Thursday 27^th September 2018

We had kippers for breakfast. Kippers, poached egg and toast. After breakfast I walked up into town, Mountsorrel, for a quick look although there wasn’t a great deal here. The Buttercross and Market Cross though, were very old.

It was promising to be a hot day today and so it proved. We left the mooring in glorious sunshine, the river, very clear and very picturesque, meandering its way beneath the A6 to Sileby Lock. Here we picked up another boat, always nice to get a companion on these double locks, so long as they prove their worth and do their share of the work. So many don’t and leave you to do all the work.

The river meandered its way to Cossington Lock, very rural, beautiful. We watched four buzzards hunting above us, noisy with their squaking. Half way to Cossington, there is a bend in the river that the navigation by-passes, forming an island. The island has just one house on it and has become their smallholding, quite enviable.

Most of the buildings around Cossington Lock are hidden in trees, however, somewhere there is an old mill. The run into the lock did hint at this but was lost in the undergrowth.   

Beyond Cossington, the River Soar continues straight ahead, However, the navigation turns a sharp left to follow the River Wreake. It becomes extremely narrow and twisting and is difficult to follow through all the overhanging trees, especially with the sun in your eyes. After a ½ mile Junction Lock is reached and a further ½ mile after this, the River Wreake branches off to the left and the navigation continues on towards Leicester.

The River Wreake was made navigable in 1797 to Melton Mowbary 15 miles away and beyond this, the Oakham Canal, constructed in 1802, extended the navigation to Oakham in Rutland. Due to railway competition, the Oakham Canal closed as early as 1841 and the Melton Mowbary Navigation was closed to traffic in 1877 although some sections are still in water. 

Past the junction the navigation runs almost dead straight through Watermead Country Park. Here large lakes, formerly gravel pits, spread out on both sides of the river before Thurmaston Lock is

                                    The River Wreake leaving the main navigation and heading for Melton Mowbray

reached. The gates of this lock were extremely heavy. Beyond the lock the river again became very difficult to follow, almost seeming to come to an end in places.

We had now entered Birstall, the northern most suburb of Leicester, very nice too. Birstall Lock itself is very scenic. Just beyond the lock we moored up in a lovely spot. Very close to a lot of housing, alongside a paved walkway, yet very quiet, in the heart of the Watermead Water Park.

Tomorrow we are headed for the centre of Leicester. The city does not have a good reputation in canal circles. However, there is a lot to see in Leicester. We are due at the theatre tomorrow night and Chris and Donna are with us for the weekend, stopping with us overnight on Saturday.

Weather: hot and sunny.

Day Total: 4 locks; 6 miles; 0 Tunnels; 0 Boat Lift; engine running hours 3.5

Overall Total: 228 locks; 410 miles; 15 tunnels; 2 Boat Lifts; engine running hours 247.2