Monday 13th July; Kilby Bridge to King’s lock, Aylestone Meadows.
Morning dawned cool and breezy and for a short while there was even dampness in the air. As I took Jess out first thing I checked which boats were pointing in our direction – only four of them, and two of those looked unoccupied. Our partners from yesterday seemed to be still in bed. I took the food waste and recycling round to the facilities block opposite, and as I returned a boat ahead of us was showing signs of leaving in our direction so I beetled up to ask if he wanted a locking partner, which of course he did. It was quite chilly at 8.30 when we started, and we made good progress in spite of two over-excited dogs getting in the way of the crew as we started off.
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| If CRT have to close the navigation again this year these water-lilies will spread right across the navigation |
The locks were a bit further apart than yesterday. At the third, we could see a CRT chap with a rake hauling weed out at the lock.
Both crew were very surprised when he said we shouldn’t have been moving until 10 am. We knew the restrictions had been brought forward, but had both thought the restrictions didn’t start until 3 this afternoon. Apparently not! And we also didn’t realise that if you stopped overnight within the restricted area you were supposed to wait until 10 before you could move. But he was so pleased we had paired up that he didn't stop us from carrying on.
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| A very successful locking partnership with Ealisaid |
The outer parts of Leicester were beginning to crowd in on the offside. There was a succession of the usual interesting gardens but I wasn’t sure about this person-sized gnome.
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| I would find this rather creepy if I were walking the towpath at dusk |
On the whole we had no trouble with water levels, although the pound above Bush Lock, which had work done recently to reduce leakage, was still very low. A bit further on, the water became clear and the canal felt a lot more like a river, although the Soar had not yet joined it. There was a lot of water-weed, though not yet causing any issues.
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| Arrowhead |
I have been trying to get a clear photo of one of the mile markers for a couple of days. We had passed the city boundary before I managed it.
We only met one boat going up on our way down this morning. We pulled in below King’s lock, where the canal becomes the river Soar and is out of the restricted area, at about 1. Both boats had reasonable shade for the rest of the day. The CRT man we saw this morning walked by just before 3 to padlock the bottom gates of King’s lock.
There was a fair bit of footfall on the towpath, as this is a popular walk from Aylestone on the opposite bank and it’s shady.
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| But closed on a Monday |
Later I took Jess to find the entrance to the water meadows, which is at the next bridge. There are extensive paths across the meadows, where horses and cattle are grazing in some areas. The access from Aylestone, higher up on the offside, has a clear sign warning you are entering a flood risk area. Not today though.
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| Levels below the green today |
7 miles, 9 locks, and onto the river
