Soar and Trent

[Saintsman]

At what point on the GU Leicester line does it become the soar and flow as such and as you approach and pass Trent junction at what point does the Trent become the Trent & Mersey and therefore not flow any longer ?? Are there plenty of mooring on both river sections ?

 

Thanks

[Tony Dunkley]

At what point on the GU Leicester line does it become the soar and flow as such and as you approach and pass Trent junction at what point does the Trent become the Trent & Mersey and therefore not flow any longer ?? Are there plenty of mooring on both river sections ?

 

Thanks

 

Just out of curiosity, . . have you asked Canal & River Trust for this info? . . . I would love to hear them struggling to come up with a useful answer to something which is almost certainly a complete mystery to them.

 

The Leicester Cut finishes a couple of hundred yards below Kings Lock at Aylestone [which is on the outskirts of Leicester] and from there on you're in the river Soar except for three lock cuts [ Suttons cut from Thurmaston to Junction Lock, Barrow cut and Zouch cut] and the 3 mile stretch of canal though Loughborough.

 

The Soar joins the Trent at Red Hill, on the southern outskirts of Long Eaton, and from there it's a bit over 2 miles, via Sawley Lock and Sawley cut, upriver to Derwent Mouth where the Trent and Mersey meets the Trent [and the Derwent].

There are plenty of places to tie-up along the whole length from Leicester.

Edited June 29, 2016 by Tony Dunkley

[Naughty Cal]

Give it a rest Tony. The chap asked a reasonable question and doesn't need your anti CRT ramblings

[Sea Dog]

Well, to be fair to Tony, his opening paragraph was an amusing aside and it doesn't seem unreasonable that the navigation authority should be the primary source for such information. The rest of his post was about as excellent and helpful a reply as the OP could possibly have hope for. Methinks it's hard to fault either part without trying quite hard.

[Martin Megson]

The following link should take you to the CRT guide to the Soar. Hope this helps.

 

http://www.waterscape.com/things-to-do/boating/guides/download/2f1a8e6b75fdef2c6c1b75e0d8285561

[matty40s]

The following link should take you to the CRT guide to the Soar. Hope this helps.

 

http://www.waterscape.com/things-to-do/boating/guides/download/2f1a8e6b75fdef2c6c1b75e0d8285561

Its a shame they don't read what they write any more.

[Tony Dunkley]

The following link should take you to the CRT guide to the Soar. Hope this helps.

 

http://www.waterscape.com/things-to-do/boating/guides/download/2f1a8e6b75fdef2c6c1b75e0d8285561

 

It's about as helpful as any inventory of neglect can be :~

 

There's a [land]slip in a cutting part blocking the cut near Foxton, and it's been like that for over 2 years.

There's a fallen tree part blocking the cut between Cranes Lock and Newton Harcourt Top Lock, which has been there since the end of March.

The cut's half empty of water between Kilby Bridge and Leicester, and has been like that since August last year.

They haven't bothered to do the regular dredging that has always been necessary below Limekiln Lock and the cut's full-up with the silt that comes in from the storm drain there.

There's a sunken wreck in the middle of the river near Barrow.

The bogs at Bishops Meadow [Loughborough] are out of use because the cesspit's full.

 

What a wonderful example of how NOT to maintain a waterway.

[Saintsman]

Thanks for the info guys

[Richard T]

Please don't be put off by negative comments about the Soar - its a delightful river. It does have some minor challenges but these are no worse than any where else on the system. There are many pleasant places to moor with good pubs and restaurants, interesting places to visit. There are new moorings in the centre of Leicester not on any guides - they are about 250m north of the West Bridge.

 

We are regular users of the Soar -our home moorings are at Sileby - and have an open dialogue with CRT about problems. They are addressing them in a systematic and effective way, urgent issues being dealt with very quickly, others being programmed for action during planned stoppages. I am tired of people knocking CRT without actually doing any boating on the canals and rivers they purport to know intimately,.

