Sunday 20th May
Yes we are finally on the move again and leaving Leicester marina! Such a great feeling, starting our boat adventure once again. I was starting to go stir crazy in the marina, however nice it may have been!
It was the most glorious day too..
John made a good job of turning the boat sharp left as we left the entrance to the marina. Of course the river Soar is not in flood like it was when we arrived in December. So very different today.
We passed some herons on our way to Birstall.
We soon arrived at Birstall lock. John decided he would do the first couple of locks and walk Dex along the towpath.
It felt great to be steering the boat again after a 5 month break.
The blossom was so beautiful
We passed under Loughborough road bridge
Then passed under Thurcaston Old Bridge. The only traffic allowed to cross this historic old bridge is buses and hackney cabs and in 2017 a camera was positioned to catch any other offending motorists. Apparently Leicester council generated over £100,000 in fines in just the first few weeks!
We passed by Ellis Meadows Park which was created by Leicester council to provide an important flood defence for hundreds of nearby homes.
Here you can see the Space Centre Dome which John and I visited last week.
We arrived at Belgrave lock.
As you can see it was filthy and filled with rubbish!
Out on the weir we saw 2 cormorants drying their wings and an eyegret and a heron! Unfortunately it's all way too small to see in this photo!
Mr Brookes was now back as Skipper!
We went through Lime Kiln lock.
Onward through Leicester urban landscape
We passed a lot of rowing boats, it was Sunday and there was an event taking place.
Freeman's Meadow lock, near Leicester City Football stadium
We had some help from a young Polish couple
Off again, my turn to steer.. and take photos!
It was such a glorious day we saw lots of families out enjoying the sunshine and waving to Dex!
Time for a cheeky beer and a relax before heading through the next lock
We saw a beautiful new boat behind us and as it happened they were also headed through the next lock so we were able to pair up.
Excuse all the blossom pictures but it is glorious!
The owner of the new boat had recently retired and the boat was a present to himself! His two sons were helping to crew for him so it was great as they were happy to do all the hard work at the locks!
The next section was really shallow and you can see how muddy it was. I don't think I've ever seen canal banks with the mud so exposed.
Finally we passed through our last lock of the day and moored up in Blaby.
Dex had certainly had enough for one day!
Glad you are back on the water and it looks very peaceful, great photos and details as usual sweetie! :-)xx
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