Loving the Leicester Ring

Kibworth Top Lock

Morning Jotters

I started the Jottings a day early as we were pinned down by the wind below Double Rail Lock near Kilby Bridge. The hurley-burley of Foxton Locks is far behind us now, we are making the long run through Leicester and have seen the grand total of 3 moving boats in 2 whole days - where is everyone? Perhaps they’re put off by the weather and, like us, have tied up, until it settles from gusty to merely breezy. The wind whistled in through the cratch cover and down the chimney and rattled the paraphernalia that we keep on the roof, which woke me up several times during the night and I was glad to snuggle down under the double duvet and be rocked back to sleep. We had intended to be moored in Birstall by Sunday, but after a long day of 12 locks and a tunnel on Thursday, we only managed two locks on Friday and on Saturday, we stayed put altogether. . Apart from the wind, it was a nice day on Saturday, so I consulted google maps and found a Co-Op within easy walking distance across the fields. It’s not everyone’s idea of a day out, a trip to the local convenience store, but I was very happy browsing the shelves and humming along to ‘Co-Op Radio’. Me and another pensioner were warbling away to ‘Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds’ as we met up by the frozen peas and I was so happy, I accidentally bought a pizza for lunch.

Wistow Church

I can’t tell you why I love boating so much - on the face of it, it’s hard work in all weathers. There are days when the paddles won’t wind up, the gates won’t swing and every lock needs filling. I trip or slither along the tow path depending on the amount of recent rainfall. It’s ages since we had any rain and the tow path is deeply rutted and hard as iron. Tree roots poke up ready to grab your foot as you saunter along, looking at the clouds. Most days, I would be quite happy to lounge by the stove, with nothing in my head except today's ‘Wordle’ puzzle but the Captain has other ideas and once he has uttered the daily mantra ‘Shall I get us going then?’ I know I have until the first lock to get myself ready for the day. Sometimes I dash up top, pulling my jumper on over my birds nest and still in my slippers, muttering to myself as I pull on cold boots and march off to start the day. But once we are chugging along, drinking steaming mugs of coffee as we glide along through the early morning mist, serenaded by birdsong and the splash of water under our hull, watching the world go by at 4 miles an hour, then I remember exactly why I love this boating life!

Carl on the Locks

We have visited Market Harborough many times and we know from experience that there is only one spot that gets any sun and we do like the sun on our panels! The sunny spot was free and I paced it out to make sure we could get in - I need 20 paces to be sure and I only had 19 but I signalled to Carl to come in anyway, with fingers crossed behind my back. The Captain frowned as he chugged up and eyed the gap with a shake of his head. I watched with bated breath as he steered the bows right up to the very last millimetre of the space and our 57 foot boat tucked in inches from the boat behind us. Phew! We were lucky to get that spot and the what3Words location was snuggled.inch.assume. - how very appropriate. It was a lovely day for a stroll into town with our friends Terry and Liz who arrived later that morning. We found a sunny spot, in the courtyard of the Three Swans, and the afternoon sped by as we caught up with their news. We waved them off later and I giggled back to the boat on ‘lastic legs and was suddenly too tired to make us any dinner. Tricky gobbled down her tin of over priced ‘Chicken Terrine’ and then spent the next 2 hours wanting to sit outside on the tow path, looking up and down, waiting for something or someone, She eventually came in and sulked in her bed until Carl gave her another helping of doggie caviar which was apparently what she wanted as she promptly went to sleep and snored for the rest of the night.

Exiting Saddington Tunnel

It’s Sunday today and we awoke to sunshine and a much kinder breeze - I didn’t need any encouragement today to get going. We took our time with the locks, which were all against us for the first hour. Then, our luck changed and the next two locks had gates open, ready for us to go straight in. I was walking the tow path between locks when I met a jogger, who steamed by and threw me a cheery greeting along the lines of ‘ Get out of my f...way’. Charming manners! As if to make up for his surliness, everyone we met after him went out of their way to chat and be friendly. Two lovely chaps opened and closed the gates for us at Whetstone Lane Lock and then, as we approached the last lock of the day, Blue Bank Lock, a horde of kids came thundering along the tow path and threw themselves along the lock arms and opened the gates for us. They were very excited to be able to help and I chatted to their parents as Carl and Tricky were bombarded with excited questions from the children. The gates opened, as if by magic, and I climbed aboard, giving them a toot on our ‘swan horn’ to say ‘thanks’. It more than made up for that grumpy jogger. We’re moored above Kings Lock this afternoon, still in the sunshine and visited the nearby Tea Rooms. We treated ourselves to lunch and a very nice latte, a suitable reward for the 6 locks of the day.