[matty40s]

Richard, I am a great fan and advertiser for the Leicester Line and Soar, but have you read the above linked PDF???

Someone at CRT needs to remove the multiple postings of certain things, remove defunct happenings and actually read the bloody thing before publishing it to the net.

Its not difficult, would take about 10 minutes, and would then be a very informative and valid article.

[Richard T]

Richard, I am a great fan and advertiser for the Leicester Line and Soar, but have you read the above linked PDF???

Someone at CRT needs to remove the multiple postings of certain things, remove defunct happenings and actually read the bloody thing before publishing it to the net.

Its not difficult, would take about 10 minutes, and would then be a very informative and valid article.

Matty,

agreed the pdf is crap but has anyone pointed this out to CRT and offered constructive comments? I have regular contact with CRT over navigation issues. I will send a copy of the pdf to CRT and see what the reaction is.

Richard

[matty40s]

.... but has anyone pointed this out to CRT and offered constructive comments...

first time I have seen it is tonight, but if that is being replicated over the system, its no wonder people are getting confused about what is actually going on.

[Richard T]

first time I have seen it is tonight, but if that is being replicated over the system, its no wonder people are getting confused about what is actually going on.

E-mail sent CRT requesting that it be edited. I'll let you know what response I'll get. These guides are computer generated with the data probably being input by someone who has no local knowledge. The old adage about computers seems to apply - garbage in, garbage out!!

[Tony Dunkley]

A worthwhile alternative to publishing an endless stream of neglect and dereliction updates would be to to maintain water levels 'on weir' and keep on top of maintenance and repairs, but I do realize that such measures are almost certainly well beyond C&RT's severely limited abilities.

[Ally]

There was a fallen tree above junction lock near syston, but c&rt cleared it within 24 hours of my notifying them. It's a lovely river, loads of mooring spots, come and enjoy it!

[Tony Dunkley]

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . It's a lovely river, loads of mooring spots, come and enjoy it!

 

I like the Soar, and the Leicester Cut [from Kings Lock to the top of Buckby], and I first got to know and enjoy them both as a very young boy in the company of his Dad, either hitching a ride with him on the British Waterways carrying boats [by then, Nottingham Pans and Bantams] that ran between Nottingham and Leicester [Memory Lane Wharf/Depot] or exploring the cut, by car or on foot, from Aylestone to where it joined the main line of the [Grand] Junction, now usually referred to as the Grand Union.

 

My first job after leaving school was with a Leicester based carrying company, Seymour-Roseblade, that ran both narrowboats based at Leicester, and broadbeam boats operating on the Manchester Ship Canal, Bridgewater, Weaver and Leeds & Liverpool.

There was quite a considerable traffic in imported timber to Leicester with the narrowboats, either ex. Boston and coming up the Soar, or from Wisbech, on the Nene, via the Leicester Cut.

 

This all too brief revival of commercial traffic from both directions to Leicester coincided with a great improvement in the condition and maintenance standards on the Leicester Section, due mainly to the conscientiousness and efforts of the then Section Inspector, Matt Mortimer, based at Kilby Bridge Yard and responsible for the length from North Lock, Leicester to the top of Buckby [Norton Junction, as it is now known].

 

There was an extensive, year on year, program of lock gate repair/replacement throughout the 1960's, and a good annual tonnage of dredging, starting with all the worst spots first and including the 20-mile, and from being a distinctly neglected and run down waterway, due in no small part to the minimal maintenance it had during World War II, the Leicester Cut was returned to being a viable waterway able to accommodate loads of comparable tonnage to that which was customary on pairs of narrowboats operating on the other Southern Region waterways at that time.

 

It saddens me greatly to see the neglected and run-down mess it has now reverted to under, first, the stewardship of the shambles that BWB became in it's latter years, and now in the even more incompetent and unsafe hands of the sick joke apology for a navigation authority that is C&RT.

