Leeds to Liverpool canal

Cycle-touring, Expeditions, Adventures, Major cycle routes NOT LeJoG (see other special board)
Chat Noir
Posts: 228
Joined: 22 Jan 2010, 8:52pm
Location: York

Re: Leeds to Liverpool canal

Post by Chat Noir »

Interesting thread for me. Cycled from Liverpool to just west of Leeds back in 1983, wild camping where we were when we reached the end of the day. Probably took 4 days and 3 nights to get that far, but can’t really remember. Think those were the days when you needed a permit to cycle along the canal. My favourite camping spot was on a wide bend, beyond Canal Row, just along from Red Rock, and just before you get to Arley Bridge (next to Wigan Golf Club). I was born in one of the houses next to the bridge. I have vague memories of the canal drying up in a hot summer but more likely the water had simply been drained out. Here is a photo from 1959 with me on the canal bank and my brothers in the canal.
IMG_0012 (2).jpg
Dawes Galaxy 1979; Mercian 531 1982; Peugeot 753 1987; Peugeot 531 Pro 1988; Peugeot 653 1990; Bob Jackson 731 OS 1992; Gazelle 731 OS Exception 1996; Dolan Dedacciai 2004; Trek 8000 MTB 2011; Focus Izalco Pro 2012
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Cowsham
Posts: 4963
Joined: 4 Nov 2019, 1:33pm

Re: Leeds to Liverpool canal

Post by Cowsham »

Chat Noir wrote: 21 Sep 2021, 3:03pm Interesting thread for me. Cycled from Liverpool to just west of Leeds back in 1983, wild camping where we were when we reached the end of the day. Probably took 4 days and 3 nights to get that far, but can’t really remember. Think those were the days when you needed a permit to cycle along the canal. My favourite camping spot was on a wide bend, beyond Canal Row, just along from Red Rock, and just before you get to Arley Bridge (next to Wigan Golf Club). I was born in one of the houses next to the bridge. I have vague memories of the canal drying up in a hot summer but more likely the water had simply been drained out. Here is a photo from 1959 with me on the canal bank and my brothers in the canal.

IMG_0012 (2).jpg
You can clearly see that silt that you can get the boat beached on -- we were told to keep the boat in the middle most of the time but there were times you had to move closer to the edge on top of that silt -- the only way off it again is to back up.
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