Leicester Ring

[Arthur Marshall]

6 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

Oh-oh! Under the counter advice!  I wonder whether you're getting special secret info the rest of us aren't allowed access to ...

 

or bull shine that won't stand general forum scrutiny? 

 

 

I've now got secret information that you plebs aren't allowed to have. Stuff like details of local shops, places to moor, where to buy the best drugs* and detailed maps with mooring spots noted. It's mostly in PDFs so won't go on here. If you ask nicely, Pete might let you into the really dark stuff... 

 

 

 

*I made that one up, sorry. 

[Sea Dog]

2 hours ago, Arthur Marshall said:

you plebs

Andrew Mitchell had to resign as Chief Whip after allegedly saying that!  Later, he had to pay the police officer £80,000 in damages.  You can keep your job as forum chief whip, but the money should be in high denomination unmarked notes with random serial numbers...

[Arthur Marshall]

7 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

Andrew Mitchell had to resign as Chief Whip after allegedly saying that!  Later, he had to pay the police officer £80,000 in damages.  You can keep your job as forum chief whip, but the money should be in high denomination unmarked notes with random serial numbers...

OK. I just need your  bank account details, mother's maiden name and password and I'll transfer it over. You know you can trust me, I used to work for the Government... 

[Sea Dog]

1 minute ago, Arthur Marshall said:

OK. I just need your  bank account details, mother's maiden name and password and I'll transfer it over. You know you can trust me, I used to work for the Government... 

I'd PM them to you, but I think that's where we came in...!

 

[kingswood]

every time i go clock wise i get stuck and the good lady has to add a drop or two of water to get me moving last time another boat had to pull me through into the lock as he was shallower than me

[kingswood]

On 15/02/2019 at 17:46, PeteS said:

Nothing secret, just some info on where to moor and things to do in Leicester and environs.

 

As well as the usual stuff about how bad it is and how everybody who comes through Leicester gets bombed, shot at or gets their boat vandalised.  Because we're all drug crazed vandals in Leicester.

 

 

went and stoped in leicester last year and i was surprised how nice it was going round all the old stuff ,live in loughborough and never been there .the mooring was secure and apart from being thrown of the boat for an hour while bomb suad removed and old grenade a magnet fisher had pulled up

[Arthur Marshall]

2 hours ago, kingswood said:

every time i go clock wise i get stuck and the good lady has to add a drop or two of water to get me moving last time another boat had to pull me through into the lock as he was shallower than me

Anticlockwise it is. My public will sadly have to miss my trombone playing for one gig. 

But don't despair, I'll share it with you lot instead. 

[matty40s]

Plan ahead for water saving measures to be implemented on the Leicester line......very soon.

The resovoirs for the Braunston summit and Leicester summit are only at 50% of normal levels and it just isn't raining.

 

This will mean shortened locking times with locks being chained up in the afternoons to allow back pumping to restore water levels in the highest pounds....and if no rain comes, a complete shut down of the Leicester section again.

 

Selling off the fishing rights has now seriously affected navigation on this stretch for 3 out of the last 6 years, this year will be the same.

[Big Bob W]

1 hour ago, matty40s said:

The resovoirs for the Braunston summit and Leicester summit are only at 50% of normal levels and it just isn't raining.

There was plenty of water from the Braunston summit spilling over the bottom gates of all the locks on the Buckby flight last week. Seems such a waste if the reservoir levels are so low still.

[MoominPapa]

15 minutes ago, Big Bob W said:

There was plenty of water from the Braunston summit spilling over the bottom gates of all the locks on the Buckby flight last week. Seems such a waste if the reservoir levels are so low still.

It wasn't going over the top gates or bywash of Buckby top lock, which is the one that matters. Overspill at  the others is just the backpumping being a little over enthusiastic. Level in Braunston summit pound was just below weir, and I didn't see the backpumps discharging at the top of Buckby. Similarly Leicester summit pound is just below weir and no backpumping evident at Watford. Notable that the free boatwash in Crick tunnel is on strike, which says something about rainfall.

 

MP.

 

 

[Movin' on]

On ‎12‎/‎02‎/‎2019 at 21:26, Arthur Marshall said:

Planning a trip round the Leicester ring in May.  My natural instinct (no idea why) is to do it anti-clockwise but this is no longer practical - is there any particular things to look out for going round the other way, and are there visitor moorings on the Soar?

