The Leicester Line of the Grand Union Canal has been spending more time mingling with the River Soar since Leicester. Rivers are different to navigate. They meander, so it which slows things down, and makes steering more difficult. The land on both sides is owned by people who don’t want you to moor there. The water is cleaner, but there are currents and weirs to watch out for. They are prone to flooding, so there are fewer houses and villages next to them. They often provide a more scenic and rural experience, but require more planning, and they are more difficult to wrangle a boat up or down.

Tomorrow we will be leaving the Soar, and after a brief passage upstream on the Trent, we will be back on canals for the rest of the trip. There’s a feeling of relief, but next year we will be back to do the Trent, and I’m looking forward to that.

The rowan berries have turned red.

Beautiful, but a sign the long hot summer must eventually come to an end.

Today we meandered down the Soar to the village of Kegworth, with a prolonged break at a boatyard to have the shower pump fixed and some other odd jobs in the bathroom done. While the mechanic was working in the bathroom, Paula was busy with power tools and wood filler making the boat look nicer.

Let me show you a picture of the nice building in Kegworth.

There, now you’ve seen that you have no need to go there. The rest of the place features what was probably once a nice village green turned into a car park.

Paula went exploring and got her feet licked by cows, but I’m going to let her tell that story.