A few Sundays ago in mid April we went over to Foxton Locks near Market Harborough (in Southern Leicesteshire) for a short but very pleasant country walk. Having started early that day, we got over there quickly (about a 35 minute drive) and started on the easy to follow trail. Hardly anyone was parked in the car park at that time! Not too far away from there are the locks themselves, which are very impressive constructions dating from the early 19th Century. The route of the Grand Union Canal has to ascend a hill at that point, and the designers achieved this by constructing ten locks all in one long line!
Our route took us down the hill past the locks and the basin (where there is a pub, gift shop and museum) and then along the route of the canal on the tow-path around a long bend. It was nice to see a few boats on the route. After passing a sizeable canal boat yard, we crossed the water and walked up the hill, past a large farmhouse (noisy dogs) then down a country lane and past some lovely woods. Thankfully the sheep in the field didn't seem to mind us walking past, and neither did a bull! He seemed busy eating. We explored the pretty villlage of Gumley, and were very impressed with the medieval church - what a marvellous building! Then it was a short walk down the hill and back to the
canal through the sheep fields, and finally a stop near the locks for our lovely packed lunch (thank you Carla!)A nice area - very rural, quiet, and the walk was relatively easy. The weather held out as well, as it only rained for a couple of minutes!
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Last week we were lucky enough to have walking holiday in Pembrokeshire, South West Wales, which was really nice! More on that in the next blog entry.
