Cycling the Leeds Liverpool canal video

[Cowsham]

https://youtu.be/peIBQ17XhcE

Some day I'll do this one. This guy is running the same setup as me except I'm on a cube acid instead of the Transmitter.
Good video.
. -- I'll have mudguards and a rack though instead of carrying a backpack. The big Ben tyres are perfect for this type of terrain. It's a great combination -- hardtail and big Ben tyres.

[Cowsham]

Anyone ever done this before?

[colin54]

Nice video, 35 minutes long with some sensible advice, worth watching, thanks for the link Cowsham. It gives a good idea of the different surfaces on the way, there's a bigger percentage of rutted single track than shown though. However I think there are bits that have been re-surfaced since I last went on some of them by Silsden & Skipton for instance. There are some narrow rutted bits towards Liverpool if you were doing it from Leeds that you wouldn't want to do in the dark if you hadn't allowed enough time. Quite a bit beyond Burnley as well (towards Leeds).
Fair play doing it in a day, that's a tough ride.

[Cowsham]

Nice video, 35 minutes long with some sensible advice, worth watching, thanks for the link Cowsham. It gives a good idea of the different surfaces on the way, there's a bigger percentage of rutted single track than shown though. However I think there are bits that have been re-surfaced since I last went on some of them by Silsden & Skipton for instance. There are some narrow rutted bits towards Liverpool if you were doing it from Leeds that you wouldn't want to do in the dark if you hadn't allowed enough time. Quite a bit beyond Burnley as well (towards Leeds).
Fair play doing it in a day, that's a tough ride.

Thanks for the info Colin - the reason I'm interested is because we'll be on the canal with a rental narrowboat in July and was genning up on how to do the lock gates etc when I came across this video. I'll be taking a wee folder bike with me to have on boat for emergency.

I've done 100 miles on my mtb with the BB tyres on around the island in a day ( done that twice now ) but it's not flat ( there's some ridiculously steep climbs ) like the LL towpath. That took me about 13 hours.

The LL canal should be a bit more enjoyable physically at least since it's mostly flat and as I near 60 years I'd be grateful for.

I might just take two or three days as I'd probably want to camp in or near Liverpool. So I'd have a load of camping gear to carry.

Or maybe a premier inn if they can take my bike indoors after the boat journey from ni then one day might be OK -- would need accommodation in Leeds too though. I'd only need a backpack . Logistics ....

[thirdcrank]

Anyone ever done this before?

There's an earlier thread from somebody who did it (failed in the attempt?)

IIRC, they originally posted asking for advice and then made a do-or-die attempt in atrocious weather. I've a feeling the rain/mud/nightfall may have prevailed.

[colin54]

I think there was an article in the CUK magazine a few months back by someone doing it in a day from Leeds, I'll see if I've still got it
Leeds is about a hundred miles from me on the canal, I'm 'almost tempted' myself. I ran out of daylight a bit before Skipton and my mudguards got jammed with mud last time. I just did it on a whim when I was near Chorley so I didn't get an early start.
I got the train from Skipton into Leeds, I'd had it by then; that's handy to remember, you're by the railway from there with quite a few stations in between, so if you've had enough or run out of time you can always let the train take the strain.

Running out of daylight near Skipton, I did see an owl though, which was nice.

[thirdcrank]

This is the thread I was referring to above. For anybody reading it unfamiliar with the geography, having started at Liverpool christom 5574 reached Apperley Bridge ie less than 10 miles to Lock no 1 in Leeds and he then cycled back home by road.

viewtopic.php?p=1101258#p1101258

[Cowsham]

Thanks thirdcrank I managed to read all of that thread you've given the link to -- that guy Chris, for not being a hardened cyclist, did very well doing 122 miles -- that was in Feb 2017 and the weather was shyte -- I wonder if he ever got the feeling back in his hands and feet?

Also as we'll be on the canal itself for 4 an a half days I'm still pondering which way to travel from Skipton. Going Northwest towards greenberfield looks nice and scenic but I have my wife and youngest son with me. He's very interested in history and going south may be more entertaining -- we'll need to turn the boat around and get back to Skipton after the second day -- came across your post near the end of that thread. What direction would you recommend?

Overall, this canal was the M62 of its day, only supplanted by the railway which runs nearby for most of the stretch between Leeds and Skipton, so there are all sorts of historic industrial features.

