Canal walk Saturday 20 October Leeds to Bingley
We had our usual gang of four for our canal
walk. We proceeded from Stalybridge to Leeds by train.
It was a glorious autumnal morning. The
canal runs adjacent to Leeds station and as with so many city centre waterways, has
been much improved over recent years with new bars, restaurants, office and
residential development.
However, we soon left all of this behind as
we strode out in a north westerly
direction. The canal immediately takes on a rural complexion, with tall
trees and verdant vegetation on all sides. The wide
canal and well maintained towpath meant
that this was as pleasant a stretch of canal walking as one could wish to
encounter.
We stopped at a bench by a staircase of
locks for some refreshments with various chocolate treats provided by the
girls.
We walked on quickly covering the miles and
had nearly reached our final destination at Bingley when we stopped for refreshments
at Saltaire. This is a Victorian model village built by the philanthropist Sir
Titus Salt to house the workers for his adjacent mill complex. Ironically we
enjoyed a beer at the pub overlooking the river; this is a relatively recent
addition as Salt was strictly temperance in order to protect his workers from
the evils of drink. We had an enjoyable stroll around the village which is now
a World Heritage Site.
It wasn’t much further to Bingley where we
finished at the famous ‘five rise’ staircase of locks; constructed in 1774 and
one of the ‘seven wonders of the waterways’. We had time for a welcome drink in
Timothy Taylor’s ‘Brown Cow’ before catching the train back home.
We all agreed that this was one of our most
enjoyable walks. For our the next stage
we will carry on from Bingley to Skipton early in 2013; details to follow.
John H
