Leicester Line - Kilby Bridge to Welford

Back now through the heavy locks south of Kilby, though this time with a jolly little 20 foot cruiser who helped with the winding, while bobbing about trying to avoid being crushed by us in the locks.
We reach Foxton in good time and find there is one boat coming down and we are first going up. So after 20 minutes wait we attack the flight with relish and sprint to the top in just 35 minutes - which is about as fast as it can be done. A triumph celebrated by another pint and a meal at the Foxton Locks Inn as the sun goes down.

Next day is an easy trip back to Welford through delightful countryside in sunny conditions.
After a few small maintenance jobs - John having already tightened up a squeaking belt and now replaced the weed hatch seal we retire to The Wharf at Welford for another very well-priced lunch and the hour-long journey home.
Next we must repaint the stern deck which is flaking in places, paint non-slip powder on the gunwhales and replace the co-ax connectors on the TV which have rusted away. Always something to do on the cut ....

Kilby Bridge and Leicester

I've mentioned our arrival at Kilby Bridge and our meal at The Navigation in the previous blog entry  and now we took a day off to visit Leicester which neither of us had visited for many years.
It wouldn't be fair to diminish the huge success of the unexpectedly league-leading football club by saying that we were underwhelmed by Leicester city centre. After all, it was a day of dull weather and we were quite focused on what we wanted to see, but the people did seem very friendly and helped us with finding the right buses and pointed us (usually) in the right direction.
Regional TV is asking "Joan from Leicester" how she's going to vote in the referendum, but we are happy for her to tell us that we can easily walk 15 minutes from Kilby Bridge to Wigston and catch a bus into Leicester City Centre.

We found the famous car park where Richard III's body was found, visited his grave in the modest cathedral and found the visitors' centre well laid out and interesting. Richard's life is well explained and the discovery of his grave is described in detail.
From the excellent bus station (yes, really, great information and lots of space) we headed out to the National Space Centre (yes, in Leicester! - with cooperation from University of Leicester's Space Research Centre and land from a redundant pumping station).
With its child-friendly exhibits (a space toilet explained, interactive experiences, walk-through capsule etc) and impressive artefacts (a Soyuz capsule, space suits, actual rockets) the museum appeals to young and old, with hard questions about the origin and destination of the universe as well as "what would an alien look like".

The open design, determinedly avoiding a defined route through the six galleries areas plus planetarium and upper levels meant we felt a bit lost at times, but there was great variety for us and for the many children swarming around on school trips. Curiously the translucent 42 metre tower made apparently from plastic inflatables didn't allow for any viewing over the city. But then the view was less than impressive. Sorry, Leicester, but true.

Finally we visited the free Abbey Pumping Museum with its wonderful Victorian brass and mahogany pumps, created in the days when engineering had to be visually awe-inspiring even if it was just pushing effluent into pits. There are also rather random collections of plumbing, Meccano and a knitting machine. We enjoyed this and gather that their Events days with working steam pumps and narrow gauge railway are justifiably popular.

Leicester Arm - Foxton to Kilby Bridge

All is sunshine as we leave Foxton and head for Kilby Bridge.
This is delightful countryside, with boundless buttercup-laden fields, many with ridge and furrow, many with sheep and their well-fed lambs. Very relaxing.

But first there is 881 yards of Saddington Tunnel and its bat boxes, followed by Kibworth Top Lock, first of 12 locks in 10 miles to Kilby. Many of these locks are substantial, all widebeam, most with ground paddles as well as gate paddles and can be slow to fill and heavy to wind. Sharing with another boat is a very good idea ....
We break off for lunch and a stroll to The Church of St Luke, Newton Harcourt, unfortunately locked, but with a sturdy stone tower in an attractive setting.

A curious gravestone in the shape of the church commemorates a young boy

while another unusual modern shape reminds us of the estimable Lucy Charlton, who "made a difference to so many".

Shunning the village itself we continue towards Leicester with more energy sapping locks until we reached Kilby Bridge in good time. Picture below thanks to James Bell.

Here there is an unpretentious pub, The Navigation, offering mid week "Pauper's Supper" of three courses for £9.99. And very good it was, too, helped by an indefatigable waitress who deserved her tip.

