FROM GRANTHAM TO NOTTINGHAM, ON THE GRANTHAM CANAL, through the Counties of Lincs, Leicester and Notts.

AUGUST Bank Holiday saw us once more afloat, our venue this time being the Grantham Canal. We had, earlier in the year, done the Trent from Burton, and our desire was to navigate what is really an offshoot from that river. This canal is thirty-three miles long, has eighteen locks, equally divided a few miles from each end, leaving a fine long uninterrupted stretch of twenty miles on the level. Like all such waterways it is of ancient date, and the Act of Parliament of its inception goes back to 1749. The management has passed through several hands and it is now controlled by the Great Northern Railway Company.

Travelling from King's Cross to Grantham on the Saturday afternoon, we elected to start from that end of the route, and had our boat from Mr. Witty, Trent, Bridge, Nottingham.

Grantham is an old-fashioned town on the River Witham, of a quiet, quaint, straggling character, with some 12,000 inhabitants It has early historical associations, and even the Angel and Royal Hotel, where we put up, boasts of ancient records. It was once the property of the Knights Templars, and is a picturesque house of the castellated type, embellished with interesting carvings of Edward III and his Queen, now partially covered with ivy. We were informed that King John held Court there in 1213, also that Richard III signed the Death Warrant of the Duke of Buckingham there in 1483. The church of St. Wulfram's stands close by and is a fine edifice, with a spire of some 280 feet, said to be the third highest in England.

At last we proceeded on our journey in fine and promising weather, our day's destination being Harby (Leicester), a distance of 15 miles, with seven locks, the first being five miles on the way. These locks are 75 feet long by 14 broad and are in good preservation, especially for a canal that is more or less in disuse. We found the water about three and a half feet deep and the course in good condition at the start for sculling. This continued for about three parts of the day's journey, when we encountered weeds - here and there - but otherwise there were no difficulties to surmount. There are numerous bridges and swing bridges on the route, about 70 or so in all. The former are fairly high brick structures, but the latter, built of wood, are so low that we just managed to get under them by careful " engineering."

The beauty of the scenery in the earlier stages came quite as a surprise to us, as we thought it might savour somewhat of the character of the Fen district, but on the contrary we encountered some very pretty and pleasing vistas, with masses of foliage. In some instances there were long avenues of trees, the views therein being enhanced occasionally by the picturesque aspect of the bridges. The country around is rich and luxuriant, and more or less undulating, with wooded parks and hills, making altogether a fine piece of pastoral scenery.

Not the least of the pleasures of canal travelling is that one can glide through rural scenery almost beyond human ken, and the charms of nature can be fully appreciated. All this, with its stillness and restfulness, makes a pleasant and enjoyable change from the rush and bustle of city life.

Some five miles on our way we got our first glimpse of Belvoir Castle, the property of the Duke of Rutland, who holds sway in these parts. It is a fine prominent mansion of great architectural attractions, and is conspicuously situated on a hilltop. As we wended our way along the canal with its numerous windings, the Castle was kept more or less in view for miles. There was no indication of civilization until we reached Redmile, 10 miles from Grantham, and there we landed to inspect this little village, Five miles farther on we arrived at Harby, our destination, at 7 p.m. - another village of some few hundred inhabitants - after a pleasing day's experience. We put up in this quiet Leicester village at the White Hart Inn, where nothing was too good for us, and we were apparently the only visitors in the place, although it was Bank Holiday.

On this particular route accommodation is very scanty and there are no large towns anywhere on the canal - Melton Mowbray, which is eight miles away, being the nearest, so we were fortunate in being able to procure rooms, which we did beforehand, at this "halfway house." Our landlord informed us that we were right in the centre of the famous Stilton cheese country, and strangely enough this speciality can only be produced over a limited area, there being certain agricultural advantages obtained from the nature of the soil in these parts. We had, of course, to sample the celebrated fromage.

Next morning we made an early start from Harby under the most perfect weather conditions and with the knowledge that we had to make the most of our time, with 18 miles to cover and 11 locks to work by ourselves. These latter, beginning seven miles from Harby, were somewhat tardy in filling, and as they were big locks our time was kept fully occupied.

The scenery, contrary to what we were led to expect, was again a pleasing surprise, especially the first part of the way, although it was of a different type to that of the previous day. In navigating canals generally the view is sometimes hemmed in by hedges, but in this instance, taken altogether, a wide range of the open country is obtained, showing fine wooded and interesting surroundings, which were seen at their best. Sometimes the route would run through a valley, which, with the luxuriant vegetation, makes quite a picture and gives the impression that it is not on a canal course one is travelling, but along a real river with natural banks.

After an enjoyable pull, a fresh wind springing up ahead and the canal getting somewhat weedy at this point, we took to towing - on what was a good towpath - for some way ahead. This made a pleasant change in the day's work, apart from keeping up the pace to reach our destination in time.

A number of men are kept employed clearing out the canal, and we were informed that it would be better for going through in a few weeks' time, when accumulation of weeds would be removed.

The motor boat had not at the time of our visit shown itself on this waterway, but a shallow draught craft would find good scope at certain times of the year and particularly on the fine long run where there are no locks.

With the exception of the ubiquitous piscator, who always appears wherever there is a stretch of water, there are few persons to be seen on this silent waterway, and with the exception of an occasional craft, there is little movement on the canal. At a point near Hickling we met a barge drawn by a couple of horses, having, we were told, one of the Railway Company's chiefs on board, making a tour of inspection of the waterway.

Here again very few villages are to be seen, and as for towns, they are miles away, an occasional church spire in the distance being the only indication of life. We had therefore to provide our lunches abroad, and these alfresco meals were much appreciated.

One very good plan is adopted on this canal, and that is the distances are distinctly marked by iron pegs every quarter of a mile on the towpath. One's progress then is noted with interest, and the traveller is also assured as to the correctness of the measurements. On many waterways we have found, by sad experience, that the mileage tables give varying results.

On approaching our journey's end we all agreed that the Grantham was a good canal for such an excursion, with good lock facilities. For commercial purposes, however, like many other canals, it is "off the track" and does not pass through populous districts, nor are there any trade interests, except agriculture, on the route.

After an arduous day's work we eventually reached our destination, and our party unanimously came to the conclusion that it was one of the most successful little cruises we had done, the weather, an important factor in this case, contributing more than its usual share to the making of an excellent holiday.

Distances travelled -

	Miles.	Locks.
Grantham (Lincs) to Harby (Leicester)	15	7
Harby to Nottingham (Notts)	18	11
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	33	18
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Picture related to this cruise