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| Foxton Locks |
That is the Foxton Locks and Inclined Plane.
But how we got there first.
The day after all the lost dog excitement was the Captains birthday, he had a quiet but enjoyable day, the 4 bottles of rum he received helped. We arranged to go for meal at the Wharf Inn with Anne and John to celebrate. The food was amazing, and the company lovely. (I would highly recommend giving the Wharf Inn a try) And the bonus of a decent stout by a local brewery Partizan for the Captain to quaff.
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| The Captain haul |
https://www.partizanbrewing.co.uk/
We parted company with Anne and John next day, as we were going in opposite directions at the junction of the arm. We were heading for Foxton locks for Saturday, as our friends, Daniel and Kata from Swan Lane wharf, were coming to visit and help with the locks. The weather wasn’t great and it got quite windy. We moored up in the MONW for the night. We had a few boats pass us, and one hire boat which hit us, the lady steering was most apologetic. I think they were struggling with the wind, these things happen and no damage was done.
We moored at the top of the locks next day, it was only a short journey so we had a late start. We did head to the pub, first the Bridge 61, a little micro pub with a bottle of Bullseye Stout by Langton Brewery for the Captain, but the lager was not to my taste, so we decided to give the Foxton Locks Inn a go. We don;t usually bother with this pub, as its not renown for its real ales or dark beers, but the Captain was pleasantly surprised to find they had a decent pint of Murphy’s to offer. We also checked out their food menu, and decided we would eat here after doing the locks with our friends.
https://www.restaurantfoxtonlocks.co.uk/
Friday was a beautiful sunny day, and after a lazy morning we took a walk to Foxton village itself. We believed we hadn’t been here before, but our memory (must be an age thing) was wrong, and we soon recognised the pub The Shoulder of Mutton, we had to make do with lager, but their food menu looked interesting.
https://shoulderofmuttonfoxton.co.uk/
We took a walk up a very steep hill to the church and had a look round. St Andrews dates back to Saxon time, about 850ce, and it is mentioned in the Doomsday book of 1086. Most of the current church dates to the 13c. It is lovely in an understated way and very peaceful.
https://www.foxton-pc.gov.uk/st-andrews-church
It is also next to the second pub in the village, The Black Horse, and of course we had to try a pint. Again nothing for the Captain but the lager was good.
https://thenewblackhorsefoxton.co.uk/menu/
Daniel and Kata turned up right on time next morning, but before we headed down the locks we took them to see the Inclined plane, now derelict it was a masterpiece of engineering when it opened in 1900.
The company who ran the canal decided to build the Plane in response to a demand to use wide beam boats, rather then the traditional narrowboats, wide beams could not use the narrow Foxton locks. The Plane consisted of 2 wide caissons, rather like big bathtubs full of water which balanced each other. A steam driven winch pulled 1 caisson up as the other went down, and they could hold 2 boats. The Plane only lasted 11yrs, and was mothballed in 1911 when the use of boats to transport goods declined. It was dismantled in 1926, and the locks which had been left to nature were reinstated.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foxton_Inclined_Plane
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| How It Looked |
Our friends were fascinated by it all.
At Foxton locks you have to book in with the lock keepers, as they are staircase locks. On our way back to the boat I spoke to the lockee, and we ended up being 3rd in the queue. But as usual I got my trusty windlass and went to help out. I gave Daniel a windlass too, and Kata came along to help with the gates. It was very busy with gongoozlers, so lots of questions were asked and help given. There was also some great volunteer lockee’s on too. We were soon down the 10 locks, 2 sets of 5 with a passing pound in the middle, and off to the pub for a late lunch and a few pints. Again the food was good and the company great.
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| Daniel and Kata and us |
After they left we had a quiet afternoon before our next port of call Market Harborough, were we had organised to meet more friends, this time Dave and Sandra Biddle, ex boaters and lovely people. We also needed a pump out and shopping, both available there.
But it was not to be, and this sometimes happens with boating, an unexpected disaster, a tree was down blocking the canal into the town. We had started off down the arm not knowing about the tree, before meeting 4 boats who had to reverse to the winding hole when they found they could not get past the tree. With a heavy heart we had to cancel with Dave and Sandra. We winded and moored back near Foxton village, then headed to the pub to have a discussion about what we were going to do. The nearest pump out was at Debdale marina, not to far, but with the next day being a bank holiday we weren’t sure if they would be open, after that it was Kilby Bridge ,which was 11miles, 12 locks 2 swing bridges and 1 tunnel from our present position.
It turned into a long day next day as Debdale was closed for the holiday, so we had a push on to Kilby Bridge, it took us about 6hrs, which is double the hours we normally do in a day. But needs must.
The first thing we did when we moored up was go to the pub, The Navigation, and had a well earned pint. We got talking to some boaters that were moored with us, Chris and Jana on NB One Day, it made a very pleasant end to a busy day.
We didn’t get up very early next day, and had to wait for another boat to use the pump out machine and put water in. Whilst we were waiting for the water to fill, we were joined by NB Black Swan and got chatting to its Captain Graham and its crew Wendy, they were heading the same way so we agreed to wait for them and do the locks together. It makes it so much easier doing the wide locks with 2 boats, and we soon got into a rhythm. They needed shopping too, so we moored near South Wigston and headed off, them to Tesco and us to Lidl. Our mooring for the night was on the end of a lock landing with them on a short bit of arnco behind us.
It was then a short hop and 6 locks into Leicester next day.
The Leicester Line of the Grand Union is a very rural canal, with stunning views, deep woodland and a myriad of wildlife. We have seen a Tree Creeper, creeping up a telegraph pole, Pheasants and a Green Woodpecker. The usual suspects of Ducks and duckings, Swans and their signets, Moorhens, Canada and Greylag geese. Elegant herons and snow white Little Egrets. Squirrels have sat in the trees and a tiny Muntjac deer was spotted in a field. But we have yet to spot the elusive colourful Kingfisher.
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| Green Woodpecker in flight |
24miles, 29locks, 2 swing bridges (done twice) and 2 tunnels at 2046yrs total.