Last time I did it, may years ago, I got caught in the floods so just had to get off the rivers as quickly as possible so I remember little about it.  If it's any help, I'm coming at it from the north, via Stone and Gt Hayward.

One of our favourite rings we've done it many times and did it last year, I cant think of any increased challenges to doing it anti-clock - the main thing I wanted to input is that Leicester is much improved as a place to moor (and its welcome to boats) so you don't need to "bust a gut" to get through it.

 

Enjoy - we might see you on your travels, a reminder we are the guys you bought a pair of chairs from a few years back and we saw you at the bottom of the Mac 2/3 years ago?

 

[Arthur Marshall]

3 hours ago, Halsey said:

One of our favourite rings we've done it many times and did it last year, I cant think of any increased challenges to doing it anti-clock - the main thing I wanted to input is that Leicester is much improved as a place to moor (and its welcome to boats) so you don't need to "bust a gut" to get through it.

 

Enjoy - we might see you on your travels, a reminder we are the guys you bought a pair of chairs from a few years back and we saw you at the bottom of the Mac 2/3 years ago?

 

Still sitting on the chairs! I'll keep an eye out for you. 

[Sea Dog]

On 18/02/2019 at 22:52, Arthur Marshall said:

Anticlockwise it is. 

Oi! I thought you said "My natural instinct (no idea why) is to do it anti-clockwise but this is no longer practical"?

 

[Arthur Marshall]

38 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

Oi! I thought you said "My natural instinct (no idea why) is to do it anti-clockwise but this is no longer practical"?

 

Well, it wasn't at the time. I was supposed to be playing a small part in a concert which wouldn't have let me have the time to do the trip anticlockwise for an assortment of reasons. I've ducked out of the gig instead. 

[David Mack]

On 19/02/2019 at 08:05, matty40s said:

Plan ahead for water saving measures to be implemented on the Leicester line......very soon.

The resovoirs for the Braunston summit and Leicester summit are only at 50% of normal levels and it just isn't raining.

 

That was in January. The latest CRT Reservoir Watch shows the Oxford and GU group at 65.2% and the GU North at 59.4%.

 

https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/specialist-teams/managing-our-water/reservoir-watch

[matty40s]

59 minutes ago, David Mack said:

 

That was in January. The latest CRT Reservoir Watch shows the Oxford and GU group at 65.2% and the GU North at 59.4%.

 

https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/specialist-teams/managing-our-water/reservoir-watch

We now have Feb half term and there are lots of boats moving again....due to Buckby, Watford and then stoke bruerne closures there has been little movement in this area since end October. 

Watch the levels plummet over the next 2 months unless Noah is needed.

[Rob-M]

Perhaps we should encourage mrsmelly to spend a couple of weeks on the Leicester Ring to move some rain clouds in. 

[matty40s]

10 hours ago, Rob-M said:

Perhaps we should encourage mrsmelly to spend a couple of weeks on the Leicester Ring to move some rain clouds in. 

Look, there's rain and there's Mrsmellyrain....

The Soar floods enough without inviting MrTsunamelly along.

[Lily Rose]

On 19/02/2019 at 08:05, matty40s said:

Plan ahead for water saving measures to be implemented on the Leicester line......very soon.

The resovoirs for the Braunston summit and Leicester summit are only at 50% of normal levels and it just isn't raining.

 

This will mean shortened locking times with locks being chained up in the afternoons to allow back pumping to restore water levels in the highest pounds....and if no rain comes, a complete shut down of the Leicester section again.

 

Selling off the fishing rights has now seriously affected navigation on this stretch for 3 out of the last 6 years, this year will be the same.

Bloody great!

 

Having done Napton to Lechlade and Napton to Teddington in the last 2 summers (with very low levels on the Oxford in various places) I thought we might do the Leicester ring (anti-clockwise) this summer for the first time. It's either that or repeat something we've already done.

 

I think I might sell the boat and buy a camper van and do the Leicester ring in that instead. If things get much worse with water levels I might even be able stick to the exact same route in places.

