Gargrave (a Hoffman kiln story)

Our new mooring for Friday night – all our mini sunflowers are out now

On our way to visit Mum in Airedale hospital on Friday morning we popped into Skipton for a spot of shopping.  It was raining when we left the boat to walk to the car at Bank Newton, but we couldn’t complain as rain is needed and it still felt warm.  Although it was only forecast to last a couple of hours it looked to be set in for the day.  To make up for getting wet we popped into a coffee shop for a cuppa and a cream cake (for me!) treat.

The rain did stop and everywhere looked as dry as a bone again by the time we got to the hospital.  Mum has been pronounced medically fit, and we now have the family task of finding a care home for her until a place becomes available at Dad’s care home in Gargrave.

We needed to top up with water so, once we were back on the boat, we waited for another boat to come along so we could share the locks and do our bit to help conserve water.  We had lunch whilst we waited but, after an hour or so, no boat appeared, so we set off on our own.

Leaving our mooring for the last nine days and heading for Scarland lock, our first of the day
Whilst we took on water another boat appeared, Amelia May, and moored up with us to take on water too.  Time was getting on and we soon realised we weren’t going to get down the final three locks before the bottom one was padlocked for the day at 4.00pm.  We agreed to wait for each other to fill up with water and share the next two locks and then moor up for the night just above the closed lock.  

We would then leave together when the lock opened at 10.00am on Saturday and cruise into Skipton together.  We needed to get into Skipton for a pump out and talk with the boatyard about the works we want done whilst we are away on holiday and they wanted to cruise on towards Leeds as they were nearing the end of their holiday.

Cruising together between Gargrave and Skipton would be efficient as there are five swing bridges to operate and we could take turns doing them.

Amelia May, with its unusual looking front end, exiting Higherland lock behind me
When we were in Eshton lock, a lockie appeared and reminded us that the locks would be closed at 4.00pm because of the water shortages.  It turned out he was Nigel, a fellow member of a closed group of water dwellers 😉

We were soon approaching Eshton lock, the last lock of the day, and could see Sharp Haw in the distance.  Although it’s not a particularly high hill (1,171 feet), it stands out as there are no other hills close by. The last time I went up it was with my parents on Xmas Day 2000.  Being a hill on its own it does offer some fantastic views on a clear day making it well worth the walk up.

Approaching Eshton lock with Sharp Haw in the background
John, who lives near Foulridge, made a comment on the blog yesterday listing various places of interest in the area that we should visit.  One of the suggestions was the Hoffman Kiln at Langcliffe near Settle.  This is a massive lime kiln that is still intact bar its chimney stack.  As it is built on the Hoffman principle it is like a circular cave and it is open to the public to walk around.  It really is a stunning place and well worth the visit.

We have been several times, but John’s comment reminded me of one particular visit. Karen and I were there with my eldest son, Chris, and his wife Laura and my dad was giving the guided tour as was his wont.   Because of the nature of the building, every sound was magnified and also repeated many times through echoing around the chamber.  During his commentary, Dad unfortunately let rip rather loudly, with the noise reverberating and echoing around.  To our surprise he carried on talking as if nothing had happened.  I don’t think there have been many times where we have collapsed as full-grown adults unable to explain why we were giggling so much 😊

I do have to add that Dad is still able to read the blog on his iPad, so it’ll be interesting to see how he reacts to the above when we next see him.

Back to the cruise.  Once we were through Eshton lock, Peter (? – I’m still crap with names) and Linda moored for the night on the lock landing.  None of us thought that would be an issue as no boats would be coming along until the flight opened in the morning.  As it happened one boat did pass us later in the evening – the one we had been moored next to for the last week or so.  As is often the case we never met but he did leave for work extraordinarily early each morning.  His two weeks were probably up, and he ended up mooring just in front of us once again.

Amelia May mooring up for the night with Karen looking on
My sister Judith is coming to stay with us for the weekend with Nigel and will help with the care home selection.  Before they arrive, we plan on getting to Skipton for a pump out, turning around, heading back towards Gargrave and mooring up somewhere equidistant between Gargrave and Skipton.  That way we will have the choice of walking or cycling to either.

There is also a winding hole just below the lock that will be closed from 28th July for at least a month, so we will avoid being caught in the closed section between Gargrave and Wigan.  The closed section is about 58 miles long with nearly as many locks so it’s going to be rather strange for towpath walkers not to see boats on the move during the normally busy holiday season

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