Foxton Locks

Tuesday 14th November

We really enjoyed our stay at Foxton Locks https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foxton_Locks and it was really interesting to see the site of the old inclined plane boat lift which was used between 1900 and 1911.
The locks comprise of 2 sets of 5 staircase locks and are manned by volunteers. There are lots of walks in the surrounding area and it is a really pretty spot.

 We set off along a tree lined path near the bridge.

 This led to the sight of the disused part of the canal which was no longer used after the closure of the boat lift.

 There is a project to try and get the inclined plane boat lift reinstated but it will take a lot of time, money and effort.

 In this disused section we could see something which looked like a hippo in the water!

 The views from the top of the inclined plane boat lift were wonderful.

 Here you can see the remains of the grooves where the boat lift operated in the early 1900s.

 The museum had this example of an early narrow boat.

 Here you can see down to the other canal. Boats were lifted 2 at a time from the top canal to the bottom one. As 2 boats went down the lift another 2 were lifted up. It was all powered by steam.

 Unfortunately the museum was closed as it only opens at weekends.

 This truck would have delivered coal to the boiler house.

 We could see a boat going down the flight. Our turn tomorrow!

 This is one example of an ice boat, used to break up ice on the canal.

The Foxton locks Inn

There was a small Marina at the bottom of the inclined plane where the boats used to be unloaded.

You had to pay a toll to cross from one section of the canal to another as they were owned by different companies years ago.

Another pub called Bridge 61 at the bottom of the flight.

 The back of Foxton locks Inn. This area gets packed out in the summertime, luckily we had avoided silly season and all the gongoozlers!

 The canal and river trust were doing some essential repairs in one of the locks.

This huge wheel was used as part of the lift mechanism.

At Foxton bottom lock you can either go straight on to Leicester or turn right and travel the 5.5 mile stretch of canal to Market Harborough. There is a swing bridge leading onto this section.

 We walked back up the flight, admiring the view.

That evening we had planned to meet up with Miriam and Matthew our friends who we hadn't seen for ages. 

We went to eat in the Foxton locks pub but it was closed! Apparently they don't open on Monday or Tuesday evenings. Luckily the pub opposite called Bridge 61 was open. So a quick message to our friends and all was well. The food was basic but tasty and really cheap. Very good value. I had cheese and onion pasty with mash and baked beans. John had a large Yorkshire pudding with sausages and veg. Our friends came in later for a drink and we had a lovely evening catching up with them.