Martha Alice

I was given this photograph recently, it shows a horse boat called Martha Alice passing under a bridge.

The Boat
The boat appears to belong to Jackson & Co of Liverpool from what I can make out on the cover sheets over the cargo. The boat looks to be wooden, and is horse drawn but sadly the horse is hidden by the bridge. The last horse boat was Parbold in 1960, so this photo must be before then. 1940s or 50s I would guess. The boat is carrying a cargo, low in the water and has its covers on. The covers may mean the cargo has to be kept dry so may be animal feed or corn rather than coal.

The Bridge
The bridge is a typical Leeds & Liverpool Canal bridge. One of the original stones ones. These are found between Liverpool and Wigan. It has the white painted arch and the mark showing the centre of the water channel. The bridge doesn't have the course of stone work at road level that most bridges of this type have. The stonework suggests the bridge has been rebuilt and repaired a few times. It has metal braces.
 By the towpath is the wooden roller which would have protected the stonework from being worn by the tow ropes. Through the bridge the canal bends around to the right.

Bridge #24 at Halsall Cutting, Lancashire

Kennet Leaving Liverpool

Thursday 16th August the Kennet left Liverpool after spending time in Salthouse Dock. Having nothing better to do I went down to take some photos. Kennet was due through the locks at 9am but I was late so only caught up with them as they were leaving the lock into Princes Dock. The weather wasn't great, not quite raining but threatening to. 

Kennet in Princes Dock

Kennet in Princes Dock

With Kennet on its way to Stanley Dock I went ahead by bike to get photos from the Bascule Bridge. As i was waiting the rain started but it wasnt cold and it was still better than being in work. Kennet came and passed underneath the bridge and into Stanley Dock, then under the road to the locks. I followed on my bike.

Kennet in Salisbury Dock

Kennet at the bottom lock.

Kennet leaving the bottom lock

Kennet

Kennet under the railway

Kennet in the sunshine

Kennet at the top lock

Kennet leaving the locks

I followed the Kennet up the locks to the main line of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. As it passed under the railway line the sun came out. The Kennet was heading off to Burscough and I headed back home.

Pauline

Canal Maps, Treks and Events

Today is the Solstice, the longest day of the year. I'm still not sure if we have already had our Summer; I hope I haven't missed my chance to go walking and cycling in the sunshine.

Google Maps and Canals

The most exciting news for a long time is that Google Maps are going to start mapping the canals and river footpaths and cycleways. It has been very frustrating using GoogleMaps to plan walks and bike rides along canals. At the moment google cannot see towpaths, so to get from point A to point B on a canal may take you via point C,D, and E, on the road. I look forward to planning bike rides and being able to quickly get directions and distances and times on an easily accessible website.

I have tried to create my own maps in Google of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. My maps are useful but they do take time and effort on my part and I am a naturally lazy person who gives up on things like this, which is why the maps are mostly incomplete. So to have Google do the hard work, and produce a more accurate map than me is a good thing.

This could however take a lot of traffic away from canal websites like mine and others who are based on helping people plan canal routes. And traffic is the life of a website. Not just for the advertising that pays for it, but for the interaction with other people who like canals and can be encouraged to use them.

Hopefully towpathtreks.co.uk and other sites can use the new google maps feature to continue to promote the canals and enhance our service.
http://www.metro.co.uk/tech/902687-google-maps-to-begin-charting-britains-canals-and-rivers
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/jun/19/google-maps-uk-rivers-canals?newsfeed=true

Burscough Canal Heritage Week

This week is the Burscough Canal Heritage Week 2012. Last year the weather was hot, sunny with a couple of showers. The forecast for this weekend is not as optimistic. Last year there were a good collection of former working boat. Burscough Canal Heritage Week 2011 blog I intend to head up to Burscough on Saturday to see whats going on and take some photos. It is hard sometimes for heritage events not to look twee and irrelevant, but at Burscough Wharf the new development shows that canals are very much a contemporary feature in English life.

Other Days Out

Sunday is the Africa Oye in Liverpool so I will be there for that, weather permitting.

Next weekend I am off to the east end of London to have a walk and see what the canals around the Olympic site look like.

I have a medium sized bike ride planned around Runcorn Widness, and I am hoping for the weather to do that over the next few weeks.

