Fascinating Foxton (Locks)

After our entertaining evening on Wednesday, we weren't in a rush to go anywhere on Thursday morning so just chilled and did a spot of cleaning and boat maintenance.  Margaret from narrowboat 'Kookaburra Dreams' informed us that there was a food market on in town as it was the first of the month, but as we'd only just stocked up we didn't go and visit - no more room in the cupboards or fridge if we were tempted!

 'Frank the Plank' at Union Wharf, Market Harborough

After a leisurely lunch we returned down the canal arm and Barry took the chance to do a spot of grinding in the bow (not as painful as it sounds!).  I saw the first Kingfisher of our travels this year, though it was only a quick flash so no time for Barry to get a shot!  I'm pretty certain that I also saw an otter on Tuesday as were coming up the arm, it was long, hairy and dark and swimming close to the surface but once the boat had passed it went under the water so we weren't too sure.

We moored close to Foxton village and I had a short walk there but found nothing too fascinating, a couple of pubs and some desirable residences once again.

We wanted to go to Foxton Locks to have a look around, especially at the site of the 'Inclined Plane', and as we were moored up ready to walk there Margaret and Tom sailed past us on their way up the flight - so of course we managed to keep them company through most of the ten locks.

Approaching the Market Harborough turn - looks simple enough from here, just turn left!

  The popular Foxton Locks Inn - moorings right outside if you ask permission (and use their facilities of course)

Tom and Margaret commence their journey up the Foxton staircase

Only room for a very 'narrow'boat in these locks!

The ten locks take you up 75 feet - it's not possible to get a photo of them all - unless it's an aerial view

Looking back down to the bottom lock

Always gongoozlers at Foxton

    

 

 

 

 

 

Approaching the halfway point

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tying up in the middle pound

 

 

 

Margaret and Tom have a halfway break waiting for two boats to pass on their descent

 

 

A hire boat from 'Canalboatclub' - look at that glorious view!

This scene would have been pretty similar in the nineteenth century with the horses stables at the top beside the lock-keeper's cottage

Each time a boat travels through the locks, 25,000 gallons of water is used - there are reservoirs above the locks to ensure they don't run dry.  It's a complex yet simple structure, each lock (apart from the bottom one) has a side pound.  So you open the red gate paddle initially to begin to empty the lock, then you open the white paddle and the water runs into the side pound.  An ingenious lock-keeper thought up the coloured system along with the rhyme:

"Red then white, you'll be alright;

White then red, you'll wish you were dead!"

Although it sounded fairly easy, it's not until you actually put the theory into practice that you discover whether it really is - that we'll do on Friday.

 

Canal memorabilia outside the museum                       Standing on the circular lookout point

The Inclined Plane took 2 years and 300 'navvies' to build, opened in 1900 and closed in 1911.  Unfortunately, though the idea of speeding up the journeys of the working boats to compete with the railways was a sound one, it required Watford Locks to be widened to allow the wider boats to pass thorough and as that never happened, the extra traffic didn't materialise so the Plane was shut down by the accountants.  Such a shame, it must've been an awesome sight in it's heyday.  It would be incredible to get it restored and working, but it's going to need an awful lot of resources to get there.

A panoramic (slightly distorted) view of the inclined plane site from the lookout

 

            Old wooden working boat                     Part of the track which the caissons rode on

The two pounds at the bottom where the boats were 'delivered' or 'extracted'

Lots of families out and about

 

 

 

Spotted sneaking a rest while the photographer works!

 

 

 

  The drive wheel from the inclined plane         The new swing bridge and old 1899 brick bridge

We'd arrived at Foxton Locks too late for the museum so we'll visit on Friday - Barry went for another walk at dusk to take a few night shots ...

 Foxton Locks Inn lit up like a fairytale cottage

Bottom Lock and the bridge 61 cafe/pub

Continuing the purple theme - fantastic foxgloves from Foxton

Muddles and mirth on the Market Harborough Arm

It was only a short journey to Debdale Wharf Marina on Wednesday morning to fill up with diesel, then a distance of eight miles (no locks!) to Market Harborough.  The canal 'Arm' is very poorly signposted at Foxton, where we were confronted with a three choice junction - the Foxton Locks are obvious, but the other two don't show on our Nicholson's, with one of them having a swing bridge to negotiate.  So we took the middle arm and ended up in a dead end - turns out that this is the bottom of the famous 'Foxton Inclined Plane' which at one time was capable of taking barges of 13 foot width, or pairs of narrowboats, moving two boats up and two boats down every twelve minutes saving 90% of the water that the locks would use. Unfortunately this was dismantled in 1911, eleven years after it was opened, though there's a campaign underway for full restoration by the Foxton Inclined Plane Trust,  which would be awesome.  We'll explore this area when we return from Market Harborough ...

