The Leicester Canal Section - Pywells Lock on into Leicester City and The Soar.
Bridges, Locks and Weirs on The Beautiful Leicester Canal Section as it heads on into Leicester and meets up with the The River Soar.
This final part of our Leicester Section of the Grand Union Canal topic follows the canal via lovely countryside right into the heart of Leicester City travelling through some really beautiful countryside via really nice canal locks and some excellently bricked canal bridges. The towpath is fine for walking as it's generally in good condition all the way into the City - sometimes it's grassy but quite often it has been levelled and gravelled so also generally comfortable for anyone wanting to cycle it. However there are one or two very minor collapses to watch for if cycling but it's nothing like the mess which exists around Braunston between the locks and that canal's tunnel for instance.
Pywell's Lock 21
Pywell's Lock 21
Pywell Syphon
Pywell Syphon
brick work
Pywell Syphon
Glen Aqueduct
Crane's Lock 22
Crane's Lock 22
Crane's Bridge 76
Crane's Bridge 76
From Crane's Bridge there is a nice path which slightly dog-legs as it crosses several fields and then heads almost directly back into Fleckney - it takes around 30 minutes to walk. At Fleckney there is a small supermarket and several nice pubs which might be of interest if laying up at Crane's Lock whilst on a boating holiday. The standard of brickwork used for the canal's bridges, sluices, canal locks and aqueducts when the canals were constructed is excellent - for instance by the aqueduct shown below if you scramble down from the towpath and you can see some nice brickwork where the canal crosses a stream and the associated brickwork.
Canal Aqueduct
Scramble down from the towpath.
Canal Aqueduct
Bowden Roadbridge
Bowden Roadbridge
Ivy Bridge - 78
Ivy Bridge 78
High Bridge - 79
High Bridge no.79
Newton Bridge no:80
Newton Bridge - Bridge no:80 - Leicester Canal
Newton
Top Lock 23
Lock gates at
Newton Top Lock
Spinney Lock -
Lock 24
Spinney Lock Gates
Spinney Lock 24
Wain Bridge no:81
A pipe bridge
adjacent to Wain Bridge
Top Half Mile Lock 25
Leicester Canal - Top Half Mile Lock
Top Half Mile Lock Gates
Bottom Half Mile
Lock Gates
Turnover Lock 27 - Leicester Canal
Turnover Lock 27
Turnover Bridge 82 - Leicester Canal
Turnover Bridge 82
Tythorn Lock Gates
Tythorn Lock 28
Bumble Bee Lock 29
Bumble Bee Lock no:29
Tythorn Canal Bridge no 84
Leicester Canal
Tythorn Bridge
Clifton Bridge
Clifton Bridge 85
Ellis's Bridge no 86
Ellis's Bridge no:86
Kilby Canal Bridge 87
Kilby Bridge
Lock Gates at Kilby Lock
Kilby Lock no:30
Kilby Lock Bridge -
Bridge no:88
Taylor's Bridge 89
Taylor's Bridge
Double Rail Lock no:31
Lock Gates -
Double Rail Lock
Knight Bridge no90
Knight Bridge - 90
Pochin's Bridge no:91
Pochin's Bridge
Ervine's Lock - Leicester Canal
Ervine's Lock no32 -
t's lock gates
Crow Mills Bridge 92
Crow Mills Bridge
Vice's Bridge
Vice's Bridge :-93
Bush Lock 33
Bush Lock
Little Glen Bridge
Footbridge + Bridge 94
Knight's Bridge 95
Knight's Bridge
Simpkin's Bridge - no:96
Simpkin's Bridge 96
Beautiful railwaybridge - Leicester Canal
Railway Bridge 96a
Dunn's Lock
Dunns Lock Gates
Blaby Bridge
Blaby Bridge
Whetstone Lane
Lock 35
Whetsone Lane Lock 35
Whetstone Lane
Bridge
Whetstone Lane
Bridge 99
Canal Bridge no 99a
Bridge 99a
Site of demolished
railway bridge
Demolished Railwaybridge - near Leicester
Handford Bridge
Handford Bridge 100
Gees Lock
Gees Lock
Gees Lock 36
Gees Bridge 101
Gees Bridge
Blue Bank Bridge
Blue Bank Bridge
Blue Bank Lock 37
Blue Bank Lock
Blue Bank Lock Gates
Soar Valley Roadbridge
Soar Valley Roadbridge - Bridge 103a
Kings Lock
King's Lock with Bridge 104 behind
View into
King's Lock
King's Lock Bridge 104
The Leicester Section and Pack Horse Bridges.
Aylestone boasts a really beautiful example of a canal pack horse bridge - it can easily be seen and walked over from canal bridge 105 which also bears the same name i.e. Packhorse Bridge no:105. Aylestone's packhorse bridge (numbered Leicester County no:10) was thought to have been built in the 15th Century and creates a dry route across boggy ground and the River Soar - there are eleven small stone and granite arches in all.Just a little further along towards Leicester you reach St Mary's Mill Lock and also St Mary's Mill itself - the mill is still in quite intact condition and has really beautiful brickwork. Continue along just a little further and the Leicester canal passes under some excellent arches which belong to Twelve Arches Railway Bridge.
