Loughborough to Kilby Bridge (24 miles, 23 locks)

My first festival went really well and I had very positive feedback from many people looking at my display.  I would like to take this opportunity to thank those who came and said 'hello' and gave words of encouragement to us in our new 'hobby' and also to new customers I made.

Beautiful sunrise at Sileby Lock

The Bank Holiday Monday following the show, we decided to move on towards Leicester to avoid bad weather later in the week. The sun was shining, but as the show had finished, hanging around didn't seem the thing to do, as many boaters had already left.

Mountsorrel Bridge built in 1860 as the brickwork tells us

Coming through Barrow upon Soar, we had to negotiate clusters of small boats and not be put off by hoards of onlookers at The Navigation situated on the edge of the river.  There were many boaters out and about, so we had to keep our wits about us getting through bridge holes on blind bends etc!

Sometimes obstructions dictate which way to go on the river!

The weir at Sileby lock where we moored up after a hot morning's cruising

We moored at Sileby lock and had a lazy afternoon talking to fellow boaters moored there above the lock and looking around the shop there.

The boys and I, later on in the evening

During the evening, some local kids came down to the river and started daring each other to jump in the lock!  I hope none of them were ill, as the water is really dirty in the canal and river, as it is anywhere.

View towards Sileby lock and the old corn mill which is now a candlestick works!

Tuesday morning, we had fully intended to get up early and 'do Leicester' with all it's locks, but instead we thought we would moor, perhaps, at Birstall just outside Leicester and hit it the next day.

The river Soar is particularly beautiful and was as still as it could be, so ideal for boating

We wiggled our way along the windy river to Cossington lock, the first for the day, having an outstanding weir in the background.

Spectacular weir at Cossington lock

Our first challenge for the day was to negotiate the lock approach, as instead of being around 100feet long, adequate for us to moor, it was about 45 feet long, leaving the butty dangling in the bridge hole behind.  In between the lock approach and the bridge is an outlet of the river Soar, so we wouldn't like to moor up if it was running!  I had to jump off in the bridge hole and hold the butty to the side as Richard dealt with the lock on his own.   One to remember in the future.

Lots of repair work being done on the towpath at Birstall by CRT (Canal &  River Trust)

Mooring at Birstall, we had a wander into the village in lovely bearable heat.  My gran used to live here, but I hadn't been back properly for at least 35 years...... feeling very old now!

High ropes at Birstall.  Great fun but pretty scarey!  Memories of team building climbing weekends with school colleagues!

The alarm went off at 5 (!!) this morning.  I wasn't impressed but knew that Leicester would be a lengthy day with the 15 locks in around 10 miles, to do, in order that we moor at Kilby for the evening.

The National Space Centre in the distance above Belgrave lock

The weather was very wet, then warmed up, then rained again, so we were back and forth with coats and the dogs in and out of the boats.  But all in all, we had a good day and it brightened up a lot later on, so the lock areas were less slippy.

We can see Leicester!  In all it's glory, not an attractive inner city river at all, with all the dereliction and graffity surrounding it! Come on Leicester you can do better than this!

At around 8.30am, we entered the inner city area and wound our way around the large weirs and 'Mile Straight' to bring us out at Leicester City Football Club.

Mile Straight - takes the river under grand stone bridges and out into the outskirts of Leicester

Leicester City FC

View back to the city

A nesting swan hidden amongst the reeds

Several locks on our journey were overflowing and the bywashes seemed to be clogged with reeds and branches

At last we left the river behind for good, and entered the Grand Union (Leicester Section) proper!  Which, after the recent rain, was a relief.
I was beginning to flag and at the last lock (number 15) just before Kilby Bridge, we thought the water would never fill the lock up.  Eventually, we arrived at our destination at around 3pm.
We split the boats (me mooring on the towpath and Richard crossing to the facilities for much needed water), reuniting again and shutting the doors for the rest of the day.
                                   'Knackered' is not the word as I type this blog......