 

[Nightwatch]

Now now Sean. Don't go buying one of those motorised wheeled things. We have done the Leicester Arm a number of times. It's worth doing. We will get rain. Possibly lots of it, sadly. So all this concern will be washed away. Trust you are keeping well. May well see you if you do decide to 'do it'!

[Lily Rose]

17 minutes ago, Nightwatch said:

Now now Sean. Don't go buying one of those motorised wheeled things. We have done the Leicester Arm a number of times. It's worth doing. We will get rain. Possibly lots of it, sadly. So all this concern will be washed away. Trust you are keeping well. May well see you if you do decide to 'do it'!

 

Hi Martyn, assuming/hoping Matty is being a bit pessimistic then I think we probably will do it although I haven't discussed it properly with Sharon yet. If we go ahead we'll probably start out about 2 weeks before the schools finish for the summer as that's usually when my Monday school run commitments finish until September.

 

We'll probably allow 3 weeks, or 4 if I can get away with it. Be good to catch up in a pub somewhere if you're still in the area by then.

 

We've done the Leicester arm as far as Market Harborough and we've been up the Coventry to Fradley Junction. It's the bit in between that will be new to us and I'm hoping to do it as I think anything else we are likely to do will have to be repeats.

Edited February 21, 2019 by Lily Rose
Added a bit

[Rob-M]

Having done the Leicester Ring a couple of times clockwise we didn't find levels too bad although we did need to be careful when waiting at locks so we didn't sit ourselves on the bottom but generally it was ok. The last time, two years ago, we were with an old working boat as well, they just picked up loads of rubbish but didn't get stuck anywhere.

Make sure you do the trip down to Market Harborough.

[Jennifer McM]

Yeah..... we did it! 

 

What a brilliant trip! In the two months (yes we don't scoot ?) we've worked through gales, hard frosts, torrential rain, snow, and latterly the glorious weather.

 

We were held back for about a week, waiting for the wind to abate before we went through Watford Locks. 

 

At Crick Marina we pulled in for a diesel top up. While John was inside the shop/chandlers he had a scout around for antifreeze/coolant, the only container of it he could find was on the floor in a corner of the shop. This was a 'charity' area where boaters donate stuff they don't need. A boater who was clearing out his boat before he sold it, donated the almost full container/can to the pile. John donated a fiver for the can. The engine's water is now back to where it was before the water hose slipped off, chucking all the water out of the system. (Thank you to the kind people here who offered to help us!). A bargain always brings a smile to John's face ?

We took a detour down the Welford Arm (sorry to say the Services weren't very nice). We had a meal in the pub which was yummy, and I took an almost vertical (she exaggerates) climb to the shop for provisions. There's an ancient limekiln at the end of the arm for the historians amongst us.

The summit was absolutely beautiful, and we enjoyed every minute! Strange though, I don't think we saw a single swan, nor many ducks. 

 

We climbed down Foxton Locks where the lockies were cheerful chappies, and we turned right into Market Harborough. We turned up on the day many boats were leaving their winter moorings, and we managed to hook up in the marina for two nights (£12 per night). It's a lovely basin, and the pub's food and drink went down well too. Tesco delivered us a months supply of food while we were there.

 

At Kilby Bridge (where Matty advised we stop if the Sour was flooded), we had to hold up for about 5 days. (Fancy us not checking for maintenance stoppages!) We had to wait while Locks 33. 34, and 35 were open after being maintained. 

At the bottom of Birstall lock we stopped for milk, eggs, fruit and veg and stuff, stopping overnight. It's a great place to run our dog.

The next day we had a short trip, stopping a little beyond Johnsons Bridge #17. What a fabulous place, either side of our mooring were two fabulous pleasure lakes.

 

The glorious Easter Weekend weather made our 3 night stop over just perfect! It was a lovely spot, we were on our own (except for a few walkers), we were amongst mother nature in full Spring mode. 

 

Easter Monday we pulled our moorings, to enjoy the cruising weather. At the bottom of Sileby Lock it was a bit of battle with the weir in my attempt to hookup to a workboat for diesel (John was on lock duty so he walked to the workboat). The marina looks a real friendly place!

 

Onward to Mount Sorrel, and what an experience that was! We weren't expecting all the pedalos and row boats that were out and about. There were hundreds on the river for the bank holiday Monday.