Kings Lock Tea Rooms

That’s all from me for this week, we will be mooring in Birstall for a few days next week and the welcome mat is out for visitors.

Love from
The Floating Chandlers

PS On Tuesday, we visited Harlestone Firs with our friends Richard and Mel and even Tricky perked up and trotted along the trails with something resembling enthusiasm! We popped into the nearby Dobbie’s Garden Centre for refreshments and they have really gone out of their way to make doggies and their owners welcome. There are crates to pop your dog in, so you can collect your coffee without worrying that Rover will gallop off to sample the biscuits in the food department.(eye roll emoji). Fresh water on tap with a selection of clean bowls and a jar full of dog biscuits, it was doggie heaven. 

 

 Below Double Rail Lock

Beautiful Blossom

One down!

Cowslips

Aylestone Nature Reserve

Aylestone Packhorse Bridge

Aylestone Packhorse Bridge

That Hat Mr C - definitely looking battered!

Gee's Bridge

Walking the Gunwhales

Wait for me!

First Lock of the Day

Squeezed in at Market Harborough

A Walk in the Woods

Look what the wind blew in!

 

Sunshine and Shadows

Foxton Locks Inn Mooring

Morning Jotters,

Happy Easter Landlubbers! Is everyone egg bound and overloaded with chocolate and Hot cross buns? I surprised the Captain with a giant Lindt egg this morning (well it is Sunday and he does like an egg on Sundays!) I managed to lug this monster home from Tesco’s last weekend and hid it in the pantry cupboard amongst the lentils and emergency tinned carrots - I knew he’d never find it there. Those tinned carrots were harvested in the last century I think, I might open them one day and see if they are still edible.

A favourite view of Braunston Church

Today’s location is quirky.pines.redouble for those of you who are following our travels via the What3words method - I’m losing all faith in it myself as I can’t find another person in the boating world who uses it. If you’re thinking of paying us a visit then I’ll stick to the old fashioned method of mooring by a pub if possible - its easy to find us then. We came down Foxton Locks yesterday and moored right outside the pub, in the full glare of their packed beer garden, It was so busy that we couldn’t get a table for lunch with our friends Richard and Mel, so they popped to Marks and Spencers for a picnic feast and we caught up with their news over cold beers and a buffet spread fit for the Lady Aberlour herself.(hello Ruth, if you’re reading this).

Waiting for the gates to close

The trip from Braunston to Foxton is very rural and we love it in any weather but it is especially scenic in the warm sunshine that we have enjoyed this week. We glide along through green pastures on sparkling waters which reflect the beauty of ancient, arching bridges and weeping willows. A single swallow was spotted near Crick and the days are warming up nicely as the week progresses. Shy violets are still to be found on the shady, wooded banks and the hedges are clad in spring green, ready for the burst of blossom that heralds the approach of May.

Gorse is blooming

Now the weather is warming up, we let the stove go out overnight which means we wake to a chilly boat in the morning - brrrr! I hate being cold. Carl soon has the fire alight and I make a pan of porridge for me and Tricky while Carl casts off and gets us underway. The side hatch is my window on the world as I hang out looking for ducklings to photograph, waiting for the kettle to boil for the Captain’s morning coffee. The early morning mist swirls around the low lying meadows and silly sheep stand and stare at us as we chug by. We love the gentle English countryside and never tire of watching the seasons change from the back of our boat.

