Foxton is Rubbish

[dmr]

What has gone wrong at Foxton. It might be a wonder of the waterways and a visitor attraction, but it lacks boats.

On the run in just about every bit of armco had a moored boat, but the long visitor moorings at Foxton were empty. The posh eating pub called last orders at 8:30 and the lovely little proper pub now only opens at lunchtimes (for food?).

Is it possible that all the "£25 per day" and related signs makes boaters feel unwelcome?

Its very sad.

Oddly there was a group of poeople (and dogs) sat on the tables outside the proper pub drinking from their own bottles in the evening.

[Tracy D'arth]

3 minutes ago, dmr said:

What has gone wrong at Foxton. It might be a wonder of the waterways and a visitor attraction, but it lacks boats.

On the run in just about every bit of armco had a moored boat, but the long visitor moorings at Foxton were empty. The posh eating pub called last orders at 8:30 and the lovely little proper pub now only opens at lunchtimes (for food?).

Is it possible that all the "£25 per day" and related signs makes boaters feel unwelcome?

Its very sad.

Oddly there was a group of poeople (and dogs) sat on the tables outside the proper pub drinking from their own bottles in the evening.

Clever dogs, what were they drinking?  Its not the best place for mooring, go up the arm.

[Nightwatch]

This is sad. But seems to be the way of the world presently. Pubs don’t want drinkers drinking after the sun goes down.

[Captain Pegg]

I think it’s more indicative of it being a Monday evening in economically challenging times.

[MtB]

1 hour ago, Captain Pegg said:

I think it’s more indicative of it being a Monday evening in economically challenging times.

 

Times have been "economically challenging" for as a long as I can remember.

 

Was there ever a time when we all considered the economy was chugging along just fine?

 

 

[beerbeerbeerbeerbeer]

2 hours ago, dmr said:

What has gone wrong at Foxton. It might be a wonder of the waterways and a visitor attraction, but it lacks boats.

On the run in just about every bit of armco had a moored boat, but the long visitor moorings at Foxton were empty. The posh eating pub called last orders at 8:30 and the lovely little proper pub now only opens at lunchtimes (for food?).

Is it possible that all the "£25 per day" and related signs makes boaters feel unwelcome?

Its very sad.

Oddly there was a group of poeople (and dogs) sat on the tables outside the proper pub drinking from their own bottles in the evening.

 

 

There’s one hire boat passing through and moored up using the pub, otherwise I got the junction to myself. 
 

Lovely !

Lots of walkers and cyclists wanting ice cream, couldn’t ask for anything more. 

 

Edited September 5, 2023 by Goliath

[Mike Todd]

2 hours ago, dmr said:

What has gone wrong at Foxton. It might be a wonder of the waterways and a visitor attraction, but it lacks boats.

On the run in just about every bit of armco had a moored boat, but the long visitor moorings at Foxton were empty. The posh eating pub called last orders at 8:30 and the lovely little proper pub now only opens at lunchtimes (for food?).

Is it possible that all the "£25 per day" and related signs makes boaters feel unwelcome?

Its very sad.

Oddly there was a group of poeople (and dogs) sat on the tables outside the proper pub drinking from their own bottles in the evening.

At the moment most parts are reporting similar - a bit worrying as it seems generally thought to be a consequence of the cost of living pressures.

22 minutes ago, MtB said:

 

Times have been "economically challenging" for as a long as I can remember.

 

Was there ever a time when we all considered the economy was chugging along just fine?

 

 

When 'you never had it so good' ?

[IanD]

3 minutes ago, Mike Todd said:

At the moment most parts are reporting similar - a bit worrying as it seems generally thought to be a consequence of the cost of living pressures.

When 'you never had it so good' ?

When I was looking for a marina mooring earlier this year there were hardly any free, one comment was "I expected there would be space by now as people went out for the summer, but nobody's moving".

 

Foxton is off the main drag for hire boats anyway, whenever I've been through there haven't been that many of them around -- and if privately owned boats are moving less than normal, that could also explain the lack of boats...

[Momac]

32 minutes ago, MtB said:

 

Times have been "economically challenging" for as a long as I can remember.

 

Was there ever a time when we all considered the economy was chugging along just fine?

 

 

2004/5  were good years for me.

I cant really recall any others . But that was  just me and not the economy in general .

 

 

 

[Puffling]

18 minutes ago, Goliath said:

 

 

There’s one hire boat passing through and moored up using the pub, otherwise I got the junction to myself. 
 

Lovely !

Lots of walkers and cyclists wanting ice cream, couldn’t ask for anything more. 

 

Lucky you. I seem to remember the Services had the cleanest Elsan point I've yet seen on the system. 🪠

[beerbeerbeerbeerbeer]

Lock 42 at Leicester has closed for a fortnight,

that might put a few off. 

hire boat pulled in behind

and another’s coming down lock
 

 

[dmr]

Its such a good place, it should have more boats, there are quite a few everywhere else. I wonder if more boats now move a bit less so the "strict" mooring limits are counter-productive?

Very smart new moorings at the end of the Market Harbourough Arm and almost full.

[MtB]

16 minutes ago, dmr said:

I wonder if more boats now move a bit less so the "strict" mooring limits are counter-productive?

 

They're not strict around here. There is a rather nice Peter Nicols sailing boat on the 48hr VMs. Been here for months. 

[john6767]

We were at Foxton earlier in the year, July I think, there were a good few boats about, but that was the start of the Leicester Line/River Soar being closed at one point or other for much of the summer, we were intending to head for Birmingham via Fazeley and Fradley, but turned round at the bottom of Foxton and went back to Braunston, Napton (where we had started), and Kingswood to get to Birmingham.  
 

