Second Breakfast and a Large Nature Reserve.

Saturday 6th July 2019 at Aylestone.
Where did the sun go? "Come back," we said! But the cooler air was quite welcome as we tackled the second lock of the day.

This side of Leicester is blessed with a vast nature reserve that is about two miles long and a mile wide. It is criss-crossed with footpaths and the original line of the Great Central Railway runs through the middle of it as a smooth tarmac pathway. It is clearly very well used and has survived mainly because the whole thing is one large flood plain for the River Soar and floods so regularly that even the local council has yet to try to build on it!

At first we took these tall poles to be beacons but we later discovered that they are nesting boxes for barn owls.

Willing helpers at the locks are always welcome, even if they are tiny! What they lacked in height, they more than made up for in enthusiasm. (Clue - count the legs under the balance beam!).

The guide books mentioned the King's Lock Tea Room by the lock. When we passed here on 25th June 2016, we were paired up with another boat going through the wide locks and they wanted to get on, so we didn't stop.

This time we moored up just past the lock and went into the Tea Room for "second breakfast" in true Hobbit style. Delicious!

A lot of the time now we are on the River Soar, so you need to keep an eye on the flood markers.However, as there has not been much rain recently, the markers are firmly in the green - although most of the green bit is weed.

Just beyond our mooring was a canal bridge called "Packhorse Bridge" and, when we walked up to it, we could see that it had been built as an extension of a fine original old packhorse bridge that dates back to the 15th century. That's the River Soar on its left.

On the towpath, we fell into conversation with Karen and Andrew out for a bike ride. They were greatly interested in MM and we invited them to join us for coffe and a short cruise tomorrow morning. Will they come, we wonder?

We walked a mile or so up the Great Central Railway path, crossing a road bridge that was in good condition (apart from the inevitable graffiti) and clearly showed its rail heritage.

As it began to spit with rain, we walked across to the canal and then back on the towpath, passing under the Great Central Railway bridge, handsome but clearly in need of some TLC.

MM was a welcome sight in the distance as we again approached the Packhorse Bridge.

Today: 3 miles, 6 locks and 2.7 hours.
Trip: 151 miles, 73 locks and 86.1 hours.