On the move again...

 A week last Friday we moved on to Loughborough, picking up a locking companion at Zouch to share the three into the town.

It’s a pleasantly quiet stretch of river here, between Kegworth and Zouch…

…well, mainly.

It’s on the flight path to East Midlands Airport, unfortunately.

Leaving Zouch Lock

All went well till we arrived at Bishops’s Meadow Lock on the edge of Loughborough. We already been warned of a delay here as CRT were doing some repairs on the lower gates, so we had a bit of a queue. Our sharers breasted up alongside us to wait our turn, and we stayed that way into lock too.

After going up Loughbough Lock we turned under Chain Bridge and pulled in on our regular spot.

Friday and Saturday nights were spent there; we would have stayed another night but woke on Sunday surrounded by anglers preparing for a match so cleared off out of the way and moored a little way on at Millers Bridge.

Monday saw us cruising in to Pillings Lock Marina where we stopped for 5 nights, until the following Saturday.

With a hire car we did some family and friends visiting, then on Wednesday drove across country to Shrewsbury Hospital for Mags’ pre-procedure blood test. That went well, they often struggle to get blood out of her narrow veins, but on this occasion we were in and out in 20 minutes. We stayed the night with good friends Val and John near Wrexham, then were away back to the hospital for Mags’ 08:15 appointment.

I stayed with her till they took her in for her ERCP, then drove back to Wrexham for a belated and very welcome breakfast.

Amber and I pottered about waiting for the call to go back to collect Mags, and I was able to pick her up at just before four.

With heavy pre-Bank Holiday traffic on top of the normal evening rush hour it took us a while to get back to the boat, but we were sitting with a brew before seven. All went well with the procedure, stents swapped out for fresh ones and no gallstones to remove. All set for another 6 months.

We has visitors on the boat on Friday, first my brother Andy for a couple of hours, then sister Kay with her partner Paul and son Aiden. Its been a while since we’ve seen them, and with a call in to see my Dad and step-mum on Tuesday we’re pretty well caught up with the news now.

Saturday saw us heading back out of the marina, back down to Loughborough, where we pulled in on our usual spot.

Back into Loughborough, passing the mill next to Nottingham Road Bridge, now converted into apartments with an extension and more development behind.

After a couple of days on the bank we headed off this morning, back downstream. We were out of luck for a start, having to go it alone on the two locks out of town.

Bishops Meadow Lock

St James Church, Normanton on Soar.

Warning signs and emergency moorings indicate how quickly this currently placid river can become “frisky”… 

 

We caught up with another boat above Zouch Lock just as they got it set up.

As they’d filled it I closed up after both boats, then carried on for another half-hour or so to moor across the fields from Sutton Bonnington.

Tomorrow we’ll be back on the Trent and Mersey, somewhere near Shardlow.

It’s the last day of summer today, meteorologically speaking. But it feels like we’re well into autumn already! It’s been cool and grey for the last few days, and today we’ve had spells of light rain. The forecast isn’t very inspiring either…

Hi KevinToo. Sorry, I should have let you know we were passing. We'll be in Shardlow for a couple of days, then Willington. 

Hi Debby. No problem at Radcliffe Lock on the way up, but I did speak to a couple of locals that said the gravel bank was a big problem the week before...

Since last post – Locks 6, miles 16