Our
Narrow Boat Holiday Hire Base
 Pillings
Lock is a brand new marina with
the impressive Boat House restaurant and
modern facilities.
Close to the villages of Quorn and
Barrow on Soar, it is only 10 minutes
from Loughborough town centre and 30
minutes from East Midlands airport.
There are lots of things to see and do
in the immediate area. Quorn is one of
a number of picturesque villages in
Charnwood Forest. It is close to
Bradgate Park
which contains the ruins of Bradgate
House where Lady Jane Grey (Queen of
England for 9 days) was born and
Beacon Hill
famous for its 700 million year old rock
which is some of the oldest in England.
 Quorn
is also one of the main stations on the
Great Central
Railway. Voted number 12
on the list of the 50 greatest railway
journeys in the world it is the UK's
only double track, main line heritage
railway. Its the only place in the
world where full size steam engines can
be seen passing each other.
Choosing a Route
 There are lots of useful
websites to help you plan the sort of
route that will suit you.
www.waterscape.com and
www.canaljunction.com are particularly useful.
Nicholson Waterways Guides (available on
board for you to use) are invaluable.
The
Soar is a tranquil river navigation. On
Waterscape.com it is described as a
well-kept secret, meandering in peaceful
isolation through delightful scenery.
The choice is yours: south via Foxton
Locks towards the Grand Union north or
south and the Oxford Canal or north through Trent Junction to
either Nottingham, the Erewash Canal or
the Trent and Mersey Canal towards
Derbyshire. Here are a few suggestions:
2
weeks
 East
Midlands/Leicester Ring (70
hours 5-6 hours a day)
A varied route including narrow and
broad canals, rivers, 5 tunnels and
several aqueducts.
Leicester National Space Centre/varied
museums
Foxton Locks
 Tamworth - Snowdome/Drayton Manor Park
Shardlow/ Burton on Trent/Coors Visitor
Centre/Marstons Brewery
Loughborough Great Central Railway,
Bell Foundry Museum
+ detours to Coventry Cathedral &
Nottingham/Tales of Robin Hood/Galleries
of Justice/Castle
Midlands
Ring (85 hours 6-7 hours a day)
A varied route of narrow and broad
canals and rivers
Leicester National Space Centre/varied
museums
Foxton Locks
Braunston
Warwick Warwick Castle
Birmingham - Cadbury World/Sealife
Centre/Gas Street Basin
Tamworth Snowdome/Drayton Manor Park
Stoke
on Trent and the Caldon Canal (there and back 85 hours 6-7 hours a day)
Stoke
on Trent (there and back 65
hours 5 hours a day)
Wedgewood Visitor Centre &
museum/Etruria Industrial Museum
Burton on Trent/Coors Visitor Centre/Marstons
Brewery/Branston Water Park
Shardlow - canal village
 One
week- South
South
through Leicester towards Foxton Locks on to
Market Harborough and back (38
hours 6 hours a day)
Charnwood Forest Villages Quorn/Barrow
on Soar/Watermead Country Park
Leicester - National Space Centre/varied
museums
Foxton Locks Inclined Plane Boat Lift
and museum, you do not go through the
locks.
Market Harborough Arm to Union Wharf
site of the first IWA campaigning
rally/old market town
South
through Leicester to Foxton Locks and on
to the Welford Arm and back (45
hours 7 hours a day)
As above but proceeding down
Foxton Flight of locks/Husbands Bosworth
Tunnel 1166 yards
Welford Arm quiet and tree lined
canal/Welford -village and nature
reserve
South
to the end of the Leicester section of
the Grand Union canal at Norton Junction
and back
(56 hours - an energetic 9 hours a
day!)
Charnwood Forest Villages Quorn/Barrow
on Soar/Watermead Country Park
Leicester- National Space Centre/varied
museums/
Foxton Locks Inclined Plane Boat Lift
/Crick Tunnel 1528 yards/Watford Locks
 One
Week - North
From
Trent Junction (6 hours) there is a
choice of three directions:
Nottingham - Tales of Robin
Hood/Galleries of Justice
Erewash Canal to Langley Mill - Lock
House Tearooms
Full of canal memorabilia, waterways
tableau, lovely food
Trent and Mersey Canal out towards
Derbyshire beautiful countryside
Trent Junction and Trent and Mersey
Canal to Fradley Junction and back (38 hours 6
hours a day)
Lovely countryside with many nature
reserves and opportunities for walking
and cycling
Burton on Trent/Coors Visitor Centre/Marstons
Brewery/Branston Water Park/Shardlow
Fradley Junction attractive and busy
junction with the Coventry Canal. Famous
canal pub.
Trent
Junction and Trent and Mersey Canal to
Burton on Trent and back (28 hours 4 hours
a day)
Lovely countryside with many nature
reserves and opportunities for walking
and cycling
Burton on Trent /Coors Visitor Centre/Marstons
Brewery
Shardlow
Trent
Junction, East to Nottingham and then
West to Burton on Trent and back (36 hours
6 hours a day)
Trent
Junction and all three directions
Nottingham/Erewash Canal/Burton on Trent
and back
(50 hours 8 hours a day)
 Short
breaks North
North
through Loughborough and the pretty
villages of Zouch and Normanton to
Kegworth and Trent Junction. From
Trent Junction there is a choice of
three directions: Nottingham
Erewash Canal to Langley Mill Trent
and Mersey Canal out towards Derbyshire
To
Nottingham (6 hours to Trent
Junction + 4. 5 hours to Nottingham 21
hours there and back)
Tales of Robin Hood/Galleries of
Justice/Caves of Nottingham/Nottingham
Castle Museum and Art Gallery/Brewhouse
Yard
Erewash
Canal (6
hrs to Trent Junction + 7 hours to
Langley Mill 26 hours there and back)
Trent Lock - Lock House Tearooms full of
canal memorabilia, lovely food. D.H.
Lawrence Birthplace Museum is situated
in Eastwood ,close to Langley Mill
Trent
and Mersey Canal to Shardlow (6
hours to Trent Junction + 1. 5 hours
to Shardlow 15 hours there and back)
Shardlow is one of the most interesting
inland canal ports on the whole inland
waterway network Heritage centre, canal
architecture, pretty, nice pubs.
Short breaks
South
 To
Leicester (12 hours there and
back)
South through lush water meadows and
peaceful rural scenery towards Leicester
and its rich cultural and industrial
heritage.
Mountsorrel extensive moorings
and lockside pub + Stonehurst Family
Farm
Watermead Country Park 140
hectares of 12 lakes and small ponds
ideal for walking/cycling/fishing/more
active watersports
Birstall peaceful moorings and
riverside pubs
Leicester a great variety of
interesting things to see and do
including the National Space Centre, New
Walk Museum and Art Gallery, Jewry Wall
Museum, Guru Nanak Gurdwara and Sikh
Museum. There is also a fantastic market
selling produce from all over the world.
Leaving Leicester it is
then possible to proceed further through
remote countryside for as long as you
want depending on how much time you
intend to spend cruising. Possible
places to aim for include:
Wigston Framework knitters
museum (20 hours there and back)
Kilby Bridge Wistan le Dale
Model Village/craft shops/teas and
coffees (22 hours there and back)
Newton Harcourt/Brocks Hill
Country Park and environment Centre (26
hours there and back)
Saddington Tunnel 880 yards
(32 hours there and back).
All timings are
approximate and will vary according to
conditions and the number of other boats
using the locks. |
