangling locks with your "Calder Spike" etc. We take careful note and then get let loose to do battle with the Salterhebble flight, supervised, before we are signed off.
It's a fairly busy mission we have assigned ourselves and the Canal Guide (book) is be-stickered with dire warnings about "Must get to here by Tuesday" etc. Not too much time for leisurely lunches and stopping at pretty Yorkshire villages to shop and potter. (This turned out to be a mistake - next year we'll give ourselves an easier time, and more time in the pubs and towns). Tonight though, a reasonably easy target. We must get towards "Ramsden's Swing Bridge" just outside Wakefield in a small village called Kirkthorpe.
My pics today are of me strolling round the lock chamber rim "supervising" the humans as they mess with the sluices and paddles, and a scenic one of the boat in the dawn light, moored at the target spot - it's been a beautiful sunny day and we are all risking sunburn, followed by a lovely relaxing exhausted, fresh-air'd out night's sleep.
Splendid
Deefski
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