Monday 16th September - Fleckney to Wistow Bridge 79
Early morning, sun shining and mist rising off the canal, another lovely day.
We set off for the first of the Kibworth Locks, you can just see the lock in the distance with the Lock Cottage on the left hand side.
The cottage is currently being worked on, we saw the new owners when we came back this way last April. They have done a lot work on the landscaping but the cottage still looks a little sad.
A beautifully framed shot from the side of the lock, the countryside around here is stunning.
We moored up just before Bridge 79 on the wide open stretch near Wistow. We sat on the towpath for our lunch and enjoyed the warmth of the sunshine.
In the afternoon we went for a walk along the canal and up to Wistow craft centre. We passed this strange looking house with the River Sense following through its garden. It is an Eco house built as a private residence and is called Four Seasons and was featured in ‘Grand Designs”
We called in at the craft centre for a drink and then walked back across the fields past St Wistan Church. It has a macabre history and is the first stop in a pilgrimage which ends at Leicester Cathedral. Strands of hair are said to grow between the blades of grass in Wistow’s churchyard on the anniversary of St Wistan’s murder here, 1 June. This rather macabre miracle was verified in the 12th century by a commission sent from Canterbury.
The most stunning sunset this evening, the whole of the boat inside was lit up with a beautiful orange glow.
2 miles, 5 locks, 2hrs 12mins
Tuesday 17th September - Wistow
As it is going to be such a lovely day, we have decided to stay another day here. Dave cleaned through the inside of the boat and I worked on the roof. One side is nice and clean and the other side is still dirty!
A misty start this morning, but the sun soon broke through and we have had a glorious day.
We met a gentleman yesterday evening who told us about this family of swans. There are six cygnets, one was lost when very small, and the male is a second husband to the female. This is her 5th set of cygnets. They stay on this stretch of canal and the gentleman feeds them twice a day.
This boat passed us this afternoon, ‘Margaret Grace’ with Worcester written under the name. We discovered that he lives in Worcester in Harry Davis Court just down the road from us, what a small world!
We walked back along the canal and across the fields to revisit the craft centre as the Deli was closed yesterday. We passed Wistow Hall set in beautiful grounds, it is an impressive, turreted Hall framed by mature parkland itch a fine lake, on which can be found a great variety of swans, ducks and geese. It is currently owned by the Brooks family who still live in it, but have created flats out of some of the building.
Wednesday 18th September - Wistow to Kilby Bridge
We woke to a cloudy morning and decided that we would move on towards Leicester. Once we get through the first two locks we will be cruising a new part of the canal to us, very exciting!
First lock of the day, the family of swans have moved down to the lock and there are notices on the lock gates asking that we don’t let them down through the lock. This because there is another family of swans further down and if they meet they will fight over the territory.
They seemed quite happy to feed from the by-water, and made no attempt to go through the gates.
Toby the lock dog, he has a new longer lead with a large carabiner on the handle which can be hooked over the handle on the lock beam. This way he gets to enjoy a walk between the locks and is safely tied up when we are working the locks.
A Canal and River Trust Volunteer party was busy working on the locks as we came through. This is the last lock of 21 locks that they have painted through out the season, it will look very smart once it is finished, lets hope they get it done before the rain starts later in the week.
2.5 miles, 7 locks, 3hrs 18mins
Thursday 19th September - Kilby Bridge to Leicester, Castle Gardens
We made an early start this morning as we wanted to get into Leicester.
First lock of the day, first of 12 locks, all wide locks and all done on our own. A good shot of the boat and Toby on the back.
Dave went to have a look over a fence at one of the locks and found a calf staring back at him, not sure who was more surprised!
Toby and I worked some of the locks together, he is attached to the lock beam on the other side and I’m taking a rest watching the water being emptied out of the lock.
What a spectacular photo, I do have to congratulate the photographer on this one!
We have just left King’s Lock and are now travelling on the River Soar which joins the canal from under this bridge. Very exciting, the river is very gentle, well into the green but very undulating in places.
At St Mary Mills Lock we met a working boat being moved to Kilby bridg ready for a lock closure in October.
St Mary Mills was a water powered textile mill, it is still an industrial site as the owners have not taken up the option of demolishing the mill for housing.
These rather grotesque figures guard the exit/entrance to the weir on the River Soar, very cleverly made.
Leicester City FC, a professional football club based in the city of Leicester, East Midlands, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football, following promotion from the 2023–24 EFL Championship as league champions.
Approaching the last lock of the day, opposite a large weir which was having quite a significant pull on the boat, but Dave got the lock open so I didn't have to wait very long. We then cruised into Leicester and made our way onto the Castle Gardens secure visitor moorings. We were the only boat so no worries about not getting a mooring!
8 miles, 12 locks, 5hrs 54mins
Friday 20th September - Leicester
Today we are going to explore Leicester, an overcast start to the day but it warmed up more in the sunshine later.
This is our mooring, a pontoon beside Castle Gardens, safe and secure as the access to the garden is through a locked gate. Generally very quiet apart from students moving across the bridge which Dave is standing on.
This is St Mary de Castro, the parish and collegiate church of Saint Mary de Castro stands within the precinct of the Royal Castle of Leicester and was founded by Robert de Beaumont, first earl of Leicester in 1107, and is the second oldest church in the city. King Richard III used to attend the church when he visited the castle. The Collegiate Church and Parish Church were divided by screens between the piers, therefore, there are two churches under one roof where services were held simultaneously at both high altars until 1400. It is also believed that Geoffrey Chaucer married his second wife in the church.