Skipton Waterways Festival 2012

Today I drove to a very sunny Skipton for the Waterways Festival. On the way I must have crossed the Leeds and Liverpool Canal at least 6 times and went under it once. Just goes to show that those canal planners could pick a good route.
Skipton was certainly busy when I arrived but there was plenty of space to park in the large car park by the canal despite there being a farmers market on half of it. There was a lot going on around the junction between the main line of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal and the short Springs Branch which passes below the castle walls. The farmers market had all sorts of food, honey, cakes, pork pies, brownies and any bit of a pig you would care to eat. There were some rather nice engines on display with a very proud man stood hoping someone would ask a question about them. I didn't have a question but did take a photo or two. I do like the smell of a steam engine. It's a man thing.

Skipton is one of the few places along the whole 127 miles of the canal that makes a feature of it. There are the trip boats, and hire boats, the canal shop and cafe, and the chippy has nice big windows facing out to the water. Today there were lots of shiny narrowboats about but sadly only a few examples of the classic leisure boat, the fiberglass cabin cruiser. I walked along the towpath up to the railway station. Some boats had their bunting up and there were quite a few with union jacks and pictures of the Queen on this Jubilee year. What a patriotic lot boaters are.

Skipton

As well as their love of the monarchy boaters of a certain type have a fondness for two ragdolls, Rosie and Jim. Rosie and Jim are characters from a children's television show from the 1990's. In the show they traveled about on a narrowboat called the Ragdoll in the midlands. These sinister creatures would pretend to be regular rag dolls but would come alive when the boat's owners were not looking. Maybe it was growing up in the era of the Chucky films but I have always found these dolls a bit creepy. Between the Springs branch and the station I must have seen half a dozen sets of Rosie and Jim dolls, staring at me with their apparently dead eyes. One set was huge, bigger than a niece. If the knitted dolls weren't enough to give a man nightmares the three lifesize models of old men on one boat roof certainly were. If any one of them had come to life i would have soiled myself.
At the station I met up with the other half of today's towpath treks team. One of her first jobs was to spell check the boats. Only one crime against apostrophe's was found, on the NB Bee's Knee's.
We had a quick look around the farmers market and the marquee that had some very nice birds of prey in it. One tiny black and white owl was particularly cute. I have no idea what type of owl it was but it was very odd looking with its tiny head and massive eyes.
After wandering about we headed to Skipton Castle and after side stepping the introduction by the enthusiastic old man at the gate we unerringly followed the tour route on the leaflet. We saved the best till last, the little shop. I love the little shop. After the castle we walked up the Springs Branch of the canal and up and around to the town again.

the Spring Branch

Skipton has a lot of charity shops so we had a look at the books. I had a look for shops selling Golly Wogs but we only saw one racist doll in the whole town.
As well as steam engines I like the smell of chips and it was this smell that took us to the canal side chippy. The chips are nice and crunchy but not cheap.
We didn't visit any of the towns pubs but they all looked like they were making the most of the sunshine and the Bank Holiday crowds. One day I will have a weekend here. Maybe one day Albatross will get this far along the canal.
After the chips we headed back to the carpark, stopping off to buy a postcard of the Five Rise at Bingley. 35p for a branch new one, a bit cheaper than then £17 I have just paid for an old canal postcard on Ebay.
On the way back to the right side of the Pennines (Lancashire) we stopped off at the Cross Keys in East Marton. It is next to the famous double arch bridge and serves a very nice pint of Copper Dragon.
It is nice to see a town celebrating its canal, Burscough also makes an effort. it would be nice if some other towns and cities did the same.

IRA attack on the L&L Canal

ON January 12th 1939 the Army Council of the IRA sent an ultimatum to the British Foreign Secretary, Lord Halifax. They received no reply so on Sunday January 15th they declared war on the United Kingdom
The Irish Republican Army launched its S-Plan or Sabotage Campaign against England in 1939. The targets were the UK civil, economic and military infrastructure. The plan was created by Seamus O'Donovan, Sean Russell and Joseph McGarrity. Most of the targets were civilian, post offices and railway stations.

On July 27th 1939 Liverpool was attacked. In the early hours there were three bomb explosions. The first of these was at the swing bridge at Green Lane on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal in Maghull. The bridge, Methodist Swing Bridge (today's bridge number 15) was seriously damaged. The explosion was heard 3 miles away and the windows of the surrounding houses were shattered.

I have recently bought some press photographs from 1939 showing the aftermath of the attacks. The first is taken looking West towards Canal Farm.

Later the same morning in Liverpool city centre a post office and a letter box were attacked.

The campaign was not a success for the IRA, it was criticised by the German military and Seamus O'Donovan himself said "It brought nothing but harm to Ireland and the IRA".
In all there were 300 explosions, 96 injuries and seven deaths during the S-Plan.