Tree down after recent high winds

Watford Locks were a breeze this time, we were expecting to queue at the bottom but we’d only just moored up at the bottom, when the lock-keeper waved to Carl to come into the first lock and start the ascent. I was just about to tuck into my bowl of porridge but there wasn’t time for that as Carl was already casting off. I collected my windlass and jumped off at the stern as Carl pushed the bows out and I hurried up to the lock to close the gates behind him and open the paddle. I like to chat to the Volunteer Lock-keepers as we work our way up the staircase locks, my helper today tells me he is just waiting for his wife to retire so they can cast off and get away full time. I count my blessings and think how lucky we are to be starting our 14th year of aimlessly wandering around, we never tire of this life and love it just as much this year as we did the first year - except for those scary tunnels, I will never get used to boating through the dark, deafened by the roar of the diesel engines and watching anxiously as the tunnel entrance grows smaller and smaller until its just a speck in the dark. Tricky, on the other hand, seems to have got used to it and sits by my side, quite calmly, until we emerge into the daylight and she blinks and stretches and asks to sit up on the hatch again. There have been several tunnels to negotiate this week - Braunston, Crick and Husbands Bosworth and, as usual, we met oncoming traffic in the busiest tunnel, Braunston. The first two boats were well behaved and slowed down and we brushed past them without losing any paint to the tunnel walls. In the distance, we saw a very bright light coming towards us, it was so bright that it appeared as two lights, one being the reflection of the main light off the water. Carl was completely dazzled and we couldn’t see the outline of the boat behind the dazzle. Shading his eyes, he slowed right down and hugged the wall, while I ran through the boat to the bows and waved our trusty ‘bat torch’ and called out to them to adjust their light – which they did and we passed without clashing – lucky for them as they were a fibre glass cruiser! They had a very lucky escape, a less experienced skipper might have ploughed into him.

Disappearing into the darkness

We got through Crick tunnel without meeting anyone (grateful for small mercies emoji) and moored up for a walk into Crick village where I popped into the Co-op for milk and came out with a rucksack full of fresh veg including some potatoes, which I hope will cook through without going black. Carl was chuckling to himself as he had been standing outside, waiting with Tricky, when a man came over and said ‘You’re on my poster!’ Carl couldn’t work that out at first - ‘What poster?’ he asked thinking there might be a reward out for him somewhere. ‘That poster there’ the man said pointing to a poster tacked to a pole on the other side of the street. ‘Aren’t you the lead singer with the Dubliners?’ I don’t think he was convinced when Carl denied it and I have to admit, when we looked at the poster, Carl does bear a striking resemblance to him - perhaps its the beard!

Sunny but chilly in the early morning sun

Tomorrow, we are heading for Market Harborough and maybe we’ll hang around down there for a while. The next part of the journey is the broad locks (and many of them) through Leicester and down to Birstall. Where will we be next Sunday? I’ll write again next week and let you know. 

Take care everyone.
Love from

The Chandlers Afloat

ps If you go into Braunston, the Community Cafe is open again and we had a very entertaining and informative conversation with the waitress in there, she wished us 'A Good Road' and explained that it's an old boating term and means 'have a good journey, where all the locks are set in your favour and the weather is fine.' So we wish you all a 'Good Road' too.

Community Cafe Braunston

Shepherds Hut, Norton Junction

Holiday Home with Hot Tub

Moody Skies

Foxton Top Lock

Going Down at Foxton

Half Way Down

Violets 

Pub Mooring

Foxton Basin

Wait for me!!

Bridge 6 on the Market Harborough Arm

Who Fancies A Tettenhall Dick Pear?

Stunning Skies

Morning Jotters,

Can I interest anyone in a Dick pear? Apparently this old variety has all but died out but has been chosen by the Canal and River Trust as one of the many varieties of fruit trees they will be planting to create a record breaking orchard, stretching 50 miles along the canal, from Wolverhampton to Worcester. The community orchard will be maintained by volunteers and anyone will be able to help themselves to the fruit, although I think they're being a bit optimistic planting peach, apricot and figs even with the prospect of global warming raising temperatures. Hopefully, there will be plenty of damson and plum – I do look forward to the lock-wheelers privilege of picking the ripe fruit straight from the tree and eating it, without benefit of even a rub on my trousers. When I've gathered the persimmon, loquats and pomegranates what shall I do with them? Will I need a master class with Nigella and a Mikrowarvay? (Sly wink emoji.)

Looking back from Duck Corner

Our mooring today has the What3Words location of bolt.bats.tricky - very appropriate don’t you think? Our very own Tricky is snoozing by the stove and sniffing the air every few minutes as the scent of chicken chasseur wafts from the casserole dish on the stove. We have kept the fire in today, in spite of the warm sunshine, as it keeps the cabin warm enough to air the washing that is draped over an indoor line. I hate to live in a laundry but needs must when the sheets need washing. We’re eking out the coal with branches that we collected along the Ashby after Thursday’s Great Wind, which kept us moored up for a whole day. We weren’t idle though and had a ‘Housekeeping Day’ sweeping and washing the floors (where does all the grit come from!) I cleaned the brass curtain rods while Carl varnished the window surrounds and then I cobbled a make shift meal together from some old potatoes, a wizened carrot and the last few Alrewas sausages that I had squirrelled away in the freezer box for just such an emergency. I have my list ready for a ‘Big Shop’ and when we reached Rugby this morning I was into Marks and Spencer's Food Hall like a rat up a drainpipe. At last, some nice fresh fish and the makings of several of our favourite meals. Back to the boat and then I set off with the big trolley for the madness that is Tescos on a sunny Sunday. It was heaving and no-one was wearing a mask, I felt like an alien in mine. I got everything from my list and quite a lot that wasn’t on the list (as usual) I noticed more empty spaces on the shelves than usual and the fresh veg was almost sold out. The prices have soared in just a few short weeks since I did the last big shop. Times are definitely changing, thanks Bob Dylan for that great song, it seems so appropriate at the moment.

