Thursday 11th August 2016
The wind was still blowing a hooley & the rain was lashing, the Great British summer in all its glory, so we decided to have a day making soup & baking scones.
Newbie single hander Jayne moored behind us asked if she could travel up Greenfield locks with us tomorrow. of course will enjoy the company.
Friday 12th August 2016
It was still blowing a gales but was dry so we had some breakfast, gave Jill a knock both secured cats inside & set off.
The canal is very windy on this stretch & with the strength of the wind it was quite hard going, only lost it a bit at one bridge which was a very tight turn going into the wind, then the 3 Greenfield locks. unexpectedly there was a volunteer lock keeper on duty, we think it was maybe because of the hire boat incident a couple of days before. He was a cheery chap & told me to hug the towpath between locks 1 & 2 to avoid being caught by the wind.
the tight turn into a bridge where the wind caught us.
We completed the locks & said cheerio to Jill as she headed off in front of us, we wanted to stop at Barnoldswick to get a few supplies in so we moored up just before Lower Park Marina. We walked back to Long Ing Bridge which is just a short walk to the co-op & other shops.
Near the county border with North Yorkshire, it is just outside the Yorkshire Dales National Park.
Barnoldswick is the highest town on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, lying on the summit level of the canal between Barrowford Locks to the south west and Greenberfield Locks just north east of the town.
We walked back to Long Ing Bridge which is just a short walk to the co-op & other shops. The Dolphin Fish & Chip shop was open so on the way back we popped for some chips…….don’t bother, the worst yet. Very greasy & very overcooked.
Barnoldswick, with 12 letters, is one of the longest place names in the UK which doesn’t repeat any letters. Only Buckfastleigh, Buslingthorpe West Yorkshire and Buslingthorpe Lincolnshire are longer, each have 13 letters.
Lower Park Marina
Looking back at boats lined up at Lower Park Marina
Barnoldswick used to be a major cotton producing town, now it is the home base for Silent Night Beds who had the longest running strike by workers from 1985-1987. Rolls Royce is also a major employer in the town, the model number of many Rolls Royce jet engines start with the initials RB which stands for Rolls Barnoldswick, as Rolls Royce Aero design centre was in Barnoldswick.
We set off again hoping to get a mooring at Salterforth outside the pub to trade for the weekend.
Lovely spot but too high for me & the animals.
A lot more narrow stretches & tight bends then we happen upon the pub, private moorings before the bridge & only two moorings under the bridge adjacent to pub car park, both taken, nowhere else close suitable for trading. Oh, well we carry on & find a lovely spot about 1/2 mile on but unfortunately once moored up it was too high & dangerous for the animals, so we upped pins & found a better spot Hatters Bridge just past the private boat club,
moored up then the boat was surrounded by hundreds of wasps…….oooops must of blocked a nest in the bank, moved just under the bridge & finally moored up for the day with a fab view over the Dales.
From here the towpath provides a picturesque walk back to Barnoldswick or forwards to Foulridge.
3.5 Miles 3 Locks 0 Swing Bridges 2.5hrs
nb That's D'riculous 
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