Burscough Canal Heritage Week

Today was the last day of the Burscough Canal Heritage Week. Kennet, the Leeds & Liverpool Canal Short Boat was visiting Burscough, the nearest it has been to Liverpool for a while. So I thought I had better make the effort to get up there and take some photographs.

Kennet at Burscough Bridge

The towpath was busy and there were lots of boats moored at Burscough. I was pleased to see Ribble had joined Kennet and Ambush. The first time I have seen two river class barges in the same place at the same time. Kennet and Ribble are Short Boats, Ambush is a Long Boat. All three are Wide Boats. Ambush used to work for Ainscough Mill in Burscough. All three boats were empty and sit very high out of the water. When full they would swim through the water like whales with only a few inches of boat above the waterline. Kennet has a very snug looking cabin at the front which is quite spacious compared to the Narrow Boats. You would still have to be good friends to share it though. 

Ambush at Burscough

 We walked along the canal to the top lock of the Rufford Branch. On the way we passed a hairy caterpillar crossing the towpath at some speed. It was hot and humid today and got hotter as the day went on. 

Creepy Crawly

Back at Burscough Wharf we had an ice cream and I took some photographs from the bridge. I am very impressed with the redevelopment of the old canal depot. It has been empty for years but now it is full of life. There are shops and a couple of bars and cafes. It is a definite improvement and a big plus for both the canal and the town. I notice that the Waterfront pub nearby is closed and for sale. 

Burscough Wharf

Burscough Wharf

In other news towpathtreks now has a twitter account @towpathtreks for those who do that sort of thing. If anyone has any good suggestions for canal related people or places to follow on Twitter do let me know. And you can still become a fan of towpathtreks on facebook

Canal Postcard

Occasionally I will buy a postcard or two from ebay. It's a fairly cheap way to buy canal memorabilia and the photographs are an interesting view of the canals in the past. Most postcards are from around 1910 up to the 1950s, with the modern ones being popular in the 1970s. 
The last two cards I bought were both from the early 20thC. The first is a French postcard showing French soldiers defending a canal during WW1. The second postcard is a fairly standard real photograph of Red Cote Bridge in Armley Leeds, on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal. Its not a great photograph, the view hasn't changed much over the last 100 years. The bridge is now obscured by a very ugly pipe but it is still there and still surrounded by trees on a nice bit of the canal. The only barge in the photograph is in the distance and just a black blob and the one person is a girl with her back to the camera. 
On the back of the card is a short message in pencil from Jessie to her Grandma, Mrs Ingle of 353 Kirkstall Road, Burnley Mills in Leeds. 


The message reads:


Dear Grandma,
Dada is here from France, mamma wants you to come up on Sunday for tea. Dada is going away Monday
Love from Jessie


The date on the postmark is 4 October 1916. I assume that the Father would be going to France to fight in the war. 1916 was the year of the Battle of the Somme, fought between 1 July and 18 November 1916. There were 1.5 million casualties. 
So the two postcards were linked at least by time and country as well as canal. 
Sometimes the messages on the back are more interesting than the photos on the front. 

Canal Cycle: Liverpool to Wigan Pier, 34.5 miles

March is my month of rebooting my New Year resolutions and doing lots of things that may not be enjoyable but are good for me. As part of my Big Plan to sort myself out I decided to start biking again. I haven't been out properly for ages. What better way to kick start the cycling habit than a 34.5 mile ride from Liverpool to Wigan? A statement of intent. 

The Start of the Canal in Liverpool

I woke up nice and early and got my bike ready, packed my lunch, stuck a waterproof in as a last minute addition. The streets were quiet and I got to Eldonian Village and the current terminus of the Leeds & Liverpool Canal about 9am ish.  There weren't many people about, a couple of drunks by the locks on the Stanley Dock Branch and a couple of dog walkers. The towpath is great at the Liverpool end, nice new tarmac so I was zooming along. Zooming for me is about 14/15 mph. Not so fast really but fast enough for me. I made good progress and it was only at bridge 7D that I had to stop and dismount to get through a anti-vehicle gate. The ones in the preceding 7 miles had been either open or just wide enough to cycle through. This one was an old one and had to be negotiated on foot.  

