1st August 2019 – The Leicester Branch of the Grand Union
We moored shortly after getting onto the Leicester branch of the grand union. The first thing that strikes you when you look on the map, is just how isolated the canal is, all the towns and villiages are set back and you are in the middle of open countryside pretty much all the way. This is awesome from an eye candy perspective, but not so great from a shopping point of view, and yes, I include purchasing beer from a pub as ‘shopping’.
From where we are moored we have about a mile or so before we hit the Watford locks. These are similar to the foxton locks which are about 10 miles upstream, but there are fewer of them, You can see the first few locks are spaced out, then you hit the 4 steps and then a gap and finally the last lock near to which is the water point. Our plan is to hit these reasonably early and get up them.
Bottom of the locks 
In the first lock, these babies fill up really fast! 
Honey keeping watch 
Wendy and volunteer doing their stuff 
Each lock has its own pond 
You empty into the pond, then fill back up from it afterwards. 
Shot from the top lock in the steps looking down 
The penultimate lock
After the locks we went on towards the Crick tunnel, which is quite a short one and you can see the end of it as you enter. Before then, we went under the M1 – which you are hardly aware of until you hit it, then it fades away just as quickly.
After going through the tunnel, we moored for the day just outside Crick, which is familiar to us as we go to the Crick boat show here. We have never been into the town, which is rather ordinary but pleasant enough.
Must be rubbish collection day 
Wendy likes this house 
Boats moored outside the Crick marina
Artful Dodger 