WINDING WAYS The LEICESTERSHIRE BRANCH NEWSLETTER Issue 63 - September 2023
WINDING WAYS RETURNS! The resignation of Aegre Editor Peter Hill, after almost 20 years of editorial duty, means there will not be another issue of the East Midlands Region newsletter any time soon. So, this is the rst issue of the revived Winding Ways, which we think was last sent out as Issue 62 in September 2012. I’m not sure if this issue will be a ‘oneo ’ but there are several matters to cover at the moment, so here goes.
SOCIAL EVENTS First Post -Covid Meeting We had to abandon our usual autumn and winter meetings due to the pandemic, but we are keen to get going again. We are returning to the The Gate Hangs Well, Fosse Way, Syston, LE7 1NH using the wonderfully refurbished room that we used to use before moving to Birstall. The meeting will start as before at 7.30, and our guest speaker will be Bob Williams from the Lich eld & Hatherton Canals Restoration Trust. We will also have Linny Beaumont, Director of CRT East Midlands Region, who will update us on their current concerns.
Market Harborough FESTIVAL OF BOATS & ARTS 2025 is the 75th anniversary of the 1950 Inland Waterways Festival of Boats & Arts held in Union Wharf, Market Harborough. The Leicestershire Branch, working in collaboration with the Canal & River Trust, the Old Union Canals Society and Harborough District Council, are organising an event to mark this important historical festival, to be held on Friday 30th May, Saturday 31st May and Sunday 1st June 2025. We will be basing the event at Foxton, as Union Wharf is no longer suitable, being now full of permanent CRT moorings and a hire eet. The land-based activities will be sited in the existing event eld at the top of the ight.
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THE GUC LEICESTER LINE
Is it still sustainable? Given the number of issues on the Leicester Section of the GUC this year, there must now be concerns that as a result of the Defra funding cuts, the River Soar and Grand Union Navigation may soon become unsustainable. There have been stoppages at Kegworth Lock, Birstall Lock, North Lock and Kilby Lock during the year, all of which have deterred boaters from navigating the north Leicester L i n e . T h i s re d u c t i o n i n b o a t movements will push this section of the system even further down CRT priority list, resulting in further delays to the maintenance of the Leicester Line infrastructure. If you haven’t written to your MP to protest at the funding cuts, now would be a good time to do it!
Boats will be assembled on allocated moorings above and below the staircase ight, and there will be an organised cavalcade up the Harborough Arm to Union Wharf and back on the Saturday to collect their commemorative plaques. During the day, there will be entertainment from the Quorn Ukulele Orchestra in the event eld, and we hope to have a performance from the Mikron Theatre Co. on the Friday or Saturday evening. The 1950 Festival of Boats & Arts in Market Harborough was the rst Inland Waterways Association national rally, and was a huge success for the IWA and the town. It attracted around 120 boats of various shapes and sizes, and some 50,00 visitors. Full details will be available on an Event Website