Foxton Locks: A gentle stroll

Given it’s the last weekend in January, and the longest point in the year between pay days, I think many would agree that this was the weekend to do something that was free. There’s just no pennies left in the purse I’m afraid.

Also, by this time in January, and I know it’s so very British of me to talk about the weather, but I need to see some blue sky and preferably, some sun.

This time last year, I had a solid reason to get out walking. I’d signed up to do a charity trek in the Himalayas (casual brag, and no doubt the subject of a future blog). Each weekend I would I walk miles around the local countryside and I loved it! Yet, since I’ve been back, I’ve reverted to sitting on my backside. So I was thrilled this weekend to get back outdoors, to breathe in the fresh air and stretch my aching body.

Foxton Locks was the stroll of choice. Apparently, the largest ‘staircase flight’ locks in England (which in English means there’s 10 consecutive ones), it’s situated in southern Leicestershire. Walking alongside the Grand Union canal on a pleasant day, you’ll witness a whole other world that you forget exists. People living on long boats, navigating the canals of the UK. And the locks are fascinating – opening and closing with the rising and falling of the water to get the boats up and downhill. It’s a very gentle walk, we only did about 5000 steps all in. But, there’s a plethora of cafes and pubs along the way to dip into if you’ve got the funds. So too is there fishing on the banks, a second hand charity book shop (with an honesty box – cute!) and a canal museum too. It was a stretch too far to ask the teenager to have a look around there..

The walk that we chose was a short part of the Leicestershire Round, which is a series of footpaths that connect to form a loop around the whole county. And whilst you need a system of cars and people to be able to do long stretches of the Round, it’s now firmly on my bucket-list as exploring and enjoying one’s home countryside is just as lovely as exploring further afield.

Back to being a Brit, and the permanent weather commentary, whilst it was a bit nippy up at the highest part of the lock staircase, the stroll and the fresh air did us good. Foxton is nice (and interesting!), it did cost a few quid in car parking, but then, where doesn’t? But all in all, I recommend a visit. I do however, stand by the fact that as January comes to an end, I would now like to see some sun..