Into the teeth of a gale!!

Well alright, it wasn't a gale but it felt like one. Ray spent the morning sorting out the stern gland and doing a few other bits then we set off for Gargrave. The wind was very strong and bitterly cold and because the canal twists and turns so much you barely have time to get used to which direction the wind is coming from and you have turned about and it's hitting you from a different angle.

We endured a couple of miles of windy travel before we reached our first of the nine locks of the day, the distance is only about three quarters of a mile as the crow flies which gives you an idea of how much the canal meanders. For most of the locks the wind was blowing us towards the towpath which meant that if Ray stopped before entering the lock he struggled to get Morgana away from the bank but on the other hand trying to hold the boat in midstream was equally impossible. The best option was for me to open the gates at the next lock before Ray left the previous one so he could cruise straight in. This meant lots of walking for me as I then had to walk back and close the gates at the previous lock.

There certainly wasn't any shortage of water in the canal today, at one lock the water came up over the lock sides when the lock was full !

I had the pleasure of spotting a couple of curlews at almost the same spot as I saw one when we came through here two years ago. No chance of a photo this time, I don't think I would have been able to hold the camera steady enough.

Considering the weather conditions we made reasonable progress and the journey only took us about half an hour longer than I would have expected. I was very glad to reach the moorings at Gargrave between Anchor Lock and Higherland Lock. We will be here until Monday as Tim, Margaret and Nicholas are coming to visit on Sunday.

Today's journey 3.2 miles and 9 locks.

So far this year we have travelled 378.8 miles, 229 locks, 8 swing bridges, 1 lift bridge and 11 tunnels


In 2011 we travelled 461.4 miles, 444 locks, 3 swing bridges, 34 lift bridges and 15 tunnels


During 2010 we travelled 740.3 miles, 642 locks, 53 swing bridges, 4 lift bridges and 25 tunnels


Since Ray retired we have travelled 1580.5 miles, 1315 locks, 64 swing bridges, 39 lift bridges and 51 tunnels