Soar(ing) along with the flow.

5 Locks, 7½ Miles. Now moored at Kegworth Flood lock no 57.

It's nice to see how the other half live.

Yesterday we spent a quiet day catching up with emails and downloading photograph's. The showery weather was not conducive to any outside jobs being attempted.

This morning was an 8am kickoff in mild overcast skies. Our plan had been to stop at bridge 39 for water but this facility is at present out of commission, instead we carried to Bishop Meadow lock and used the facilities there. With low water pressure it took quite a while to fill both boats, during this time 2 boats had passed through leaving the lock in our favour. However before we were ready to move again another boat approached from the opposite direction and by the time he was ready to exit the lock we were ready to go in.

Another quaint looking church close to the river.

We passed huge sign's stating that if the red light was flashing we were to moor up on the emergency pilings. We only saw 1 red light which thankfully was off. With all the rain we have had over the last 3 days I'm surprised that the river hasn't risen but all the indicator boards have been on green. The lock that we are moored below is only operated between October and March during the rest of the year it is left open unless there happens to be unexpected flooding. With all this Greenhouse warming and climate changes anything is possible.

Take heed! Those moorings look pretty substantial.

Since mooring up and going for a walk into the local town centre we have had several downpours of rain and the odd rumble of distant thunder. So much for summer, perhaps we will get an Indian summer in Autumn.

1296 locks, 1865 miles, 43 Tunnels, 42 swing bridges and 19 lift bridges since Nov 2006

Great Central Railway lives on

We are stilled moored at Millers bridge no34.

Great Central Railways Loughborough station.

When we moored up yesterday afternoon there were no boats in view as we tied up to the bollards. By nightfall there were 7 and this afternoon this has increased to 9, so a very popular mooring spot. Of course we had an ulterior motive as it was nice and handy to Loughborough station. Today's forecast was for rain most of the day but as it turned out the rain stopped by about 10am and stayed fine until 5pm when we had a hail storm and strong winds. This worked out perfectly with our visit to the Great Central Railway. There was one down side to the day when we received a text message from an undisclosed source saying that her brother was a driver for the GCR and her husband always managed to wangle a ride on the footplate. Had she known sooner she may have been able to arrange something for me, ah well, cie la vie.

Great Western Prairie tank loco No 4141

We are only a twenty minute walk from the Loughborough GCR station so we were soon right in amongst the action, we had just missed one train that left as we arrived but with a visit to the engine shed and storage sidings the time soon flew until the next train was due. There were 2 trains in use pulled by a 1954 BR class 2 (Mickey) 2-6-0 tender loco no 78019 which was relieved of its duty by a class 25 diesel and a GWR 2-6-2 Prairie tank loco no 4141. The class 2 went on to do driver experiences for people prepared to pay £250 to drive the loco under supervision from Loughborough to Leicester and return. At the last count they did 4 such trips earning the railway a tidy little sum. With all the other activities, like the dining train which had 3 dining cars which appeared to be pretty full and the regular passengers it is easy to see why this preserved line is so successful. Mind you, its also very much down to the hundreds of volunteers that donate hours or even days of their time to the railway

Rothley station is a typical Great Central railways design of central platform with stair access from road level.

Their latest project of immense proportions is a new engine shed. They have been given a building by Network rail which has been painstakingly dismantled and moved to the GCR's site. The next job is to repair the bridge behind the existing shed over the Grand Union canal (Leicester Line) and then lay new track out to an old dis-used refuse dump which has been acquired or donated for the purpose. A very long term project unless they can get some serious benefactors onboard for the job.

This Fairburn/BR class 4 tank loco is operational but is sidelined awaiting new water tanks.

For our £16 we travelled to Rothley on one train, this station has been done up in Victorian style including working gas lighting. We stopped there for lunch and visited the miniature garden railway operated by a local club, then caught a later train to Leicester and back to Loughborough. Our tickets gave us free range over the whole set up including the engine shed, museum and all stations for the day.

BR Class 2 (Mickey) 2-6-0 tender loco relinquishing it's train after a mornings work.

At Quorn and Woodhouse station a motorhome club were holding a week-end rally in the old goods yard adjacent to the station. We thought that this was a brilliant idea and it might be something to suggest to our old caravan club back in NZ as there are a few preserved railways in the clubs area.

This 1899 sign is a rare find assuming its genuine.

Would there have been bicycles around in those days?

We're in the Red!

7 Locks, 10 Miles. Now moored at bridge 34 on the Soar Navigation.

A beautiful sunny summer days cruising on the river

After yesterdays early start it was a more relaxed beginning to the day with a 9am start. There wasn't a cloud to be seen anywhere until about mid morning, it was glorious. There were quite a few boats on the move as we had to wait at 3 locks for boats travelling in the opposite direction.

