Chug, chug, chug. The iconic yellow motorboat hums as it carves its way through the Aire, past the tottering beauty of Calls Landing. The boat is quiet – I’m the only one riding on Twee today (or was it Drie? in my excitement I neglected to check) and so is the river. “It’s the first year I’ve noticed there’s very little traffic, you used to be always battling other boats,” sighs Peter Forrest, my captain for today.
These adorable yellow craft (if you’re really bored, you can track them running up and down the river online) are a novelty, a fan experience. There are only two stops, the station and the dock, but it’s handy if you want to take the kids to the Royal Armouries without breaking a sweat. When the service temporarily shut down just before Christmas there was an outpouring of affection, only for it to restart five months later. One of the original skippers, Simon Tipple, told the BBC: "They are an important part of the Leeds scene now. It would have been a real shame if we lost them."
But the cutesy nature of the experience hides a surprising fact: these Amsterdam-built crafts were originally targeted not at day-trippers, but commuters. In fact, these boats are the one remaining vestige of a grand vision for Leeds Dock — one that has otherwise failed to materialise.
Skyfall
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