Locks hold the key to a splendid trip FROM East Lancashire follow the A59 to Skipton. Turn right at the roundabout near the Little Chef and follow the signs to Bradford. Pass through Keighley and on to Bingley. An alternative route is via Colne and Laneshawbridge. There is limited parking by the church. Parking close to the railway station and at the Five Rise Locks. There is a good rail system from Skipton and also a bus service from Skipton. I ARRIVED at Bingley's All Saints' Church just after 10am but the hot summer sun was already beating down.

The church is of Norman origin and once had a huge graveyard. In the 18th century, however, a turnpike road was constructed and this sliced the cemetery in two.

From the church I crossed the busy road and followed a narrow track which passes under the railway line before climbing slightly into a colourful collection of allotments which were full of flowers, vegetables, birds and insects.

Eventually, I reached the Leeds to Liverpool canal footpath and turned left to the famous Bingley Five Rise Lock System. A signpost indicated that it was 111 miles to Liverpool and 16 to Leeds.

A sign on the locks points out that they were built to the design of John Longbotham, of Halifax, by local craftsmen. The locks, which still function perfectly, were opened in 1774 and lift boats over a distance of 320 feet by a staggering 59 feet, two inches. At Bingley a water bus runs along the canal from Saltaire and this is not only used by tourists but also by the local folk who fancy a leisurely journey to and from the town. Bingley has lots of attractive old cottages and is regarded by the locals as one of the best places to eat.

These days I am built more for leisure than for speed and I took my time climbing the incline which leads to the top of the Five Rise. Here I found the old stables now adapted for visitors looking a delight. Shafts of sunlight reflected over the water and swallows, swifts and martins swooped in search of insects. I enjoyed an ice-cool orange and then an ice-cream before wandering around the barges. Boating people are a friendly lot and whether they were holiday punters or owners they all gave a cheery wave. On one barge there were two dogs and a cat.

This set me thinking of what life must have been like for a bargee moving his horse-powered cargo along the cut.

The traditional picture suggests a back-breaking job set amid dark, damp mills. In fact, most of the journey was through idyllic scenery negotiated with still by a well-trained horse. The bargee and his family had a far healthier lifestyle than the mill workers or the coal minders.

Many learned to read and study on the journey and the only time they were under real pressure was during the loading and unloading and in winter when they had to try to prevent the canal from freezing over.

I turned around and retraced my steps to Bingley and in the grounds of All Saints I thought of the history of the Leeds to Liverpool, an ambitious-yet-successful cut which linked the North and Irish Seas for the first time in history.