Playing trains

Wednesday 7th July 2021

We set off from our quiet Loughborough mooring and turned left at the junction to find the water point and then moor near bridge 35 to be nearer today’s entertainment. When we arrived at the Boat Inn a sign on the wall stated that the water point was no longer in use – Bu$$er! We amended our new copy of Nicholsons and continued on and moored just after bridge 35, adjacent to Windlass Close, and wandered up the road to Grand Central station.

 

The trip on the train behind the Hall class locomotive Witherslack Hall to Leicester North took 30 minutes and after 15 minutes we returned to Loughborough. There were very few passengers on the first train of the day so we had a compartment to ourselves in the first carriage behind the engine. We could hear the engine as well as the efforts of the crew on the footplate, we could smell the coal and the smoke – brilliant!

 

At Leicester North, the engine changed ends so we wandered down to the other end and settled our selves in a First Class compartment for the return journey. An excellent trip that had to be done as we found ourselves in Loughborough. For the whole trip the dining car was serving cooked breakfasts and bacon sandwiches and the smell was lovely, so on our return to Loughborough we walked back to Jannock for bacon sarnies for lunch.

We then set off again, back towards Leicester again, but this time by boat. At the first lock, blue sky turned to grey and it poured down and then it got worse. At Barrow Mill Basin we pulled over fir a break and found a water point and rubbish disposal – not mentioned in Nich’s so yet another amendment made. Every cloud has a silver lining.

 

The sun returned so we made a bid for an overnight mooring. 

 

As there was a double clap of thunder we pulled into a 62ft space on Sileby lock moorings. Black sky to port and bright sunshine to starboard we tied up for the night. With strong weirs and a lot of extra water in the river we have decided that it is much easier to navigate the River Soar heading downstream than it is up it.

G&B