Today was a day of two rather different halves. We set off with bright sunshine but before the end of cruising we had a few rather heavy, but brief, showers.
Just beyond where we moored overnight is this loading chute. We have not discovered its specific purpose but the land behind was a large glass bottle works, E. Breffit & Co, where they manufactured a number of different iconic bottles for retail use, including Lea and Perrins for North America and Horlicks.
We returned to Castleford Junctjon via the flood lock. When the canal was upgraded to take long trains of Tom Pudding coal boats, this lock was extended by adding a new upper gate with a basin between it and the original lock. All three sets of gates remain open except for flood times.
The River Aire was once lined by extensive industrial sites but today nature is well advanced in reclaiming unused areas and the cruise is quite relaxing.
The occasional reminder of the industrial times can be seen in former ,loading wharves, although even those are being overtaken with vegetation.
The first lock upstream is Lemonroyd, which is not only very long but also much deeper than the others between here and Leeds.
A photo of how a narrowboat looks lost is almost obligatory!
The right hand column of controls are various status indicators. The ones we used yesterday retain the original design ion which the light is the narrow strip surrounding what looks like a button. Almost always they are impossible to read. We were pleased to see that from here onwards new larger lights in the middle of the squares have been introduced and they were very much easier to see.
Alongside Woodlesford Lock is a small but well formed community apple orchard, complete with an information that gives the varieties - each tree is different.
The hills in the distance are all probably landscaped former waste tips.
Just before Fishpond Lock we had our first distant view of on-going building development in Leeds city centre.
Something is still happening on top of that hill.
Two bridges close together illustrate changes in design styles. The first is Concrete Bridge, a former railway line the served Skelton Grange Power Station, dates probably from the late 1950s whilst the Aire Valley Viaduct that carries the M1 was opened in 1999.
This house at Thwaites Mill (now an industrial museum) is rather grand - no doubts shows he wealth of the mill owners, probably earned at the expense of all the workers!
This unusual round structure stands opposite the lower entrance to Knostrop Fall Lock. Maps, old and new, give no specific indication but it looks as it it might have been a support pillar for a railway line that crossed the river and the navigation at this point.
Alongside the lock is the new Knostrop Weir, completed in 2017 as party of the Leeds Flood Alleviation Project. This, and another new weir further up, have made the Knostrop Flood Lock redundant and we were signposted on a new bypass route.
We continued into Leeds via the final Leeds Lock of the Aire and Calder. The centre of Leeds had been extensively redeveloped over the past few decades and there are very few disused sites close to the navigation.
This boat claims to be Leeds' only floating office and is available to rent, capable of taking a team of up to 10 people.
Another renovation project is well underway.
A water taxi continues to make frequent trips carrying passengers between River Lock and Clarence Dock, alongside the Armouries Museum. The steerer was kind enough to point out to us a shallow section on our side of the river.
And then we came to the second part of the day - the transition to the Leeds and Liverpool at River Lock.
Granary Wharf has gradually become known as a possible overnight mooring place but, as there are several nooks and crannies in the area there was room if we had wanted it.
Many people were using the towpath, it was lunchtime and we guessed than quite a few were taking time out from their nearby offices. Joggers and cyclists looked, as they checked their watches, as if they were on a schedule to get back to their desk! However, we wondered how many have even spotted this feature let alone ask why it is there.As we understand it, it was built to enable horses to escape if they had been pulled into the water, a not infrequent occurrence in the days of horse drawn boats.
Castleton Mill was once a flax mill but two years ago re-opened as offices for small businesses.
This looks like the development site we saw from far away early this morning.
This really does have to go into our Unusual Boats catalogue. As well as catching the eye with its very personal design, it has a sign offering various well-being courses and classes! Meditation, Easy Yoga and Drawing Club.
The next stretch of the canal, up to Newlay Locks, has long had a poor reputation, with many boaters feeling threatened by locals. As with other places, we feel that it is time to re-visit this reputation - we found the area increasingly pleasant with new housing helping to give the place a lift. Nevertheless, the long established summer activity for young people is using the locks as diving pools! It seemed at Spring gardens that the practice has not died out!
The supervisors at an outdoor activity centre did not seem to spot are imminent arrival and were still encouraging the canoeists to continue crossing to and fro until our bow almost touched them!
A splendid shape made by this former tree trunk, now almost hollowed out to little more than its bark. Yet, new branches sprout from near the top.
Climbing out of the city we could seem the remains of Kirkstall Abbey across the valley.
As a result of the history of vandalism in this area, the locks ahead are closed overnight and when we arrived at the bottom we were met by one of the on-duty lock keepers who told us that he was on his by by bike down to the start of the canal to check water levels and that the next of the staircases would remain shut until he returned. We had a wait of perhaps half an hour but then benefited from his assistance through to the top.
At the final Newlay three staircase another keeper was also on hand.
Eventually we passed through the last of the restricted opening locks almost dead on the closing time of 5 o'clock.
Although there were no locks ahead for some time, we did not lack for things to interrupt smooth passage - swing bridges! After four lof them we pulled in to the mooring that we had identified much earlier on our maps.
17.9 Miles - 18 Locks
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