For reasons I explained here, we woke up this morning in Barton-le-Clay.

It was freezing outside (literally), so we decided not to rush off. Morning tea in bed; a long, super-hot shower; scrambled eggs and croissants for breakfast... Thoroughly self-indulgent...

Our destination du jour was Leicestershire's Foxton Locks, billed as "the longest and steepest staircase of locks in the country".

It was still extremely cold, and you had to constantly watch out for hazards underfoot (I never totally understand how ice can coexist with mud, but apparently these two slippy menaces don't always cancel each other out).

Nevertheless, the wraiths of mist were incredibly atmospheric against the sunbursts and the impeccable blue of the sky. And it's just hard to beat canals and canal boats for their picturesqueness and the whiff of nostalgia that clings to them (a literal whiff today, actually, as some of the folk moored up were, very understandably, running their coal stoves).









Not far from the canal, you can also see the remains of the inclined plane, which transported boats up and down the hill in giant bathtubs of water. It lasted only 11 years (it was expensive to run, and competition from the railways was just too fierce). Amazing idea, though...




We walked a little way along the canal in a couple of directions. Still jolly cold. But again, the light and colours were superb.









On the way home we just popped into Market Harborough to take a look at Union Wharf. This is where one arm of the Grand Union Canal -- the waterway that we'd been following all day -- comes to a halt.




The day was waning, but we walked into town. Market Harborough boasts some really attractive buildings, and is clearly somewhere that needs to be visited again.




We'd had fitful mist and sunshine all day. But as we headed north, we were engulfed in a much more serious fog bank. Nottinghamshire had been blanketed most of the day, so we counted ourselves pretty lucky.