Monday 27th August – Bank Holiday Monday fun

First job of the day was some laundry – wild! After hanging this up on my parents camping rotary line to dry, about 5 minutes later I had to lug the whole thing inside their awning as it began to rain! Good job they have a big awning. Amused ourselves for an hour or so by walking around the campsite with my parents and Nephew playing ‘Run, run, run….jump’ – lots of fun.

The Ladies of the group (Me, Mum and little sister) decided to walk to our destination of choice today, with my Nephew in his buggy/walking with us. We were heading for Moira Furnace, which directions told us was only a few minutes’ walk away. We clearly took a wrong turn somewhere as it took us about 40 mins, but it was a lovely walk anyway!

The walk was along an old railway line of the Ashby and Nuneaton joint railway which carried Leicestershire coal for 90 years. The photo that shows where two pathways connect used to be where, for nearly 100 years, a railway junction stood.  It was opened in 1873 and closed in 1969, and its tracks were lifted and removed in 1972.

You could still see some of the old side building along the way and it was a lovely flat walk, clearly popular with locals and people on holiday in the area.

After asking a horse rider the way – we eventually arrived where we were meant to be about half an hour before!

My Dad and BIL came along a bit later in the car in case of very bad weather of if we needed a car – we did as Mum and sister went off to buy some dinner a little later. The parking was free!

First things first – lunch. There was a lovely café onsite called ‘The Hub’ that served dishes from a bacon butty, to a jacket potato and toasties with chips. They also had a range of hot and cold drinks and were all really friendly and helpful, plus you could choose to sit inside or out. When the food arrived, it was delicious. Here is the obligatory photo!

After filling up we headed towards the canal that ran alongside the old furnace building to take a short 20 minute canal boat ride.

It was only £2.50 for adults £1.50 for child and was driven and maintained by the volunteers there who were really happy to chat to everyone and explain the history of the place. Incredibly welcoming and full of interesting information.

We also got a quick tour of the inside of the boat that has been restored to how it could have looked during the times that coal was taken along the canal, rather than by train.

It was very small and compact and reminded us a little of our caravans! There were rules that the boat families had to adhere too, one being they were only allowed to have two children – you could see why with the lack of space they had – and they were visited by inspectors to ensure that this was the case. In the museum there were stories of how the kids used to hide in other boats or in drawers! It would have been a tough life as they never stopped – if they did they got charged mooring fees, so the family and horses would be constantly moving along the canal to get their cargo to the right place.

Now for some history!

Moira Furnace is a nineteenth-century iron-making blast furnace located in Moira, Leicestershire, on the banks of the Ashby-de-la-Zouch Canal. Built by the Earl of Moira in 1804, the building has been preserved by North West Leicestershire District Council as a museum featuring lime kilns and craft workshops.

In 1804, the Earl of Moira had the furnace constructed to take advantage of the iron ore and abundant coal which were present underground in the surrounding Ashby Woulds area owned by him. The location was chosen for its proximity to the Ashby Canal for transport, and the lie of the land which allowed the furnace to be built low down so the raw materials did not need raising very high.

However, this was a period of development in blast furnace design and some of the features of Moira Furnace do not appear to have been successful. It was brought into blast in 1806, and used intermittently until 1811, though the foundry remained in use until after 1844 by utilising iron brought in from elsewhere.

The historical evidence shows that, although saleable iron was at times produced, over the period that the furnace operated it experienced continual problems. The furnace was abandoned with its final charge still inside, partially smelted.

The attached foundry continued to be used for some years, using brought-in pig iron, though it was demolished later in the 19th century. Meanwhile the bridgehouse and the engine house, which was a separate building to the side of the furnace, were converted to dwellings and survived. However, by the 1970s they had become derelict and affected by mining subsidence and the engine house was demolished.

After pressure by Philip Riden and from Leicestershire Industrial History Society, the furnace and bridgehouse were scheduled as an ancient monument. The site was acquired by North West Leicestershire District Council in 1981, who sponsored a Community Programme to restore the site and develop it as a museum and country park.Inside the bridgehouse there is now a museum, operated by the Moira Furnace Museum Trust, which is open regularly.

The small museum was great, giving stories from relatives of the people who had lived there once it was converted to homes. These homes only had two rooms and there was a mark on the ceiling that showed where the dividing wall between the four houses (within one building) used to be. They even built a house in one of the canal bride arches when the canal was no longer in use – you can see these in the photos below.

After we’d taken a look around, we played pooh sticks with my Nephew on the bridge and then myself, Dad, BIL and Nephew walked back to the campsite – we went the right way this time!

Late afternoon was spent on the campsite again – playing with Tom and chatting with everyone. It’s been nice to slow down for a few days, as I was visiting at least two places each day when I was travelling alone. Now I’m looking forward to exploring Shropshire from tomorrow for a few days.

Dinner tonight is one of my favourites – what we call ‘picky bits’ which is salad, bread, warm sausages, cheese and crackers, meats etc, followed by more homemade cake and some ice cream.

We are all leaving tomorrow morning, so this evening we all started our break down process, but I will do most of mine tomorrow as I need to plan my next journey…wonder if I will be able to stick to it this time?