On the way I noticed a couple of mileposts I didn't think I had seen before, the 7.25mile quarter post and the 8.5mile half mile post. It didn't seem to take too long to get past Aintree Racecourse and up to Melling, leaving Liverpool behind. As far as The New Running Horses in Maghull the towpath is fine and I could make good time. After a quick stop to check my phone messages I was off again. From Maghull onwards the towpath is not so great. It is either grass or grass with a narrow rut in the middle. I dont know which I hate more. The grass is hard going, it makes my knees ache. The rut allows you to go faster but if you dont pay attention you can come out of the rut and start to wobble, which if you are a foot away from the canal is at times a bit of a wake up. Some bits of the rut were deep enough that my peddles caught on the grass either side. Pretty much from Maghull to Burscough the towpath is grass or grass and mud; about 10 miles. I was only managing 7 mph on the grass, even less on the really manky bits.  

I stopped at Halsall Cutting, 18 miles along the canal for a break, and inadvertently ate half my lunch. It was 11am though so we can call that elevenses .  It had drizzled a bit but by Halsall it cleared up, the wind was cold though and if I stopped too long anywhere I cooled down and my hands got cold. After what seemed like forever I got to Burscough. There was a shameful mile that I got off and walked, lycra clad races sped past casually on the road. If I did this again I would ditch the towpath and take to the roads between Scarisbrick and Burscough. Not with the full on lycra Tour De France get up though. 

Scarisbrick Marina

In Burscough I caught a passing glimpse of the new development in the canal depot. There was some upset at the depot buildings being demolished, but it looked very nice as I passed. There is a bar there too.

There was a fishing competition on, so every five fisherman had to shift his long pole off the towpath to let me past. Luckily they didnt go beyond the railway bridge by Ainscoughs Mill. 

The Rufford Branch

At the Rufford Branch junction I decided to have a proper break and eat the remains of my lunch. I should have rested more but got cold so pressed on. Noticed another new milepost, 25.25miles. After seeing number 27 though I gave up looking for them. My head had, as football commentators say, dropped. I was spending more time looking at the mud than the surrounding scenery. I thought about giving up and getting the train. But I knew the towpath improved towards Wigan so thought I would carry on as far as Parbold and see how I felt there. At Parbold I decided it was less than 10 miles so I may as well carry on. But I did stop for a quick breather at every (full) mile post I saw. The towpath improved again towards Wigan until it finally turned into a proper cycle path again. My speed increased again back up to 12mph. I am never going to break any speed records, but towpaths aren't about that anyway. Thats what I keep telling myself. 

Wigan Pier

I havent been to Wigan for ages but have heard about the redevelopment of the Wigan Pier area. As far as I could see nothing much has changed. The warehouses look a bit tattier and there is an air of abandonment. One new addition is sculpture. On Wigan Pier was what from a distance looked like a hoodie leaning against the wall. But the board next to it explained she was one of the women who sorted coal. There were four statues originally, but 2 were stolen in 2009. They have no scrap value so either the thieves were stupid or they love this sort of art. They didn't do much for me. The Orwell pub has re-opened, so that can go on the pub guide again. 

I left the canal and went to the station and got the train back to Liverpool. I got off at Edge Hill rather than Lime Street so I could free wheel downhill home rather than struggle up it. 

The ride was hard work for me. I really hate riding on grass. It was interesting to see how things change along the canal. There was a change from the hungover individuals in Liverpool to the happy families in Appley Bridge. The accents changed from Scouse Liverpool to old Lancashire. One fisherman informed me that "Gates th'open". It is good that such accents remain. 

Canal Pub Reviews: Lancashire

As part of towpathtreks on going mission to visit the pubs of the Leeds & Liverpool Canal  we headed off to Lancashire. The first pub was Crooke Hall Inn in Standish Lower Ground near Wigan. We parked in the large car park behind the pub. On the canal there were a couple of boats on the move. The canal was frozen and the ducks were walking along on the ice. 

The Crooke Hall Inn has its back to the canal. In the car park which lies between the pub and the canal is an evil fibre glass tree for the children to play on and to inspire nightmares later. 

Unfortunately the pub was having a much needed refurb when we got there so we couldn't comment too much on the decor. The Cooke Hall Inn is an Allgate pub, a local Wigan brewers. It also had Phoenix Hop Sack. The lady at the bar was certainly friendly but the pub hadn't warmed up yet in temperature or atmosphere. I think we will have to go back when it has been done up and maybe on a Thursday evening when they have live folk music. 

Next on the list was Waters Edge at Appley Bridge. This is a modern pub with a large carpark. Its on the bankside of the canal with excellent views across the canal and the River Douglas valley.  Sadly I think the view is the best thing about the pub. The outside patio area is very nice, and if I had to come back it would be to sit outside in the sunshine. The inside looks like it hasn't been done up for a decade or two. They are obviously proud of their word processor and laminator; there are signs and notices all over the place. The menu is an impressive A3. The highlight of the visit was seeing Carl Baker on the TV playing for Coventry. We left as a horde of children ran to sit at the table next to us. The beer is nothing to write home about. Greene King.  