Within a mile of the Leeds end, there's the Leeds Industrial Museum: a restored mill.

http://www.leeds.gov.uk/museumsandgalle ... mills.aspx

A couple of miles further on there's Kirkstall Abbey

http://www.leeds.gov.uk/museumsandgalle ... Abbey.aspx

The five rise series of locks at Bingley is a wonder in itself and fascinating if you have time to watch vessels using it.

http://www.penninewaterways.co.uk/ll/bi ... verise.htm

Saltaire, a model industrial settlement built by Victorian industrialist Sir Titus Salt is a World Heritage Site.

http://www.saltairevillage.info/

Unfortunately from a cyclist's POV, Ellis Briggs' shop which used to have a display window adjacent to the towpath has closed. Fortunately, it has only moved elsewhere in Shipley.

http://www.ellisbriggscycles.co.uk/

Plenty more besides

[thirdcrank]

I know little about going on the canal itself. Some years ago we went on a boat pleasure trip from Skipton for a couple of miles in a westerly direction and that's about it. I presume that using a canal means being aware of different things from that different perspective eg I can see that using locks - especially a series like the five-rise - is completely different from idly standing and watching on the towpath. It must only be possible to disembark for a bit of sightseeing if there's a suitable mooring handy. I've not a clue about how far you might travel in a day.

Perhaps there are canal users forums where there might be advice.

(FWIW, I can date our short voyage quite accurately because it was just after the publication of the report of the inquiry into the Marchioness disaster which introduced various safety rules. Our trip began with a sardonic reading by the skipper (?) of a long series of safety announcements including something along the lines that in the unlikely event of an emergency, the boat would be steered to the nearby bank and if necessary we'd be helped to get off.)

[Jdsk]

I presume that using a canal means being aware of different things from that different perspective eg I can see that using locks - especially a series like the five-rise - is completely different from idly standing and watching on the towpath. It must only be possible to disembark for a bit of sightseeing if there's a suitable mooring handy. I've not a clue about how far you might travel in a day.

Definitely worth trying. Sane pace of travel. Lots of history and technology and wildlife.

And in our experience a great combination with children on their bikes.

Jonathan

[thirdcrank]

Skipton itself is an interesting place but it's not improving. For as long as I remember, it was always a bit of a traffic bottleneck. It's now completely bypassed but I suspect that the traffic in town is now worse than ever.

If you are hungry and like pork pies, this is a good shop:

https://www.stanforthbutchers.co.uk/

Here's the streetview. It's on the corner of the pre-bypass A65

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@53.96344 ... 384!8i8192

[Cowsham]

I presume that using a canal means being aware of different things from that different perspective eg I can see that using locks - especially a series like the five-rise - is completely different from idly standing and watching on the towpath. It must only be possible to disembark for a bit of sightseeing if there's a suitable mooring handy. I've not a clue about how far you might travel in a day.

Definitely worth trying. Sane pace of travel. Lots of history and technology and wildlife.

And in our experience a great combination with children on their bikes.

Jonathan

Thanks John -- did you put the bikes onboard ?

[Jdsk]

I presume that using a canal means being aware of different things from that different perspective eg I can see that using locks - especially a series like the five-rise - is completely different from idly standing and watching on the towpath. It must only be possible to disembark for a bit of sightseeing if there's a suitable mooring handy. I've not a clue about how far you might travel in a day.

Definitely worth trying. Sane pace of travel. Lots of history and technology and wildlife.

And in our experience a great combination with children on their bikes.

... did you put the bikes onboard ?

Yes, all on the roof of the boat.

And in the flailing season the evenings included communal patching sessions. 63 on one bike!

Jonathan

[Cowsham]

Skipton itself is an interesting place but it's not improving. For as long as I remember, it was always a bit of a traffic bottleneck. It's now completely bypassed but I suspect that the traffic in town is now worse than ever.

If you are hungry and like pork pies, this is a good shop:

https://www.stanforthbutchers.co.uk/

Here's the streetview. It's on the corner of the pre-bypass A65

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@53.96344 ... 384!8i8192

I'm not a big fan of the pork pies myself but the rest are so maybe get some before we set off. -- is there anywhere you'd recommend in Skipton to eat -- we are meeting up with friends when we arrive back in Skipton -- eg can you sit in ( or outside ) at the pork pie shop?

[Cowsham]

Definitely worth trying. Sane pace of travel. Lots of history and technology and wildlife.

And in our experience a great combination with children on their bikes.

... did you put the bikes onboard ?

Yes, all on the roof of the boat.

And in the flailing season the evenings included communal patching sessions. 63 on one bike!

Jonathan

63 -- were yous on the tour divide?

Or did you run over a hedgehog?