27th April 2011 - Leeds to Liverpool (131 miles)
This is a challenge that’s been staring at me for a while and doesn’t look to be going away, so it’s time to face it. I had to be up at 5am to cycle down to Lime Street, catch the 6.15 train then within two hours the easy bit’s done and I was mingling with the commuters at Leeds station. The start of the ride, Bridge no 225g, is relatively easy to find, as I’d Googled it the night before, and decided that no other maps were
required as the towpath leads back to Liverpool.
There’s good, tarmac towpath for at least five miles from Leeds, but caution is required throughout the route when aproaching all the narrow bridges on sharply curved bends to avoid a speedy head-on collision with another cyclist. For some reason, the path is often cobbled and pot-holed under bridges, too, so extra care is needed to avoid either being jolted into the canal or bashing your head on lowhanging stonework.
The sunshine was welcome, but as it was on my back it meant that I was cycling north, rather than west to Liverpool - the canal doesn’t take the direct, M62 route back, but twists and turns slowly north, through lush fields of grazing sheep, lambs, cows and horses.
There weren’t many people around walking, but plenty of cyclists and canal traffic, too, with some queues forming at locks, particularly the spectacular Bingley staircase locks built in 1771 that takes the canal up 60 feet in as many yards.
Skipton’s a pretty looking town, with a canal tributary that leads right up to the castle. It even
boasts an ice-cream boat,, but it was closed.
From Skipton there’s a long stretch of open country as the canal loops round Gargrave before starting to head south west. The scenery around here is the most picturesque on the route and nearly compensates for the lack of speedy towpath - one false move and you could be bounced out of the rutted grass and into the cut .
There’s a mile long tunnel at Foulridge - with no towpath, which was unexpected - perhaps I
should have brought a map. Fortunately a couple in their garden gave me good directions for
the not very well signed roads over the top. They said that they were frequently called on to
perform this duty.
After some quite tiring miles on the towpath I was ushered off the canal at Burnley by a policewoman in a facemask - she said that there was a fire and worries about asbestos fumes. Another detour and by good luck managed to find the next bridge straightaway and back on the canal for some good hard cycling on a reasonable towpath as far as Clayton, where The Albion beckoned. Pretty dehydrated by this point, but a couple of pints of shandy revived me and the barman refilled my water bottles for the next stage - I reckoned I was about halfway, and sure enough, at 4pm a mile or so further along there was the proof - 63.5 miles completed - which meant 63.5 to go.
I wasn’t intending to have any more stops, and felt pretty strong so as I cycled along I was trying
to calculate the time I’d be back, and crucially, whether it would be daylight or not - I reckoned at
13mph, much slower than usual road cycling, I’d be back by 9pm, so just about in daylight. I had
lights with me, but didn’t fancy towpath cycling with just a cycle light. The towns come fairly fast at this point - Blackburn, Chorley, Adlington and then Wigan, with its flight of locks, all descending to Liverpool so made some good progress, despite the ridiculous metal gates they’ve stuck all over this part of the canal.
The towpath around Parbold is shocking - it’s probably not much fun when you’re fresh, but after a hundred miles, your body is not very appreciative of the battering it gets from a rutted path - everything starts to ache as you rattle along and it was probably that stretch that rattled the lens and bulb out of my front light - now it was most important to get back before dark, but looking less likely and I was feeling very tired.
Had to stop at Haskayne for a brief rest and an orange and the last of my water, which
refreshed me for the last push. The sun had gone down, but the midges remained. It was
too gloomy to cycle in my sunglasses, so as well as swallowing hundreds of the irritating
things they were clogging my eyes as well.
Kept going as darkness descended so for safety sake got off the canal at Melling and
used the road back home. Back home at 9.40pm - a long day - about 11 hours in the
saddle, but exhilarated, with no punctures and the challenge completed
A good ride, but if you’re going to tackle it in a day I’d recommend June, when the extra
hours of daylight give you that bit of a bit extra time.
Oh - and don’t forget to take plenty of water !
By Nick Broadhead - Chairman - APEx
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