Wednesday, December 10, 2008

The good weather continues as we plod down the Soar

Yes, another day of blue skies after a sharp frost. We’d better make the most of it though, it’s due to turn wet on Saturday.

I took Meg for a walk around Watermead to Thurmaston, and popped in to see Dave and Dylis (I hope I spelt that right!) at Raynsway. We last saw them, heading north on their boat TRUNDLE, at Swarkestone in September. I didn’t stop long, Dave was involved in sorting out one of the boats in the marina that had sunk overnight!

We were away from Birstall a bit after 11:00 this morning, on to Thurmaston Lock passing dredging operations en route.

Away from Birstall
Dredging near Raynsway Marina entrance.
Just south of Junction Lock we passed another boat coming the other way, the only one seen moving for a couple of days. A 20 minute pause at Cossington Lock while Sue and Vic sawed up some large pieces of firewood, then on through the lock.

Junction Boatyard looks as chaotic as ever
Cossington Lock.
It’s a lovely spot, this, but marred by the proximity of the A6. In fact you can hear the road for most of the next few miles. The river north of Cossington is a lot cleaner, the detritus that floats down from Leicester doesn’t get much further than Junction Lock. There are beautiful broad reaches, bracketed either end by narrow meanders.

Someone’s feeling festive…. Bah, Humbug!
Sileby Lock was a little exciting. With the water levels in the red zone, the flow from the two weirs was fierce. It made leaving the lock a bit tricky. But both boats made it without mishap. Just another 15 minutes saw as at Mountsorrel, where we moored at around 14:00.

We’re staying here tomorrow; Dad and Ann ara coming over with the mail and the bits and pieces I’ve bought on ebay recently. I get to play with my GPS equipped PDA! Exciting or what! (I should get out more….)

I couldn’t find anyone to supply a new LCD screen for my Fuji camera, so I posted it off to Fujifilm to repair this morning. Paying extra to fast-track the repair means I should have it back next week. Here’s hoping…

Locks 4, miles 6

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