Down By The Canal

Monday was the coldest day of autumn so far this year, it was quite bracing down by the canal where we chose to walk.

We parked by the bridge. Looking in the direction we were going to walk, there were quite a few boats moored by the waters edge.

It looked very bleak in the opposite direction, not a boat in sight.

This is the Aire and Calder Navigation, the canalised section of the Rivers Aire and Calder, which was built to connect Leeds to the Humber and the North Sea. There was a boat selling refreshments the last time we were here and we could have definitely done with a warm drink but alas, we had to make do without as it had packed up and gone.

I love to read all the names of the boats as we pass them. This one is called Marcel. Behind the trees is the River Aire, the canal and river join together further along.

Lemonroyd Lock. Locks allow a canal to go up and down hills by altering the level of the water. If you look carefully, you can see the different water levels in the canal and the lock chamber.

We turned off here into the woods. We were glad we'd worn our walking boots as it was quite muddy.

The tunnel goes underneath the railway lines. We decided to head back from here as it looked as though it was getting even muddier.

We'd passed the marina on our way out, now we were passing it on our way back. Some of the boats look really cosy with smoke rising from their chimneys.

A boat had just come in and this family of swans were eagerly looking for any goodies which were on offer. They didn't find any. One of the cygnets is missing from my photo, there were four in total. I didn't realise that cygnets would stay with their parents so long, they were around the same size as the adult swans, but apparently, they leave between the age of four to ten months, in late autumn. How sad to think this little family will part company soon.

I'll leave you with a photo of a cormorant which came swooping down and landed just ahead of us. I think it must be a juvenile by its colouring, though I'm not entirely sure.

Although it was nice to get outdoors for a walk, I was glad to get home again, it was just so cold. It poured down not long after we arrived home so it was a good thing that we set off when we did and didn't leave our walk for later in the day. It's supposed to warm up again now getting to double figures by the end of the week. That's fine by me, I hate the cold weather.