Tuesday 16th July 2019 in Zouch
Early morning on the river. The first train went through just after 5:00am; M thought that she heard a goods train go through in the middle of the night, but it didn't disturb us.
The Peter Le Marchant Trust operates three trip boats from their base here, taking old and disabled people for trips on the river. (M said that they looked younger than us!) We have seen this boat a number of times on the river, always\ full of happy smiling faces.
This railway bridge is in the process of renovation as part of the current work to connect the Great Central Railway heritage line to the Great Central Railway, Nottingham to make a joint line over 18 miles long. There is only a 500 metre gap between the two. Already the bridge over the main railway line and the bridge over the A6004 have both been renovated, this third bridge is being worked on and then it is just a case of re-instating a couple of hundred yards of embankment. So, watch this space!
The former wharf basin in the middle of Loughborough survived a plan to fill it in to make a road and, although it is not particularly attractive, it does provide several mooring spaces. We took advantage of one to go and get a "few bits" from the nearby Sainsbury's.
Walking to the Post Office in the town centre took us past this pub named after Loughborough's famous bell foundry, one of only two now remaining in the country. The foundry is no longer open to the public but we were lucky enough to be part of a private visit a few years ago.
Leaving the basin, we passed the junction down which we had come earlier. This bridge is called "Chain Bridge" because it marks the junction of the Leicester and Loughborough canals and the toll keeper used to put a chain across it if he was not there to monitor passing boats.
M fondly remembers passing this lock and cottage three years ago. The lovely house may well have been a lock keeper's cottage originally but it is now a private residence with a beautifully tended garden.
In 2016, as she was lock wheeling here, M complimented the owner on his garden; at which point he produced a pair of secateurs, cut off a large red rose and presented it to her.
Today, he was not in his garden but his wife (?) waved from the conservatory. M though it better not to mention the rose - she didn't want to be the cause of a "domestic"!
Normanton-on-Soar still appears to have a little chain ferry to get you across the river from Nottingham to Leicestershire.
The ferry certainly is still there but it is not clear how often it runs.
The church of St James presents a charming scene and is very unusual in that it has a dedicated pontoon so that chuch goers or visitors have somewhere to moor.
This lovely house next to the church may have once been the vicarage if so, it would have been a very attractive living!
We moored up at the strangely named village of Zouch. The origin of the name is the old English word for "poor ground". Its greatest distinction appears to be that it is always the last entry in any list of British settlements!
Today: 6 miles, 2 locks and 2.9 hours.
Trip: 174 miles, 91 locks and 107.4 hours.
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