Leeds Waterfront Festival 2018

Leeds Waterfront Festival 2018

June 2018

This festival was never on our schedule but finding ourselves in Leeds with a few days on our hands, why not?

 Messing about on Kennet

 Views from thre Sky Bar at the Hilton

We contacted Joy at CRT who orgainises the Granary Wharf element of the event, and asked if we could tale part. After an hour or so we were told that a historic boat wasn't coming and we would be welcome to use its mooring just behind the Hilton Hotel. This is not an event which is generally attended by traders so we would be on our own, but in the company of Ribble and Kennet, two historic Leeds Liverpool short boats.

The basin around Granary Wharf was playing host to the activities which the public could take part in, notably canoeing, paddle boarding and fishing with live music and a BBQ in the central area around the graving dock.

CRT arrived in force and set up a number of gazebos in their snazzy new green and blue liveries, offering different activities and information designed to encourage circulation around the whole basin.

Its hard to comment on the wider attendance because we only saw our corner. There is lots more to see and do at Brewery Wharf and Leeds Dock a mile down the river. Our pitch seemed to be veritable wind trap, with a howling breeze running over the butty even when 50 ft away fishermen were in tee shirts and shorts.  Our corner of the basin had a lowish footfall and sales were not exactly fast, but we sold a lot more than we would expect on a general pop up site and with no fee we are not grumbling.

Its surprising who you meet at these events, far from home. Over the course of the last couple of days a number of people have wandered up and admitted to being blog readers, and have been following our progress over the Pennines. This is always a bit of a surreal experience where they have a lot of background information about us while I am left wracking my brains about where I may have met them before. Its really good to meet regular readers so thanks for making yourselves known.

Going large in Leeds

Large in Leeds

June 2018

Our unexpected stop in Leeds opened the possibility to have an bit of an explore, but the question was how to structure it.

The Boules players

Helen instinctively consulted her friend Google and identified an art trail which, she estimated, would be a mile and a half long. I was a bit doubtful about this distance but figuring the maybe two and  a half miles would be ok, set off camera in hand.

Filming in progress

The result was a mixed bag of murals and public sculptures, but with the pedometer nudging five miles my enthusiasm for the task was on the wane. 

 Mural  magic

Having created a plan Helen does like to see it through to the bitter end and with my starting to drag my heels, she made a detour to Hotel Chocolat to seek the reviving properties of a Hot Chocolate and a slice of cake. My energy levels were perked up, but alas my appetite for urban art was sated. Instead we sought out John Lewis to buy new bedding and then into the outdoor market to but a new shopping trolley to replace last years version which is falling apart.

 Which one is Dr Hook?

Whilst visiting the outside market we also paid the indoor market a visit and what a Victorian gem it is, reminiscent of Grainger Market in Newcastle, but bigger. 

Leeds indoor market

Friday was a day of preparation for the Leeds Waterfront Festival, dusting down the festival paraphernalia which has been lying in the butty for six weeks. Its amazing how clutter builds up and, in the absence of any CRT bins, I made a few low profile visits to the Hilton Hotels rubbish point. Shh - don't tell them cos I'm sure its not really allowed. 

Cross Arcade

On the subject of facilities, the nearest elsan is below Leeds Dock which is over a mile away. The first time I made use of the facility I wheeled my "container of shame" behind me like an obedient dog but was acutely aware of its contents in a busy urban area. The second visit was both quicker and less ignominious as the container was in a poly bag and strapped to the back of on of the folding bikes.

Black Prince and Morn

On a more uplifting note we pulled on some posh clothes (relatively) and went to the 13th floor Skybar in the Hilton which is right next to the moorings. The prices were as sky high as the name suggests so we settled for just the one, grabbed a few photos and discovered that I seem to have lost my heads for heights. 

Arms and Legs

During the evening I looked out at the butty and became convinced that the slight lean of the gazebo was getting stronger and stronger, and, with the boat side legs reaching about 15 degrees went out to investigate. Over the course of the evening the water level was down 2ft. This rapid drop was down to a ground paddle being left partially open and the top gate not being fully seated. I refilled the basin but with the wind gusting around the hotel we decided to take the gazebo down for the night.

The basin suffers from railway noise but its redeeming feature is the proximity of the Hilton Hotel and Candle House both of which have security, ensures an absence of drunken behaviour which is found in so many city centre moorings.

The end of the line and a change of plan

Saltaire to Leeds

June 2018

There may not me a lot of depth in the margins of the pound to the north of Salts Mill, if you find enough, just opposite the church, you will be rewarded with a very quiet nights sleep.