On to the next pub. The Ring O'Bells was shut and for sale so we headed straight off to the Slipway in Burscough. On the way through Burscough the Waterfront looked closed. Also the old canal depot buildings have gone and been replaced with a new development. Hard to judge it by just driving by though. 

The Slipway is a one room pub with Thwaites Wainwright on draught amongst others. The match on TV was drawing to a close, so I checked the Southport result and found to my delight we were beating York 4-0. 

We ate here, a steak for about a tenner and gammon for about seven quid. The food was good, nothing special. Nice and hot though. 

Maybe the best thing about the pub is the PacMan game by the door. Old Skool fun. 

Out of today's pubs I think Crooke Hall Inn is the one I would return to.

Canal Walk: Botany Bay to Bridge 74A

One of the nice things about having my website about the Leeds and Liverpool Canal (and other canals) is the emails I get from people with their own interests. I have had emails from people interested in tunnels, water towers, milestones and World War Two defences. Today I got an email from someone with probably the most specific interest: Skew arch bridges. His interest was in Bridge 74A, a railway bridge between Adlington and Chorley on the former Lancaster Canal Southern Section, now the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. Along with a lot of interesting information about skew arch bridges there was a request for a photo of bridge 74A for the wikipedia page. Not a problem. 

Botany Bay

The lucky coincidence was that I was planning to visit some canal pubs today, one in Adlington and a couple by Chorley. While in the area I could walk the mile and a half to bridge 74A and take a few photos. 

milepost

We arrived at Botany Bay at lunchtime but after a big breakfast we weren't hungry so what better way to work up an appetite than a walk on the canal. We parked in the car park of the Lock & Quay pub, formerly the Railway. We crossed the bridge and walked down the steep cobbles to the towpath. The towpath mud was still frozen making walking a bit easier.

Not far along we came across a half mile post, 45.5 miles from Pall Mall in Liverpool. I couldn't remember seeing this one before so took a photo. 

There has been a lot of vegetation cleared and trees felled on this section so there was the chance to find lost mileposts. 

Tree

By Bridge 77, Workhouse Bridge, there were some brand new houses. They were not here last time we visited this section. Much nicer than the workhouse that gave the bridge its name.  We were passed by the worlds fastest Border Collie, zooming along the towpath at incredible speeds. 

Workhouse Bridge

We crossed the aqueduct near Bridge 76, and soon reached our destination at Bridge 74A. A skewed arch allows a railway to cross a canal at an oblique angle. And bridge 74A certainly does that. 

I took some photos, hoping to get whatever details a skew arch fan would appreciate.  

Bridge 74A

Under a Skew Arch

Next to the bridge was a little steam boat.

little boat

With the bridge well photographed we headed back. On the way back I took a slight detour to photo the aqueduct from below. Its hard to get a decent photo of an aqueduct when you are stood on top of it. 

Canal Aqueduct

There are still some impressive mills in Lancashire, but they are a dying breed heading for extinction. 

Crosse Hall Mill (Cotton)

On the subject of bridges, canal bridges are numbered eg 78. New bridges built between the numbered ones are given a letter eg 78A. If a bridge was built between 78 and 78A it would (I think) be 78AA. And if a bridge was built between 78 and 78AA it would be 78AAA. 

bridge 78aaa

We had almost got back to Botany Bay when I noticed a quarter mile post, almost completely buried. This one is 45.75 miles from Liverpool. So in helping one man's obsession I was rewarded with two examples of my own. We got back to the pub and started to review. 

Pub Reviews: Leigh and Wigan

I have slightly redesigned the pub pages on www.towpathtreks.co.uk so I thought I had better do some pub reviews and add some new pubs to the guide. I have a list of about 15 pubs to visit this year. Today with the weather being less than glorious I thought we would try just 3 or 4. We left Liverpool and headed off to the lands where Rugby preferred to Football, Leigh and Wigan. 

Driving to Leigh on a grey rainy Saturday is depressing. I lost count of the number of closed down, boarded up pubs. By Leigh Bridge there was the Bridge, the Ellesmere and the Bridgewater, all potential pubs to review and all closed down. 

