Almost immediately on leaving our overnight mooring we encountered the Dowley Gap two lock staircase. Simple, ensure the top lock is full and the bottom one is empty and all is well. By the time we reached the Three Rise we had worked out exactly what we needed to do, but young John was on hand to ensure that all went well and we did as we were instructed and as we left he phoned ahead to advise the famous Barry Whitelock that we were on our way.
On our way, Duggie had a close encounter with a goose, not to be confused with a duck. Ducks quickly take to the water or air when Duggie charges then, but a goose stands its ground and this one made Duggie back off, I think he will be a tad more respectful in any future confrontation. Our other discovery was the Bingley was not only home to the Bradford and Bingley Building Society, but to Damart, the thermal clothing manufacturer, as the chimney proudly proclaimed.
Barry has been looking after the Bingley Five Rise locks for over thirty years, but it was Rick (only ten years service) who greeted us and controlled all of the opening and closing of paddles ensuring our smooth rise up the sixty foot climb. The only thing that got confused was our little weather forecaster, that translated the resulting drop in air pressure to a forecast of rain, despite the flawless weather that we were actually experiencing. Barry nodded a welcome to us at the top, obviously in recognition that we had done as told and sent us on our way with the knowledge that fifty yards further on was a water point that actually had water coming out it. Here we filled the water tank, looking forward to all of us having a shower that evening.
We moored for the evening at Riddlesden, just after bridge 197A and to my amazement, Puffer Parts is based here, everything I needed and all at very competitive prices complete with friendly and helpful service from the owner and colleague. A new clamp on cowl for the chimney, the old one blew off, new fenders, a replacement windlass; I left one behind on our second day out and a new twin horn to replace the one that has finally stopped working. The rest of the day was spent trying to get the new one to work, but with no success as there would appear to be a problem in the wiring.
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