Welford Junction

Today's Canal - Leicester Line

A reasonable day, weather-wise, quite warm and with occasional sunny spells but most of the time overcast. Did not look as if there had been any rain overnight - just as well as we forgot to closer the outside doors of our side hatch!

Before unmooring we walked into Crick village to top up our larder at the Co-Op supermarket. It is not a particularly large shop but we managed to find most of what we wanted.

Along the way we saw this former red telephone box - now doing duty as a book swap location. Not sure if it is more used for disposal than taking as it was rather overflowing!

We also saw several posters advertising the Vintage Tea Room in the village. Surprising that it illustrates its fare with a cup of coffee!

Just after we set off we passed nb Oleanna, one of the blogs in our list on the right hand side of the web pages. However, it all looked closed up so perhaps they too had 'gone shopping' - although they had a somewhat longer walk back to the road than we had.

All of our cruise today was on the same summit level. At times it struck us that there are several similarities with the summit on the southern Oxford. It meanders with lots of bridges and tight corners. It also has a spot marked on OS map as the site of a medieval village with as much visibility of where it was! (ie none)

But even more important, they both have poor vegetation management (although, to be fair, we have not been on the southern Oxford since 2014) On several occasions overhanging off-side trees (the weeping variety usually) coincided with a tight bend. Of course, this is always where one meets a boat coming the other way . . . Alas we could only take pictures when the vegetation is on a straight - we were too busy reversing out of thew way on the blind bends!

The Grand Union is marked with old mileplates, using consistent design. These are in the name of the GJCCo - Grand Junction Canal Company. It seems that they are a mixture of originals and replicas. The older ones are sometime listed as an historic 'building'.

Occasionally there are quarter mile plates as well but these are not at all complete. We have not been able to discover whether they were originally all in place.

This farmer was busy baling up the straw left from an earlier harvest of the main crop.

In between Bridges 34 and 36 there is now no Bridge 35. However, there is a slight narrowing where it used to be and in the undergrowth it was just possible to see some of the former abutments. We do not know why or when it was demolished but it was still in existence on the 1950 OS map.

Just occasionally there are signs marking a Living Milestone (you may have to take our word for it that this is what the sign says as it has become rather indistinct) These appear to have been the work of the Old Union Canal Society but there is no mention of them on their website. However, Fi Slee noted them in her blog from 2013 when she and John cruised this way.

A glider being towed up, probably from the Gliding Centre at the small Husbands Bosworth airfield. A short while later it was released and able to  circle around, seeking the air thermals to keep it aloft as long as possible.

We were surprised when we arrived at Welford Junction that there were no boats moored here. In the past it has been quite popular and not always easy to find a space - there is a long line of useful rings set into a good concrete edge. It is also a place that can 'see' the tv satellite. We stopped rather early but as we have no immediate timetable, this was a luxury we can currently afford!

10.6 Miles - 0 Locks