We passed 8 BW workers in 4 different locations, 2 had a very quick inspection at a lock where the ground paddles were out of action and then disappeared, 2 were walking the towpath but came to a dead end where Land and Water contractors were rebuilding a lock pontoon (you would have thought they would have known the towpath was closed.) Two were painting a new fence and gate on the towpath and the last pair were on a BW work boat that passed us 2 days ago, they were supposed to be repairing a retaining wall on the side of a weir. We could see where they had removed damaged brickwork but then spent quite a while admiring their handiwork or were they trying to decide what to do next?

Some of these workers saw us yesterday at Birstall and they were taking boat names and numbers and entering the info into a small hand held computer. While Dot got into conversation with them they told her we are in the red. Thinking logically like being in the red with the bank Dot got a bit concerned as we are fully paid up for the year and asked to see the computer. The guys laughed at Dot's alarm and then explained that as we are Continuous Cruisers our file is marked by a red line across the top of the screen. Panic over! They handed her the computer and showed her how entering a boats registration number brings up all the details of the boat, licence and address details of the owners. Nice guys and they promised that they would see us again today which they did. One of them suggested that when we went back to New Zealand that we dig a big hole in our back garden and put the narrowboat in it. Now that would be a laugh!

An unusual weir on the Soar navigation

At Barrow Mill basin we stopped to take on water and deposit the never ending rubbish we seem to collect. Christina went to the little cafe on the site and ordered Derek a sausage and egg butty for his lunch. She was having a cooks day off or part there of. It was only another 2 miles before we called it a day and pulled onto these very nice moorings complete with bollards which seems strange being out in the country. I say country but in actual fact we are only a mile from Loughborough.

Now I know we should secure our property but this is ridiculous.

We plan to stay here for the week-end and tomorrow, weather permitting I will be off to the Great Central Railway (preserved). I have been listening to the trains which are not too far away from where we are moored and it was great to hear the whistles and exhaust noises of a live steam loco at work.

1291 locks, 1857½ miles, 43 Tunnels, 42 swing bridges and 19 lift bridges since Nov 2006

Leicester, Hello and Goodbye.

8 Locks, 7½ Miles. Now moored below Birstall Lock.

Due to previous experiences in Leicester by the Kalimera crew it was decided that a 6am start would get us through the city while hopefully all the trouble makers were still in their beds. Going through the city was a real eye opener in that there is over a mile of excellent water front with bollards and mooring rings and not a boat to be seen. What sort of message does this give visiting boaters?

Empty moorings in the centre of Leicester

The other eye opener was the unprotected weirs, some of which were huge. Even on the fens the weirs were marked by orange or green buoys chained together but these had nothing. The river is at present only in the green zone so water levels are quite manageable so I would hate to see these weirs when the river floods and goes into the red zone.

Scary unprotected weirs, thank goodness the river is low

The scenery was quite varied with the new university buildings and the space museum compared to a hell of a lot of Victorian style factories now standing empty and derelict.

National Space Centre

Through the last mentioned area we were stirring up the sediment on the bottom releasing untold methane gas and the water was absolutely black. The water looked as if it was really boiling with all the bubbles rising to the surface. There must have been a lot of industrial waste dumped in this stretch of river over the years.

Beautiful riverside homes in Leicester

Upon arrival at Birstall lock 45 the plan was to go to the local Somerfield supermarket for a few groceries and then carry on but the moorings are in a very pleasant area so we decided to stay for the night. Unfortunately this has proved to be a bit of a disappointment to us due to light fingered kids. Let me explain, just after 6pm we decided that as there was a very nice Fish and Chip shop close by we would have a cooks night off and have a fish and chip tea. As we left the boat there were 3 young lads fishing just in front of the boat. The boys were well behaved and appeared to be of good caliber so we thought no more about it. When we returned the boys had gone and so had an old football that we had wedged between the boat and the wall to stop the boat banging.

Spot the heron, we have seen more today than any other day in the last 18 months.

We did actually find the ball in the water by another boat about 100 yards further down river. We knew that the ball couldn't have got there by itself so we guessed that the boys had pulled it out but when they found that it was knackered had thrown it back into the river. Back on the boat we were just settling down to our tea when we felt somebody on the boat. I shot out through the back doors to find two of the three boys had come back, just at this moment Dot spotted that one of my fishing rods which I had on the roof on the off side of the boat was missing. I shouted to the boys and had a very annoyed exchange of words. They were the only people in the area so it must have been one of them who got onto our boat. Just at this moment another lad with a dog came along and said that there was a fishing rod in the long grass just past our boat. It turned out that this was my rod. Dot thought that perhaps they hadn't realised that we were back on the boat and took their chances but when I appeared out of the back doors they must have dumped the rod before they were caught with it. Hopefully they will think twice about going near a boat in future.

1284 locks, 1847½ miles, 43 Tunnels, 42 swing bridges and 19 lift bridges since Nov 2006

Dredging? I Don't Think So!

