We've taken a detour today, along the Ashby Canal. Originally intended as a broad-gauge connection between the Coventry Canal and the River Trent (which it failed to reach), the Ashby Canal was constructed lock-free on a contour of 300 feet and served the coalfields around Moira and Measham.
The canal was still in use commercially until the 1960s. Thereafter, serious subsidence and lack of maintenance meant the canal was mostly abandoned and not available to use. Serious restoration work through the 1990s means much of its original length has been restored for use and it is now prized as a peaceful detour away from the main canal system.
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Tonight we are tied up at Market Bosworth; tomorrow we will turn around and retrace our steps back to the Coventry Canal. We have travelled 17 miles with no locks, and it has taken around 7 hours.