We set off with limited ambitions for the day, pottering along through a few locks and a lot of swing bridges as far as Apperley Bridge. Having last filled with diesel just outside Liverpool I am keen to refill the tank (5/8th of a tank left for those interested) and Apperley Bridge Marina looked like a promising spot.  Sadly we arrived at 3.30pm on Monday, after they had closed and they would remain closed for two days till Wednesday. This is a pain but not a disaster.

New Mill at Saltaire

With the wind building up we decided to stop at Apperley Bridge and you knows who was volunteered to walk to Asda for provisions. The map said under a mile but no one mentioned the hill!

Tuesday dawned fine and bright so we were off by 8.30am to cover the last 8 or 9 miles into Leeds. Seasonal Lock Keepers were manning Newlay and Forge Locks, easing us on our downward path.The canal gets weedier and  shallower as you near Leeds, but we were able to maintain a good speed breasted up.

Water was taken on board in the upper chamber of Oddey Locks where we made the acquaintance of a number of local residents who bought preserved and offered advice / help in equal measure. 

 The new hat gets an outing - and the last mile post

Which brings us to the change of plan. The coming weekend is the Leeds Waterfront Festival  which has been growing steadily over its 11 years. CRT appear to be the lead partner with lots of activities spread across three waterfront, sites all linked by free shuttle boats.

Before I even got to plan A for this trip, the Leeds Festival was considered and discounted because it put pressure on an already tight schedule. Our problem now is the gamble on the Marple Locks. If they stay closed we will have to go south via Manchester, which is not an inviting proposition given the miles and locks we will need to cover to get us to Cosgrove on time.

And so there is the "other way" which I had always discounted. By this I mean the Trent via Keadby. This is, without question, a much faster route and one which saves us about 120 locks. However, I have always fought shy of taking the butty onto the tideway and then facing the long slog up river. But on the flip side, even at 3mph we could catch a tidal assist to Torksey and again to Cromwell followed by the Trent which, due to the dry weather, is currently running with a very low flow. This route, including the Soar and GU Leicester Line would see us back on the grand union is just over two weeks - you can see the appeal.

And so, having talked to the lock keeper at Keadby, the decision has been made. Cancel Standedge, and chance our arm on the Trent. We have the life jackets and the VHF radio but I didnt pack the Trent Charts. Never mind, I have travelled it three times before so I guess I know the way.

Which brings us back to the Leeds Waterfront Festival. We have been in touch with the organisers and following the cancellation of a working boat we have a 70ft pitch in Granary Wharf, right behind the Train Station and the Hilton Hotel. We will be alongside Kennet which was at Saltaire a few days ago and the butty will fit in nicely with the historic craft.

So, if you are in Leeds this weekend do come to Granary Wharf and say hello.

I will keep you posted on the Trent.

Bingley Five Rise

Crossflatts to Saltaire

June 2018

There is always an edge of anticipation about visiting one of the wonders of the waterways world for the first time.

Today it was the famous Bingley Five Rise Locks, a stack of five lock chambers which butt onto each other end to end, facilitating a dramatic change in elevation. The slope is one in five and drops the canal 59ft only to repeat the trick a bit nearer Bingley with a  further three lock staircase. All in all the two flights drop you nearly 100ft.

Enter the top lock

Whilst there is nothing particularly complex about these locks, it is important that boats ascending and decending are properly controlled or boats could meet in the middle and be unable to pass each other. Even worse, boaters could inadvertently flood a boat lower down, so both flights are tightly controlled by CRT lock keepers.

Look down

We rocked up at the top lock at about 9.00am and were immediately ushered into the chamber as two boats were approaching from below and would be waiting by the time we exited the bottom lock. With all the lock keeper support there wasn't a huge amount for us to do so Helen worked one side half way down and I did the rest. 

Open the paddles

We often find the the enforced stops at locks results in the sale of preserves and our trip down the Bingley locks saw £30 go into the coffers. Such was the popularity of our offering I did ask if we could simply ride up and down the locks all day long!

Look back

We arrived at the second flight just as two boats started up, so we moored and waited. Unfortunately Helen kind of fell off the back rail, catching the rim of her boots on the cockpit edging and landed very heavily on her knees on the engine cover. That pretty much wiped her out for the day with her knees swelling up like balloons in spite of the application of frozen peas. Lets hope she makes a swift recovery.

The plan was to stop at the bottom of the second staircase but one look at the mooring put me right off the idea. It is on the offside (useless for trading) and right beside a very busy dual carriageway. Instead we decided to go to Saltaire and moor on the towpath to the north of the mill. I had spotted  this location yesterday and figured there would be reasonable footfall.

