No stopping through Leicester

Friday 3rd July

What a nice mooring this is between Kings lock bridge & Pack Horse bridge (Aylestone)and we are glad we didn't moor at Castle gardens.(they are where our Nicholsons guide tell you to moor as they are secure) We left our mooring at 6.30am as we wanted to get through Leicester before the local youths were up and about! Last night a holiday boat was passing us and Kev spoke to the bloke who said he had trouble with youths at a couple of the locks in Leicester(he didn't say which 2).He told Kev there had been 15 to 20 youths and they were hurling abuse and throwing things at their boat.He was having to stop as some of them were jumping into the water in front of his boat. His wife was a bit shaken by this experience (as would a few of us)and all they wanted to do was get as far away as possible from this area and he said they'd had a really good time until this happened.

As we were passing the moorings at Castle Gardens another holiday boat followed us and went in the North lock with us,they told us they too had a bit of bother with youths and that at the secure moorings at Castle Gardens youths were throwing bottles over the fence at them!! It is a shame that once again a minority can spoil things for others and Leicester is loosing out as people would stay in their city longer and see more of what the city has to offer, but as it is most people on boats just want to got straight through without stopping!!So come on Leicester do something about it!!!

We parted company with the nice family (from Glasgow)on the hire boat and stopped at the moorings at The Hope and Anchor pub just through bridge 19 where we had our cooked brekkie.Just as we got tied up it started raining and was still raining as we left, what a difference a day makes as yesterday we were in our shorts and t-shirts then today it was waterproofs. As we were leaving the mooring there was a boat coming up so that was good as we now had somebody to share the locks with again. The rain persisted and at times was heavy, we were on the river Soar and it was running quite fast. We stopped at the BW services at Barrow on Soar,there is a small cafe here and Kev spoke to a man who we think ran it,he told Kev he had been informed that the river was going into flood and advised us to moor anywhere before the deep lock as these moorings would soon become full. We moored up and then when we took Buster for a walk upto the locks the lights there were on red.It didn't bother us as we had decided to stay here for the weekend to avoid the weekend boaters out from Sawley.

Monday 29th June

We went for a walk into Yelvertoft village first thing so we could pop to the post office/stores (what stores!!) and also wanted to get some sausages etc from the butcher but unfortunately the butcher was closed and doesn't open until Wednesday. We will maybe try the butchers another time but will definately will not be using the village stores!! They were ignorant people and were reluctant to talk even when Sam asked about white magnums they barely gave him an answer,as for stores there wasn't much to choose from so take a tip from us don't bother.Anyway we got back to the boat and set off at 9.40am and passed a construction site for a new marina at Yelvertoft which looks huge.When we were getting close to Welford we came through a bridge and there was Nb Derwent6,who we hadn't seen since we were at Crick show last year. So it was a chance to have a natter and of course a few cold beers!! We sat a while and Sam had a chat with Del about computer games and the Kev gave Del a short lesson in how to splice a rope and also showed him a few easy knots.We said our goodbyes and thanks to you both for the cold beers see you both again ok.
We headed off onto the Welford arm and got moored up near the pub The Wharf Inn,we went and had a nice bite to eat as it was getting late, as we left we had a bit of rain but it didn't last long.It was still very hot and quite humid.

Tuesday 30th June

We put a wash on early this morning and then went onto the water point which was close by and put another on while we were waiting to fill as there was nobody waiting for water,also we got rid of rubbish and toilet.We left Welford at 9.45am and made our way to Foxton toplock(staircase locks,2 sets of 5 locks) at about 1.15pm,we were in a queue but were only the 3rd boat along.We spoke to the couple in the boat ahead of us and they said they'd been waiting a few hours.I went to find the lock-keeper to put our name down and we had to wait for 3 boats coming up.We had some lovely icecreams from the shop at the toplock and then there were 3 men playing music and singing so there was a nice atmosphere about.It was so hot going down the staircase and no wonder one of the lock-keepers had towel around his neck! We moored up at the bottom just through bridge 62.We had a walk to have a look at Foxton incline plane which there is a restoration scheme to re-open it.This was used to bypass Foxton locks and was opened in 1900, 2 caissons carried 2 boats at a time and moved on rails up and down the plane,you can still see where the rails were.

Wednesday 1st July

We left our mooring at Foxton at 8.30am and headed to Debdale wharf for diesel (self declaration), then we carried on through Saddington tunnel and then stopped at Fleckney to pop to the village. It is a 10 minute walk across a field but it was worth it as there was a fish & chip shop there and after we'd been in the Co-op and had a pint in the pub beergarden we brough fish & chips back to the boat for dinner.As the weather was very hot it kept the food piping hot we can recommend it. We started the double locks (Kibworth top lock)and they were a pain all the way until we stopped at Kilby Bridge for the day,it is hard doing double locks on your own but there were no other boats coming down to share with,mind you at least we had Sam to help but the gates kept opening after we had shut them!We arrived at kilby Bridge at about 6pm. It had been another very hot day and still a hot night too.How lovely to have all your windows etc open wide.

