After a very enjoyable 3 night stay in Market Harborough we are now stocked up with groceries and filled up with water. So it is time to move on. We started a bit earlier than usual in bright sunny though breezy weather and made the 2 hour journey back to the main Leicester Section of the Grand Union at Foxton Locks.
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| Entering Foxton Bottom Lcck |
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| In the Foxton Flight, being watched by 2 visitors |
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| Looking down the Foxton Locks |
Here, one of the most popular visitor attractions on the canal system, two consecutive staircases, each of 5 single width locks, raise the canal by a total of 75foot. The only passing place for boats is a short pound between the two staircases. After reporting to the lock keeper to book a slot we had about half an hour wait at the bottom as 2 boats made their way down and then a small open boat entered the first chamber ahead of us. We could then follow directly using the water from the chamber above us they had vacated to fill our chamber. Help was provided both by a team of volunteer lock keepers who managed the alternating flow of boats and by visitors happy to have the chance of helping open the lock gates.
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| A pleasant mooring spot but too crowded for us |
Beyond Foxton Locks there is a 20 mile lock-free section. As previously the canal largely avoids the villages as it makes its way through attractive wooded scenery alongside the low Laughton Hills. We moored for the day at 1:15 in a secluded spot 2 miles from Foxton.
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