Luckily our first pub was still open; the Waterside Inn in Leigh. It is on the Leigh branch of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal near its junction with the Bridgewater Canal. The pub building is a converted canal warehouse. The warehouse is two Grade II listed buildings. One half is a stone warehouse from 1821, the other is a brick warehouse from 1894. There is a carpark at the front so no worries about where to leave the car. There is a large ugly Aldi next door which would be handy for passing boaters. 

 former canal warehouses

It was one o'clock when we got to the pub and it was not busy. We sat near a window over looking the canal. There were some nice old photos of the canal and the warehouse before it was a pub. The bar seems more aimed at people drinking bottled beer, wine and cocktails than real ale. In fact there were only two real ale pumps and one was off. The pub was quiet and it felt like it was set up for a busy Friday/Saturday night crowd rather than lunchtime. 

There is quite a big main menu, a kids menu and Sunday roast specials. We chose the cheese burger and the scampi, together less than ten quid. The food came quickly and was nice and warm. The burger was tasty if a little unadventurous, though there were lots of other options which would have been more interesting. 

I am not sure if I would go out of my way to go to the pub again. It would be a nice place to go for drinks with friends in summer when the outside seating would be nice. 

Leaving the pub we went over to Leigh Bridge which is number 11 on the Leigh Branch of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal and number 66 on the Bridgewater Canal. Its a very low bridge, I couldn't stand up straight underneath it. I hope to cycle the Leigh branch sometime this year, hopefully when the weather is nicer. The rain started so we went back to the car and headed to Wigan. 

After Leigh we drove to Wigan, passing yet more closed down pubs. Things change, peoples leisure activities aren't what they were 10, 20 years ago. People stay at home watching the X factor rather than going to the pub. The smoking ban gets a lot of blame, the price of beer in pubs is high compared to the supermarket. In many places there just isn't the population density to support so many pubs like there once was. 

We arrived at the Top Lock in Aspull, Wigan. Here at the top of the Wigan flight of 21 locks the Leeds and Liverpool Canal meets the southern part of the old Lancaster canal. The area here was famous for its coal. There was a huge iron works here too. Now there is a quite housing estate and some light industry. 

The Commercial Inn (closed)

The weather was getting worse and it was getting gloomier.  We walked down to the Commercial Inn to see if the rumours were true and it had indeed closed. The lights were on but there was nobody home. It looks like it has joined the long list of closed down pubs. Hopefully it is just a temporary closure but I cant see there being enough trade to keep two large pubs going in such a quiet bit of town. The other pub was open and has had a recent refurbishment. 

Kirkless Hall Inn

The Kirkless Hall Inn stands out among the late 20th century housing estate. It is a large black and white mock Tudor building. The inside is just as unusual as the outside. The decor is best described as 1970s London underground. The seats and carpet have a definite retro appeal, bringing back memories of coach trips in the 1980s.  Either it had recently been refurbished like this or the pub is in some sort of Life on Mars time warp. But it was all clean and new and the barman was friendly. There are two rooms with a central bar serving both. We sat in the bright canal side room which has framed photos of canal boats. On the other side of the bar is the pool room which had the TV on. The pub does food, nothing too pretentious, baked potatoes, sandwiches, soup etc; only the steak was over £5.00. Even the black pepper on the tables had a 1970s air about it. In a good way. I was pleased to see a bit of Christmas decoration hanging from the ceiling. Its something I always look for in a pub. Next time you go to the pub check the ceilings in the corners of the room, there will be a bit of tinsel or shiny plastic stuck there with sticky tape or a drawing pin. We were the only people on this side of the pub, the other side seemed to be favourite with locals. I know my place, I am just a passing tourist and will sit where I should. It would be interesting to know how this pub looked in the 1890s when the canal was still busy and the area was a hive of industry. 

With the light going we decided to call it a day and head back to Liverpool. Hopefully the next time I go reviewing pubs the sun will be shining. 

Pub Reviews: Salterforth to Snaygill

Time to add some new pubs to Towpath Treks Canal Pub Guide. You would think that going to a pub, taking a photo of it and having a pint would be top of my list of things to do but it seems to have taken years to get some new pubs on the guide. Too much time spent in other pubs probably. Anyway if we were going to do it we may as well head off to the wrong side of the border and look at the pubs on the Yorkshire side of the Leeds & Liverpool canal. 

The plan was to drive up to the Anchor Inn, Salterforth (not sure if this is in Yorkshire but its close), the Cross Keys at East Marton, the Anchor Inn at Gargrave, the Bay Horse at Snaygill, the Copper Dragon Brewery, and then to Skipton and the Royal Shepherd and Narrow Boat. 