Thursday 2nd

We were up early as usual as we wanted to pull across the canal and tie up at the water point and toilet emptying before setting off. There was a small cruiser that had been moored behind us facing in the opposite direction who had pulled over to the other side to the water point and a narrowboat also had just got there so we thought we had better get over there as there was room for us to get in behind the cruiser but as we were about to let go of the ropes there were 2 narrowboats coming towards us and they both got tied up alongside each other where we had planned to go but when we saw them we thought it rude to pull across in front of them. They said hello to us and we told them they had just pipped us to the post!anyway we saw that the narrowboat that had been moored further back was about to pull off so we headed off across to their spot only to see the cruiser starting to back up to let the other boats get even closer. Well I am sorry but we carried on as there was plenty of room for us all and we hadn't intended to push in front of the other 2 boats for water we just wanted to get across in case more boats came.I have to say this woman on the cruisre had wanted to moor to use the showers and I told her in a few choice words she could move up in front of the narrowboats then have her bloody shower!!Anyway all sorted once again and in beautiful sunshine again we headed off to our first double lock passing Nb Balmaha on the way,no-one about so we could have told them we read their blog.As we were entering Bush lock 2 boys about 9 or 10 years asked Kev if they could have a ride on the boat he said ok but just through the lock,i wasn't very pleased and don't want to sound mean but you never know what kids are up to. They sat at the stern with me while Kev did the lock and I had told them Buster wasn't very friendly and that he was shut up in the boat as they wanted to stay on with us. They told us they had broke up from school yesterday but as we found out later that the kids here are still at school.We arrived at our present mooring just below Kings lock between bridges 104 & 105 at about 12.30pm.We had a walk into Aylestone and took Sam for a game of pool it is still hot but it may change tomorrow as we heard there is going to be some rain.

Sunday 28th

Up early as usual,it was a misty start and I took Buster for his walk up onto the bridleway which is at bridge 4. I walked along the farm track to find an old railway bridge and could see where the old line had been but now taken over by the farmers cows.Such a shame to lose these old lines and I suppose it is the same when you see all the old canals gone too.Such is progress eh!

Before we left our mooring to go through lock 3,Kev walked back down to lock 2 as we wanted to see if there was another boat to go through the double locks. There wasn't so we set off at 8.50am,when I got to lock 4 there 2 boats coming down,there were 5 people doing the locks for the boats and a woman was at the opposite gate to me waiting to close the gate at her side as Kev would be able to come through the one I was at. The others went off to the lock we had just left,she said that she couldn't close it as she had a bad back and so she left it to me( never mind my back then!!)it is fine but why did she even bother and why didn't one of the others stay
to do it.Anyway never mind I wasn't going to let that spoil a lovely sunny Sunday morning.

We carried on through Braunston tunnel and then to Norton Junction where we turned left onto the Grand Union(Leicester section).We decided to stop for a bite to eat and take Buster for a walk before going up the Watford staircase locks as most people know can take quite a while. We were only round the corner from the bottom lock so we didn't have to go far and when we got there we found that there was only one boat ahead of us. Kev stayed with the boat while I went to find the lock keeper to let him know we were waiting.(He takes the name of your boat and tells you when you can start the locks)Anyway there were 3 boats coming down so we would have a bit to wait so we sat in the sun and had a cold beer!

It was really hot (not complaining)and was quite busy and when we were through the last lock at the top we moored at the service point and emptied the loo and got rid of the rubbish although we didn't have to fill the water as Kev had done it at the bottom lock while we were sat waiting.All sorted again we were on our way and through Crick tunnel where I got a bit wet at the tiller but it was nice and cooling after the sun,we only met one boat in the tunnel which I was glad of as it is the first time I had done a 2way tunnel but we passed without touching.
As we were passing Crick marina we passed Nb Rock'n'Roll,we had a quick chat while passing them.We had been moored up at Gailey with George & Carol earlier this year when we were iced in,nice to see you both and hope to see you both again and stop for a proper chat.
Carrying on we got to Yelvertoft where we got moored up for the night at 17.15pm and as we had just got tied up and inside the boat the heavens opened and it poured with rain. It was still very warm and kev and Sam did a bit of fishing as the rain stopped at about 8ish,they caught a few small fish and sam was happy as he could use his landing net.