Spring blossom

What a fabulous week it’s been on the delightful Ashby Canal. We skipped past Market Bosworth on the way down and arrived at Snarestone Wharf mid week. The visitors centre has had a very swish makeover and the old portakabin is hidden by a clever canopy, built to look like an old railway station and it transforms the utilitarian building into something worthy of the surroundings. The inside is still a charity shop with a help-your-self coffee machine and some outside seating for the ramblers who might pass this way. A delightful spot for the nosy boater, and I combed through the mismatched china and pub themed glasses looking for treasures that might be worth a trip to ‘Antiques Roadshow’. Carl bought two bags of coal and the very nice man on duty chucked in a book Carl wanted for free - mainly because we were scrabbling in our pockets for 25p to pay for it and I think he took pity on us.

Snarestone Wharf Visitors Centre

The Boat (I had to look twice but yes, it was called ‘The Boat’) was moored behind us in Snarestone and, noting the array of cameras and gear on the roof, I asked if they were Vloggers - not doggers dear, that’s something entirely different. Vloggers are people who make films about their life afloat and post them on YouTube and very interesting they are too. If you want to follow their boating adventures then look them up on a site called ‘Making New Memories’. I was inspired to try a bit of Vlogging myself but quickly found that, remarkably, I don’t have anything interesting to say once I switch on the camera (silly billy face emoji)

Selfie against a Blue Sky

Shall we talk about the weather again? It’s been very Aprilish, showers and sunshine for most of the week. We had the brolly up as we approached Market Bosworth on the return trip, in spite of the gusty winds. We were lucky to be chugging through a sheltered, woody bit for the worst of the showers. Carl closed the back doors behind us and slid the hatch almost closed so that we were standing in the narrowest possible opening, sheltering us and Tricky from the worst of the driving rain. By the time we moored up, it had stopped and the sun came out. Then we spotted the fuel boat coming along and we hailed him to come alongside to fill us up with diesel. By the time he had roped us up and got his diesel pump to our filler cap (I swear it’s as complicated as a mid-air fighter refuel!) it was pouring again. We stumped up the cash and thanked him for the privilege of paying £1.47 a litre - we were expecting it to be more. Last year we were paying half that. Still, mustn’t grumble - at least we have some and must now ration it out so that we can continue cruising for a while longer.

Fuel Boat Callisto

The last 3 days have been perfect cruising days so we have made the most of them, managing to miss the showers and we've enjoyed blue skies and sunshine. We saw the first ducklings on Friday while still on the Ashby and minutes later, a water vole swam busily across the canal and along the bank beside us, we had a great view of him but I forgot to take a photo.(Embarrassed face emoji). Carl spotted a big old fox trotting through the fields later that evening, I was just in time to spot him too - a good day for the ‘I Spy in the Countryside’ Ladybird Book

Market Bosworth - Such a pretty cottage

That’s mostly it from the floating launderette for this week, next week I will be back on the locks as we travel from Hillmorton, through Braunston and the dreaded tunnel towards Watford Locks again - we do seem to go round the Leicester ring rather often. I hope you’re not bored!
Love from
The Floating Chandlers

It made me smile

PS Chugging along the canal by Duck Corner (can you guess why it's called that?) a fellow boater called out ‘ Nice Tickover’. We smiled and waved, as we thought he was complimenting us on slowing down as we passed his boat, but afterwards I said to Carl’ Do you think he was being sarcastic?’ We’ll never know.Pps I signed up for Spotify again - I found a 3 month free trial. So far I’ve only listened to stuff I already have on my iPod so I think I need a bit of a shake up. Anyone got any recommendations?

First sighting of Ducklings

Still a long way to go to reach Meacham

Snarestone Wharf

Work Boat Ram

What a fantastic 'shed'

Sticky Buds bursting

Topiary but what is it?

Rain in Market Bosworth