Wigan to Leeds...how fast should I go

[DeanS]

I have 3 weeks to get to Leeds from Wigan. I dont want to get there early because I have to be IN LEEDS for some time. Do I:

 

1. Move quickly to past Bingley locks and then spend 2weeks "going slow" around the "beautiful bits"...which I suspect are on either side of Skipton.

 

or.

 

2. Do I just go ultra slow the whole trip.

 

or

 

3. Do I pace it differently....like go fast between towns and spend 2-3days in each town

 

ADVICE WELCOME

 

 

 

I have to arrive in Leeds round the 25July.

[cotswoldsman]

Crack on and go to York and Ripon and catch the bus to Leeds

[DeanS]

Crack on and go to York and Ripon and catch the bus to Leeds

 

LOL. I would, but the kids are catching trains from Leeds on 28th, then back to Leeds on the 5th, and then out of Leeds on the 11th....(they have a social life). I could crack on and go past Leeds, but I'm in no rush...I just want to do a gentle...cruise...eating on the barbecue...looking at the cows....romancing the lady, enjoying my solar....quietly...lol.

[Guest]

Never been quite as far as Leeds yet so can't comment on that part, but can say there are some really nice areas before Skipton. TBH once you are clear of the towns it is a really nice stretch of canal (and TBH the towns don't bother me.)

[bowten]

Slow down when yer pass me!

[cotswoldsman]

Slow down when yer pass me!

Nah full speed I recon.

[Alanji]

Hi Dean,

I am heading to Leeds from Wigan next week. It will be at a very leisurely pace. Maybe we can meet up for a beer somewhere on the way?

Edited July 5, 2013 by Alanji

[DeanS]

Hi Dean,

I am heading to Leeds from Wigan next week. It will be at a very leisurely pace. Maybe we can meet up for a beer somewhere on the way?

 

Greetings

 

I'm a sweet tooth and never quite gotten to enjoy the taste of beer (o dread..horror...gasp..lol)....and most of the time I'm trying to balance the work/family balance, BUT I WILL CERTAINLY GIVE YOU A NICE BIG WAVE ))) I'll be the guy with the smile.

[Naughty Cal]

If you get to Leeds too early then you can always pass through and enjoy some of the other lovely places on the other side before heading back into Leeds for your required dates.

 

If I were in your shoes I personally wouldnt make a plan I would just see where each day takes me.

[SamKingfisher]

From the summit to Silsden is all pretty stunning, esp bank newton. Keighley is not for lingering in. Crossflatts to newlay is nice. Newlay to Leeds is a section to not hang around in, and preferably do newlay to Kirkstall in the morning. Slow down past V bottomed springer she rolls like a log! Gallows bridge visitors mooring is very handy for Aldi feel free to see us for sticks of rock. We also have a teenager with a frantic social life . . .

[Guest]

I think I agree with NC. keep it flexible and if you make Leeds too early pass through onto the A&CN.

 

You could while a few days at Woodlesford which has good rail links and a good assortment of pubs and shops.

 

you could even press on to Pollington or Beale if time allows though transport links are less good from there.

[Chop!]

There are some great real ale pubs on the L & L to the north of Leeds, The Railway, The Rodley Barge and The Abbey (haunted)

Near The Railway I came across this mischievously funny sign :-

 

 

 

[Neil2]

Immediate thoughts - time it so you moor up at Rodley the night before the run in to Leeds and set off early in the morning. This section can sometimes be a pest with all the youths that head for the canal in the afternoon. They used to have a team of no nonsense lockies at Newlay and the other three rise, don't know what it's like now under CART.

 

I'm biased but the section from Barrowford through to Skipton is one of the loveliest bits of canal anywhere.

 

Conversely, put some coal on going through Blackburn and Burnley, and watch out for all manner of rubbish, it all gets chucked in the cut round there.

 

Between Skipton and Leeds there are over 30 swing bridges, some of them in very poor condition and very stiff in hot weather. They slow you down more than you would think.

[Jim]

Having just done this trip in the opposite direction I would say that the bits worth "lingering" in are from the top of Wigan locks to Feniscowles and Barnoldswick to Silsden, including Skipton itself. That's not to say there aren't some pleasant bits elsewhere but nowhere you may particularly want to stop, except perhaps Saltaire and Calverley/Rodley

 

I stopped for a while in Silsden, Skipton, Gargrave, Barrowford and Barnoldswick with overnight halts at Dobson Locks, "Bidge 113" (near Church) and Adlington and I'd be happy to use any of those places again. I'd also have been happy to have used the visitor moorings at Blackburn (Eanam Wharf) and Burnley (Weavers' Triangle) based on what they looked like as I passed through during the day, although whether you'd want to spend any time in either place depends on your taste for decaying, post-industrial urban landscapes. (I speak as a resident of Lancashire).

 

IThe warning about the swing bridges should not be taken lightly! Some of them are extremely stiff and need more than one person to move them. All of them will slow you down.

[Guest]

I must get enough weetabix. I have never needed and body else to move a leeds and liverpool swing bridge.

 

some are indeed stiff but doable by any reasonably fit person on their own.

[SamKingfisher]

I must get enough weetabix. I have never needed and body else to move a leeds and liverpool swing bridge.

 

some are indeed stiff but doable by any reasonably fit person on their own.

