River Wreake to Kegworth town along the Grand Union Canal and River Soar

Welcome, Llama Paws striders, walkers and explorers, to another country hike in beautiful Leicestershire and into Derbyshire. This time I’m walking from where the Rivers Wreake and Soar meet, heading north from close to Rothley. Throughout the walk we’ll be switching from Grand Union Canal to the River Soar and back again as these two waterways overlap and co-exist along much of this route.
So, our travels today begin passing through the pretty Cossington Meadows Nature Reserve, with the sparkling river soar our main companion. After passing the first of a myriad of narrowboats navigating the waters, we twist through Sileby Mill and Marine - crossing over the river a few times in the process.
As with all river and canal walks, the route meanders a lot, and so we take very circuitous route through the fringes of Mountsorrel and then into the edge of Barrow upon Soar. Passing past Proctor’s Pleasure Park - try saying that fast - we pick up the Grand Union Canal route once more, towards Pilling’s Lock and then slowly into Loughborough town.
If you’ve never experienced Loughborough from the canal route below the streets, I can recommend it as it presents an entirely different dimension to the town above. Far less industrial than you might expect, there are dozens of pretty waterside houses and other domiciles to admire as your feet keep time with the day. After a fascinating walk we emerge out of the town and heading through the summer fields towards first Normanton on Soar and then nearby Zouch - about whose pronunciation there is much discussion. Navigating through some tricky building works, we pick up the Zouch Cut and then the Soar and canal heading northwards towards Kegworth.
Shortly after passing the fascinatingly named Devil’s Elbow curve, things start to take a turn for the worse. Because it’s a hot and humid day on our walk this means my ambitions are somewhat limited by being lightly broiled, and sadly the heat claims my desires to walk a little further - with Kegworth being our final destination.
So, come strap on those hiking boots, and come enjoy a walk along a gorgeous summer waterway - with all the canal boats you’d ever want to see!
Location Guide (What3Words): Start: ///grove.clincher.mega Finish: ///headset.lost.scribble
Timecodes
00:00 - Introduction & Route Maps
01:44 - River Wreake (Start)
02:43 - Sileby Mill
04:43 - Barrow on Soar
06:58 - Narrowboats galore
07:47 - Approaching Loughborough
10:38 - Normanton on Soar & Zouch
13:09 - Devil's Elbow
15:06 - Approaching Kegworth
16:19 - Kegworth (End & Outro)

[@trendtraderx]

There is a cafe at red hill.marina but if the pub was shut then that would also have been shut. There is also, for those who are a fan of dad's jokes, a chalet on the island at Redhill called Soar Bottom....Other than going into Keggy itself then Sawley Marina with cafe [open till 4] and shop [open till 5] with drinks, snacks and ice cream.
Not checked recently but there might be a vending machine at East midlands parkway.

[@llordllama]

I had a feeling if I'd done the full route, I was going to head to EMP for a pick up by Mrs Llama. Then again by the last mile, jumping in the canal started looking more & more inviting (especially passing The Otter pub on t'otherside of the water!