Today's Navigations : River Soar, Loughborough Cut
When we awoke we had hopes of a sunnier day, even though the sun was a bit weak and watery. Alas, well before we were ready to cast off, the complete cloud cover returned but, although we could see a few showers in the middle distance, none fell on us.
We were moored right beside Bridge 44, hence the slightly elevated first picture. Just beyond a couple of volunteers were sampling the bed of the canal close to the edge in order to survey the invertebrate life. They indicated that although CaRT do a lot of work concerning vertebrates, including fish and newts, there is much less known about how other water life is faring.
Shortly after leaving our mooring we made a sharp turn under Zouch Road Bridge and then passed the flood and water management works nearby. The bridge itself had stop gates fitted to prevent excess water inundating the houses just beyond and above Zouch Lock, but the main protection is the diversion of the flow in a separate bypass channel. The oldest part is the weir, with a substantial footbridge across the top.
A more recent addition is the radial gate which can be raised or lowered in response to changing water levels. We presume that its benefit is that it can be deployed quickly and, unlike the weir, is adjustable.
Normanton appears to be a very much upmarket place with its picturesque waterside properties generally well managed and appointed. This one has some very challenging play equipment - but next door does much better with its giant swan ready to repel trespassers.
Large signs, both upstream and down, warn of a chain ferry. We are not sure how easy it would be to see a small ferry boat if it is in operation, especially if the water is flowing fast! We think we spotted where the ferry is housed but not sure enough to include a pic.
Normanton Church is always much photographed, especially from the river. At this time of the year the extensive vegetation occludes quite a bit and this was the most extensive view we could spot. Our best picture from previous trips is from way back in 2011 and was in March, before the leaves on the trees had sprouted.
The lower lock landing at Bishop Meadow Lock was somewhat obstructed with two, yes two, sunken boats tied up there. We were once much more familiar with this lock (reasonably deep) as we kept our first boat, the miniscule Fiona, on the long term moorings just above the lock, back in the late Sixties..
Once through the lock we pulled in almost where we had our mooring, to use the various facilities that are now available here. They are currently being upgraded. So far, a new and substantial bin compound has been built and whilst it has been filled with bins of various sizes and designations, they have forgotten the new one needed for separating food waste. CaRT's rollout of these bins is still a bit patchy and we have noticed them missing at several collection points. We filled with water and emptied the elsan. Although a disposal facility has been listed here for some time, at the present there is no proper unit, only a large cess pit tank. We had to take off one of the caps in order to tip the contents of our elsan into the tank. However, there is as yet no water tap to allow rinsing!
It is only a short pound to Loughborough Lock, much less of a rise than the previous lock.
At Loughborough Junction we headed straight ahead for the main Wharf/basin where there are a few moorings, ideal for lunch and a shopping trip - or two. Before having lunch we walked to the nearest Lidl - Christine much prefers their bread to Tesco even though was very much closer! After lunch, Mike walked in to the town centre, mainly to remind himself of where we once lived for three years. Much has changed but every so often a view pops up that stirs a memory. The Sainsbury store was not even in a planners day dream when we lived in Market Street (our block of maisonettes is one of the few buildings that still look much the same, even though the shop fronts at street level have updated frontages, and most have changed the nature of what they sell or do) There are still late night fast food outlets to waft cooking smells into the flats above! We did forget to take any useful pictures so you will just have to share our memories instead.
A bit later than planned we set off again and retraced the couple of hundred metres to the main junction where we re-joined the Loughborough Cut on its way back onto the River Soar at Pillings Lock. The railway bridge once carried the Great Central line that was closed in the Beeching programme. We suspect that some now somewhat regret that action as it would add much needed capacity. A preserved railway runs from this bridge to the right so actually the line still runs over the top, just ends abruptly at the opposite end!
We now gradually left the town behind us - what was once a very industrial and workers' housing has now been extensively redeveloped, largely with new housing. A local newspaper in the supermarket was running a headline this week that the famous Brush heavy engineering company that has been a large employer for the town for a long time, has just been bought by an American Private Equity business and nervously awaits what will happen here in the future.
One the edge of the countryside we passed the Loughborough Sea Cadets base - we wondered why they chose the name Venomous. Perhaps it is that gun mounting that brings terrors to the town! We have now discovered that it is named after HMS Venomous, a destroyer that was adopted by the town in 1942 and later broken up in 1948.
We were heading for a mooring marked on our maps just before the return to river conditions, close to Pillings Flood Lock and Marina. We could see that the bank was quite solid with only a single enormous wide beam moored there. From a distance it looked as if it was occupying all the space but that was just an illusion! The only problem was the design of the metal armco which helps avoid having to use mooring pins. It was OK to moor to - the wide beam had done so - but it is at a level where most boat gunnels need something to rub against in order to protect the stone work. However, reaching down to pick up the mooring chain after feeding it down behind was a challenge and we only succeeded by using our litter picker (kept to help retrieve items dropped into the nether regions of the boat, especially the engine bilges) Eventually we managed and were well tied up. Alas, the wide beam uses a suitcase genny . . . and the remaining mainline railway is rather close behind the trees.
But, alas, a very poor mobile signal! It took a long time to upload this blog.
6.5 Miles - 2 Locks
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