Ha ha. There's one near Field that now needs a crowbar. 3 large blokes couldn't shift it. Obvs from the damage that some have resorted to ramming it! They are weather sensitive . . . And in poor repair. If you close it at speed it just stops dead - no rebound at all.

 

Eta I've always managed without help, but give me a long enough lever and I could move the world as the man said

Edited July 5, 2013 by SamKingfisher

[Guest]

agreed that from time to time one or more may get damaged and be more difficult than normal.

 

I still say that overall the effort needed to open and close these bridges is too often overplayed.

[Darren72]

Enjoy the trip and take your time! Like Bowten says " Slow down past us " and give us a wave!!

You will see KiwiDad coming the other way near to the end of your journey.

[Neil2]

agreed that from time to time one or more may get damaged and be more difficult than normal.

 

I still say that overall the effort needed to open and close these bridges is too often overplayed.

It's a good job my wife isn't reading this.

 

In the summer when it is warm(!) something happens to the pivots and certain of these bridges are almost impossible to open even with two persons. We have travelled up and down this section of canal frequently, and on many occasions have had to enlist the help of passers by. Those that know, and certainly single handers, will wait for another boat to pass through in convoy.

 

There is also a swine at Apperley Bridge which, though power operated, has manual barriers and is on a busy road where, in our experience, the motorists have no patience whatsoever and are often abusive. Again, there is safety in numbers.

[Darren72]

It's a good job my wife isn't reading this.

 

In the summer when it is warm(!) something happens to the pivots and certain of these bridges are almost impossible to open even with two persons. We have travelled up and down this section of canal frequently, and on many occasions have had to enlist the help of passers by. Those that know, and certainly single handers, will wait for another boat to pass through in convoy.

 

There is also a swine at Apperley Bridge which, though power operated, has manual barriers and is on a busy road where, in our experience, the motorists have no patience whatsoever and are often abusive. Again, there is safety in numbers.

 

 

 

 

Abusive impatient motorists get a shock and tend to drive off with their tail between their legs when they hurl abuse at the tuther half as the reply of "f**k off" comes back at them! Let them wait or take even more time.

[Grace and Favour]

Abusive impatient motorists get a shock and tend to drive off with their tail between their legs when they hurl abuse at the tuther half as the reply of "f**k off" comes back at them! Let them wait or take even more time.

One has to admire the natural refinement of a Yorkshire Lass

[jonathanA]

It's a good job my wife isn't reading this.

 

In the summer when it is warm(!) something happens to the pivots and certain of these bridges are almost impossible to open even with two persons. We have travelled up and down this section of canal frequently, and on many occasions have had to enlist the help of passers by. Those that know, and certainly single handers, will wait for another boat to pass through in convoy.

 

There is also a swine at Apperley Bridge which, though power operated, has manual barriers and is on a busy road where, in our experience, the motorists have no patience whatsoever and are often abusive. Again, there is safety in numbers.

 

ha ha - I know that one - last summer some twit came roaring up just after I'd closed the barrier, decided he'd throw a u turn and nearly knocked two cyclists, waiting to cross the road off their bikes. It was quite unnecessary and i went to remonstrate with him but he roared off back to leeds with me making making the usual friendly gestures. The cyclists were unharmed but slightly shaken... to further compound matters I took my finger of the button when closing the bridge and it wouldn't start moving again...

 

i think the drivers in the now quite extensive queue willed the thing to close... I did enjoy the feeling of power when deciding which queue to let through first by lifting their barrier (easy choice the one with no taxis in it)

[Ange]

Hey Dean

 

We only got as far as Skipton before we needed to turn round and go back down but my advice would be suck it and see. Pootle along with no definite plans, study your maps, see somewhere you like and moor up there regardless of time or itinerary. Stay till you're fed up with the area. Then move on again. Scoot through places you don't like, pause and maybe linger at places you do, keeping a wary eye on the date if you've got a time commitment. That's what we do and it's great.

 

It's all about chilling innit

 

ETA I didn't find any of the swingbridges particularly difficult, but this was 4 years ago, things change and the current regulars to that waterway are the ones to listen to.

Edited July 5, 2013 by Ange

[Neil2]

 

ha ha - I know that one - last summer some twit came roaring up just after I'd closed the barrier, decided he'd throw a u turn and nearly knocked two cyclists, waiting to cross the road off their bikes. It was quite unnecessary and i went to remonstrate with him but he roared off back to leeds with me making making the usual friendly gestures. The cyclists were unharmed but slightly shaken... to further compound matters I took my finger of the button when closing the bridge and it wouldn't start moving again...

 

i think the drivers in the now quite extensive queue willed the thing to close... I did enjoy the feeling of power when deciding which queue to let through first by lifting their barrier (easy choice the one with no taxis in it)

Getting off topic a bit now, but i find it quite depressing how easily the base aspects of human nature are so easily revealed in these situations, when you would expect a bit of empathy.

 

Some years ago I broke down on spaghetti junction on one of those sections of roadworks where you have to sit and wait for a recovery vehicle. I got out of the car and sat up on the embankment where I had to wait for some 20 minutes. The car was obviously causing quite a hold up, occupying one of the two lanes available. I was completely unprepared for the abuse hurled at me from some of the passing vehicles which I wager would have dented the resolve of even the most thick skinned individual. I sometimes wonder what's happening to this country.

[kris88]

I like it at the top of field lock the Leeds side of shipley not a bad place for a few days

Regards kris

Ps in direct reply to op why not try 4mph