Leicester Ring!

[Amy]

Hello All,

 

New member here! and my first post. (So if it is the wrong place please could a moderator move it to the right one! )

 

I am looking for any hints, tips, suggestions - any ideas really- about the Leicester ring! We are a family of 4, adults, and it is our 5th holiday, as a family, on the canals. We liked the four counties ring, but wanted a change this time. So we are planning to do the Leicester ring.

 

We start at Rugby (the hire base - Viking Afloat) and have two weeks, so hopefully we can take our time getting round (at a steady pace). So does anyone have any suggestions or hints and tips for the Leicester ring? i.e good mooring points, places to visit, places to avoid etc?!

 

Any suggestions would be appreciated!

 

Thanks,

Amy.

[Farey]

Hi

 

Its my first post too. I've done the Leicester Loop 3 times over the last 30 years, most recently this Easter. We've always done it in a week, so 2 weeks shouldn't be a problem. Things to consider include:

 

Part of it is on the River Soar, so you need to be careful, especially if there's been heavy rain; it could even be closed if the level is too high. Also be careful of the weirs; they're well guarded, but getting stuck on one can ruin your day. When you first get on the Trent it seems huge, but you're only on it for a short stretch.

 

Although you'll probably cruise a bit faster on the River, because of the deeper water, the river locks are a lot slower than the canal locks, so factor that into your planning.

 

The staircases at Foxton and Watford have restricted opening times, and can be very slow to get through when they're busy.

 

You could consider going up the Erewash too - its quite nice, particularly at the top end. Its good if you like doing locks too ;-).

 

Around Coventry is a bit bleak, apart from Hawkesbury Junction, so its probably better not to plan to spend a night there. Otherwise its a pretty rural. There's a nice old pub at Sawley.

 

 

Chris Farey

[Sam]

Hi Guys,

 

Welcome to the Canal World forums and thanks for joining!

 

I have only done parts of the leicster ring - and Farey has said what I would have said anyway!

 

 

Sam

[Tim]

Just completed it, with a stop at Crick for the show last weekend. Enjoyed it immensely. Weather a bit iffy at times, some of the locks on the Soar are a bit stiff and Cossington Lock is not long for this world. If you stop in Leicester use the (secure) castle moorings other than that Kilby Bridge (South) and Hope and Anchor (North) seem to be the next safe moorings. I really enjoyed the Soar and Trent parts of the trip, a nice change from the canal.

[Amy]

Thank you for your suggestions guys!

Hopefully we are going fairly early in the season - in a couple of weeks, so we might escape the traffic, so to speak! (that's what we were hoping this year - plus the fact that we will have slightly longer days than we're used to!).

Will have to check out the pub at Sawley - think we may need to after the river section! The river sections seemed a good idea at the time, although i have to say one or two of the crew members are a little apprehensive! But i'm looking forward to it!

 

Does anyone know where i might be able to find some pictures of the leicester ring/ surrounding area? I have looked in the picture gallery here.

 

Thanks again,

Amy.

[Oliver]

We're going to do this Ring later in the year. Someone said we should take a mudweight and/or an anchor.

 

What's the purpose of a mudweight? Are they heavy enough to stop the boat moving on a river?

 

Education needed here please.

[Paul Evans]

A mudweight does what it says on the tin. It's just a weight on the end of a rope that you drop over the side to hold a boat in place when moored in water with very little flow. It will not stop your boat in an emergency because it has nothing to dig in with. They are of little use on canals and of no use on flowing rivers.

 

If you are going on the Soar you need an anchor with a length of chain (to help the anchor lay flat and dig in) and enough warp for 3 times the depth of water. Tradline at Braunston recommend a 15Kg folding anchor with 4m of chain and 18m of warp for light river use by boats up to 60'. The current price is £95. You may be able to put together your own package for a bit less by shopping around. The advantage with Tradline is that it comes ready assembled and just needs attaching to the boat.

 

Of course, you have to hope that you don't need to use it!

[DHutch]

...an anchor with a length of chain and enough warp for 3 times the depth of water.

Yeah, although length of rope and lenght of chain are interchangable, to point.

- with a baising towards the chain.

 

Ie, if you double/trebble the lenght of chain, you can get away with a lot less overall lenght.

- And visa versa.

[tony collins]

We did the Leicester ring about three years ago, went Coventry-Coventry in two weeks including the Erewash. If you go up there, beware of the stamping works alongside the moorings, the heavy press stops about 11.pm but the lighter stuff is on all night. Very pretty canal keep any eye out for kids around Cotmanhay. Your can get a brass plaque if you get to Langley basin.

Soar is superb! Get through Leicester in a day from Thurmaston to Kilby Bridge (or vice versa) Enjoy your trip!

Tony Collins