A swan and her young were out for a early morning swim, but a couple decided they were going to hitch a ride on the back of mum instead.
As the canal turns to the south is the Springs Branch which used to serve a limestone quarry half a mile to the north, theses days it serves to give boaters a chance to see the castle at close quarters.
Leaving Skipton behind, the canal returned to open country with the A6131 in close attendance. Before passing Snaygills boatyard I got to see a heron stretching its wings which is always an awe-inspiring sight.
For the next mile I had a barge for company which made for a handy pacemaker as the rain clouds continued to stalk the valley.
It was a bit of a surprise to across a war memorial by the side of the canal but very appropriate on the D-Day anniversary and I was able to spend a few minutes of quiet contemplation. The seven Polish airmen had died when their Wellington had crashed, shortly after take-off from Skipton, at this very spot on September 23, 1943.
Moving on the rain had finally broken and the rest of the day got gradually brighter.
So far I had not managed to see one of the swing-bridges in action and with this being my penultimate day I feared it would not happen, however my wish was granted.
Passing through a small village called Farnhill, the canal continued to deliver fantastic views on one side and plenty of livestock to entertain on the other.
I was fortunate enough to manage to capture a couple of rabbits before they scampered off as well as a horse which appeared to have to attracted some chickens worshipping it.
Next up was Silsden which also boasts a boat-yard and an encounter with a very photogenic cow who came nice and close for her picture.
After Silsden, Alder Carr wood reaches down the hill to join the canal for a while and at this point I saw the first bit of sunlight to provide some timely colour to the bushes.
At the ten mile mark I reached Riddlesden which seemed good for a pit-stop and, joy of joys, the pub I had chosen was actually open. One refreshing drink later I moved on and passed this barge, I had previously passed it near Chorley and Barnoldswick. The name caught my eye and I'd like to think its the same one rather than 3 boats with the same name.
Plenty to be seen now and with the day much brighter I wass having a lot of fun by now, taking in some goats, the closest I've got to a heron so far and a mill conversion that impressed me.
In the next field there were two cows fighting, which I've never seen before, which involved them pushing their heads against each other in bovine sumo wrestling style. So focussed I was on them I nearly missed the black swan right in front of me.
As I approached the outskirts of Bingley,the height of the canal lookingmn over the valley was at its peak which meant I was approaching thye famous Bingley Five Rise.
The five rise is the largest staircase of locks in the country, dropping the canal nearly 60 feet over a very short space. It is the other Wonder of the British Waterways and I was suitably impressed.
Shortly after that came a three-rise taking me down to the level of Bingley, which looks pretty smart and then onto my second and last pit-stop of the day.
The final few miles gave me plenty to see, passing a pair of geese with fluffiiest chicks I have seen the canal passed over the River Aire which had really grown since I passed over it at Gargrave. The tree-lines here gave the feeling of being in a park and in the distance a chimney gave me the first sight of Saltaire.
Saltaire was founded in 1853 by mill-owner Sir Titus Salt who felt his workers deserved better living conditions and moved his entire business into two large mills and built housing plus all the ammenities they would need here. Its classified as a World Heritage Site and is definately somewhere I want to explore more fully.
Straight after Saltaire came Shipley, which is where the canal used to link to the Bradford canal, which full hopefully be restored one day. There were two warehouses which caught my eye, on which I think would be worth restoring and the second one was the finished article.
Shipley was the final destination for the day, having completed 17 miles. This took the total to 114 miles, leaving me with 13 miles to tackle on the final day on Sunday.
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