Bridge 61, Foxton Locks

First, the remains of the Inclined Plane at Foxton, an amazing lift built at the start of the 20th century to lift canal boats from one canal to another, bypassing the also amazing series of locks.  The locks survive and are still used, the plane was dismantled, although there are plans to rebuild it.

This shows the level at which boats entered the lift, to descend the plane to the canal below.

Now, some photos of us dancing on the towpath outside the Bridge 61 pub, and of our friends Hips N Haws, who joined us for the evening.

Midsummer, Queen's Head, Billesdon

With Bakanalia Border Morris and New St. George, our regular annual visit to Billesdon to mark the longest day (or thereabouts).  Braybrooke was there (that's our Griffin!), but I seem to have forgotten to take any photos of us.

Bakanalia

New St George

 

The White Horse, Stoke Albany

Lift off!

The Star, Geddington, with Higham Hips 'n' Haws

We usually dance in Geddington, near Kettering, with our friends Hips 'n' Haws, a clog dance side from Higham.  And here we all are.

Geddington is the site of one of the three remaining Eleanor Crosses, erected in the 13th century by King Edward I to mark the route taken by the funeral procession of his wife, Queen Eleanor, who died near Lincoln.  The others are at Hardingstone, on the edge of Northampton, and at Waltham Cross.  The one outside Charing Cross station in London is a Victorian replacement for the original, which stood in modern day Trafalgar Square.



The George, Ashley

We have only been dancing at Ashley for a year or two, but there's always an audience, and tonight there was sunshine too.   
Ashley is a relatively recent addition to the programme, and people always come out to watch.  Tonight was a lovely warm and bright evening, which added to the fun. 

Lollipop Man

Smash the Windows - a jig for two people

Lollipop Man again

Can't remember what this one was!

The Dog and Gun, Walton

Here we are, without the local Young Farmers, some of whom joined us for Shepherd's Hey (thank you!), and some of whom were unloading treasure hunt items from their cars.

Swan, Braybrooke, Mayday

Our habit until now has been to welcome Mayday by dancing in Market Harborough very early in the morning.  However, in recent years some of us have found it difficult to fit this around getting to work or getting children to school.  And although it has been good to dance for the early morning dog walkers and the roadsweeper, this year we thought we would aim for a larger audience and dance in the evening at the Swan, Braybrooke.   And some people (and a very enthusastic dog!) did watch, and it was quieter without the continual passing of the lorry sweeping the road.