To Sileby to top up the tanks.

We had a pleasant day at Barrow, enjoying the sunshine.

Barrow upon Soar Weir



Meg likes it here, just across the weir bridge are open fields where, in the past, we’ve had good, long walks. Those days are gone now, but she still enjoys a mooch about, a roll in the grass and a stick to chew.


She’s doing really well now. For the last couple of weeks she’s been on cannabis oil, also known as CBD. Chatter on the web has been very positive so I thought we’d give it a go. And it’s been well worth it. She seems a lot brighter, is more mobile and agile.

I got her supply from Simply CBD.

The weather changed later in the day, wind and rain moving in. We waited till the rain eased before getting off today, but it was still windy and grey.

Good to see that Barrow Fort is still protecting the village from river pirates…

The river takes a long loop between Barrow and Mountsorrel, the narrow sections flowing quite fast after last night’s rain.

Approaching Mountsorrel, the weir and moorings to the right, and the lock under the bridge ahead.

The bottom gates of the lock were invitingly open, so we were able to cruise straight in. Mags stayed inside while I worked us up, that wind was quite chilly. Another wiggly mile and we were at Sileby Mill, pulling onto the fuel barge.

We took on diesel, four bags of solid fuel, and filled the water tank from the slow hose. While the water was filling I walked around the basin, thinking we might go up the lock to moor above if there was space.

Sileby Mill Basin, below the lock. We’re tied against the fuel barge in the centre of the picture. The water below is coming over the bywash weir.

After we’d finished we pushed across and moored behind the boat on the towpath side. I decided not to go up the lock after all, even though there was plenty of room up there.

View from the side hatch

There are two weirs dropping into the basin. On the right is the bywash carrying water around the lock, to the left is the overflow from the old mill stream. The mill itself is just out of shot to the left.

Sileby was first recorded as a Viking settlement, part of the Danelaw. But following the Norman Conquest it became part of the manor awarded to Hugh de Grandmesnil, one of William I’s lieutenants. He was a favourite, having supported the new king in the capture of Leicester in 1068, and was rewarded with 100 manors, 65 of them in Leicestershire, including Sileby.
The Domesday Book records there being two flour mills associated with the village, and it’s likely that the current building is on the same site. Although it started out as a flour mill, by the end of the 19th century it had been converted to produce leatherboard, a composite material using shredded leather offcuts bonded together and used for boot soles. There were a couple of footwear factories in the village. The mill was bought in the 1980s and is now a private dwelling.

We’ll be here for the weekend now, the weather is supposed to be “interesting”…

Locks 1, miles 2½