Personally Unless you only want to go as far as Foxton I would avoid the area for the moment and it is one lock failure after another, and I think there is one closed at the moment.

 

As to the pub, a “posh eating pub” it certainly is not, we ate there and the food and service was rubbish.  If the sun is shining it’s good for a drink in the garden, but that’s about it!

[dmr]

Yes, had a beer in the garden till they called last orders at 8:30, but I suppose it was a monday just after the school holidays.

Last time we were at Foxton was probably October 2015 and the little pub (lock 61) was dead good.

I had forgotten just how lovely the Soar is so its worth risking a stoppage.

We got through the broken lock just before it closed with CRT using a winch to get the gate open.

A couple of locks looked a bit neglected, but then so do some on the T&M, if we stop using waterways with dodgy locks then there will be no boating at all.

[Martin Nicholas]

Try the Shoulder Of Mutton in Foxton village. Excellent Chinese food last time I was there.

[Lily Rose]

3 hours ago, Puffling said:

Lucky you. I seem to remember the Services had the cleanest Elsan point I've yet seen on the system. 🪠

 

My admittedly limited experience of the system suggests that the elsan at Foxton (been there once) was way above average but that Snarestone (been there about 6 times), at the top of the Ashby,  was the best. 

 

Sutton Wharf was pretty good too.

[Puffling]

26 minutes ago, Lily Rose said:

 

My admittedly limited experience of the system suggests that the elsan at Foxton (been there once) was way above average but that Snarestone (been there about 6 times), at the top of the Ashby,  was the best. 

 

Sutton Wharf was pretty good too.

These things are obviously fairly dynamic. Some considerate boater before you leaves everything sparkling and even donates some spray cleaning liquid and a nice cloth. Or the contract cleaners get different staff.

Not seen Snarestone but I found Sutton good enough. If we are talking about the same place - Sutton Stop? Admittedly it was a winter evening and I wanted to get onwards after the junction so didn't have time to make a detailed appraisal. Did get a nice paperback from the toilet, though.

[Hudds Lad]

41 minutes ago, Puffling said:

Did get a nice paperback from the toilet, though.

Didn't the pages stick together?  

 

Never understood why people would want things they're going to handle from a room where particles of folks waste are wafting about in the air, surely it can't be sanitary?

[Puffling]

I can never understand why many people keep their toothbrushes within a couple of metres of their toilet bowl, either. Are your toothbrushes isolated and removed from droplets of faecal matter in the air?

 

I seem to remember the books were kept well above the toilet itself at Sutton Stop. It has one of the best paperback swap collections on the cistern 😂

[Lily Rose]

1 hour ago, Puffling said:

These things are obviously fairly dynamic. Some considerate boater before you leaves everything sparkling and even donates some spray cleaning liquid and a nice cloth. Or the contract cleaners get different staff.

Not seen Snarestone but I found Sutton good enough. If we are talking about the same place - Sutton Stop? Admittedly it was a winter evening and I wanted to get onwards after the junction so didn't have time to make a detailed appraisal. Did get a nice paperback from the toilet, though.

 

Not Sutton Stop, I meant Sutton Cheney Wharf on the Ashby.

 

I agree it can depend on a number of variables but Snarestone has been consistently excellent on numerous visits. As has Sutton Cheney Wharf.

 

Many visits to Sutton Stop suggest this is variable but it's never been anything to write home about.

[Puffling]

2 minutes ago, Lily Rose said:

 

Not Sutton Stop, I meant Sutton Cheney Wharf on the Ashby.

 

I agree it can depend on a number of variables but Snarestone has been consistently excellent on numerous visits. As has Sutton Cheney Wharf.

 

Many visits to Sutton Stop suggest this is variable but it's never been anything to write home about.

Makes much more sense that it's the Ashby canal one. Must put the Ashby on my list of canals to visit. Once I've tackled the Huddersfield Narrow, that is (ongoing project, probably dead by a thousand cuts this year from various stoppages).

[Alan de Enfield]

5 hours ago, IanD said:

When I was looking for a marina mooring earlier this year there were hardly any free,

 

We were / are looking to change marinas but the three within 50 miles of where we currently,  are saying :

Caernarfon = 'No vacancies and we probably have a 3 year waiting list'.

Pwhelli = '146 on waiting list which with the current annual rate of 'leavers' is around 5 years'.

Conwy = 'more than 100 waiting & not adding to the waiting list'.

 

Never been a more popular time for boating - in the last 40 years of boating (both inland & coastal) I've never seen such waiting lists and 'lack of available moorings'.

 

Even (say) 20 years ago when the advice was "don't buy a boat until you have secured a mooring" it was easier than it is now, and there were no long wairing lists.

(I think the River Cam is still the only one to have a 25 year waiting list)

Edited September 5, 2023 by Alan de Enfield

[Mike Tee]

We went up Foxton on Saturday early afternoon and got the last mooring spot available for the night, lots of moored boats but very few using the flight. Short cruise next morning to turn round and back to the top of the locks as we had promised the great grandkids a day on the boat before back to school - again, very few boats using the locks, we were straight to the front of the (non existent) queue. Maybe the stoppage in Leicester is the reason, and it was just the same earlier in the year.

 

[matty40s]

5 hours ago, IanD said:

 

 

Foxton is off the main drag for hire boats anyway, whenever I've been through there haven't been that many of them around -- and if privately owned boats are moving less than normal, that could also explain the lack of boats...

I dont know where you get that from, not only does a hire fleet operate out of Mkt Harborough, but a lot of Napton, Clifton,  Calcutt, Gayton, Braunston and even Wyvern boats use the flight and get to Market Harborough for the half week or Half fortnight  point.