Another grey but almost dry day. Tomorrow is forecast to be sunny! we were surprised to discover last night that the pubs at Birstall (where we had hoped to find at least one where we could eat with the Windsor family this evening) are all closed as it is Bank Holiday. (Actually we did then work out that the White Horse, right beside the river, was doing lunches but nothing in the evening) This required some re-planning and we only found a rather disappointing option at the Hope and Anchor a little bit beyond Birstall.
However, one look at their menu on the internet quickly had that one vetoed so we left it to Joanna and Adrian to use their sources of information to sort out something that they could ferry us to that was not actually walkable from the river.
We set off as usual and as we were preparing the first lock, another boat, nb Twelve and a Bit - it was No 13 from the Debdale boatbuilder - arrived. They joined us in the lock only for us to discover that they had been sharing with a cruiser since 7 am so we had split them up!
However, we did stay with Steve and Jilly all the way through Leicester to day. Once onto the River Soar below the first lock we made speedy progress. The river looked initially quite modest as it joined the navigable channel under a towpath bridge.
Both Leicester and Loughborough were once served by two main railway lines but, alas, the Great Central Railway is no longer, apart from a short preserved section between the two places. Several times, both yesterday and today, the former line can still be seen, with some of the bridges providing useful walking routes.
The weir at Freeman's Meadow Lock can look rather intimidating but actually very little water was going over most of its length. The Leciester City Football Cub stadium stands just the other side of the river.
Just before Castle Gardens secure moorings we spotted a Tesco Express alongside mooring rings so we quickly pulled in. Christine dashed across only to discover that they had sold out of our newspaper!
As it happened, we lost only a little time and caught up with nb Twelve and a Bit at the next lock.
The northern part of Leicester is the least improved and there are still some indications of the many mills and dye works that once lined the river banks. Many have been demolished and replaced with housing estates. Just as the mills all looked much the same, so too now do the houses.
At Frog Island we had to push two car wheels out of the lock before we could fit two boats alongside each other.
At the penultimate lock in the city we suddenly lost speed and although we tried putting off a visit to the weed hatch until we were on cleaner waters, eventually we were making no progress at all and struggled even to reach the bank.
It was a complete mix of some sparkly clothing, rope, wire, plastic strimmer cord and the inevitable plastic bags. Although a knife was called for the mass did come away quite readily.
The last lock is alongside Swans Nest Weir - the water now becomes clear and clear once more - with the splendid National Space Centre in the background.
We continued then to Birstall. There are very limited places to moor on this section but we did know that there are some good ones at Birstall so we just hoped that there was space. In the end there were no other boats moored there when we arrived although others came, and sometimes went, after we tied up.
Mike walked up to the shops and, eventually, managed to find a newspaper although even the Co-Op had sold out. Thanks goodness for a proper newsagent!
Later he also walked through the adjacent Watermead Country Park and up to the woolly mammoth statue on a small hill overlooking the main lake.
It is clearly a popular place with specially provided flat topped stones as barbecue stations.
Christine also wandered that way a little later as we continued to await the arrivals.
They came a little earlier than expected - and we were surprised to see Ellie who was taking time out from revising for her AS exams in a few days time. After a cup of tea and some time to chat, we were drive to Rothley where they had booked a table for us at the Blue Bell. We had a very good meal which everyone enjoyed. Back then to the boat where Alice and Jess came aboard, leaving the others to make their way back home in Windsor.
22 Miles - 8 Locks
No comments:
Post a Comment