06-21 Canal Boat - Wet on Top and Bottom

It started to rain late last night before we went to bed. This was expected. 7 days in a row in England without anymore rain would be too much to expect.

Last night and then some this morning we were figuring out again how far we needed to go today and Friday so that we would have an easy day on Saturday when we had to turn the boat in.

We decided to get all of our remaining locks done in these two days. Everything's neat and pretty. On with the show.

BUT FIRST, we went on a shopping trip to the competitor. About a 10 minute walk back down the canal was Snaygill Narrow Boats and they had a gift shop. Let's see what we can find.

I come away empty handed but Karen finds a bookmark and a notepad with the Bingley Five on them to remember this cruise by. As you can see I still have my raincoat on and it is still raining outside.

Skipton (the town with the Skipton Castle) is only 20 minutes away and we find a mooring spot close to a bridge in town.

There is a side canal called Springs Canal that the hourly tourist cruisers take people up and back along. We walked back on the path for about 1/2 mile until we were around to the back of the Castle.

It was an interesting place because there used to be a mill back in this area and three ribbons of water used to run side by side - Springs Canal, the River Aire, and a mill race to turn the mill waterwheel.

We shopped in the covered area called Craven Court to escape the rain for awhile.

Lunch for today was at Hemingway's in the Court and it was delicious. Karen had a large baked potato cut length wise onto six wedges then topped with tomatoes, onions (like a home made salsa) and cheddar.

Despite trying to give the rain enough time to stop while we were in town it would not.

Since Karen couldn't sit OUT in the rain she made herself someplace that she could watch the canal on the front easy chair.

After swinging a bridge for us to pass through she'd come in and take off her coat and shoes and dry them on the heated-water register.

Here comes the boat under a bridge and entering a lock.

It actually stopped raining for awhile and when the sun came out for 30 minutes I was down to just a T-shirt.

Lock #30 is the lock where the Grace got her carpet all wet 3 weeks ago so we are very cautious as we enter. Karen gradually fills the lock with water from the side fillers first and when the boat rises high enough she lets in water from the gate paddles in front of the bow. We are patient and it pays off and the boat is only getting wet from the rain today.

We stop and have dinner (Karen gets leftovers from her wonderful lunch) after a few more locks. After another locking through we stop for the night. Today's lock and bridge total - 5 swing bridges and 6 locks in 5 1/2 hours of boating - all alone.