We really are in no hurry to go anywhere on this trip! We have two weeks to complete the journey Sara and George did in a week so we are taking it easy and plan on doing some sightseeing!
So for our first full day on board we met S&G for some brunch and a proper goodbye before we poked about Market Harborough. It is quite a busy town with a lot of development going on around the periphery as it is only an hours commute from London by train. For my shopaholic readers it has a host of interesting shops including all my favourites – White Stuff, Fatface, Joules, Phase Eight, WH Smith, Waterstones and some nice independents. Not that shopping is interesting anymore with the need to wear a facemask, the inability to try things on in some retailers and also the need to scan or sign in!
I suppose I should make a note here for posterity, and in case we forget how life changed in 2020, though as I write the thought of the scanner reminds me of the days back home in the 70’s and 80’s when, rather than scanning on entering premises we held open our bags to be searched!
The English NHS App has a “track and trace” capability were you scan a QR code with your phone on entering! Shops, hotels, pubs and even the smallest of coffee shops use it! Our only problem was the need for an English postcode. I’ll let all my English friends wonder which one of theirs I used!
The most interesting building in Market Harborough is the former grammar school built on wooden stilts to allow a butter market to be held on the ground floor and to prevent flooding. Constructed in 1614
It was time to give up our cosy £12.50 a night mooring with on site toilet and shower block, mains electricity and internet connection to head out “on the cut” but not before saying bye to Frank the Plank, a wooden sundial erected by members of the Old Union Canals Society to celebrate the refurbishment of the canal basin in 2000. It predicts a stevedore picking up a piece of timber on to his shoulder to stack the wharf.
We bimbled along the Market Harborough Arm towards Foxton playing tag with NB Firefly. I knew there was a swing bridge up ahead that was quite difficult to open so I was hoping either (A) they would pass us or (B) they would jump off and help! As we hadn’t been route this route before we weren’t sure of the canal. We offered to move over and as we did so the bridge appeared! Result – one of their four crew jumped off to do the bridge and we let them sail on past!
There was a bit of a convoy building up as the day boats from Market Harborough were also catching up. It was our plan to moor up and walk up to Foxton locks to see the lie of the land but flip, bang, wallop, through another bridge we were in the middle of the pound with a volunteer shouting at us “you going up”? Paul gave the big thumbs up and was told he was fourth in line.
Foxton Locks consists of two staircases of five locks each. This means one lock feeds directly in to the next – something we haven’t encountered before! The locks are a very popular tourist destination and, thankfully, have Canal and River Trust Volunteers on to help.
The locks climb 75′ in total. They were designed by Benjamin Bevan and constructed between 1810 and 1814 and are used, on average, by 4000 boats a year. The mantra on the locks is “red then white and you will be alright.” This means you open the red paddles then the white paddles! I have been having nightmares about these flights but what an ingenious masterpiece of engineering! When I open the red, the lock we are in fills from the adjacent pound and when I open the white the lock we are heading to empties in to the same pound! 38000 gallons of water for every lock!
We were met at the bottom lock by Barry. Retired, he volunteers once or twice a week but rarely on a Tuesday! He was a total gent, explaining how the system works, helping with the paddles and gates and giving me all the gen on the statistics. After the first five locks we then moved on to Phil! He described himself as the new kid on the block! Living nearby and owning his own company, Phil needed a de-stresser so he volunteers about 5 times a month! He doesn’t have a boat of his own or any connection to the canals though he thinks keeping records of boats going up and down has its own problems!
It took us about 50 minutes to navigate the locks. The sun was shining and there were lots of questions from the gongozzlers (the name for people who watch canal boaters do their stuff) about how long it would take, the size of our boat etc.
We decided to moor up at the top and wander back down to have some lunch at the pub and watch the spectacle now we were no longer part of it! A nice curry for dinner and some Monopoly Deal we enjoyed a quiet mooring and an early night.
H&P Adventures 