Canal Boat Holiday Base Information - Base 13

Base 13 is near Skipton, North Yorkshire and is a small family firm. It is easily accessible by road and the nearest railway station is in Steeton and Silsden, a 10-minute taxi journey away. It is also just 25 minutes by road from Leeds Bradford Airport.
The name of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal belies the majestic beauty of this trans-Pennine waterway. It is the longest single canal in Britain and yet the least crowded.
Travelling west you encounter Skipton 'Gateway to the Dales', and beyond the beautiful and dramatic scenery through the Dales countryside with its rugged moorland, limestone caves and gorges, leading westwards onto the industrial towns of Burnley and Blackburn.
Travelling east towards Leeds, you can take a steam train to Haworth Parsonage, home of the Brontes, or further to the Bingley Five Rise and Saltaire the Victorian model village.

One-week routes
Foulridge and Bingley: 68 miles, 52 locks. This route takes in the best rural parts of the canal with splendid views and plenty of interest. Travelling westwards through Skipton, you turn at Foulridge and return past Silsden towards Leeds.  The scenery remains superb taking you to the Bingley Five Rise, a staircase of five locks lifting you 60 feet up the Aire valley. It is also well worth visiting the factory and model village of Saltaire, the utopian dream of Victorian Sir Titus Salt, who built the village to improve the lot of his workers.

Burnley and return: 74 miles, 60 locks. A weeks cruising through the dales and lovely villages, like the 17th century village of Kildwick and Skipton. Following Skipton you pass through the bleaker hills of the Pennines. Here a cow is reported to have swum through Foulridge Tunnel in 1912 and was revived with alcohol!  The scenery becomes more industrial with the town of Nelson being followed by Burnley. Here some 100-year-old waterside buildings are in a poor state, but restoration is currently taking place to improve the canal side.

Two-week route
Wigan and return: 150 miles, 128 locks. A trip of great contrasts with the lovely country around Skipton giving way to the industrial landscapes of Blackburn and Burnley. These have not all yet been fully 'restored' and, whilst not to everyone's taste, they do provide a lot of interest in showing you how life was 100 years ago.
For real enthusiasts a trip down the Wigan flight to Wigan Pier, before turning up the flight again should ensure a peaceful nights sleep! A two week cruise full of interest.

Wigan and Leeds: 206 miles, 186 locks. The full length of the easily accessible Leeds and Liverpool (the Liverpool length is not easily navigable). A more strenuous fortnight, but quite possible. It is probably best to head to Wigan first, and then come back to Leeds as time permits. Eastwards past the Bingley Five Rise, the route again becomes more industrial as you get closer to Leeds, with stone buildings and towns such as Shipley close to the canal. As good as any in the country, with great countryside contrasting with the old mill towns.

Three-week circular routes
Two rings are available from Silsden, both require a minimum of 3 weeks. One uses the Leeds and Liverpool one way across the Pennines, and the Rochdale to return. The other uses the Leeds and Liverpool and the Huddersfield Broad and Narrow. Please contact us for more details, including navigation restrictions and specific boats that are suitable for each of these cruising route options.