This is a remnant of the castle walls known as Prince Rupert’s Gate. Prince Rupert's Gate gives access to Castle View, the cobbled road linking the castle yard with its 12th century great hall to The Newarke. The legend of Black Annis, or Black Agnes, is linked to the history of Prince Rupert's Gate. Black Annis was said to be a blue-faced witch with iron claws who lived in a cave in Leicestershire's Dane Hills and feasted on children. After devouring the children she is said to tan their skin and wear them around her waist. The Black Annis story was often used by parents, who made children behave by warning them that Black Annis would catch them if they disobeyed. According to tradition Black Annis lurks in the shadows within the Prince Rupert Gate and attacks any who dare pass through the gateway at midnight. She is said to use underground tunnels to reach the city from her cave beyond the River Soar.
The Magazine Gateway is an early 15th-century gatehouse built by Henry, 3rd Earl of Leicester to guard the main entrance into The Newarke ('new works'), a religious precinct bordering Leicester Castle.The gateway was originally called simply Newarke Gate. In 1642, at the height of the Civil War, the county militia's weapons and gunpowder were moved here from the Guildhall. It was this use as an armoury, or magazine, that led to its more popular name of The Magazine.
Leicester Cathedral has been a place of worship for at least 900 years, but has been a cathedral only since 1927. The cathedral began as a simple parish church dedicated to St Martin, and was raised to cathedral status in the 20th century.
The tomb of King Richard III, we spent a good 40 minutes with an elderly lady of the Cathedral who talked to us about the tomb and the reinterrment which took place in 2015 following the discovery of his remains beneath a carpark in Leicester city centre. The tomb is made of a single block of white Swaledale stone from Yorkshire, atop a polished slab of Kilkenny marble. The white stone is deeply carved with a cross, allowing light to flood through the slab. Richard's remains lie beneath the tomb in a lead ossuary encased in a coffin of English oak. The coffin is set within a brick-lined vault sealed by the tombstone above.
King Richard’s coat of arms is made entirely using traditional Florentine pietra dura techniques used during the Renaissance. The finest quality lapis lazuli from Afghanistan was the perfect choice for the deep blue background and the lions’ tiny claws and tongues. The use of an English stone was fitting for a King of England and Duke’s Red from Derbyshire was the perfect choice for the red background. There is a very limited amount of this limestone left and the stone used in this commission was quarried in Derbyshire in 1823; much of this stone is found at Chatsworth, the ancestral home of the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire. Tuscan yellow chalcedony gave a wonderful brightness to the lions and the fleurs-de-lis. The eyes and ears of the lions were cut from white chalcedony and brown English Ashburton marble.
The Clock Tower was built originally as a solution to traffic congestion on the site of the town´s former hay and straw market in 1868. Horse drawn vehicles all converged on the area known as the Haymarket from six streets, causing chaos. It was decided that “The Haymarket Memorial Clock Tower” would be constructed as the first traffic island in the Kingdom. It was intended as a memorial to four of Leicester’s benefactors.
The inside of St Mary de Castro which is beautifully ornate. The Tower contains ten bells within a steel frame which replaced an earlier wooden structure. The largest bell was cast in 1630 and the latest two bells were cast in 2010 by Taylor’s bell foundry of Loughborough. The bells may be rung by a carillon as well as pulled by ropes.
We had a lovely day in Leicester, apart from all the history and the wonderfully informative people we met, we also enjoyed coffee at Cafe Dido, lunch at The Globe, the oldest pub in Leicester and bought delightful patisserie from Chloe Gourmet to eat on the boat.
Saturday 21st September Leicester to Blue Bank Lock
We have decided that owing to the dire weather forecast for torrential rain over the next few days we should turn the boat round and leave the River Soar for the safety of the canal.
Looking back towards Leicester along The Mile Straight, with many rowers practising their rowing techniques. They made turning the boat quite interesting, but they were very understanding.
The modern buildings of Leicester University.
One of the tallest buildings in Leicester, this is The Summit, affectionately known as The Loo Roll, it is student accommodation and offers splendid views of the city.
This is the arm off the river where Leicester rowing club is situated. In the mouth of the arm is a large swan’s nest still occupied by an adult swan and the babies.
We were lucky enough to buddy up with another boat going our way, so we were able to share the double locks and share the work.
We moored for the night below Blue Bank lock and walked back to the cafe at King’s Lock for brunch. We found an old boundary marker between Parish of Lubbesthorpe and Borough of Leicester, dated 1891 on the towpath above King’s lock. We think we shall stay here tomorrow and probably Monday if the forecast is as expected. In the afternoon we had torrential rain, thunder and lightening, so we were very glad that we had decided to leave the river when we did.
3.5 miles, 4 locks, 2hrs 18mins
Sunday 22nd September - Blue bank Lock to below Gee’s Lock.
Today has been a very wet day with heavy continuous rain most of the day. Canal and River Trust have issued a strong stream warning for the River Soar advising boaters not to cruise as it is too dangerous. Our mooring is right beside the river which has risen to within a foot of the towpath so whilst it was not raining we moved the boat up one lock and away from the Soar, we are now moored safely, further away from the much smaller River Sense.
0.25 miles, 1 lock, 15mins
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