With locks cropping up every mile or so we decided to leave the boats breasted up, a format which will probably remain in place all the way to Leeds or beyond.

With lots of people on the towpath I enlisted help wherever we could and steadily worked ourselves to within sight of the Saltaire mill. After a few attempts we found some deep water just to the north of the trip boat landing and immediately set up our sale boards together with the "ring for attention" bell. The bell boinged regularly through the afternoon and a good amount of sales were achieved. For the first time we but out a box of duck food and without trying sold a couple of pounds worth.

We are making good progress towards our passage through Stannage on Wednesday 27th, but are starting to keep a close eye on the ever changing situation on the Marple flight. The latest is that passage is limited to boats up to 45ft in length and with a one week closure the week after next to try and effect a temporary fix. All being well it will reopen just as we need to turn south after completing the Lancashire side of the Huddersfield Narrow. However, the pessimist in me says that the temp fix wont work and the flight will close for months. This would mean we have to descend the Ashton Canal and the Rochdale 9, returning via the Trent and Mersey. Not an ideal scenario but its probably do-able in time for Cosgrove Festival on the Grand Union on 21 / 22 July.

Jumping ahead of ourselves

Saltaire

June 2018

Most of this trip has been spent trying to keep the blog reasonably up to date, so today I am excelling myself by jumping ahead.

Victoria Hall, Saltaire

Yesterday we made an uneventful trip along 13 miles of flat canal, due south from Skipton. Whilst there are no locks to slow progress, there are about 25 swing bridges which crop up about every half a mile. Some are easy but one or two we absolute swines, and one even defied all my attempts to get it fully open and so instead Helen wiggled the boats through the small gap I created.

Inside Victoria Hall 

Our jump ahead isn't so much in time but rather in places visited by boat. We are currently moored at Crossflatts, just above the Bingley Five Rise and the plan was to drop down the five and three rise locks and moor for the afternoon at the bottom. However, the weather came into play again and with rain forecast for much of the day we decided to take the train two stops down the line and visit Saltaire and save the Five Rise for Sunday.

 Titus Salt - in the park and in the church entrance

I wont bore you with a detailed history of Saltaire but to put it in context when Titus Salt, a Bradford textile industrialist, was about 50 in the mid 1800's he decided to build a model factory and village on a greenfield site, somewhere where workers could have a good life away from the slums of industrial Bradford and at the same time the mill and its 4,000 employees would produce large quantities of quality cloth. In theory a win win scenario. This philanthropic approach wasn't exactly unique as the same this was happening in Birmingham with the Cadburys and other Quaker dynasties elsewhere.

 Alms for the poor and a place to worship

Titus Salt wasn't a Quaker but he clearly was a God faring man of great principle. In addition to his massive mill he also built what is still one of the most ornate non conformist church buildings in the country. He also built good quality housing for his workers, with improved housing available as they climbed the pecking order. Then there was the Institute, now known as Victoria Hall, which on the day of our visit was hosting a Peace Craft sale. Yes, I know - that sounds a bit odd, but there you go - lets just say that there was a lot of very niche merchandise on sale.... He also built schools, alms houses and a hospital - the list goes on and on.

Attention to detail in the bandstand

Beyond Roberts Park, donated by a later owner, lies the Shipley Glen Cable Tramway which, for £1.50, will pull you up the side of the Aire valley and you than walk back down through woodland and seas of wild garlic. Well worth the effort.

Shipley Green tramway

Salt's successors continued in his path and added a technical college and the lovely park, generally enhancing Saltaire as a place to work and live. Of course, the business had its ups and downs and came close to insolvency a few times, but for 150 years it managed to keep going till foreign competition and changes in taste for fabrics saw it close in the 1970's.

David Hockney's Saltaire Mill and more recent works created on his i-pad.

Don't forget the Leeds Liverpool Canal which runs through the site.

Saltaire, for all its Italianate grandeur would have become just another casualty of the changing times, another ruin on the banks of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal but for the vision of a young Jonathan Silver. He bought the massive building when no one else was interested and developed it as a centre for the arts, as well as letting elements to small businesses. It now hosts the largest collection of David Hockney works in the world, as well as a great bookshop, furniture design store and restaurant . The site is mostly free so a day here wont break the bank.

I can relate to this!

What did break the bank was the Tilley hat I bought in the outdoor shop. I have long envied my friend Dave's Tilley hat and today I finally succumbed to temptation. So, in two days I have paid a ridiculous sum to cover my head and feet - now there is the small matter of all the bits in between. Don't hold your breath - I hate new clothes.