 

Some drunken eejit and his friend, showing off to two nervous girls in their rowing boat, stood up in the boat, rocking it, making the girls scream. We hooted for them to get out of the way, John desperately slamming the boat into reverse. Think the eejit was playing chicken, how we missed them, I'll never know.  Apart from these eejits it was lovely to see so many people enjoying themselves on the river. 

 

We moored at the top of Deep Lock for the night, leaving our mooring after a visit for fresh provisions from the village.

 

At the short Loughborough Arm, we moored for a couple of hours while we took turns to visit Sports Direct for a pair of new trainers each. Somehow we didn't feel safe to leave the boat unattended, maybe we were wrong, but decided to err on the side of caution. After a bite to eat, we were off again.

 

We were soon turning left onto the Trent, giving the boat a bit of treat, she just loves the deep water.

A lockie helped us through Sawley lock, where we moored for the night. 

 

In the morning the weather wasn't too great, with a thunderstorm being threatened, and with a high wind, we took off from our mooring. It was a struggle to get away from side as the wind kept blowing the boat back against the wall. John reversed out with as much gumph as was safe..... until we heard a grinding noise like we'd grounded.

 

Cautiously in forward gear he managed to turn the boat into the centre of the water, until there was a loud bang from under the boat, and the the engine stalled! He tried to restart the engine, it stalled again!

 

Panic.... John couldn't move the rudder, obviously there was something tangled up on the prop, wedging the rudder.

 

We were in the middle of that huge channel, without propulsion, with a hard wind, and all these posh plastic boats about.

 

As luck would have it, we drifted quite close to Sawley Marina, where my shouts of help was answered by a lovely guy from the marina, and another boater. They managed to grab the bow rope, and the guy from the marina walked along our gunnel to grab our centre line. Phew! Once the boat was secured, John went down the engine 'ole to the weed hatch.... there was nothing there! He was also now able to waggle the rudder freely! Obviously, whatever we'd picked up had fallen off! He started the engine, it ran beautifully. After 'profusely' thanking the guys for their help, we were off!

 

At Western Lock on the Trent & Mersey there was another 'situation'! We cruised up to the bottom of the lock, and noticed the lock was being emptied. Centre line was wrapped around a bollard, while John went up to the lock to help. Then all of a sudden it looked like a wall of water was let out of the lock! I could't hold on to the centre line as our boat was pushed sideways across the canal! Won't do that again at that lock!

 

One of the boats coming down was Fearn Fenders - they came along side our now firmly secured boat while we bought a new back button from them! 

 

When we were at the top of the lock, the heavens opened, we were in the middle of a huge thunderstorm. So we sat still for half an hour while the thunder and lightening passed over. We moored as soon as we could to enjoy a well deserved whiskey!

 

Yesterday we climbed Swarkstone Lock, where we were now on familiar territory. Then onto the lock I was somehow dreading, Stenson Lock. Stenson Lock turned out to be easy, thanks to the lockie! 

 

We cruised on, passing through Willington. Here we saw a boat we knew from this forum! Think they were off the boat as we did give a quick toot as we went passed! Sorry we missed you!

 

We stopped by Shobnall Fields. Sadly there's several tents of homeless people here, there were one here last November. There's a young kid who's been asking for food (we gave him food and water), he only had a damp blanket over his t-shirt to protect him from yesterday/last night's weather. It's difficult to know how to help. We did phone Outreach, who are in the YMCA. They said there's a bed and clothing for him there if he would make his way there. When I mentioned this to him this morning, he didn't seem to understand - I'm not sure what nationality he is, possibly he's Romanian.

 

Sorry this is so long... we thoroughly enjoy the trip! It might be our last trip though because of the double locks, as it has been rather hard on our 'old bones'! Pleased we've done it! ??

 

 

 

Edited April 28, 2019 by Jennifer McM

[Lily Rose]

I'm glad you posted this Jennifer, as I'm considering this trip for the summer, so thank you. I haven't actually read it yet as (I'm pleased to say) it is long and we were about to set off as it arrived. Look forward to reading it later.

[Rob-M]

Our first trip around the Leicester Ring was on a one week hire boat so we had to do long days.  We revisited two years ago over 16 days which gave the opportunity to take in Market Harborough and Sunday Lunch at the end of the Welford Arm which are both worthwhile.