New boater going on the canal next May.

[lognor8]

Hello everyone.

I have booked a taster trip over the May Day bank holiday next year. Yeah, I know I have a long time to wait but I am looking at what to do and get an idea what to expect. I have booked with Silsden Boats (Dan's Drum) and want to experience the Bingley 5 rise of locks. Are there any recommends along the way? Things to see, pubs to visit, how long does it take from Silsden to Bingley? Really exited. Thanks in advance.

[Jen-in-Wellies]

Canalplan is a good tool for timing trips. Depending on how long you've got and how much boating you want to do, versus other things in your time. Going beyond Bingley to Shipley gives you a chance to visit Saltaire, with the company village and mill. Keighley has steam trains, if that's your thing. Going the other way to Skipton, a very pleasant market town, with castle.

[system 4-50]

I wouldn't hire any boat with "Drum" in its name.

[MtB]

37 minutes ago, system 4-50 said:

I wouldn't hire any boat with "Drum" in its name.

Superstitious?

 

[Ken X]

Firstly, enjoy the experience and do not worry about how far you get.  Work out the middle of your holiday travelling time wise and see where you expect to be.  Turning may well require a winding hole and plotting these can be useful.  A Nicholsons Guide or similar is worth getting in advance to plan.

 

If this is your first time on any canal do research into powered and manual swing bridges and understand how locks work, particularly a staircase lock, as you may encounter one with no volunteers present.  The CRT Boaters Handbook is well worth a read.  Silsdens should be able to advise and answer any questions you may have prior to departure.

 

The Bingley five rise and the following three rise are controlled by CRT Volunteers so no problems there.  Just so you know, you will be going downhill from Silsden.  The next locks are Dowley Gap which is a two chamber staircase and there are not always volunteers present.  This one has a slightly smaller top chamber than bottom chamber.  We were warned by the volunteers at Bingley in July and they were right.  You have to empty the top chamber a bit, then refill and empty again (or similar) to ensure you have enough water over the centre sill to carry your boat from the top chamber into the bottom.  It is really not a big problem but just be aware of the water level when the top chamber is balanced with the bottom chamber.  Worst case you have to carefully run a bit more water through the top ground paddles to raise the level before crossing the sill. 

 

As Jen said Saltaire is worth a look, particularly if you are into art and design.  You cannot moor there overnight but good daytime moorings are available.

 

We went from Skipton to Dewsbury and back this year so have photos etc. if required.

[beerbeerbeerbeerbeer]

30 minutes ago, Ken X said:

As Jen said Saltaire is worth a look, particularly if you are into art and design.  You cannot moor there overnight but good daytime moorings are available.

Are you sure?

If I remember right, and unless things have changed, you can more either side of the bridge at Saltaire or go passed the apartments and moor for 14 days. 

And yes, well worth a visit.

 

Edited November 4, 2022 by Goliath

[IanD]

1 hour ago, lognor8 said:

Hello everyone.

I have booked a taster trip over the May Day bank holiday next year. Yeah, I know I have a long time to wait but I am looking at what to do and get an idea what to expect. I have booked with Silsden Boats (Dan's Drum) and want to experience the Bingley 5 rise of locks. Are there any recommends along the way? Things to see, pubs to visit, how long does it take from Silsden to Bingley? Really exited. Thanks in advance.

How many days have you booked the boat for? How many hours per day do you want to be travelling rather than sightseeing?

 

Bingley, Saltaire and Skipton (the other way!) are all great places to visit.

 

Silsden to Bingley and back (turning below the 3 rise) is about 10.5 hours travel.

Silsden to Saltaire (via Bingley) and back (turning at Shipley Junction) is about 13.5 hours travel.

Silsden to Skipton and back (turning at Shipley Junction) is about 7 hours travel.

[LadyG]

16 minutes ago, Goliath said:

Are you sure?

If I remember right, and unless things have changed, you can more either side of the bridge at Saltaire or go passed the apartments and moor for 14 days. 

And yes, well worth a visit.

 

Yes there are six hour moorings at the Saltaire buildings, but it s easy to just move a little for overnight.

Silsden Boats will give you a good briefing, and may assist at first lock as you are new to the game.

[jonathanA]

7 minutes ago, LadyG said:

Silsden Boats will give you a good briefing, and may assist at first lock as you are new to the game.

That'll be a first if they do....

