From andydyke@email.msn.com Tue May 18 21:04:15 1999 Date: Fri, 4 Sep 1998 21:51:29 +0100 From: Andrew L Dyke Reply-To: canals@blacksheep.org To: Canals Subject: Trip Report Off to the GIG, Stage 2 (Long) [The following text is in the "iso-8859-1" character set] [Your display is set for the "US-ASCII" character set] [Some characters may be displayed incorrectly] HI All, Part 2, You might remember We left the boat at Crick Marina a week ago. Sunday 2nd August - After the previous nights bash at Ragley Hall with the Collies and some friends of theirs, I am not feeling too good (upset tummy) and we leave the house later than planned, about 10.30am. Wendy having packed all cars. Wendy drives the Astra and me in the Jag, we drive to Normanton on Soar and leave the Jag in readiness for our trip home in a weeks time. Then onto Crick in the Astra to board ^ÑOne Moore^Ò. The weather is hot and sunny. On route to Crick, Wendy realises she has left her mobile phone 12v charger at home and contacts James at home to bring it to us at Crick on his motorbike. After getting lost, he eventually arrives and we leave at 3.00pm after having to go back to the marina for Wendy to find her glasses. She ran to the car but could not see them. We eventually found them on board and off we went. More of the same very nice canal and views of the countryside. At bridge 33, I spy a boat coming the other way. I think I am closer to the bridge and carry on. From a distance, it looks to me that he has stopped and then I see smoke coming from his chimney and he speeds up. Going quickly astern does no good and I wack the side of the bridge and he wacks our stern as he comes out through the bridge. " Weekenders" he cried, " it was my right of way". "How do you work that out?" I said. "I was closest," he said. " That^Òs why you speeded up then," I said. "I didn^Òt" was his reply. "That^Òs why I saw the smoke from your engine then" said I. At that point, he started waving me away with his hands. I win I think. The name of the Nb was 'Salamander' or look out if you see her. We continue on without further incident, enjoying the lack of locks and our surroundings. We moor up just after bridge 42 at the junction near North Kilworth. We eat on board, Steak and Kidney pie, Smash and peas. Very nice. Monday 3rd August - We wake to rain and the forecast is not good. Chugging in the rain is not my idea of fun so we wait. At 12noon it stops, but we decide to stay where we are and spend the day reading, radio and TV. At about 2.00pm it starts to get quite cold so I light the fire to warm us. Curry for dinner, meal for two from Safeway. Very nice. Tuesday 4th August ^Ö It^Òs fine and sunny but the forecast is mixed. We leave at 9.00am and continue through some lovely countryside. Through Husbands Bosworth Tunnel. This stretch has everything. A super wooded glade, vast open countryside, cows, sheep, bullocks, bulls, and all sorts. We enjoy just chugging. Breakfast on route of sausages in rolls. Lovely. Eventually, we reach out first locks for some time. Foxton is a famous set of 2 staircase locks, each consisting if 5 locks. We had been informed to allow ½ day for these locks, as queues are common. We are lucky and go straight in at the top. 70 minutes later we are out at the bottom. I have stayed on board and steered through the narrow, one boat at a time locks, and Wendy and a BWB lady did the hard bit. The BWB lady even went to the shop and bought the anti vandal key, that we would need for Leicester, for us At the bottom, we turn left and continue through much of the same. This stretch is really lovely. Miles and miles of lovely canal. From the moment we turned onto this section of the GU, it^Òs all been great. Just before we reach Saddington Tunnel, the canal towpath side changes and thick concrete replaces metal to hold up the bank. The other side drops away and we realise we are going round a hill. The Tunnel is supposed to have ^ÑBats^Ò but we don't see any At bridge 74 we stop and Wendy walks into Fleckney to pick up provisions. I rub down the scratch and chip marks encountered on the trip so far in readiness for repairing. An hour passes and off we go. We now hit locks. Almost a novelty. They are all without exception, today empty and need to be filled for our decent. After about four locks, we catch up with another boat. It^Òs very windy and I have some problem getting in to the lock. In the other boat are Germans in a hire boat. They look disapprovingly at my attempts to get in. All the locks today have given problems because of the high wind. Our intention was to stop at Kilby Bridge and go to the pub there. We are informed on route that the pub is closed so we pull up at 6.30ish just south of Kilby Bridge and moor by the towpath. Steak and Pork fillets for dinner. TV and early bed. Wednesday 5th August ^Ö My alarm goes off at 4.00am and after tea and coffee, we leave our moorings at 5.10am, just after dawn. Today we go through Leicester and many people have advised us that unless we go through early, we could be in trouble. The problems are mainly vandalism and theft. We leave the cratch cover on and the doors back and front, locked. It^Òs warm, even at 6.00am, the sun is poking through and it is a gorgeous morning. At Ervimes lock, just 3 locks down from Kilby Bridge, I find that we need our anti-vandal key to operate the locks. Each paddle is locked and the passage through is slow. But we are alone. Nothing else is moving apart from the cattle and sheep. At south Wigston, we pass some very well kept houses leading down to the canal. Up and on through Blaby, it^Òs great. More cattle and now horses fill the countryside. It^Òs hard to think that you are in the industrial midlands, as the canal seems to be out in the countryside. At Aylestone Mill Lock, a moored boat has broken down, water pipe gone. I offer him a section of pipe I have on board and it seems to do the trick. He goes off to find some jubilee clips to finish the job. This is the last lock that we need the anti-vandal key for. Are we past the worst bits? The canal now goes through a narrow channel where we meet two boats going the other way and then to St Mary^Òs Mill Lock which is quite pretty. At Freemans Meadow Lock, the canal and River Soar meet. A huge weir welcomes you to