Explore the Waters: A Memorable Self-Drive Day Boat Adventure
Are you ready for a day of adventure on the water? Look no further than our Self-Drive Day Boats! Here?s what awaits you:
Before you set Sail
Navigating Your Day: From Packing to Paperwork
- Pack Smart: Before setting sail, remember to bring your essentials. While we provide a kettle and hob, you?ll need to bring other items like milk, teabags, cups, and spoons. Don?t worry; we?ve got plenty of water for your kettle. Plus, we offer hand soap, washing-up liquid, tea towels, loo rolls, and a bin bag.
- Lunch Options: We?re happy to prepare a delicious lunch for your group, but feel free to bring your own if you prefer. And yes, there?s room for a cooler bag?just no refrigerator onboard. Alternatively, consider stopping at one of the three charming pubs along the route. The White Lion in Kildwick, about halfway through your day, is a local favourite.
- Weather-Ready: England?s weather can be unpredictable, so dress appropriately. Unfortunately, we don?t offer refunds or rebookings due to inclement weather. Bring your rain gear and suitable footwear?the towpath can get muddy and slippery.
- Arrival Details: On the day of your adventure, aim to arrive at our car park between 9:30 am and 9:45 am. Typically, we have ample parking spaces available at this time. If our free parking area is full, don?t worry; a paid parking option is just a two-minute walk away.
- Booking Process: When you arrive, the person who made the booking (or the designated responsible person) will visit our office to complete the necessary paperwork. Keep in mind that we also require a
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Map of Leeds & Liverpool Canal around Skipton
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With a main line of 127 1â4 miles, the Leeds and Liverpool Canal is easily the longest canal in Britain. It links the north-west seaport of Liverpool with the Aire and Calder Navigation at Leeds, forming a through route between the Irish Sea and the North Sea.
The Leeds & Liverpool canal climbs away from the Lancashire plain into the Pennine hills from Wigan, up the famous 21 locks, through the once proud cotton towns of Blackburn and Burnley where Victorian mills can still be seen. The summit level goes through some fine moorland scenery over the âbackbone of Englandâ, plunging through the mile-long Foulridge tunnel. It then begins to descend amidst remote and beautiful countryside through the market town of Skipton into the Yorkshire Dales and on towards the bustling city of Leeds and the heart of the West Riding of Yorkshire. It takes at least a week to sail from Liverpool to Leeds.
The Leeds & Liverpool is a wide barge canal, built with locks 60 feet long and 14 feet wide, reaching a height of 487 1â2 feet above sea level on the summit at Foulridge. The locks between Liverpool and Wigan are longer at 72 feet, as are the two on the branch to Leigh, where the junction with the Bridgewater Canal allows boats to reach the narrow canals of central and southern England. The Liverpool end of the Leeds & Liverpool Canal has now been extended past the famous Pier Head and Liver Building into Liverpool Docks.
The construction of this canal was first approved of by an Act of Parliament in May 1770. It took over 40 years to construct â partly due to the fact that they ran out of money at the halfway point. However, it was finally completed in 1816, costing ÂŁ1.2 millionâ the equivalent today of ÂŁ79 million. Through the selling of shares, the town of Skipton managed to raise an impressive ÂŁ29,400 to aid the building of the canal.
The section of the canal that Skipton Boat Trips operates along is between the Five Rise Locks at Bingley and Holmebridge Locks at Gargrave, and was the first section of the canal to be opened in 1773. This was due to the relative ease of building due to the lack of locks; the stretch between Bingley and Skipton is the longest part of the canal with no locks, roughly 17 1â2 miles. At the end of this level stretch of canal can be found the 5 rise locks at Bingley. These are the steepest locks in the country, with a gradient of 1:5. They rise 59 foot 2â over a length of just 320 feet. Amazingly, due to the permanent presence of a lock keeper, the flight can be worked from top to bottom in just over half an hour, although in commercial times this was as little as 28 minutes.
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The building that now houses our ticket office is one of the oldest canal related buildings in the area, dating to 1774 and is grade II listed. It was originally a warehouse for goods being transported on the canal, hence the large cranes outside- one facing the canal, the other facing our cobbled car park, formerly stables for horses towing the craft. Somewhere near the site of the wharf, although the exact location is now lost, was Winterwell Hall, a medieval manor whose remains were lost during the building of the canal basin.
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As we pass underneath Pinder Bridge, youâll see the white building to your left with car parking space behind it. This is Bowers Wharf, the site of some of the very first tourist trips on this canal. This photo of the Rechabites boat trip (a religious group) shows the style of the original trip boats. Cargo boats were cleared of their goods on a Sunday, and hired out for extra revenue.
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Named after the estate of Broughton, with its Grade I listed Georgian mansion. The estate now comprises a business park and wedding venues. The estate has been owned by the same family, the Tempests, for 900 years.
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You may have noticed, either from this map, or from the meandering part of this journey, the winding route the canal currently follows. This is a building technique known as a contour canal. It can generally be found in earlier canals, such as this one, from the 1770s, and was designed to follow the contours of the land, rather than cutting across them, requiring tunnels and locks. Later canals, such as those built in the early 19th century, are often found to be straighter due to advances in engineering.
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Aireville Park was laid out in the 1830s by Henry Allcock as part of the Aireville Estate.
It was later owned by Dewhurst family, who also owned the large cotton mills on Broughton Road. The estate was purchased by Skipton council in 1945 for ÂŁ15,000. Aireville Hall was built in 1836 as the private house for the estate, and, following use during the Second World War for storing military equipment, it was reopened as a school in 1958. Through a strange coincidence, the history of Aireville school can be traced back to 1845 when the original school building, located in the town itself, was built, funded by none other than the original owner of Aireville Hall, John Dewhurst!
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Just before we pass through Brewery Lane swing bridge, youâll notice the old brewery with its chimney on your left. Belle Vue Brewery was built for Scottâs Brewery in 1816 and was bought by Bentleyâs Yorkshire Breweries in 1912 and closed down.