Their training normally consists of suggesting their hirers watch a dvd. 

There argument is they are too far away from any locks to send anyone. 

I've had this discussion with one of their directors BTW. 

[Ken X]

1 hour ago, Goliath said:

Are you sure?

If I remember right, and unless things have changed, you can more either side of the bridge at Saltaire or go passed the apartments and moor for 14 days. 

And yes, well worth a visit.

 

I could have phrased it better, it is just the visitor moorings which are time limited. Having said that, CRT have indeed installed a lovely row of moorings just after Saltaire towards Shipley but have neglected to provide any water. We tried to approach these a few times and bounced off the bottom every time before we got to the edge. It may be better in May but forewarned is forearmed.

[LadyG]

1 hour ago, jonathanA said:

That'll be a first if they do....

Their training normally consists of suggesting their hirers watch a dvd. 

There argument is they are too far away from any locks to send anyone. 

I've had this discussion with one of their directors BTW. 

You are right, thinking about Shire Cruisers..., They give verbal briefing of course, rapidly.

Edited November 4, 2022 by LadyG

[Opener]

6 hours ago, lognor8 said:

Hello everyone.

I have booked a taster trip over the May Day bank holiday next year. Yeah, I know I have a long time to wait but I am looking at what to do and get an idea what to expect. I have booked with Silsden Boats (Dan's Drum) and want to experience the Bingley 5 rise of locks. Are there any recommends along the way? Things to see, pubs to visit, how long does it take from Silsden to Bingley? Really exited. Thanks in advance.

I'm not sure what Silsden can offer because it can be quite 'congested' when most of their boats are at home. Check that the one you are hiring is pointing towards Bingley. Otherwise you might be going to Skipton.

[Stroudwater1]

3 hours ago, LadyG said:

You are right, thinking about Shire Cruisers..., They give verbal briefing of course, rapidly.

Agree Shire at Sowerby Bridge don’t do just a verbal briefing and definitely not rapid. They will usually let one of their staff drive round from their base and take you down the Salterhebble three. Some of their tips were really useful too. 

[jonathanA]

8 hours ago, Stroudwater1 said:

Agree Shire at Sowerby Bridge don’t do just a verbal briefing and definitely not rapid. They will usually let one of their staff drive round from their base and take you down the Salterhebble three. Some of their tips were really useful too. 

Yes and pennine cruises at Skipton are very good too, with someone meeting you at the first lock . 

[IanD]

1 minute ago, jonathanA said:

Yes and pennine cruises at Skipton are very good too, with someone meeting you at the first lock . 

All true, but not of much help to the OP who has booked with Silsden Boats... 😉

 

If lognor8 told us how long he's got the boat for and how long he wants to cruise for every day, it might be possible to make some helpful suggestions about stops, pubs, places to see and so on... 🙂

[midnight cowboy]

I agree with most of the above advice - also are you a David Hockney fan? - then Saltaire is a must.

[lognor8]

It is just a May bank holiday hire, Friday to Monday. 4 adults. To be honest, we have dreamed about this for a long time. Just getting on the boat will be a feat in itself. One of our 'crew' just wants to moor up, go for a pub lunch and set off again. Me? I want the five rise. No real plans in place. Just wanna experience what it's like.

[Hudds Lad]

From memory you’ll not make Bingley in time on the first day. Think Silsden handover is about 2pm, you’ll not leave before 3, later if your particular boat is deep in the pile and you have to wait for others to sort themselves out. If it’s pointing towards Bingley you’re on your way, if it’s pointing towards Skipton you’ve the best part of two hours journey to get to a winding hole and back and a couple of swing bridges to negotiate.

You should be able to moor somewhere above the Five Rise first night, which means you can join the queue early doors and enjoy some breakfast from the café whilst waiting. Saltaire and it’s environs Saturday night, then wherever you manage on the way back Sunday to leave you within striking distance of Silsden on Mon morning as i think drop off is quite early. We ended up at the moorings just east of the yard once and were not impressed by the fare from the local Chinese takeaway (nowhere else was doing food and the kids chose Chinese over curry etc.) this was seven years ago now though, so take with a pinch of salt as eateries come and go.

 

Buy or borrow Collins Nicholson Waterways Guide No.5: North West and the Pennines, have a play round with https://canalplan.org.uk/ and probably browse Google Earth/Maps to see what pubs etc. are nearby en route.