After a look round the Astrid Kirchherr exhibition at the Victoria Museum and Gallery in Liverpool we headed off up the motorways, following the canal to Salterforth. After some minor disagreements with the SatNav we arrived. Kate the towpathtreks.co.uk official (and still undefeated) beer and pub reviewer was on board and it was time to get to work. 

The Anchor Inn was the only pub on the days list that I have been in before. It is most famous for its cellar of stalactites and stalagmites. Maybe we were a bit early, it was only just gone 12noon, but the pub was anything but busy. The pub has some black and white photos of the canal on the walls. We had planned to ask to have a look in the cellar but this being the first pub and therefore the first pint, we were feeling a bit shy so after our drinks we crept out and back to the car. 

The plan was to eat in the next pub which was luckily only a 10 minute drive away. The Cross Keys is near enough to the Double Arch Bridge to count as a canal pub in my book and besides it gets good reviews and we were hungry. I think we timed our arrival just right. Not long after we had sat down the place was full. This was our first pub selling Copper Dragon, the Skipton brew. 

There was an impressive menu, Kate had a psychic knack for picking the items off the chalk board that were sold out but eventually she went for the Keys Burger and we could all move on with our lives. The burgers when they arrived were excellent and more than either of us could finish. This pub is one of the best for food on the canal. It is well worth the short walk up a busy road from bridge #161, but you may end up waddling back full of food. And so waddle on we did. 

There isnt much to say about the Anchor Inn at Gargrave. Its a Brewers Fayre pub with a Premier Inn on the side. If you want a cheap hotel room in Gargrave this could be the place for you. If you are looking for a pub with interesting beer or character then this is probably not the pub to head for. 

On the way to the next pub I stopped at Higherland lock to see how the water level was. The levels are down a foot or so but not as bad as they have been. 

the canal at Gargrave

From Gargrave we drove to the Bay Horse in Lower Snaygill. This is a chain pub but nicer than the Brewers Fayre. Its the sort of pub that you would go to for a meal rather than a drink. Kate had a Timothy Taylor while I had yet another J20. A purple one this time. We read the Towpath Talk and sat back while through the window the hire boats headed back to Skipton. 

Before we headed into Skipton we stopped off at the Copper Dragon Brewery, a building as far removed from the Cains brewery in Liverpool as is possible. Unfortunately the shop was shut and the bistro just too strange for me to drink in.  I dont know why anyone would go to a side door of a shed on an industrial estate for a meal. 

In Skipton we walked up the Springs Branch, beneath the castle walls. The Kennet is moored in Skipton at the moment. Run by the Leeds & Liverpool it is a floating promotion for the canal and a reminder of what a real boat looks like.  It started to rain so we headed to the penultimate pub. 

The Royal Shepherd is a traditional pub. I guess that is short hand for saying it hasn't been done up for 20 years. Like all pubs it does food and the chips looked good but you can imagine a microwave and a sandwich toaster out the back. Worn seats and dodgy carpet is not retro chic. Still the pub was full of drinkers so they must be doing something right. The beer was good, I managed a pint of Copper Dragon Scotts 1816 which was nice, Kate had the Best Bitter. 

With time ticking on we wondered about missing out the last pub but to have done that we would have missed out on the best pub of the day. 

The Narrow Boat is just round the corner from the Royal Shepherd but is a million miles away in terms of style and décor. Its a spacious clean pub with roses and castles decoration alongside beer advertising on the wall. The range of beers is something like The Fly in the Loaf or Ship and Mitre in Liverpool, and for those who dont know, thats very good. If I was trying to create a pub that was aimed directly at me, this would be it. Its just a shame it was over 100 mile round trip for a pint. As it was the last pub before driving home I was back on the coke while Kate had a Midnight Bell, from the Leeds brewers. Looking through the drinks menu I noticed an alcohol free beer, perfect for the driver. Sadly it smelt so bad I couldnt finish it. With no booze in the bottle it wasnt worth holding my nose and pouring it down my neck. Still, not the pubs fault. 

We finished our drinks and went for chips by the canal. It rained all the way back to Liverpool. 

The Windmill Hotel Parbold

Today we went to the Windmill Hotel in Parbold for lunch. Sadly I was without the official beer taster so no beer reviews today. But I can say that the food was very good and reasonably priced too. My gammon was lovely, but the burgers looked pretty good too. Its just a shame we had to eat it in the back yard (our fault for bringing a spaniel with us). From what I saw of the inside it is lovely and I hope to go back soon and try some of the beers they had on tap. 

