Yesterday I revisited Saltaire to catch up on a few shots of places missed on my last visit, and then spent an hour walking along the towpath of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal to the Five Rise locks near Bingley. Shortly after leaving Saltaire the canal passes through an area of woodland, giving lovely peaceful scenes and nice reflections on the canal itself.
It is now hard to believe that this canal was built to help develop commerce and industry. As one of the information boards along the route said, they were 'the motorways of their age'. This section of the canal was built and opened in the 1770s, and the full route from Leeds to Liverpool was completed by 1816. It played an important role in developing the towns and cities along the route - indeed one of the reasons for the location of Saltaire was the availability of water transport to move the products of it's mills.
Today the canal is a leisure route, with canal boat hire and water bus services, and many walkers and cyclists along the towpath enjoying what is now a really lovely place.
The northern canal network bears little resemblance today to what it must have been like in its working heyday... I'm always impressed by how well the whole network is maintsined as your picture shows.
Thank you all for your comments and favs, they are very welcome and much appreciated!
As Richard says in his comment, these canals have been transformed from their working heyday, and they are now a great tourist attraction. I've walked the towpaths of many of them and in recent years much has been done to improve facilities and the waterways themselves. They are a joy to explore!
Interesting. The Leeds and Liverpool Canal is a favourite place. Many generations of my family are buried in the churchyard at Kildwick which lies either side of the canal.
Thank you for your comments - this is one of the stretches of the canal we used to visit with the children when they were young. It seems much better maintained now, and it is very popular for walkers, cyclists and boaters.
Ian
August 21st, 2016
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Thank you all for your comments and favs, they are very welcome and much appreciated!
As Richard says in his comment, these canals have been transformed from their working heyday, and they are now a great tourist attraction. I've walked the towpaths of many of them and in recent years much has been done to improve facilities and the waterways themselves. They are a joy to explore!
Ian
Camille, there is a link with the next shot which shows photos and descriptions of one of the sets of locks, with an explanation of how they work.
Ian
Thank you for your comments - this is one of the stretches of the canal we used to visit with the children when they were young. It seems much better maintained now, and it is very popular for walkers, cyclists and boaters.
Ian