 

Enjoy yourselves, but be warned its addictive and can lead to boat ownership  it did for us.

[Chris Lowe]

Will there be enough water?

[Moke]

There’s plenty of water at the moment……problem is a lot of it is frozen 

[lognor8]

Hello everyone. I wasn't expecting a response to my early November post in December. Wow! So sorry for not replying.

I took a car ride up to Knaresborough (from Merseyside) this week and decided on the way back home to visit the Silsden Boatyard to get a canal map. Janet (the owner?) was very friendly and opened the office for us even though it was late Sunday and it was closed. She explained that there is a system in place where you can go through the locks in one direction but to return you have to wait until the next day. Apparently, this is to conserve water in the locks. To be honest I was like a kid in a sweet shop and not really paying attention so I may have got this wrong. Anyway, we are definitely doing the 5 and 3 Bingley locks (which I believe is downhill) and then it's anyone's guess. Could we do the 2 locks further on considering the few days we have? I would appreciate opinions from those more knowledgeable than me. Would it be advisable to moor somewhere out of the way or am I OK to moor up wherever? I intend to sail at least 8 hours per day so what would be a realistic goal regarding distance and pubs for meal times. etc? .so many questions!!...I just want to have the best experience for the time available to us.

[David Mack]

https://canalplan.org.uk/cgi-bin/canal.cgi may help with the route planning.

[Moke]

Bear in mind the bingley locks must be booked at leas three days in advance either way and only have limited opening hours. 

[howardang]

8 hours ago, lognor8 said:

Hello everyone. I wasn't expecting a response to my early November post in December. Wow! So sorry for not replying.

I took a car ride up to Knaresborough (from Merseyside) this week and decided on the way back home to visit the Silsden Boatyard to get a canal map. Janet (the owner?) was very friendly and opened the office for us even though it was late Sunday and it was closed. She explained that there is a system in place where you can go through the locks in one direction but to return you have to wait until the next day. Apparently, this is to conserve water in the locks. To be honest I was like a kid in a sweet shop and not really paying attention so I may have got this wrong. Anyway, we are definitely doing the 5 and 3 Bingley locks (which I believe is downhill) and then it's anyone's guess. Could we do the 2 locks further on considering the few days we have? I would appreciate opinions from those more knowledgeable than me. Would it be advisable to moor somewhere out of the way or am I OK to moor up wherever? I intend to sail at least 8 hours per day so what would be a realistic goal regarding distance and pubs for meal times. etc? .so many questions!!...I just want to have the best experience for the time available to us.

Each to his/her own of course and whatever you decide I do hope you have a great time.

Personally, I found over the years that it is definitely not worth having too rigid a plan for a hire boat trip, and it can even be counterproductive. Weather and other delays can change any pre-planning and in my experience I got more enjoyment out of exploring what you find along the way, working on the basic idea of planning to turn on the return journey halfway through to trip.  As a family we found that the occasional visit to a pub might be a great experience but over the years we got more satisfaction and enjoyment  in eating on the boat more often that in pubs. Most hire bases should have some arrangement for groceries to be delivered to the boat to save you the hassle of taking stores with you.  Of course it all depends on whether  you have young people of board and is of course, like most things, a personal choice. 

You will be going along a beautiful stretch of canal so leave yourself a little time to admire the scenery or even to explore it a little on foot, rather that setting too ambitious a timetable. In my view the canals are better enjoyed at a relaxed pace rather than racing to keep to a rigid timetable.

 

Whatever you decide enjoy your holiday.😄

 

Howard

[MtB]

9 hours ago, lognor8 said:

I intend to sail at least 8 hours per day so what would be a realistic goal regarding distance and pubs for meal times. etc? .so many questions!!...I just want to have the best experience for the time available to us.

 

 

As Howard expressed so articulately in the post above, your plan is unlikely to deliver "the best experience for the time" you mention. There is nothing the gods of the canal waters love to disrupt more than a rigid plan. Especially when said rigid plan involves getting to a pub by a particular time to eat. DAMHIK. Many times over until I learned to go with the flow, which rarely totally flows where (or when) you expect. 

 

Broken paddles, unexpected queues at locks, going aground, stopping for fuel/water/shopping, pounds with no water, stoppages etc happen along the way and guess what? None of these help you go along any faster!