Debdale Marina which holds around 160 boats

Boatyard with a great looking boat crane lifting up to 30 tons - this boat's being sand blasted ready for painting

   An old BW maintenance boat in the middle of nowhere brings a great colour contrast to this rural scene

Foxton staircase locks with two of the three pubs to be found here - obvious which is the right hand turning

The new swing bridge - not marked on the Nicholson guide, neither was the short branch behind Sandra which we took initially - oh how the crowds laughed to see such fun!! 

Suffice it to say, we had to back out of the small arm and go through the swing bridge onto the Market Harborough Arm to cruise the 51/2 miles to the town.  The journey isn't terribly interesting being predominantly rural with trees, bushes or hills either side of the water so you can't even see into the distance.

Much the same scenery for the whole journey - beautiful but gets a bit like driving on a monotonous motorway after a while!

Hey You!   -   Who Me?

Once into Market Harborough though, you can tell immediately that this is another prosperous area of Leicestershire.  It was established in medieval times as a 'new town', some time in the  early 13th century, due to it's potential of the location between Leicester and Northampton at a river crossing.

Another place steeped in history, so here's my five fascinating facts about Market Harborough:

1. In June 1645, Market Harborough figured in the English Civil War, when it became the headquarters of the King's Army. Resting in Market Harborough, the King decided to confront Parliamentary forces who were camped near Naseby but the Battle of Naseby proved a decisive victory for Parliament led by Oliver Cromwell. Harborough Chapel became a temporary prison for the captured forces.
2. In 1841, Thomas Cook, a wood turner and cabinet maker in the town, organised the first group travel by rail from Leicester to Loughborough and subsequently developed the travel agency still bearing his name today.
3. In the nineteenth century, Market Harborough expanded as a manufacturing centre, when the Symington brothers opened a corset factory - where the 'Liberty Bodice' was invented and made.
4. In 1950 the canal basin was the venue for a week long 'National Festival of Boats', the first such Festival organised by the Inland Waterways Association which marked the beginning of the revival of the canal network for leisure use.
5. HM Prison Gartree is west of the town, near Foxton, and the site of a prisoner escape by helicopter in 1987. The prison caters for prisoners on life sentences.

 Market Harborough's recently developed 'Union Wharf' is just stunning

A restful atmosphere pervades here

  The 'Canalboatholiday' hire boats getting ready for the weekend 

As the name suggests, it's famous for its market - once again the opening times were against us, Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays!  Can you believe it, we arrived on a Wednesday and will leave on Thursday?!  We have to laugh at these missed opportunities of ours and not take it personally!

There are some gorgeous buildings in the town, including the timber framed 'Old Grammar School' which was built (on stilts!) in 1614 and continued as a school until 1892.  It's now used for church and public meetings.

 The dazzling diversity of architecture in Market Harborough

 We saw a couple of old bicycles with baskets around

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

St Dionysius' Church and the old Grammar School in the town square

 

 

 

 

 

The Grammar School building - complete with quotes from the bible inscribed into the wood

The sign may be a bit dated?

Another perspective on Union Wharf

   Some of the permanent moorers in the basin

After exploring the town and stocking up with essential groceries from the Co-op, we found a short cut back to the boat, which took us past a narrowboat whose owners we'd briefly chatted to on the way in - 'Kookaburra dreams', obviously containing Australians!  Being fellow Antipodeans (we'll forgive them being Aussies!) they invited us back for a drink so we unpacked the shopping and strolled the hundred yards back up the canal for a short visit.  It turned into a three hour excursion due to a local character dropping by (three times in all on his way up and back and up again!) and entertaining us by telling increasingly dirty jokes and anecdotes of his life in Market Harborough - almost 83 years of it!  He should have a one-man show somewhere, such an amazing repartee and memory.

 

 

Roy entertaining the masses - "Did I tell you the one about ...?"

Tom & Margaret from Brisbane, Australia, on their third annual six month UK narrowboat soiree

On Thursday we'll make our way back to Foxton ready for the staircase locks after we've explored the area and of course taken a couple of photos!

More purple - the soothing smell of lavender - thanks for the link to wearing purple from Dijon