St Dionysius Church was for pilgrims, it doesn't have a graveyard
The Old Grammar School
After lunch I stepped out of the restaurant straight into a puddle, water covered the front of my trainers! Thankfully it wasn't too bad, my feet were wet but not drenched, although when I got home and changed my socks were slightly damp.
The highlight of the day was a visit to Foxton Locks, a Grade II listed site, and home to the longest and steepest staircase of locks in Britain, rising 75 feet up a steep escarpment. There are 10 locks and it takes 45 minutes to traverse them.
The locks have been an essential part of travel, trade and leisure for over 200 years. The Grand Union Canal is a union of lots of smaller canals. In 1810 an Act of Parliament authorised a new section to be built from the Leicestershire and Northamptonshire Canal at Foxton to the Grand Junction Canal at Buckby. It meant that for the first time boats and cargo could travel from the River Thames at Brentford to the East Midlands, including the coalfields of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire.
The locks were opened on the 9 August 1814, and today they are essentially the same as when they were built.
I hoped we would see a boat travelling through.
This image is courtesy of the web.
21 hardy water babies went on the included boat trip. The boat had a top cover but open sides and I knew from experience that the roof cover would not be adequate protection from the wind and rain. So myself and a few others sought refuge in the Foxton Locks Inn.
On a nice warm sunny day it would be lovely to sit here enjoying the view over the river.
The clouds finally dispersed and the sun appeared at 6 o/clock as we were approaching home!
∼ Be safe and well∼
Polly x
The canals are a wonderful way of traversing the country. Ten locks is a lot to cope with.
ReplyDeleteI like going on canal boats - when the weater is good!
DeleteEven in the rain, it's a very picturesque spot! I especially like the Old Grammar School.
ReplyDeleteIt is a lovely place and I'm glad I went, despite the weather.
DeleteThe rainy day made for some beautiful photos! Of course, the sun came out when you were heading back home!
ReplyDeleteConsidering how cloudy it was I was quite pleased with the photos.
DeleteI love the shape of the old school house. Great shot.
ReplyDeleteThank you Ivy, I was trying to get a good shot while holding my umbrella!
DeleteSounds like you had quite the adventure, Polly!
ReplyDeleteToo bad about the rain, but at least you found some fun shops to duck into.
Foxton Locks sounds awesome, even if you didn’t get to see a boat going through.
Glad you found a cozy spot at the inn to wait it out!
Here’s to sunnier days ahead !
I will toast to that!
DeleteHello, Polly. I enjoyed the special ambiance of each place on a rainy day in your wonderful photos.
ReplyDeleteYoko
Thank you Yoko :-)
DeleteHello Polly, what a fascinating place to visit - even in the rain! Those locks are a feat of engineering!
ReplyDeleteHello Lorrie, they are, it was interesting seeing the making of them :-)
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