Brook Meadow Campsite, Mr Market Harborough

It was a reasonably bright day on Monday. We had a nice relaxing morning and left for home about 1:30pm.

Foxton Locks

Today we decided to take a trip to Foxton Locks. Foxton Locks is home to two amazing feats of engineering in the heart of the Leicestershire countryside. The Grade II listed locks on the Leicester Line of the Grand Union Canal are over 200 years old. They demonstrate how 19th century canal engineers solved the problem of getting boats up and down a steep hill. This impressive flight of ten locks are the longest set of staircase locks in Britain. It takes an average of 45 minutes for boats to travel the entire flight and on a busy day as many as 40 boats can make the trip. The lock keepers will be busy directing the traffic, making use of the passing pond in the middle of the flight. Alongside the locks you can see the side ponds which provide reserves of water for the locks and prevent wastage. These ponds are a haven for local wildlife, including ducks, heron and water vole.

To find out more about how the locks operate, make sure you pay a visit to The BoilerHouse. Behind the Boiler House you will see the evidence of another amazing feat of engineering. A fine example of Grand Victorian industrial engineering – the inclined plane boat lift.





Designed at a time when canals were the mass transport system for England it was to help improve the capacity of the canal network. The Lift could take 2 boats at a time to the top of the hill in 12 minutes. Unfortunately with the coming of the railways the increased traffic on the canal never materialised and the lift became un economical to run. It was mothballed in 1911, but still maintained in working orders. It was eventually sold for scrap in 1928. The full story is told in The Boiler House. At the base of the locks is a canal-side shop and two pubs; Bridge 61 and Foxton Locks Inn. The locks and surrounding area are open and accessible to the public all year round. The network of footpaths and towpaths provide ideal walking and cycling opportunities with a choice of many routes.

Market Harborough

Bit overcast this morning but looks like it will brighten up. Had a nice shower and our usual cooked breakfast. We had a ride to Market Harborough about 7miles away. Market Harborough is a market town that sits on the Northamptonshire - Leicestershire border.

The Centre of the town is dominated by the steeple of St. Dionysius Parish Church which rises directly from the street, as there is no church yard. It was constructed in grey stone in 1300 with the church itself a later building of about 1470.

Next to the church stands the Old Grammar School, a small timber building dating from 1614. The ground floor is open, creating a covered market area and there is a single room on the first floor. It has become a symbol of the town. The nearby square is largely pedestrianized and surrounded by buildings of varying styles. The upper end of the high Street is wide and contains mostly unspoiled Georgian buildings.

After a stroll around the shops and the market we went to the Harborough Museum, based in the old Symington corset factory. The museum celebrates Market Harborough’s long history as a centre of trade and industry in the heart of the Welland Valley, and is also the home of the Hallaton Treasure. In 2000 metal detectorist, Ken Wallace, and other volunteers from the Hallaton Fieldwork Group came across some Roman pottery in a field outside their village in Southeast Leicestershire. Along with the Hallaton Fieldwork group, The University of Leicester Archaeological Services (ULAS) began excavating what turned out to be one of the most important Iron Age sites in Britain. They discovered over five thousand silver and gold coins, the remains of an ornately decorated Roman silver-gilt helmet and some mysterious silver finds. The Treasure was found near the village of Hallaton in south east Leicestershire in what was once an Iron Age shrine.

Brook Meadow Campsite, Mr Market Harborough

Arrived about 3pm. A nice sunny morning had now clouded over although it wasn’t cold. We set everything up and had a nice cuppa in the awning. Brook Meadow is on a working farm set in 400 acres of peaceful pasture land, with 15 acres designated to the camp site, located on the Northamptonshire and Leicestershire border.

The site is surrounded by woodland and meadowland with its own 5 acre fishing lake complete with fishing lodge with toilets showers and fridge, microwave and kettle all free to use. The lake was teeming with tadpoles. I hadn’t seen any for years. Around the far side of the lake a fisherman had just caught a large Carp. They have 17 hard standing and 8 grass pitches all with 10 amp Electric Hook Ups. Caravans can also pitch anywhere else on site too.

Cannock Chase Camping & Caravanning Club Site

Monday morning it was a nice pleasant sunny day. We decided to have a nice chill by the caravan, rather than go out for a couple of hours. We left around 4pm and had a nice steady ride home.

National Memorial Arboretum, Glacial Boulder and Cannock Chase German Military Cemetery

It eventually stopped raining around mid-morning and turned out to be a nice day. Bit cool in the wind sometimes but generally a nice sunny day. We drove around 15 miles to the National Memorial Arboretum. The Arboretum is over 150 acres this converts roughly into 60 hectares. More land will be gifted to the Arboretum by Lafarge as their nearby quarrying operations are reduced.

There are over 300 memorials with more being added all the time. Around 60% of the Arboretum’s memorials have a military connection, there are also many recognising other non-military organisations for example; the Police, the Fire and Rescue Services and The Rotary Club. Particularly touching was the “Shot at Dawn Memorial” to commemorate over 300 men shot as deserters, 4 of whom were only 17 years of age. Each post signifies one of the soldiers that were shot. On 7th November 2006, the British Government agreed to give them all a posthumous pardon.

On the way back we went in search of deer at the Glacial Boulder, as recommended by the English Heritage cashier at Boscobel House. No deer to be found and the boulder was decidedly underwhelming.

On the way back we stopped at Cannock Chase German Military Cemetery, near Brocton. Last resting place of nearly 5000 German Soldiers who died on English soil during the 2 World Wars, including the crews of 4 Zeppelins shot down in 1916 Before heading back to the van we stopped for tea at “The Plaza”. A Weatherspoon’s pub set in an old cinema which originally opened in 1934, the last film shown being Independence Day in 1998.

Lichfield

Bit of a cloudy start, although not cold. After the usual breakfast we went to the site information point to pick up a few leaflets. After a nice hot shower in the nicely appointed shower block, we decided a trip to nearby city of Lichfield was the order of the day. After parking in the long stay car park, only £4 for all day parking, we embarked on the short walk to the impressive Lichfield Cathedral.

It is the only medieval English cathedral with three spires. The cathedral is dedicated to St Chad and Saint Mary. Its internal length is 113 metres (370 feet), and the breadth of the nave is 21m (68'). The central spire is 77m (252') high and the western spires are about 58m (190'). Built from sandstone from a quarry on the south side of Lichfield. The walls of the nave lean outwards slightly, due to the weight of stone used in the ceiling vaulting; some 200–300 tons of which was removed during renovation work to prevent the walls leaning further. It was a bit of a damp day with intermittent drizzly spells which didn't amount to much. On the way back to the van we decided to try the “Chasegate” Fayre and Square pub for tea. Very nice it was too. Had a pleasant evening chill. It started to rain about 10pm and rained heavily all night.

Cannock Chase Camping & Caravanning Club Site

Arrived about 4:30pm with the sun shining nicely. This Club campsite sits on the edge of one the Midlands’ most popular beauty spots, Cannock Chase. A combination of natural deciduous woodland, coniferous plantations and open heathland the Chase, England’s smallest Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, offers boundless adventure and fun for walkers, mountain bikers and dog lovers alike and is perfectly located for exploring the attractions of Cannock, Lichfield, Birmingham and the surrounding area. We were on the top terrace, a short walk from the toilet block. I didn’t realise we were booked onto a hard standing pitch and our awning pegs were not up to it. We pitched it temporarily using our better pegs and had a drive to Halfords in Lichfield, about 7 miles away, to get some sturdier pegs. After finishing off the awning, and enjoying quiche, rice and salad for tea, we had a chill for the rest of the evening. TV reception wasn’t very good