Review the Windmill yourself at www.towpathtreks.co.uk 

6 Pubs One Canal One Day

Today along with www.towpathtreks.co.uk's official (and unpaid) beer reviewer, Kate, I visited 6 pubs on the western end of the Leeds & Liverpool Canal. 

The first stop was the New Running Horses in Lydiate. The Running Horses had been a bit run down in recent years but not any more. The pub has had a major refurbishment inside and out. It has even changed colour, no longer white it is now what my Humbrol paints might have called Light Buff. Inside was very nice but as we turned up on a Friday lunchtime minutes after opening it was empty.  The choice of beer wasnt too good, but the Bombardier was good and the prices were average. Rather than sit in an empty (but nicely decorated) pub we sat outside. There is plenty of outdoor seating and this pub should be a popular spot this summer. The menu had the usual pub food on it and was reasonably priced. There is a noticeable absence  of any horses running or stationary. 

Next pub was the Scarisbrick Arms, also recently refurbished. The Scarisbrick Arms is a big building with high ceilings. This may explain the very tall menus. The pub feels more like a restaurant but a restaurant in a big late Victorian house. There was something odd, maybe it was the so very tall menus...

The food looked good though and we were mesmerized by the slowly rotating strawberries in the display cabinet. The beer selection was good, the White Witch went down well. We went outside with our drinks and wandered round to the back of the pub and the lawn by the canal. They haven't yet made the most of this side of the pub. But there were some swings which Kate tried and there was a trampoline which I did not try. 

There are a few boats moored there these days. One in particular caught me eye, not sure about the covers but it had a 50's or 60's style about it. We finished our pints and left the hideous French Chef statue with the empties. 

A boat at the back of the Scarisbrick Arms

Just a short drive down the road and we were at the Ship Inn, Haskayne. I have been to the Ship quite a few times before so I pretty much knew what to expect. I had a pint of '1966', explaining to Kate why we English remember that year so fondly and persistently. The Ship has a fair selection of real ale that changes frequently. We did eat there, 2 meals for £12. I thought the fish and chips was okay, I have had better to be honest and for less. There were lots of ducks on the lawns by the picnic tables where we ate. Inside there were no ducks but some canal themed art on the walls and it was the first pub that felt like a pub. 

We walked under the bridge, down the towpath, through Halsall Cutting to reach the Saracens Head our next pub. The Saracens Head is another pub that is more of a restaurant these days. Its a very smart one too and the last time I ate there it was very nice. Today was too warm to be inside though so we took the Spitfire outside to sit next to the canal. This pub has the best canal side seating, even the gents toilet has a canal view. The beer wasn't so great but they do work hard on the quality of service. 

We walked back to the Ship Inn pausing to photograph two local gentlemen by the bridge. Seldom have I seen two happier men on the towpath. 

locals at Haskayne enjoying Lancashire's version of continental style outdoor drinking

Under the bridge and through the little gate, we went back to the car. We drove the 15 minutes or so up to the Ship or Blood Tub at Lathom. The Blood Tub has had a turbulent time in recent years. It was part of the Cains company's disastrous expansion of its pub ownership. But the pub itself hasn't changed much over the years, it has survived. There is a good choice of beers at the bar and if we are being charitable we were given plenty of time to choose what we wanted. The prices were good when we were served. 

Again it was too nice to sit inside so we went out and walked up to the second lock on the Rufford Branch with our drinks. There was a boat going down the locks on their way to the boatyard at the river lock. They had been to Chester,Manchester and up the Ship Canal. There was another boat going up the locks. Hating to sit idly by I gave a hand with the gates, eyeing enviously the windlasses and gate paddles when operated by the boat crews. We finished our drinks and wandered up to the bridge and graving dock by the boatmens cottages. Time for heading back home. 

On the way back to Liverpool we stopped off at the Heatons Bridge Inn for one last drink. This is a pub from my childhood. Though obviously back then, in those rose tinted halcyon days children weren't allowed in pubs and had to sit outside with their mothers and some KP nuts and a lemonade.  The pub makes the most of its front with its hanging baskets but cant avoid the busy road. It also manages to hide the canal from its picnic benches with trees and fences. the pub is cheap and cheerful but the Tetleys wont be fondly remembered.  

We walked down to the canal and along the row of moored boats where I once played. I have seen kingfishers here before but not today. The kingfisher is associated with the mythical Greek Alcyone. And so another halcyon day came to a close. 

Give your opinion of the pubs on the Leeds Liverpool Canal at www.towpathtreks.co.uk