Wednesday 23 November 2022

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.

15 comments:

  1. We're getting some really wet weather here - no good for walking. Thank you for the lovely canal photos

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  2. I love a canal walk usually but that one made me reach for my cardigan, it looked so cold. A proper November day though, we haven't had many of them this year. You'll have to go back again when the sun's out to see all those colourful boats shine.

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  3. I live near the canal and have just been for a walk there. i love to see the boats and read their names. I like the cormorant photo.

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  4. I do think a walk by a canal is enjoyable, and I certainly enjoyed seeing your photographs.

    It sounds that you timed your walk just right and got home before the rain came.

    Enjoy the rest of your week.

    All the best Jan

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  5. It looks lovely and peaceful there, by the canal. What a shame you couldn't get a hot drink. X

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  6. It looks like a good walk, Jo. It's got really cold here the last few days. I might have to dig my thermals out soon. Yuck. I keep saying to anyone who'll listen to me - "Do you remember the heat we had in the summer?" It seems to long ago!

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  7. What a delightful place for a walk, even if it was cold. My husband used to talk about living on a houseboat but I like keeping my feet on "terra firma".

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  8. How lovely to walk by the canal, something DH and I reminisce about quite often. Ooh, it is turning cold? We've finally had some warm sunshine after such a dreary, cold & wet winter. We've also just had some horrible windy weather with quite a bit of damage to many trees. Keep warm, take care & hugs.

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  9. Enjoyable post and pictures. it certainly looks rather chilly.
    I don't mind the cold providing it's calm and sunny, it's damp and dull I don't like. xx

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  10. It looks like a lovely place to walk but it does look cold, I bet you were glad to get back inside and have a nice hot cuppa. xx

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  11. Bellas imagenes. Te mando un beso.

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  12. Lovely. I've just posted canal pictures as well, funnily enough. And one of a JCB barge called Patricia which made me laugh. Lovely photos of the swans and the cormorant. I had a swan family too, of a similar size. I loved watching them throughout the day. CJ xx

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  13. Great photos Jo! I used to love walking and looking at all the barges when I lived over there. I would visit my family in Pershore and it was very similar to this. Nice to see the likes again.

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  14. So many boats! That marina looks well used. A lovely place to walk, there is a canal where I grew up and we loved walking along the canal as children, it is always muddy on the tow path though.

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  15. What a lovely post, it has me missing my narrowboat. Snowbird.xxx

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