The Leicester Arm - Welford to Foxton

Welford is on a short arm off the Leicester Arm of the Grand Union. We've often been up to Foxton Locks (see previous blogs) as it's just a three hour trip to the top lock with good moorings, interesting museum, attractive scene and the only lock is that at the end of the Welford Arm.
This time we thought we'd go further north and maybe venture into Leicester itself. However there are negative comments about the canals around Leicester, suggesting yobbish behaviour, broken windows, damaged locks - none of which we have any proof for, but tended to put us off. The general opinion was that Kilby Bridge was a useful and safe place to stay and by mooring there for two nights we could avoid the suburbs and more locks, while having easy access by bus to Leicester.
And so it proved. Foxton Locks was unfortunately busy with boats heading for the Crick Festival so we were queued at the summit, then again in the central pond while eight boats went up. It took just short of three hours to get to the bottom - including a challenging couple of minutes while Duncan conducted a complete circle in the central pond, whisked around by undercurrents. Or so he said.

Memo to users of Foxton Locks: the ten locks are deep but the paddles are easy to wind and the gates well balanced so the two flights are less exhausting than they first appear. However the locks are fed by side ponds which recycle the water and while economical on water use there is a danger for spectators (and there are always spectators at Foxton) of falling in (it has happened ...) and the inrush of water causes treacherous currents which can drive a boat in odd directions in the pound.

Anyway, we eventually moored just north of bridge 62 (see above) and enjoyed first a thirst-quenching pint at Bridge 61 then a pleasant meal at the Foxton Locks Inn. Tomorrow we would be in unfamiliar territory as we aimed to pass through 12 locks and a tunnel from Foxton to Kilby Bridge.

Foxton to Market Harborough and a bit of the Leicester Arm

Clearing Foxton Locks we turned sharp right into the Market Harborough Arm, having opened the little swing bridge first. As the Foxton Locks are so deep and a staircase, and there are two swing bridges on the Market Harborough Arm, this is not easy territory for single handed boating.

In fact the second swing bridge, Bridge 4, shown here, would seem impossible to use single handedly. You must moor on the left going up, walk across the bridge to the other side, insert your key in the mechanism, go off to close road barriers at both ends, return to the mechanism, release a brake and push with considerable effort so the road swings at 90 degrees. At this point solo boaters would find there was no way to get back to their boat (even assuming they'd separated their engine key from the waterways key used for the bridge mechanism).
Fortunately John and I were able to slip easily across and leave the bridge behind us.

Much of the Market Harborough Arm is in quiet tree-lined countryside with a few views through the trees. That changes from Bridge 13, notable for what seems to be a travellers' site of mobile homes and wrought iron gates. The number on the bridge is actually pockmarked with pellets, which is not promising, and an adjacent house is for sale. Here the canal edges are poorly defined until we are clearly on the outskirts of the town and bungalows with well cut hedges and lawns slope down to the water.

Soon enough there are good moorings and there is the Basin beautifully defined with an old warehouse converted to an up-market restaurant - The Waterfront restaurant here is partnered to The Old Boathouse  at Foxton Locks - some modern flats, architecturally in keeping with the site, and narrow boats moored neatly alongside pontoons. There are fuel and pump-out services. This is where the first Inland Waterways Association Festival was held, by Aickman and Rolt in 1950.
The town centre is just 15 minutes away, with a diverse range of shops and a purposeful atmosphere. Having been impressed by Symington's Corset Factory, home of the liberty bodice and now a museum, we pause for a quiet pint at The Angel and head back to Foxton to moor up by the swing bridge and have another evening meal at The Old Boathouse.

Morning Mist at Foxton Locks

Next day we venture a little up the Leicester Arm, which is the third arm at Foxton junction, as far as the winding hole near Bridge 72, and the Smeeton aqueduct, a little before Saddington Tunnel. From several sources we hear that vandalism in Leicester and immediate surrounds make mooring a dangerous pursuit, as local lads compete to throw stones and smash windows of boats. We did see some broken boat windows near Market Harborough and wondered why there were wooden shutters over some of the windows. We are assured it is safe as far as Kilby Bridge, but north of that Leicester is best passed through without delay.
Here is the view back at Foxton, seen from the end of the Leicester Arm. The Boathouse restaurant is directly ahead, the Bridge 61 café / pub is immediately to the right after the bridge and mooring places for those queuing for the locks are directly to the left and right after the bridge. You must report to the lock keeper before entering the locks so moor up immediately after the bridge where you can.

Our return to Welford pausing at Husband's Bosworth and North Kilworth is noted in the previous blog.