retiredmartin

July 2026. Saltaire to Bingley.

A late (9:30) start to Day 5 of the Cask Camino on Monday morning meant we missed the best of the Holiday Inn Express (i.e. the scrambled eggs), which came as a shock after missing breakfasts in Armenia because they didn’t start till 9am.

We resume at Saltaire station,

the stretch to Bingley uneventful apart from Dowley Gap,

where we cross to the south bank for the first time at Bridge No. 206.

You might be starting to think that this Camino thing is a bit lightweight, an hour and a half on flat ground,

but you’d be missing the point. It’s not really about the canal, it’s about what we find along the way.

Like the Fisherman’s*, which would have made a good halfway stop with its 3 pint pot scores and posing tables with hooks for your day bag, but without food trade I guess there’s no chance of lunchtime opening.

It’s good exercise, and apparently experts believe oxygen is good for you, and the only legal requirement is that you return that “Good morning” to everyone who walks past you,

The approach into Britannia Wharf with its huge chimney is quietly thrilling.

Even more thrilling is the proximity of Bingley’s plain Spoons, where we drink lashings of ginger beer and San Pellegrino,

and consider our next steps. We’ve decided to save the Five Rise locks till the next leg, which is a bit like going to Stockton and not having a banked Bass.

But the good pubs aren’t open till 4, and there’s no market, in fact there’s not much at all in a town of 18,040 souls.

Suddenly, we’re hungry, and as we pass Eldwick Creamery’s deli opposite the station, we follow the instruction on the blackboard.

My Reuben is fantastic, proper sourdough packed with Swiss cheese and pastrami,

and we’re all geared up for an assault on the St Ives estate to the west of town, which will double our step count for the day.

Exciting name,

a rather less enthralling walk to the Druid’s Altar, though if you come from the Fens this will look like Mount Everest.

You’d never believe how fast Mrs RM can get down a hill when there’s a pub at the end.

*_{The Fisherman’s what ? I never found out.}