Braunston gathering

Friday 26th

We left our moorings at 8.50am and it was a nice morning again,so we set off heading for Braunston were we were hoping to get moored up so we could got to see the workboats on parade on Saturday. We stopped at the water point just before Hillmorton locks,it was a bit difficult to get alongside and I had a good laugh at Kev, when he was pulling the rope at the forward end to get it close to the bank he slipped and almost ended in the cut!! Wish I had that camera!! Anyway we got through the locks and onto Braunston where we spotted Nb Moore2Life moored up on the outskirts of the village,we couldn’t see Chas& Ann and we actually took a photo!
As we expected there were lots of boats moored up along the way through Braunston and when we got close to the marina the workboats were there moored up 4abreast so we carried on through the locks and moored up near to lock 3 where the pub Admiral Nelson is.Apparently the pub had been closed for a while but had reopened with new landlords. There were plenty of people milling about and quite a few were sat in the sun at the tables outside on the grass along the canal.

Saturday 27th

It was a misty start to the day and I had decided to have a clean up as Kev was going to take Sam to the tunnel entrance to see a workboat come through being legged through(this is how they used to get the boats through tunnels before they had engines)there was a horse waiting to be hitched up to the boat to tow it through the locks and into Braunston.The tunnel had been closed for a few hours to all other boats while this boat was going through.A woman was walking ahead of the horsedrawn boat asking people on their boats to move chimneys and other obstacles on their boat roofs. This was because the rope that was attatched to the horse and the boat had to be lifted with a pole over moored boats. The horse would have been walked from the start of a tunnel and then meet the boat at the other end.

When Kev & Sam came back we had a coffee,Kev went to see the start of the parade of working boats and then a bit later both Sam and myself went to meet Kev there. There was a good turnout of people and there was a good atmosphere especially when the sun is shining. We had a walk round the stalls for a while before we headed off to walk into Braunston village for some milk and bread.It is uphill into the village but is worth the walk as there are some really lovely old houses.The only disappointment about the village was the amount of dog dirt lying about and although we have a dog I think it is digusting to let your dog foul and not pick it up.We walked back to the boat via the Admiral Nelson where we had a well deserved pint!

We walked back to the workboats after tea and went into the beer tent where people were getting together,Sam enjoyed having a run round with some other kids while we sat talking to Chris(workboat Alcor) and a few other people who were with him.We would have stayed a bit longer than we did but for the queue at the bar so we came back to our own bar at the boat where we didn’t have to queue.We will be heading off tomorrow towards Norton junction and onto the Grand Union Canal (Leicester section)

Sunny weather at last

Tuesday 23rd

Only a short journey today,we left our mooring and moved up through 6 locks and moored up at bridge 43. It was a sunny day so we decided to stay for the day and had a walk into Atherstone where we did a bit of shopping getting a few odds and ends. We got back to the boat and had a lazy afternoon in the sun and at one point the thermometer read 33 degrees.We went for tea at The Kings Head which is just over the bridge. When we got back Sam wanted to do a bit of fishing as kev had bought him a couple of disgorgers and a landing net(no fish to land though) but Sam isn't put off.We sat in the cratch til 10pm as it was a lovely evening.

Wednesday24th

Woke up to another lovely morning and we were getting ready to leave our mooring at 7.45am and a work boat and butty passed followed by Chris on his workboat Alco ( Chris is from Gt Haywood)he was heading to Braunston for the weekend as there is a festival on. As we were following Chris up the locks he opened the paddles on each lock as he left and this made it quicker for us and he did this as there were no boats coming down the locks. So thanks Chris.
We stopped at the top lock for water,toilet emptying and got rid of the rubbish and then carried on, passing the BW depot at Hartshill where there is a lovely building with a clock tower. We passed Alvecote Marina which looks very nice and there were a few work boats tied up there. We stopped at bridge 24 to have a late cooked breakfast/dinner and take Buster for a walk before moving on. We turned onto the Oxford canal at Hawkesbury junction heading for Newbold as we were hoping to go to the Barley Mow pub for tea.We had sopped there last year when we had been to Crick show and had a great curry.
As we got through the Newbold tunnel (which is only 250 yards) we could see that there were lots of boats moored up and as we got through the bridge 50 the workboats that were ahead of us earlier were now breasted up and as we passed them all the visitor moorings were full.So we carried on and had to moor just before bridge 51,it was 6.50pm and Sam was hungry and so were we! Anyway we moored on a long term mooring for the night and we know we are not supposed to.Anyway we had a good curry and Sam had a half chicken meal,I left Kev and Sam to have a few games of pool and went back to the boat. It had been a long day but a good one!