Aylestone Pack
Horse Bridge
Canal version of a Pack Horse Bridge
Aylestone Pack
Horse Bridge
Packhorse Bridge 105
Aylestone
Packhorse Bridge
Leicester Canal - side bridge
Railway Bridge 105c
Railway bridge 105c
The towpath at
Freestone Bridge
Freestone Bridge no 106
Freestone Bridge 106
Parson's Bridge 107
Parson's Bridge no107
Aylestone Mill
Lock 39
Aylestone Mill Lock
Aylestone Mill
Bridge 108
Aylestone Mill Bridge
Pipebridges near
Pebble Beach
Pebble Beach
Pipebridges
Towpath bridge
near St Mary's Mill
St Mary's Mill
Lock 40
Beautifull area round
St Mary's Mill
Lock Gates St Mary's
Mill Lock 40
Side Bridge 108c
Twelve Arches
Railway Bridge
Twelve Arches Railwaybridge
Freeman's Meadow
Lock 41
Freeman's Meadow
Lock no 41
view inside Freeman's Meadow Lock
canal sidebridge
Side bridge - Leicester canal and River Soar
Leicester Canal
sidebridge
Walnut Bridge 109
Into Leicester itself - Walnut Bridge
Swan Bridge 109a
Swan Bridge no 109a
Mill Lane Bridge
Mill Lane Bridge 110
Newarke Road
Bridge 111
Newarke Road Bridge
The Leicester Section has now managed to get itself well into the City of Leicester however you would hardly know this as there is a great deal of parkland around. The canal has quite a few trees and so on and the whole stretch is a pleasure to walk through as it's generally very peaceful with little traffic noise etc. On one side of the canal you do find quite a few old buildings and warehouses etc. which have been re-furbished i.e. converted into flats and so on - also there are one or two old brick chimneys still in existence. Leicester City authorities have gone to some trouble to keep the canal looking like a canal - an example of this is where they have had to put strong concrete bridges over the canal for traffic reasons yet they have adorned and painted up these bridges with nice ornamental metal work. West Bridge is dual numbered - with the canal's sequence ending at 112 and the other side of the bridge numbered as Bridge 1 i.e. starting off the River Soar's sequence. Despite this numbering this is not in reality the end of the Leicester Section since at Evan's Weir the River Soar goes off to the left and the canal continues bearing right via old warehouses. This diversion was built in the late 1800s as part of flood prevention schemes.
Leicster Canal
- foot bridge 111a
Leicster Canal
footbridge 111a
Colourfull West
Bridge 112 - Leicester
West Bridge 112
West Bridge - bridge
no.1 this side
Leicester City canal sidebridge
View of Evans Weir
at Leicester
Evan's weir
sluice gates
Leicester -
River Soar Bridge
Evan's Weir - Leicester
Soar Lane Bridge 3
Leicester -
Soar Lane Bridge
Hitchock's Weir
Bridge 4
The River Soar
at Leicester
Canal sidebridge,
Leicester
Hitchcocks Weir -
Bridge 4
View Leicester Canals
North Lock 42
North Lock 42
it's lock gates
North Bridge 5
next to the lock
Leicester -
North Bridge 5
There are several weirs and ornamental side bridges along this stretch where the Leicester Canal Section and the River Soar keep briefly meeting - Hitchcock's Weir is particularly interesting and full of wildlife such as swans, herons and the flash of a high speed kingfisher or two - and of course plump ducks.
Abbey Lane Bridge 6
Leicester Canal -
Abbey Lane Bridge
Friday Street Bridge over the Leicester Section
Friday Street
Bridge - 7
Chimneys + warehouses - beside the Leicester Canal
Leicester canal pipebridge
Pipebridge
Memory Lane Wharf
Kiln Lock on the
Leicester Canal
Lime Kiln Lock 43
Abbey Park Wharf
in Leceister
Abbey Park roadbridge - Leicester
Abbey Park Road
Bridge - Leicester
Pipe bridge towards the end of the canal - Leicester
Nice pipebridge -
Leicester Canal
Swan's Nest Bridge 10 - Leicester
Swan's Nest
Bridge - 10
Belgrave Lock on the Leicester Canal section
Belgrave Lock 44
City of Leicester -
Swans Nest Weir
As the Leicester canal reaches it's end there are still quite a few semi-derelict warehouses and mills on one side of it - they look really nice with their
old battered brickwork, windows and the occasional mill or factory chimney. On the left of the canal there are extensive garden and public areas which
comprises Leicester City's Abbey Park. The canal and River Soar then re-join at Swan's Nest Weir and Belgrave Lock - from here onwards the navigation is the River Soar. Ultimately the River Soar (now known as The Grand Union - River Soar) ends up at a "canal crossroads" - meeting the Erewash Canal, The River Trent itself and the Trent and Mersey Canal at Trent Lock which is located south of Long Eaton, Derbyshire.
We have two more topics about the Leicester Section - one covers the canal's journey on it's route from Norton Junction to Welford and the other one follows the canal as it continues via Husbands Bosworth Tunnel to Foxton and Kibworth.