There are many amazing sites along the Leeds Liverpool canal, and as you can imagine they consistently change with the seasons. Here we’ll note some of the more famous things you will see on your narrowboat holiday.
The Bingley ‘5 Rise’ lock
Opened in 1774 this is a series of 5 locks, the opening gate of one is the closing gate of the next.
Raising the canal over 60 Feet, this gem on the canal can be found about ½ mile from Bingley Station and is only about 100 yard upstream from another series of 3 locks raising the canal about 30 Feet.
These locks are supervised by a lock keeper and are closed during the night, so if you wish to go through them , give yourselves plenty of time.
Bingley five rise locks.
Saltaire
Saltaire, founded by Titus Salt in 1851, is a great example of a 19th century Victorian village, built specifically for his workers.
Saltaire is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with all it’s buildings being granted ‘Listed’ status, the church getting the highest ‘Grade 1 Listed’ status.
The canal runs down the side of Salts Mill which is now an art gallery, shopping and restaurant complex, displaying many works by David Hockney.
Salts Mill from the Leeds Liverpool canal
East Marton Double Bridge
This is a bit of an oddity, and a rare example of engineering logic.
The bridge carries the A59 from Liverpool to York, and as such is a major artery. When the road was improved, the original bridge was not high enough so the solution was to build another and why not use the original as a foundation for the first?
The result is this rather odd looking bridge.
Note that little white line sticking up from the white outline? That is indicating the deepest part of the canal and is the point you should aim for for the best approach.
East Marton Double Bridge – A Elegant Solution to an Engineering Problem
Picture courtesy of Wikipedia