Victor finds the Chuggers are alive and well

MOORED below King's Lock we found that  CaRT Chuggers really are alive and well.

When CaRT started its membership scheme whereby anyone who signed-up donated cash every year for support to its finances it caused a furore by employing professional Chuggers—people who stand in the street 'mugging' passers-by for money for charity, and so stopped it, or so we thought.

Volunteers used as Chuggers

But alas it has its volunteers doing just that, with one accosting us as we stood by our boat, asking us if we would like to help fund a charity.  Showing interest we asked what charity, to which we were told Canal & River Trust!  Then piling on the agony he told it was about to loose its government funding so needed all the help it could get, that was certainly news to me.

Thomas reminded the fella that on Newsnight the Chief Executive Officer had stated that CaRT did not need more funding, and surely spending millions on a logo change and all it entailed, did not show a shortage of funds, especially has it had already been changed a few years before at another great cost.

Had his 'facts'

The volunteer however had all his 'facts' so we heard again the cost was an infinitesimal amount of its total spend, actually showing us the CaRT propaganda of .01%!  

This volunteer who was working the Leicester Section would be well aware of the complete lack of visitors, so he was asked where do the  440,000,000 visits a year come from, so we were told such as Foxton, but then the surprise that it was not that number at all, but much lower!  More news!

Not letting off, Thomas then brought up the matter of the dangerous towpaths that did not meet the rules, pointing out the one we were standing on (pictured) and quoting the widths from the waterway, the track and the distance from the edge, that all failed the official rules.  The poor bloke mounted his bike and was away—on that same dangerous towpath.

What's the reason?

When you only get seven boats passing in two days in glorious weather over a stretch of the Grand Union Canal, there is something wrong.

That is the total number of boats we met between Foxton and Leicester and with just an occasional exception the locks in that area were fairly easy to work, and even mobile volunteers a couple of days a week.

As to the lack of boats between Foxton and Leicester, the many stoppages, often through lack of water and the length of time it took contractors to repair could have had an effect, as boaters are wary of being stuck.

Vegetation

The complete disregard of the overhanging vegetation and trees creating very narrow passage on what is a broad canal could also have an effect.

The lack of boats creates a problem in itself as it means the broad locks are being used by just a single boat, so makes it that little more difficult.

No vandals

One great advantage however is the lack of vandals. When narrowboatworld first started 19 year ago there was a separate page under the title of 'Bandits', that gave the instances of vandalism to boats, and was updated very often indeed and causing no-go areas at certain times. 

The Leicester Section was so prone to vandalism that it resulted in a mobile officer (pictured) on a motorbike patrolling the waterway, and having communication so that he could be alerted to any problem.

But the advent of the PC, tablet and mobile phone has seemingly kept all the up and coming would be 'bandits' well occupied, as for a few years now we have had no experience of them whatsoever.

Easier to work

Those locks on the length from Foxton to Leicester were a dammed sight easier to work than those around the city, with St Mary's Mill Lock leaking so much we had to have four gates paddles and a ground paddle open before we could get the water level enough to open a top gate.

The picture shows the aperture in the bottom gates even when under pressure from the water from all the open paddles on the top gates.

We found the bottom paddles on Freeman's Lock into the city so stiff that we returned to the boat to get our long Yorkshire windlass to be able to move them, and even then with difficulty until the pressure eased off.

Little wonder it sees so few boats as those dropping the far gate paddles and walking across the lock not realising that all the top paddles have to remain open before the gate/s could be opened would really struggle.

Impossibly stiff

Then one of Belgrave bottom gate paddles was impossibly stiff (pictured) whilst the other was easy, and there were such discrepancies with many of the locks around the city, yet there were now a few of boats about using them.

Our usual stopping place in Leicester is the jetty moorings by the park at the bottom of the Long Mile, in the past usually empty, but alas this time full.  And those very popular jetty moorings a little further on were also all taken, with perhaps the attraction of both electricity and water accounting for their popularity.

All full

As it was approaching noon when we passed and there was no activity we can only assume they are somewhat permanent moorers.  Alas, unless you want to moor by the towpath on the Long Mile, something we have never seen in all the times we have passed through, there was nowhere else in the city left to moor, so it seems perhaps a little enforcement would be in order.

Building in Leicester seems to have gone through the roof, with flats springing up all over, these pictured just past the moorings, showing that people don't mind their dwellings all crammed together.

There were further flats at Belgrave of a more traditional style, and at least it brightened up what was formerly a derelict and dowdy area.

Floating Pennywort

Then came the Floating Pennywort, lots and lots of it, but it seemed most enjoyable to the ducks and Canada geese that were munching happily away, and even the cows were gulping it down.  Then later we were told that in an attempt to get rid of the stuff it had been sprayed with weed killer a couple of times during the week.

So did that mean it should not be eaten?  No doubt if it is poisonous there will be those who worry about the ducks, but perhaps not the Canada geese that are becoming such a menace, but certainly the farmers would be should their stock be affected.

The Canada geese with their many offspring have taken over the river, decimating the swans that are now very few and far between.  Perhaps it will be a case of the native red squirrel that was virtually wiped out by the introduction of the aggressive greys, with the geese decimating our swans.

Deserted

Then so to Loughborough, and the shock of the day.  For from the usual seemingly endless line of moored boats of the past, there was just one!  And even looking back at the jetty moorings when turning through the bridge, there were empty spaces.

So it seems the Leicester Section really is becoming deserted and the lack of moving boats was no fluke after all. 

The difficulty of the navigation and the stoppages are having an effect, that was rather proved by a single hander we later met at Radcliffe Lock who told he wasn't going too far up the Soar as he had found the locks too difficult.

Lack of water points

Before this we had moored overnight at Barrow, discovering that there were no water points between there and Kilby Bridge, the sort of a distance that would not have been too inviting for the continuous cruisers. 

Yes, yes, I know there are bollards on the moorings in Leicester with both power and water, but there was no way of getting to them with the boats crammed in.

At Barrow is the company that offers the scattering of ashes on the river for both both Hindu and Sikh religions, the boat company experienced at handling all ceremonies and has expertise in catering for members of both faiths.

Whilst we were there on the Sunday three parties departed on both the ceremony boat and the remembrance boat, up to a peaceful stretch of the Soar.

The same for years

Eventually we arrived at Kegworth Deep Lock, now renamed Kegworth New Lock so as not to frighten the former Canaltime first timers, yet still the bottom gate paddles needed our very long Yorkshire windlass to get them to move.

It has been in this condition for many a year, but the people who 'inspect' the locks never seem to have a windlass, and so it stays, most likely for many a year to come.

All of course, adding to the reasons that boaters are now so obviously shunning the waterway, not helped of course that today, with the torrential rain, it will be in flood!

Never shared a lock

And I can end by adding that from Leicester right down to Sawley taking it easy over three days, only seven moving boats passed us, that certainly proves the point, and so few moving boats going our way that we never had the opportunity to share a single broad lock, that leaves the very worrying sense of 'use it or lose it'...

Back at Sawley Marina and eight berths emptied on our jetty and a 'boat'? ready for lifting in, though how it will fit or what it really is for, is anybody's guess.

Victor Swift