Leicester Centre. The next mile or so is taken up with a long straight section with many ornate bridges. Much new building is going on to out left. University student accommodation, some of it. We wend our way through Leicester keeping an eye out for vandals on the bridges, but no problems. The canal is dirty with rubbish ^Ö shopping trolleys and thick Duckweed. Shame, it spoils the otherwise interesting and attractive views. At North Lock, the river and canal separate again and it^Òs very narrow and shallow. The reflection on the river makes it difficult to know which way the water flows and we proceed with caution. Under more bridges and buildings, some derelict, line the route. At Belgrave Lock, the buildings finish and it^Òs back to the river again. A weir, a park, kids playing, the sun shining, it^Òs hot , everybody^Òs idea of a lovely summers day. We wait for a boat to come out of the lock. This is only the second moving boat we have seen since entering Leicester. This city should be buzzing with river and canal activity in the height of the summer season. It^Òs reputation for vandalism must put a lot of people off. That^Òs a shame. It^Òs a great run though. The lock won^Òt empty. Water is rushing in the top faster than out the bottom. It^Òs almost as if the city wants us to stay and in some ways I wish we could. I re-open the paddles and with much pushing of the balance beam, gradually the gate opens. Phew that was hard work. We are now on the River Soar proper and the water is clear and dark. To our right there seems to be a wildlife park. Much activity and people enjoying the sights. We stop at Birstall. I walk into town for some money. It seems we have run out. Quite a walk to the bank but all sorts of independent shops for whatever you need. A good provisions stop. After an hour or so, we set off. Dunny Dump at a boatyard which is not even on Nichollsons, so it must be new and water by the pub at Syston. We chat to another boat couple and 3 Hell's Angels' type in the pub. We are now getting quite tired and after some more super views, we Moor for the day below Cossington Lock at 5pm, 12 hours after we started. The mooring is a bit overgrown but after putting in steaks, we are secure. We dine at the Cossington Mill restaurant, which is not mentioned in Nichollsons even though it^Òs been there since forever, but it was on the Geo map. It was perfect. Plaice stuffed with prawns in a honey and lemon sauce for me and a veggie and puff pastry pie for Wendy. Excellent. Good food and service in a quiet country restaurant. Perfect. A short walk back and in bed by 9.30pm, exhausted but happy with our day. Thursday 6th August ^Ö Wendy woke early and by 7.30am we were both up drinking tea and coffee. We don^Òt intend to do much today. So after a morning of engine tinkering and general checks for me, all in my undies in the engine compartment, I was a bit concerned in case another ^Ñ Netting Weekend^Ò boat came past and caught me in my nicks but all OK. A quick shower and a chat to the BWB man, who told us his recent history of a divorce and re-partnership and then in the now very hot early PM sun, we set off. The river is really very nice, and in some ways like the Avon. One major difference is that the water is quite high up and you can see for miles. The Avon is low and its views are often of high bank. The river meanders through 2 locks and we then reach Barrow upon Soar. This pretty place has houses one side and countryside the other. As we proceed through past some very well kept large houses. We comment on how the owners seem to be competing with each other in that the garden layouts are the same. Then, further up, the sheds seem to be all the same just different sizes on quantities. We dump the rubbish and then stop 100 yards or so above the lock at 3.00pm. It^Òs very pleasant in the semi shade. I walk into town, about ten minutes,which is only a few shops, a couple of pubs and not much else. We relax. Indian Takeaway for dinner. The Bengal Tandoori and Balti Restaurant, which is excellent and only a few yards walk, by the lock. TV and bed 10.30pm. Friday 7th August ^Ö I sleep badly and wake up with a stomach-ache. A trip to the loo sorts that out. My, that was a good curry last night. The morning is spent relaxing and for me, finishing my log up to date. It^Òs now 10.50am, time for a coffee I think. We leave around noon and start the final section to Normanton on Soar. From Barrow, the canal winds through gentle countryside. Piltings lock in a flood lock. We have not encountered these before. It^Òs strange to go through a lock with both gates open. The approach to Loughbourgh is quite tatty and the canal looks tired. As you continue through the surroundings, towpath, houses, buildings etc improve and one can tell that some effort is being put in to make the canal more attractive. We stop for water just after Loughbourgh Lock where we have seen ^ÑCorixa^Ò Syd Arkless^Òs boat. They have gone shopping. While we water, we wash the boat as well. At the next Lock, we dump the dunny and rubbish and then onto the final stretch. We pass a huge factory being built for ^ÑAstra^Ò, apparently, a chemical company. Just round the corner, we bump into the BWB man who told us his life history earlier in the week. In the distance, we see Norman Church spire and then the Soar boating club, home to this years GIG ^Ò98. We made it. The time is 3.00pm. We are directed to moor bow in next to ^ÑWill Crooks^Ò, the boat owned by Joe Jones. Others arrived yesterday and this morning. The next 2/3 days I shall leave to the postings from the Internet to describe, and photos of the event, now on the web. This was our first GIG and it was wonderful to meet folk old and new. It really was a fantastic weekend. Monday 10th August ^Ö Today we must leave for home. We have a short chug to the lock to dump the dunny, charge up the batteries and get rid of the rubbish, say our goodbyes to the few who are left and then drive to Crick to collect the Astra left at the marina the week before, then home to Evesham, arriving late pm. Another great week. All rivers and canals new to us. Brilliant. Final part Return from the GIG to follow. 'Don't Fall In' Andrew. Home Page and Evesham In Flood, Easter 1998 http://members.tripod.com/~Andrew_Dyke/