Jump to content

Leicester ring


Bob692

Featured Posts

I am thinking of doing the Leicester ring from Napton. Is three weeks OK? Canal Planner seems to think so but any feedback would gladly be received.  Are the levels on the Soar usually OK?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Soar goes up fast and down equally so. It's unlikely you'd be delayed for long in summer. Yesterday morning, you had to look hard to see which direction the river was flowing in. Today, it's up about 5cm but still perfectly navigable.

 

MP.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 weeks is plenty of time, we first did the ring on a one week hire which was long days. Last time we did it over two weeks which made it leisurely with time to go to Market Harborough and the Welford arm.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 minutes ago, cuthound said:

3 weeks is ample. The wide locks on the T&M are gentler if you go down them, so do the ring anti-clockwise if you are single handed.

I recently single-handed the wide T&M locks going up and don't recall any issues.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the feedback, another example of canal boaters generosity. I didn't mention but we (me&wife) are doing it in the first 3 weeks in October. So I wanted plenty of slack for windy and very rainy days when we might have to just hunker down.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, David Mack said:

I recently single-handed the wide T&M locks going up and don't recall any issues.

I frequently ascend the wide locks on the GU and Warwickshire Avon, the T&M wide locks can be a bit fierce going up but none compare to my recent trip clockwise around the Leicester ring. I found each lock to be difficult in it's own way - side paddles jet water up infront of the bow rather than under the boat or opposite the hull so you cannot stick to one side by only opening 1 set of paddles. some gates won't close and some won't open easily and they all start to self fill before you approach recently emptied chambers.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

55 minutes ago, cuthound said:

3 weeks is ample. The wide locks on the T&M are gentler if you go down them, so do the ring anti-clockwise if you are single handed.

Surely that should be clockwise?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, nikvah said:

I frequently ascend the wide locks on the GU and Warwickshire Avon, the T&M wide locks can be a bit fierce going up but none compare to my recent trip clockwise around the Leicester ring. I found each lock to be difficult in it's own way - side paddles jet water up infront of the bow rather than under the boat or opposite the hull so you cannot stick to one side by only opening 1 set of paddles. some gates won't close and some won't open easily and they all start to self fill before you approach recently emptied chambers.

That's why I normally use a bow rope when going uphill in broad locks single handed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Scholar Gypsy said:

That's why I normally use a bow rope when going uphill in broad locks single handed.

I agree, bow rope absolutely necessary (plus tied at stern) as they are mostly quite deep locks on the Soar but as the boat rises the line loosens and the boat wanders. I can usually control this with the paddles but not on that trip. I've cruised the Soar twice before anti-clockwise and thought I would give it a go heading upstream - largely prompted by this thread. Well, I won't be doing that again in a hurry.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, nikvah said:

I agree, bow rope absolutely necessary (plus tied at stern) as they are mostly quite deep locks on the Soar but as the boat rises the line loosens and the boat wanders. I can usually control this with the paddles but not on that trip. I've cruised the Soar twice before anti-clockwise and thought I would give it a go heading upstream - largely prompted by this thread. Well, I won't be doing that again in a hurry.

The Nene is rather satisfying in this respect. With a stern line tied off, you can control (and shorten) the bow line while operating the top gate paddle. The paddles are huge and so you only need one, and indeed (as you can't cross the gates) it is only safe/feasible to use one anyway. [An exception is Ashton where the guillotine leaks a lot at present. Yes I know I have left the windlass on the spindle].

 

dsc_2033.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks again for all the feedback. I was pretty sure 3 weeks would be fine, good old canal planner had never let me down so far , it was just when I went on the CRT website, it reckoned 3 weeks plus (see link below), so I just wanted to make sure.

https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/enjoy-the-waterways/boating/planning-your-boat-trip/cruising-rings/leicester-ring

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.