The Banknewton flight followed almost immediately - it was taking so long that there was a unanimous crew vote for bacon butties which eventually turned into lunch. However, bribing the lock keeper with a sample very definitely improved his day (in the rain) and kept him 'on side'.
The next pound is over five miles long and is distinguished by being very winding - at several points we could look across a short field to see the canal running almost parallel. Double arched bridge does exactly what it says - probably the second arch was built on top of the original bridge when the road was developed to carry motor
traffic.
At the top of the Greenberfield flight of three a sign offering local ice cream was followed up with pleasing results! A little while later we came across a small boatyard with canal-side diesel supplies so, for the first time, we fully filled our fuel taank - last time the marina could only supply 20 litres.
Barnoldswick - according to an information panel - was where the Rolls Royce RB-211 engine was developed - which is the reason for the B in the name!
The next feature was Foulridge Tunnel - which we reached just minutes after the lights turned to red: passage is only allowed for 10 minutes each hour in order to allow for wide beam boats which cannot pass in the tunnel, even though it is possible to see right through the near mile long tunnel. Hence we had to wait to the next hour for a green light. Once through the tunnel we looked for a mooring spot as the next stretch runs through a series of towns, starting with Nelson. Also, another flight of locks awaits us first thing tomorrow!
