Hello dear readers, did you enjoy your weekend? Thankfully we had a lovely couple of days. Upon realising that Saturday was turning out to be another beautiful day with sun sparkling from frost my husband offered to take us out. I chose Foxton Locks because ive been longing to visit there for ages and ages, years in fact! And it was much more than expected, such a nostalgia filled countryside location, canal sitting still either side of the set of ten locks. Between each lock was a deep but narrow passage which i can hardly imagine a canal boat passing through but of course they do and have done since 1810 when the staircase lock flight was first built. The canal passes along a 75ft hill which meant that we could see stunning scenery far ahead and to the side whilst we walked along the footpaths. Theres a museum, cafe and shop but we didn't visit any of them, preferring to breathe in the fresh crisp air for as much of our visit as possible. There is a summer festival there mid year so im hoping we can visit again for that, i expect it will be another day out for us to treasure.
We saw perhaps eight horses being ridden along the road side and as we got half way around the circular path which we were walking along we could hear a hunt in process - horse hooves clip clopping on roads or thumping on grass, dogs barking and howling and men shouting orders or blowing the horn. Although i am against fox hunting and will never condone it, it did all sound rather thrilling. We stood tall on a high circular viewing point and caught glimpses of the group behind the bare branches of the trees but then they rode away from us as quickly as they had arrived.
I have loved barges and the culture and history associated with them ever since childhood. I remember a few canal side festivals visited with either one of my parents and its since then that i have had some kind of love for them. Do you remember Rosie and Jim? I loved that programme, and in fact i must try to find it online to show D. I'm hoping he will love it too!
Two aspects of the day which i really appreciated were the long shadows from the sun sitting low in the sky, and the clear reflections in the water. There were parts of the canal side which the sun wasn't really hitting and they remained sparkling white and frosty (D enjoyed the slipping and sliding) but where the sun was sharing its rays there was that springtime warmth which i so love. When cheeks feel the heat and the glow is the most welcome and uplifting sensation.
We waited for this pair of swans to come close and then we stood to share some fresh bread with them. Their reflections and those of the bare winter trees were captured so perfectly in the water that you could almost hold these photos upside down and see the same scene.
On Sunday i spent the afternoon clothes shopping for much needed Winter and Spring clothing and came back with lots of nice pieces. So alhamdulillah a good weekend, many blessings. This week i am seeing friends and trying to enjoy our cold Winter frost whilst it is here, as so far this Winter has been warm (this is only the forth day this whole Winter where i have noticed any frost!).
3 little messages:
Gorgeous pics. One of the best holidays I had was on a canal boat. I think I have been through those locks, which canal is it?
Cait i would love to holiday on a barge but i mentioned it to hubby and he said never! I cant tell if he is being serious or just couldnt be bothered to think about it, lol. The canal we visited is called the grand union canal and is in south leicestershire le16 7ra. x
Enjoyed my trip with you. I like walking the canals and have friends with a canal barge so get to sail on them occasionally too. Thanks for visiting and commenting. Alan returns to hospital tomorrow so hoping he will be allowed out and able to drive.
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