April 29th--May 2nd
We spent the Bank Holiday weekend in the Derbyshire Dales with a group of friends from the church I used to attend in Warwick. We've done this every year for about twenty years now, the composition of the group changes from time to time, but we always have good fun, and walk and enjoy ourselves.

Whilst we were away, we left the boat at the end of the Welford Arm. It was the first time we've ever left it "on line" i.e. along the towpath rather than in a marina. We had expected to leave it in Welford Marina, but in the end they didn't have a space, so we had no alternative. In the event, it was perfectly OK, the only thing that had happened to it was that it had been moved about ten feet along the bank, and someone had kindly scratched the new yellow paintwork...........

Tuesday, 3rd May
We stayed on the same mooring overnight last night and had intended to set off this morning, but it was raining cats and dogs, so we stayed put. Eventually, in the afternoon, the rain stopped and we sallied forth. We continued along the Leicester Branch of the Grand Union. The scenery is still rural, but not as pretty as before. We went through Husband's Bosworth Tunnel, and eventually arrived at the top of Foxton Locks. We had intended to moor here overnight, but the lockie pointed out that all the locks were in our favour, so we set off.

The Foxton Flight is one of the more famous sets of locks on the canal system. There are two sets of five locks, each in a staircase formation, so once you've started, you have to finish! There is a pound in the middle, to pass a boat if one is coming in the opposite direction. The lockie showed us how it all worked, and we did all ten in an hour. We moored at the bottom of the flight overnight.

Wednesday, 4th May
First we visited the Museum at the locks. This showed how an inclined plane had been built in the nineteenth century to haul boats up the hillside in caissons. It must have been an incredible sight, but it was discontinued in the early twentieth century, and demolished. There is now a lottery grant to restore it.



THE SITE OF THE INCLINED PLANE

Click here to read about The Foxton Inclined Plane

Then we set off along the five mile Market Harborough Arm. This was a delightfully rural stretch, though not very pretty, but we enjoyed its solitude. We didn't meet another boat all the way to Market Harborough. Here the canal terminates in a basin, and we moored up for the night. The basin and the surrounding area are very attractive and there are some gorgeous houses which back on to the canal with beautiful gardens. Market Harborough is an attractive town, with some interesting architecture. In fact we liked it so much we stayed an extra night!