Thursday 25th

A short journey this morning we left our mooring at bridge 51 at 8.30am to go to Tesco at Rugby and moored up just after bridge 58. What a glorious day the sun was shining and there were a lot of boats on the move and everyone was smiling( just shows what a bit of sun can do eh!!)
After returning to the boat with our shopping,we had a coffee and a bun then Kev took Buster for a walk as we were going to go for a walk into Rugby,leaving Buster at the boat. We set off for Rugby town and had read that it is only a 15/20 minute walk,it would have been but the footbridge over the railway was closed so we walked along the main road and it took us 30 minutes. Rugby is worth the walk there are lots of old buildings and as most people probably know it is known for Rugby School and of course the game of Rugby! We forgot the bloody camera again! Yes we are useless! Any way we went to the small museum which is through the Web Ellis sports shop. The museum is a must for anybody who likes Rugby and it is based in the premises where the rugby balls were first made. We had a good walk round and there are a lot of shops and there is now a new Asda store in the centre of the town, we were getting a bit tired so we decided not to walk back to the boat but get a taxi so we got dropped off at the Comet which is on a retail park near the canal.
When we got back to the boat we thought that we would move on up the canal to moor somewhere a bit quieter and didn't have to go far and moored up between bridges 66 and 68 alongside the golf course.

Free day for Kev

Sunday 21st

Fathers day! After having brekkie and walking Buster we were ready to go to Drayton Manor theme park and we were pleased to be told that Kev could get in free as it was Fathers Day so it cost £46 instead of £60. When we added it up he didn't get in free but we saved £14 pounds on the family ticket. We had a good day and we were soaked on the Storm Force 10 ride (which is like a log flume ride)and on a part of the ride you come down in the boat backwards!! Thats were you get really wet,I had to walk back to the boat to get my clothes changed and left Kev & Sam there as Sam was waiting to go on another ride.They were going to follow me back to the boat as it was only a short walk from the park. We had a sandwich got dry clothes on and after taking Buster for a walk we returned to the park for the afternoon. We had left buster on the boat as it was better for him and that way we could go on rides together.We did go in a 4D attraction and I have to say it was excellent.The main thing is that Sam had a good day and the weather was ok we only had a short shower but we'd got more wet on the rides!

Monday 22nd

We left our mooring at 8.55am and carried on up the Birmingham & Fazely to a the winding hole which was 2miles away just before the lock (Curdworth bottom lock) and turned round to head back to Fazeley junction where we turned right back on the Coventry Canal.We stopped briefly at the BW point to get water etc. I did a couple of washes so we decided to moor just before the locks at Atherstone and Kev put up the rotary clothes drier, the sun was shining so we sat outside with a beer and watch the world go by. There were a few boats coming down through the locks but not many going up.It was a lovely evening and we sat in the cratch until 10pm and it was still light!

We are still having problems with the layout of the blog as you can see from above,we can't find out what went wrong and have tried to sort it so bear with us. At the moment Kev has given up on the blog so I am doing it (I am not very good though)

A Late start today

Friday 19th June

We had a late start today as we let Sam try a bit of fishing again but he didn't catch anything so it was cereal for brekkie!Tee hee!We left Fradley at 11.50am and headed off to Hopwas, Sam took the tiller for a while and did a great job we were very proud of him. He asked what his score was out of 10 so we had to give him full marks!We forgot to mention seeing Nb Peruvian Skies yesterday when we were on our way to Fradley, he is a fellow blogg
er and yet again we weren't quick enough with the camera. When we were passing Streethay Wharf we saw Nb Granny Buttons moored up and this time we got a photo! We arrived at Hopwas at 3pm where we moored up for the day.

Saturday 20th

Today we were up and ready to leave Hopwas at 10.30am,so Sam helped kev let go of the ropes and he was at the tiller again and I did some tidying up. We arrived at Sutton Road bridge where we tied up so we could have a walk to Asda.We were moored up where there was a lot of building work going on,a new Audi ynowroom! (thought there was a recession)It was only a 10minute walk to Asda it is on a very large retail park called Ventura park where there was also Sainsburys,Matalan and many more including a Macdonalds,but to Sam's dissapointment was still being built!We got back to the boat and had a sandwich for lunch,the weather was a bit hit and miss sunny then cloud. We were going to stop at BW services at Fazeley so I walked Buster as it isn't far and left Kev & Sam on the boat.After getting water etc we turned at the junction onto the Birmingham & Fazely canal on our way to moor at the footbridge at Drayton Basset. The footbridge is very unusual it is has a gothic like turret at each end where the stairs upto the bridge are inside,we are close to Drayton Manor theme park,where we will be taking Sam as promised tomorrow. We went for a walk into Drayton Basset as there was a fete and when we got there I thought dogs weren't allowed so I left Sam &Kev there and came back to the boat.They came back about 4.30pm and they'd had a good time Sam even went in the Wellie throwing competition and his throw was 61ft 6ins! he was doing better than the adults and was beaten by a girl who was older than him.(Thats one for us girls eh) anyway he was a good loser and was 2nd and was fine especially when they gave him a large box of Haribo marshmallows! While they were there they found out that Drayton Manor had originally been owned by the Peel family who founded the police force and had a massive wealth which by todays standards would amount to 3.5 billion, but unfortunatley this was frittered away by a younger member of the family.