A better day after the rain.

We laid over at Kilby Bridge yesterday, watching the rain streaming down the windows. It did brighten up a bit later, but too late to make a start on the run towards Leicester.

So we were across at the facilities at 10:00 this morning, and caught up with NB New-Ark at Kilby Lock a little later. Ray and Ann had been moored behind us last night, and beat us to the water tap this morning. The boat was built in Newark, so they put a bit of a spin on it to get the name.
There’s an excellent picture on the cabin side, which I neglected to take a photo of. We may catch them up again by the weekend, if so I’ll take a picture. They moor on the Trent and Mersey, near Rugeley.

We had a bit of confusion at the next lock. 2 boats were coming up, and Ray lost his boat to the strong cross wind, so at one point there were 3 milling about just at the entrance to the lock.

A bit of congestion at Double Rail Lock.
Approaching Ervin’s Lock and the first sighting of the Leicester suburbs as South Wigston, Blaby and Glen Parva come into view. There are still some open country sections yet, though.

Nearing Commuterland
Just one heavy shower near Bush’s Lock required the breaking out of waterproofs, otherwise the day was pretty dry but with a strengthening wind.

Dunns Lock is the site of a schollboy drowning a couple of years ago. The balance beams of the lock gates were covered in tributes to Stephan. Since then though, BW have been along and repainted, and now there’s just the normal graffiti “tagging”.
He’s still remembered, though. A fresh spray of flowers was on the lockside.

In Dunns Lock

We parted company at King’s Lock. We’d made up our minds to pull over here earlier, as it’s about halfway to Birstall and just before the city starts properly. Ray and Ann decided to press on a bit further, maybe to the Castle Gardens mooring in the centre.

The local branch of the Inland Waterways Association, in co-operation with the local authority, have produced a very useful guide to the Leicester Line. These can be obtained from boxes at various points on the waterway, but all those I’d looked in had been empty. Till now. There were a handful left outside the Lock Cottage at King’s, so I got one and Ann had another.

Useful and informative guide to the Leicester Line.

Locks 8, miles 5