Malcolm and Kathleen in Barnoldswick

 Monday 30th May 2022 near Barnoldswick.

For nearly the end of May, it was very cold this morning, just 6 deg., but the views were still beautiful across the valley.

M decided to walk the first part to make the best of the views, while R, wrapped up against the cold, set off with MM.

As we approached Barnoldswick there were many huge fields on either side of the canal that had been cut for hay. No sign of cattle, so either it was a cash crop or they are zero-grazing cattle indoors.

The easiest way for M to get home tomorrow is to catch the "Wizz" bus that goes through Barnoldswick and Colne on its way to Burnley. There is a bus stop just half a mile from the canal next to the Rolls Royce works, so the idea was to moor here and check out the footpath to the bus stop. Unfortunately, the canal side here was so shallow that it was not possible to get MM anywhere near the side. There is a winding hole, so R turned MM round with some difficulty as it really was a "60ft max" turning point. MM only just made it round!

We set off back north again to try to find a place where we could moor, which we did after half a mile when a local moorer very kindly pointed out where it was just possible to get into the side. Then we walked back the half mile to the footpath stile.

The footpath takes you round behind the Rolls Royce Barnoldswick facility, made famous by the fact that the RB211 engine was developped here. The "RB" in the name stands for "Rolls Barnoldswick".

Having checked out the bus stop, we walked the mile into Barnoldswick to visit our friends Malcolm and Kathleen, who live there on the outskirts of the town.

Malcolm very kindly drove us back to where MM was moored. It was lovely to see them again. Unfortunately, we will miss them as we get going south again as they will be away when we pass.

Today: 3 miles, 0 locks and 2.2 hours.

TRip: 162 miles, 115 locks and 93.7 hours.