Leicester

 Today's Navigation - River Soar

Another scorching hot day! We awoke to bright sunshine which continued non-stop. Only occasionally did we have a brief  breath of a breeze. We had in any case only planned a short day today - Leicester by late lunch time and any further would have taken us well into the early evening to reach a sensible mooring spot. The southern side of the city is not well endowed in that respect.

After about 20 minutes we arrived at the water point next to the Hope and Anchor pub. We still had plenty in the tank but as there are few places ahead of us (we had seen reports that the points in Leicester are not functional at the moment) it seemed prudent to top up.

Soon after we set off once more we could see a boat ahead of us. It had not passed us so must have just set off. A single hander, he waited for us at the first lock and we paired up for all five of the locks into Leicester. W recognised each other as reasonably experienced boaters so were able to do things with a little less effort - like going into the locks (uphill) together.

The first four locks were all quite shallow - indeed in some cases the lock side is well above the boat deck level when full.

In the stretches before the outdoor centre at Birstall we met hordes of paddle boarders and canoeists. Mostly adults many did not seem to have been briefed on the 'pass on the right' rule. Indeed on one occasion they passed right in front of us and we needed to do an emergency stop as we could not see where they were!

Close to Belgrave Lock there is the iconic view of the National Space Centre. We have never been able to visit but as a science museum it seems rather interesting from its webpage. It has been operating at a reduced capacity as COVID lockdown restrictions are lifted and seems pretty much booked up ahead of time.

The weir that the lock bypasses is very wide even though it only had a small height difference in normal flow conditions.

When we passed this way before, Memory Lane Wharf looked as if it was joining so many other side wharves which were once busy with loading and unloading barge traffic but now abandoned and ofte2n silted p. Now, it is being opened up and mooring pontoons were installed three years ago, although nothing much seems to have happened and only a few work boats are tied up.I

In the early 19C, Robert Walker from Scotland arrived in Leicester joined the mill business of Ann Wood, mainly manufacturing mens hosiery. he was ambitious and talented, becoming a partner. In 1859 is expanded production into factory operation using steam power. He also developed the range of products with most forms of mens underwear. The name Wolsey was adopted in 1897. They gained a lot of publicity from supplying Scott's famous journey to the south pole. A new factory was built at Abbey Meadows, between the Soar and the canal navigation. The company continued to flourish and was bought out by Courtaulds (since sold on to other owners). In 2004 the company left this city centre site for a large space on the city fringe. The chimney has survived and is now surrounded by extensive housing development.

North Lock is well decorated in graffiti style along with a number of other navigation-side buildings. Some seem to have been sponsored by CaRT. The former retail building on the road close to the bridge has now been sold with planning permission for 69 apartments.

As we passed along the bendy river above North Lock we could see some very extensive re-development, mainly housing it would seem. At least the derelict view that we have had in the past is fast disappearing. Hopefully that will also help to inspire residents to care for heir waterway better than once was the case. Certainly when we cleared the prop of bits of clothing and plastic at lunch time the water below the boat was very clear. (ie we could see what was around the prop!) Sadly too often around Leicester, clothing often has metallic thread to decorate it!

The new (ish) pontoon moorings at Friars Mill had plenty of room so we pulled in for lunch and a chance to decide where to stop for the night.

The decision was to take a look at Castle Gardens mooring as well as the towpath opposite which we used last time we were here (2017) which were quite quiet despite their historical reputation. Castle Garden used to have a security gate - well it still has a gate but not a working lock on it! The reason for moving up was so that we could be as near to a supermarket (Tesco as it happened) as possible. It was supposed to be a small top up but in the end Mike ended up well laden for the return trip and it took Christine some time to work out how to stow it all.

Whilst Mike finished preparing our meal, Christine went for a walk  - she discovered that the statue of Richard III that was next to the moorings when we visited in 2011 has now been moved to the cathedral grounds.

6.8 Miles - 5 Locks