Monday 1st
We planned to get on our way today but first, we had to walk back to Whilton Marina to exchange the 20/50 oil we had bought last week for 15/40 stuff. The engine manual had said 15/40, the guy in the shop had said 15/40 and my brain said 15/40 when I picked up the wrong grade oil, still, it didn’t take long, just a one-mile walk along the towpath and a one-mile walk back.
We were on our way around 10.15 and were soon through the top lock of the Buckby flight having passed through the other six last Friday.
Norton Junction is less than 400 yards from the top lock, so we were off the Grand Union Canal Main Line and onto the Grand Union Canal Leicester Line just minutes later.
It seemed no time at all that we were at the Watford flight of locks which like many others on the system this year are suffering from low water levels, the result of a dry winter followed by a dry spring and summer consequently they are locked shut between 4.00 pm and 10.00 am. At the other end of the 23-mile-long Leicester line summit pound, the Foxton Locks are similarly restricted. However, these restrictions are nothing compared to some northern canals' problems. The Macclesfield Canal is closed until water supplies improve as is the Leeds and Liverpool Canal between Wigan and Gargrave. The Trent & Mersey Canal is closed for over 27 miles between Yard lock no 28 to King’s lock no 71 just south of the Middlewich branch. Other closures are in the pipeline but it still looks as if we will be able to go up the Leicester Line to the Trent and Mersey Canal from there we will need to follow the same route we used to come south in the spring (the last thing we wanted to do) then rejoin the Trent and Mersey via the Middlewich branch if the closures have not spread.
Looking down Foxton Locks
Friday 4th
The engine sqweel that has been a feature for over a year has been getting on my nerves recently, it sounds like a fan belt sqweel so I thought how hard can it be to tighten the belts - yes plural!! There are two although there is only one alternator, presumably if one belt fails the other carries the load until the broken one is replaced.
After trying and failing to tighten the belts I phoned RCR (Canal River Rescue) who sent an engineer to do the job. He inspected the belts, declared them in good condition and within a few minutes had the belts correctly tensioned and was on his way to the next job
Tuesday 9th August.
We had a visitor today, a friend from our days in Kettering - Dave. He was the local beat bobby in the days when “they” had beat Bobby’s. He was a great help in my work as a Kettering youth worker and a good friend, sadly one of his grandsons had an accident over the weekend so his wife June, was on nursing duties and unable to join us. Not having met up for around 28 years it was great to have a face-to-face catch-up. Facebook helps people keep in touch but nothing beats proper face-to-face contact.
Friday 12th
We were supposed to meet up with Sue’s brother and his wife today but with the weather forecast predicting such a hot day it was decided to cancel the visit until the weather had cooled down somewhat. This enabled us to leave Foxton a day early and by 9.00 am we had motored to Foxton Junction turned the boat around and were cruising towards Leicester. When travelling towards the River Trent from Foxton Junction we must drop down all the locks, of which there are many. We decided to drop down five and then look for a place to moor. The five locks were not easy; the paddles were heavy, and Sue had great difficulty moving some. We devised a way that helped. I temporary moored the boat on the lock landing, we both went to the lock and prepared it then I went back to the boat and moved it into the lock, jumped off closed the gate and opened the paddles before jumping back on board as the water dropped, then Sue opened one gate I motored out. The last lock refined the system even further in that, by the time I had got all the paddles open the boat was too low in the lock for me to get back on, so when the lock was empty we opened one gate and I pulled the boat out of the said lock. Sue held the boat until I had closed the gate we both stepped on board and off we went - easy peasy. That was the fifth lock so we started looking for a mooring. The first place we found we couldn’t get into as the water level was so low. By this time we had been going in full sun through five difficult locks for nearly five hours and Sue was suffering from heat and exhaustion, after getting off the boat and was unable to pull it to the bank. After I got off we discovered it was not possible to pull it in as the water in the pound was so low we were grounding at the stern when the boat was a couple of feet from the bank. Sue was so exhausted that she could not step that couple of feet back onto the boat and was forced to lay down for some minutes. We eventually got going again and were worried that if we could not find a mooring before the next lock we would be committed to the next seven locks when I would have to learn to transit locks single-handed.
Fortunately, we found a super mooring spot less than a half-mile before the next lock and Sue was able to rest and recover.
End of a hot hard day.
