North again: Day 5

It was beautifully sunny first thing, and we set off just after 8 — at which point it almost immediately clouded over for a couple of hours.

I walked ahead to set the first lock.  The house there is having major work done.  We were now back to wide locks.

One of the few things we remembered along this stretch was Bridge House Barn, with all its tipis.  I suspect they had an event last night, as there were quite a few cars in the field.

We were having to set every lock as we went down, and the gates have a habit of swinging open on their own.  Only occasionally did this work to our advantage; it was mostly a pain!  I got back on the boat after the first five locks, as it was then a couple of miles to the next one.  There’s some pretty countryside, and this house, which we weren’t entirely sure about.

At Newton Top Lock there was a boat coming up, doing the Leicester Ring from Yardley Gobion.  From then on the locks were full or fullish.

Bottom Half Mile Lock was not only full, its top gates were open, and it was a similar story at the next, the very pretty Turnover Lock.

Only Bumblebee Lock was empty, and it was a real struggle to get the bottom gates to stay shut so I could fill it.  Fortunately some runners had arrived and I got them to re-close one gate for me.  We got to the moorings at Kirby Bridge at around 12, so it had taken four hours.

This afternoon, I shortened the rope on the new side fenders we bought at Crick, and (having got the idea from Robbie Cumming one one of his Canal Boat Diaries this series) got my kitchen blow torch out to melt the ends.  Then one of Adrian’s former BA colleagues, Gina, who lives nearby, came to see us with her dog, Maisy.

Later we walked up to Wigston to pick up a parcel from a convenience store.  We had an ice cream to eat on the way back as it was now very warm.

5 miles, 12 locks. (28 miles, 22 locks)

East Mids Exploration: Day 4

It was sunny first thing, but still very breezy. We had a pretty relaxed start, having porridge for breakfast, then when the boat behind us started its engine, we put ours on and got a wash load underway. Once the washing part of the cycle was done we set off, at about 9am. I've done quite a few boat tests from Debdale Marina, so the stretch between Foxton and there is quite familiar; further north, I didn't really remember much at all. It's pretty, but slow going as the canal seems very shallow.

Our new friends on Unknown had gone past before we were up, and we passed them on their field mooring and had another quick chat. You can see right through Saddington Tunnel from way before; boats can pass inside, but the approach to the southern portal is amazingly overgrown, and you wouldn't want to meet a boat there.

After a five mile lock-free cruise, we reached Kibworth Top Lock. Adrian worked the first five. By Taylor's Turnover Lock was a field where there had been some sort of party, with a huge marquee, a bar in a horse box, and even portaloos.

There's a mile gap, then the next locks, which I worked. Newton Top Lock has an attractive cottage alongside.

There was no rhyme or reason to how we found the locks. Some were empty, some were full, some were somewhere in between. I needed to fill Bottom Half Mile Lock, but the next one, which is very close, was almost full so I lifted a paddle, and the gates opened by themselves when the lock was ready, meaning Adrian could go straight in.

We stopped for lunch below the lock, then did the final two to Kilby Bridge. The final lock, Bumble Bee, had water coming over the gates, and a mysterious pair of boots and socks left by the lock side.

At Kilby Bridge stopped on the service point to fill with water and get rid of rubbish. We moored for the night at the end of the moorings opposite. As the towpath is now on the other side, we washed that side of the boat, which was badly in need of attention. It's very quiet boatwise; we've seen just three boats going the other way today.

10 miles, 12 locks. (72 miles, 45 locks)

Big Trip - Day 30

Last night we had drinks and nibbles on board Chance on the slipway where the boat is being blacked, so everything was on a bit of a slope!  Then we walked down to the local pub, which last week Doug and James discovered didn't do food on a Monday; this week they discovered it doesn't do food on a Tuesday either.  Plan B was the Chinese take away, where we ordered a wide selection of dishes which we took back to Briar Rose to share.  We had a great evening catching up with D&J, and talking as boaters do, about toilets.

This morning is was very misty when we looked out.

We set off shortly after 8am, and Doug and James came to see us through the first lock.

The locks on the northern outskirts of Leicester are pretty grubby, although there wasn't as much rubbish as we'd been expecting.  It was still very misty, so misty that we could barely see the National Space Centre, which looks a bit like a giant inflatable.

The river through the centre of Leicester is the Mile Straight, and has some impressive bridges.  Near the first one, West Bridge, is where the Union Navigation from the south met the Leicester Navigation from the north, in 1794.

There are also some buildings which we're sure weren't here last time we came this way in 2006.

Freeman's Lock is the first after the Mile Straight, and was where a hire boat we'd met the other day joined us.  It's opposite Leicester City's ground.

There's a huge weir above the lock, but the flow was negligible, and certainly nothing like what we remembered from last time.

We shared the next few locks, before the hire boat stopped for lunch.  We carried on, eating on the move -- although the spacing of the locks means there's not really enough time between them to do much.

After the city, the canal goes through the suburbs of Aylestone, Glen Parva, and South Wigston.  There seem to be quite a lot of new houses, which often face the canal in a rather attractive way; and there are plenty of back gardens to examine.

At the last lock of the day, Kilby Lock, one gate was blocked by a huge floating island of weed.

Shortly after leaving the lock, a large plane flew directly overhead.  Adrian identified it as a VC10, although they're supposed to have been retired.

Rounding the corner to the Kilby Bridge moorings, we saw a long line of boats, so decided to grab the available space at the end.  I'd been wondering for the last little while whether there was something round the prop, or whether Briar Rose was simply protesting about being back on shallow canals, rather than deeper rivers.  As we'd been through plenty of rubbish and weed today, I decided to have a look down the weed hatch, and removed some kind of elasticated garment, which may once have been someone's knickers, a selection of plastic bags, and quite a bit of weed.

13 miles, 17 locks.  (383 miles, 227 locks)