Edited June 30, 2016 by Tony Dunkley

[Saintsman]

Hi, thanks again for the advice, the trip which is last week of July and first week of August will be my first on a river navigation so I was really after some reassurance, never having before to think about river levels, weirs and flow, and possibility of limited moorings,

 

I had visions of being swept downstream and struggles to find places to stop regularly for water and elsan,

 

I'm feeling confident that our chosen anti-clockwise route of the Leicester ring ( starting at Norton jct ) will be an adventure.

Our boat is called Aurora, leaving Norton jct Friday night aiming to get to Watford locks ready to be first in the queue sat am, keep an eye out for us and our miniture wirehair daschund, shout hi if we are passing

[cuthound]

Don't forget to advise the lockkeeper at Watford on your arrival. If you dont, it doesn't matter how early you get there, if your not on the lockkeepers list you won't get through.

 

Are you on the ABC shareboat "Aurora"?

[Saintsman]

Thanks for the tip, no it's a privately owned boat

[cuthound]

If we see you on your way back, when you are on the Coventry Canal, we will give you a wave.

[gazza]

Just out of curiosity, . . have you asked Canal & River Trust for this info? . . . I would love to hear them struggling to come up with a useful answer to something which is almost certainly a complete mystery to them.

 

The Leicester Cut finishes a couple of hundred yards below Kings Lock at Aylestone [which is on the outskirts of Leicester] and from there on you're in the river Soar except for three lock cuts [ Suttons cut from Thurmaston to Junction Lock, Barrow cut and Zouch cut] and the 3 mile stretch of canal though Loughborough.

 

The Soar joins the Trent at Red Hill, on the southern outskirts of Long Eaton, and from there it's a bit over 2 miles, via Sawley Lock and Sawley cut, upriver to Derwent Mouth where the Trent and Mersey meets the Trent [and the Derwent].

There are plenty of places to tie-up along the whole length from Leicester.

 

Kings Lock Aylestone Circa 1990's.

 

The picture is mine of a cutting at our club, the detective work was courtesy of some on here, including MtB the Bros fan.

[Alway Swilby]

Keep an eye on the weather forecasts whilst you are on the Soar. It can go into flood quickly following rain. The EA river levels web site is a useful tool to monitor the levels. On the river sections there are red/amber/green boards below each lock. If you find it going into amber it is wise to find somewhere safe to moor up and wait for the levels to fall.

As long as it doesn't rain too much you'll be fine and have a great time.

[Tony Dunkley]

post-5269-0-52420900-1451686225.jpg

 

Kings Lock Aylestone Circa 1990's.

 

 

It does look like Kings Lock to me, . . . . but it looked a lot better some 30 odd years earlier, with pairs of boats loaded with either imported timber ex. Wisbech for Leicester, or foundry sand from Leighton Buzzard for Stanton Ironworks at Ilkeston.

Edited June 30, 2016 by Tony Dunkley

[gazza]

 

It does look like Kings Lock to me, . . . . but it looked a lot better some 30 odd years earlier, with pairs of boats loaded with either imported timber ex. Wisbech for Leicester, or foundry sand from Leighton Buzzard for Stanton Ironworks at Ilkeston.

Even at the tender age of 37 I'm convinced everything was better prior to the 2000's but that's a whole different subject

 

Regarding the Wisbech timber, was it transshipped to go up the Nene then onto the GU? I understand from Blagroves book Northamptonshire waterways that the stone from Wansford to Peterborough was the only real commercial traffic left on the Nene by the early 80's.

 

Obviously there was the Whitworths traffic the other end that had finished by 67?ish.

 

Your mention of Wisbech pricked my ears so to speak.

[Richard T]

For information Watford locks are no longer locked at night so you can use at any time. Just make sure nobody else is in the staircase before starting up it. Remember the saying 'red before white and you'll be allright' for using the paddles.