Once through Foxton Locks and the Market Harborough Junction the canal again enters really beautiful and
- at least until it nears the City of Leicester - quite remote countryside. Another feature is that the canal locks starting from Kibworth
Top Lock (Lock 18) are doubles - i.e. able to take two barges at a time.
Please see our Leicester Canal topic for
all the canal's features between Norton Junction right up to Gumley Road Bridge and down Foxton Locks
or our Market Harborough topic for
loads of information about a walk along it's Arm and also covering a lot more information and pictures
about Foxton and it's inclined plane etc.
Saddington Tunnel. This slightly crooked tunnel was built in 1797 and is 808 metres long and available for two way working for boats of 3.96 metres or less beam and maximum of 2.13 metres high. The tunnel does not have an internal towpath - if walking the canal's route simply follow the marked route which goes up and over the hillside directly following the tunnel's route.
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 canal itself continues it's trip towards the City of Leicester travelling through some really beautifull countryside via really nice canal locks and some beautiful brick canal bridges. The towpath is fine for walking as it's generally in good condition all the way into the City - sometimes grass but quite often it has been levelled and gravelled so also generally good for anyone wanting to cycle - however there are one or two very minor collapses to watch for if cycling but it's nothing like the mess which exists around Branston for instance.
Pack Horse Bridges. Aylestone boasts a really beautiful example of a 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 stil in quite
intact condition and has really beautifull brickwork. Continue along just a
little further and the canal passes under some excellent arches which belong to
Twelve Arches Railway Bridge.
The Canal has now managed to get well into the City of Leicester however you would hardly
know this - 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 - and it's
generally very peacefull 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, turned into flats and so on - also there are one or two brick
chimneys still in existance. Leicester City authorities have gone to some
trouble to keep the canal looking like a canal - an exampe 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 canal
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.
There are several weirs and ornamental sidebridges along this stretch where the canal and River Soar keep briefly meeting - Hitchcock's Weir is particularly interesting and full of wildlife such as swans, herons and of course plump ducks.
As the canal reaches it's end there are still quite a few
semi-derelict warehouses and mills on one side - they look really nice with
their brickwork, windows and the occasional mill chimney. On the left of the
canal there are extensive garden and public areas which is 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 south of Long Eaton.
Please see our Home Page for many other items about England including 100s of English Church Photos, wildflowers, toadstools and quite a few walks to try some of which involve using canal towpaths. Also take a look towards the bottom of our Home Page where there are links to our other travel sites about The Canary Islands, Cyprus, Portugal's Algarve, The Greek Islands and Athens, Egypt, India, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Cambodia, Bangkok, Bali and several other Indonesian Holiday Islands. Visit our Resources topic if you wish to Email Us and/or to see our site privacy policy.