What's wrong with Leicester?

[MoominPapa]

The Moomins have today traversed Leicester, from Sileby Mill to Kilby. It's been a very long, hot, day.

 

The conventional wisdom is to get through Leicester in a day, and not stop. We were told there would be heavy locks, drunks and madmen. A canal full of crap and man-eating weirs. Well, there were a few heavy locks. A very few even took two people to open a gate. But no drunks or madmen, no Mad Max stuff at all. We did see fireman playing with their hoses (fnarr fnarr) and practising water rescue. We saw schoolkids on a supervised canoe trip.

 

What's mystifying me is that all the boaters we saw were treating the 20 miles through the city as if it was the death zone. We saw no boats moving until around lunchtime, when we passed the convoy heading south. We passed loads of great looking city centre moorings with no boats on them. No liveaboards, no over-stayers, no shiny semi-trads congregating on lengths of piled bank from 3pm for wife-swapping, no hippy-hutches. There where three or four boats huddled together on the secure moorings and that was it.

 

Why? What happens to boats which see the sun set within the Leicester city limits?

 

MP.

[frahkn]

I absolutely agree!

 

I've been through Leicester a handful of times and always wondered what the problem was - the mile straight seems an ideal place to moor.

 

However, I've never tried it - perhaps the mad drunks only come out after dark.

[Grace and Favour]

The mad drunks are only on the mile straight for an hour or so during dusk

 

 

They tend to be chased off by the flesh-eating zombies

[mrsmelly]

We moored in a small yard with a few other boats just outside Abbey park 92/93. Lovely spot and absolutely never any problems. The yard is long gone which is a great shame.

 

Tim

[AidanLincs]

The mad drunks are only on the mile straight for an hour or so during dusk

 

 

They tend to be chased off by the flesh-eating zombies

 

Which are in turn driven away in frenzied terror by Gary Lineker trying to steal their crisps.

 

Not a pretty sight.

[Midnight Rider]

Been through many times. Tend to stop off at Birstall --- good for shops & pubs & then somewhere above Kings Lock, only because the centre of Leicester has no interest to me.

[Bod]

Are the Castle Garden mooring still there?

We're planning the ring for week after next, going anticlockwise from Crick.

 

Bod

If you see Cwch, give us a wave!

[Proper Charlie]

Are the Castle Garden mooring still there?

 

They are but they are few in number - you'll be lucky to get one. I think I'm right in saying that there are no facilities at all (not even a water point) between Kilby Bridge and north of Leicester. Not exactly welcoming to boaters. Having said that, when we went through we found Leicester to be interesting and not nearly as threatening as its reputation.

[Suzie_q]

Are the Castle Garden mooring still there?

We're planning the ring for week after next, going anticlockwise from Crick.

 

Bod

If you see Cwch, give us a wave!

They are still there but it appears only half the pontoon is there now.

Also last week all the bins appeared to be overflowing.

Wasn't part if the plan to stay in Leicester so didn't really look for a place to stop.

Seems to get very windy after castle gardens as well.

[Ally]

We moored in floods for 5 nights near belgrave lock. It was ok, but the longer we were there the more interested the local 'youfe' became! So we couldn't happily leave the boats unattended. BW (then) turned up & advised us to turn at the weir & get up to the castle garden moorings. They were secure. More hassle during school holidays we have found, but if you have a laugh with the kids, instead of being defensive or offensive, its fine! Its the lock gate fishermen we found more troublesome.

talking to some young folk as we went through, their attitude changed on finding we lived aboard rather than it being a sign of wealth as a 'toy'

friendliness & humour will always stand you well through Leicester.

[PeteS]

The water points in Leicester are a bit rare. There's one at Kilby and one at Barrow on Soar. There used to be one at the Hope and Anchor but unfortunately the constant moorers there caused a massive water bill for the pub and so it's been switched off.

 

Not aware of any boats fire bombed in Leicester in recent years but a similar incident at Braunston doesn't seem to have hurt it's reputation!

[Ally]

There is a little known water point on the offside, just above the lock that's above belgrave lock...forget its name. There is a side water above the lock that presumably used to serve industry down there, and right by the entrance is a water point. BW told us about it when we were flooded into leicester, & we used it. I assume its still there?

[Chertsey]

We spotted lots of people who were mad and/or drunk, most of whom seemed pretty good natured, but there was still an inordinate number of them. This would have been around teatime that we passed through. Nonetheless, it doesn't explain why the rather nice city centre moorings are so totally and utterly deserted. It can't just be reputation, because not everyone is aware of reputation, and anyway, worse places have their hippy encampments (it there perhaps better enforcement against them here?).

 

The water was pretty full of litter and crud, too, but again, this isn't the only place that's true of.

 

Perhaps someone should organise a mass mooring there to break the jinx.

[Caprifool]

Yes, that will change things. Boaters are so sane and sober ;-)

[Hawkmoth]

We've stopped in Leicester 4 times over the years. We have always used Castle Gardens because that was the advice given. Because it's a river I wouldn't be very happy mooring where we feel we could be 'let off'.

If you get the chance Leicester is fine place to visit, and if you catch the street market times it's wonderful.

Bob

[Chertsey]

What makes it different from, say, Newark, likewise on a river.