Wet in Yorkshire

It was the Festerers reunion weekend again, so off to the New in at Clapham for the weekend, and a beer or two.

I had a brand new pair of Trezeta's to try out, but the weather was bad for climbing mountains on the Saturday, so I took a walk down the canal at Skipton.

I realised that I had never walked down the Spring Branch, which goes behind the back of Skipton Castle.

The sign at the junction to the L&L has a max length of 35 feet, I don't know why. You will have to reverse out, as there is no turning point, but I don't see why longer vessels can't make it ?

True enough, the first boat I see is a widebeam working boat currently under a bit of restoration, called Kennet.  It looks about 60 feet!

The canal runs around the back of Skipton Castle, looming overhead, to a disused tramway, now the footpath.

This is where wagons used to tip stone 30 feet or so down to the waiting boats below, causing considerable damage no doubt.  According to the plaque, this practice was only stopped when the lord of the castle complained that it was making too much noise, and huge wooden chutes were installed.

Walking back into Skipton, you can see all the old canal warehouses have been turned into retail outlets

Further to the east, there are some quite unusual features on some of the canalside properties.  I don't know why these houses have rooms jutting out on the first floor.

By the time I had wandered west to the old brewery, the weather was improving,

Walking over, I decided to get on with my new hobby, Sitting by the side of the canal, drinking coffee and watching the world go by.  It isn't my most active of hobbies, but it is enjoyable!