Narrowboat Leeds dock near disaster

Leaving Leeds Dock on a very windy day and a week with the grandchildren.

Eileen went back to Kent by train from Leeds and picked up Chloe and Charlie. They arrived at Leeds station and we came back to the boat by water taxi from Granary Wharf. They spent the week with us taking in the Armoury Museum which they really enjoyed and they loved playing on the turfed section of the docks. We left Leeds dock on an exceptionally busy day with lots of boat traffic and high winds, not the ideal cruising weather as Patrick had trouble getting out of the basin. Eileen and the kids had already made their way over to the lock to set it. There was a tricky turn as well just outside of the basin, the high winds made it even more difficult. Just after exiting the lock another boat bumped into us as the wind took him.
We cruised up to Woodlesford on the Aire and Calder Navigation where we found a lovely mooring and visited a country park and took the kids blackberry picking. We then cruised onto Woodlesford Lock where there were lovely visitor moorings above the lock. There we found a playground for the kids, enjoyed a bit of fishing and walked to the local Lidl which was about a mile into town.
It was a difficult but enjoyable week trying to keep Chloe and Charlie entertained. It may have been easier if we were on the canals where there are more locks, tow paths and shallow water rather than a river with few locks which were all mechanised, less tow paths and deeper water. Chloe was easier to entertain as she took more interest in boaty things. Their Mum travelled by car to the boat on Saturday and they all returned to Kent on Sunday.