Saturday 13th
We had decided to get up early hoping to get the day’s cruising done before the temperature reached its highest level. We were on our way very soon after 8.00 am. When we reached the next lock we noted that the next pound was very low, we went through and slowly moved through the low pound to the next lock. We moored on the lock landing and Sue held the boat while I set the lock, once set I went back to the boat with the intention of operating this lock as we had the final lock yesterday.
The plan fell apart at the point of me going back to the boat, having taken just one lock full of water from the pound to fill the lock Fantasma was aground. We pushed and puffed for a good half hour or more and achieved nothing and Sue was walking back to the previous lock to let some water down when we suddenly started floating free. Another boat, NB Eggy, was transiting the lock above us and had let a lock-full of water. We waited in the lock until the boat joined us and buddied up with them for the following six locks after which we found a mooring at Kilby Bridge while NB Eggy continued on her way towards Newark on Trent where the owners need to be in four days giving them four 8 to 10 hour cruising days. Rather them than us!
Monday 15th
We got underway just after 9.00 am today planning to get to Kings Lock No 38 at best but Dunns Lock 34, at worst seven locks at best six. We had passed a couple on a boat facing our way at the water point as we started and asked if they were going towards Leicester and if so would they like to buddy up with us through the locks? They were and they would.
As we were approaching Bush Lock No 33 we had a phone call from Mark asking where we were when I told him he said I’m at Dunns Lock No 34, I was coming to spend the day with you helping you through the locks.
We met up before we left Lock 33 and our easy 6/7 lock day turned into a 12-mile 15-lock 9-hour marathon, however with help from Anne and Steve on their narrowboat and Sue, Mark and me on NB Fantasma we had a splendid cruise into the centre of Leicester. Ann and Steve moored in the city centre but Mark wanted, for some inexplicable reason, to buy us dinner so we continued on till we reached Birstall and moored just before the Birstall Lock No 45 and had a splendid dinner in the White Horse - Thank You, Mark.
Tuesday 16th
We had planned a shortish day today, around four hours of travel and just 5 locks taking us to Barrow on Soar Visitor Moorings just ten minutes walk from where Mark moors his wide beam boat Green Orchid but most important close to The Navigation Inn a pub that Mark said did good food, we tried it and he was right the food was good. It was so good that we stayed an extra day on this mooring and went again on Thursday night.
There is a boat that has a permanent mooring here that does service to those of the Hindu faith for whom the River Soar has been accepted as an alternative to scattering the ashes of deceased loved ones on the River Ganges.
The ash scattering boat.
Friday 19th
It felt like a long day today we left Barrow on Soar and cruised to Zouch Lock a distance of just 7.25 miles which took us 4 hours. Very pretty but a long hot day. It was somewhat windy which always makes for a hard day. The following day was forecast to be even windier so we stayed put and went to dinner in the local pub, The Rose and Crown, dinner was cooked well, Sue had “mini” fish and chips while I had gammon steak with pineapple. tomato, fried egg, chips and peas. and all for £31.00 including a couple of rounds of drinks.
Sunday 21st
Today not only felt like a long day, it was a long day. We dropped our mooring at 9.00 am and cruised for 6 hours 25 minutes covering 12 miles and working through 12 locks. We went on three different waterways - The Soar Navigation, The River Trent and the Trent and Mersey Canal. The River Trent was a wide, imposing river, as was the River Soar, and both afforded beautiful scenery, but I do like the muddy ditches.
We are back on the canal system, the muddy ditches.
Not quite sure where we are going as more and more of the system is closing as the nationwide drought continues. The Canal & River Trust insist that “just” 9% of the system is closed, the problem is that in that 9% are the bits we need to cruise to get to where we want to be for this winter.
26th August
We’ve had a pleasant and relaxing four days travelling north up the Trent and Mersey Canal which I haven’t documented as we have passed this way before and our journey this year was essentially the same as last year.
27th August
We have moored in Great Haywood Marina for a few days so that we can join Uncle David’s family and friends in saying a final farewell and celebrating a life well lived.
Great Haywood is not the easiest place to travel from and to by public transport, we were very grateful when both brother Richard and pal Mark offered to take us down to the funeral. We would have liked to see Richard but as the round trip for Richard would have been over 700 miles we opted for Mark whose total journey, starting from close to Great Haywood was far less.
As with his wife, Auntie Brenda, Uncle David’s funeral was very well attended, every seat was taken and many mourners had to stand throughout.
The contributors described David very well - a life very well lived.
RIP David Went 5th April 1942 to 24th July 20
