Hot, but beautiful well, some of it)

Friday 17^th July; Barrow Deep lock to Zouch cut

We had a more relaxed start today than we have been having during this hot spell, not leaving till 9.30.  Barrow Deep lock isn’t as deep as Somerton Deep lock, but wide and slow filling.  There is a traffic light here to alert you to flood conditions, green today of course, and a large notice lockside in explanation.

Looking back at the road bridge by last night’s pub

It was warm and sunny, and the cruising on a beautiful stretch was delightful.  The gates at both ends of Pilling’s Flood lock were open as expected.

Now we were on the approach to Loughborough, where we needed some shopping.  The whole stretch is infested with floating pennywort.  A widebeam tripboat from the Peter le Marchant Trust just barged its way past a huge mat spreading out from the offside, shoving it aside without a care.  We on the other hand had to stop mid-stream to allow our moustache to float off.

A short burst of bow thruster moved us out of its clutches

We moored before the T-junction rather than turn and go down to the pontoons in the basin as we didn’t really need the CRT facilities.  After we’d tied up I pulled out the long wreath of pennywort that we had picked up in the five minutes since removing the last lot.  We had a break for a couple of hours to go to Sainsbury’s and have lunch before moving off again.  At Loughborough lock it looked as though a narrowboat was going down on its own, but eventually we could see that the small volunteer boat that had been clearing rubbish from the basin was on its way down, piled high with trolleys and other unidentifiable items they had hauled out.  A trip boat – there are several on the Soar and mostly wide-beam – took the lock as we left.  Our plan was to take on water at Bishop’s Meadow lock and dispose of some rubbish, but a boat was on the water point and the rubbish boat unloading its cargo.  What’s more the boat sitting in the lock needed water and was waiting for the rubbish boat to leave.  After a short wait we were on our way down - we have enough water for a couple of days.  There is a stretch of mooring below the lock, in badly needed shade, but we could hear factory noise above the engine and anyway most of the length was occupied.

I wonder how long they have been there?

Normanton looked serene as it basked in the heat, with just a few paddle boarders pottering about.

Normanton church

... some very desirable properties along the river ....

and an interesting vessel at the Soar Boating Club

It is a Falmouth Bass boat, ‘a traditional stable dayboat with the capacity to carry 5 adults’.  It is easily carried on a trailer and is rigged as a gunter ketch – I suppose sailors will know what that means but if you are interested look HERE. 

As we neared Zouch Cut we passed the flood conditions notice and the emergency moorings.  I wondered why they are called dolphins; Wikipedia says A dolphin is a group of pilings arrayed together to serve variously as a protective hardpoint along a dock, in a waterway, or along a shore; as a means or point of stabilization of a dock, bridge, or similar structure; as a mooring point; and as a base for navigational aids.  The term seems to have been in use for a long time and opinions vary as to whether the term has anything to do with the marine mammal.

There is a long stretch of mooring in the cut but it's popular, and we were lucky to find a space between the footbridge and the lock.  We were hot and tired and didn’t want to carry on.  Fortunately the breeze was blowing though the boat and although we were in full sun, it was shining from directly behind us.  With a cream roof to reflect the sun’s rays, and a towel hanging from the hatch to keep the sun out of the boat, we soon cooled down.

6½ miles, 3 locks, plus Pilling’s Flood lock and Zouch flood gates.