10 Locks, 6 Miles. Now moored between Gees and Blue Bank locks.

8 am and we were under way again, not too long a journey as there is rain and possible thunder threatened for this afternoon. As we approached one lock there was a sign stating Land and Water were dredging up ahead and 30 minute delays possible. I thought that this might be too good to be true and so it was. Land and Water were there alright but they were only putting in pilings with the black mesh attached to secure the offside bank from further erosion. I knew it was too good to be true that some dredging was actually taking place.

Along the way Derek and Christina pointed out new housing that has sprung up since they were last here 3 years ago. We became unsure as to whether or not any country moorings would still exist so close to Leicester but we found this spot which appears to have been used by other boaters very recently.

At the last lock before mooring up we passed Bernard on Nb Sunshine who was stranded with us at Oxford for 3 weeks last year during the flooding. No sign of Kristine, perhaps she was still at work. Just time for a quick hello , good bye as there were boats following us and no room to stop. Funnily enough we had been talking about them a few minutes beforehand wondering if we would see them knowing that their home mooring was at Barrow on Soar.

1276 locks, 1840 miles, 43 Tunnels, 42 swing bridges and 19 lift bridges since Nov 2006

Cruising new territory once more.

12 Locks 5 Miles. Now moored at Kilby Bridge.

Foxton Swingbridge out of action after being hit by a vehicle some time ago.
Photo taken yesterday after it was expected to be repaired.
Obviously no sign of that yet!

First signs of maintenance we have seen for a long time.
New edging near Debdale wharf.

So we didn't miss out on getting a mooring at Kilby Bridge, which apparently is a very popular spot to stop before or after Leicester,we set off just after 8am this morning. Another beautiful day was on the cards but the persistent wind was still present and got stronger as the day wore on. Just after 10am we spotted a moored boat that we had been keeping an eye open for, this was Mo and Vanessa on N/b Balmaha hiding away in one of their favourite country hideaways. We hailed them as we drew alongside and was immediately invited in for coffee. We found a mooring not far from them and walked back for a catch up on all the gossip. It was nearly 2 hours before we eventually tore ourselves away with a vow to meet up later in the year around Coventry somewhere.

'A rose between two thorns'. Vanessa with Derek and Mo of Nb Balmaha

Our travelling companions who had been patiently waiting for us thought we had been abducted by bandits. Heading into lock country we were lucky in that there were quite a few boats travelling in the opposite direction making things easier. We did see some contractors cutting the grass around the locks and along the towpath but they were not cutting it right to the waters edge making mooring difficult in places especially where you jump off into a bed of stinging nettles. OUCH.

Church in the middle of nowhere just before spotting Nb Balmaha

Our first job upon arrival at Kilby Bridge was to find and use the water point and pump out facilities. Mooring up for the pump out proved awkward as the mooring rings are in the wrong places and the pump out hose was barely long enough. Nb Kalimera was sorted out first and then we had to go and wind and come back to the facilities as our pump out point is on the port side. We had just finished servicing our boat and were preparing to reverse back to the winding hole when 2 boats approached from the south. Luckily the first boat wanted to use the facilities so we carried on reversing back which caused a lot of people to stop and gawk. I could see it in their faces, can he do it, will he hit another boat? For about 10 minutes we were the centre of attention but I'm afraid they were bitterly disappointed as the maneuvering went without a hitch despite a gusty side wind. Once we were back facing in the right direction again we found a good mooring even though it was getting on for 4pm.

1266 locks, 1834 miles, 43 Tunnels, 42 swing bridges and 19 lift bridges since Nov 2006

Under way again.

0 Locks 10 Miles 2 Swing bridges 1 Tunnel. Now moored at Fleckney.

After a quiet week-end in Market Harborough it was time to move on again. It was a beautifully sunny day but the wind was a bit chilly as we set off. At Debdale wharf we stopped off for diesel and this was to be the highlight of the trip really. With diesel at 76p litre it was much cheaper than the 96p litre at Gayton Junction, but not as good as Priory Marina in Bedford at 70p. Hopefully we will still be able to afford the diesel next winter. Time will tell.

As we approached Saddington tunnel we came up behind a hire boat and a day hire boat and they were travelling very slowly which they maintained all the way through the tunnel. Just as well that the tunnel is only 880 yards long and it didn't take too long to get through. Once through the tunnel we only travelled about ½ mile before we found some suitable moorings for the night.

Late this afternoon after the sun had gone down behind the trees and the boat had cooled down a bit I was able to put a second coat of paint on the port side gunnels and cover the spot primer that I had treated some rust spots with. I now just have to strip and paint the starboard gunnels when we find some suitable moorings.

1254 locks, 1829 miles, 44 Tunnels, 42 swing bridges and 19 lift bridges since Nov 2006