Hopwood, South Wast Hills tunnel

Yesterday be moved the boat twice to find shade, first time from Symphony Gardens to Gas Street, then after we had been out for dinner , from Gas Street round to Holiday wharf which was empty. There were three reasons for this, les footfall passed the boat, more breeze (holiday Wharf is like a wind tunnel) and to fill with water.
We finally decided to eat at Bar Estilo with some lovely food but the beer was £6-20 a pint.
This morning  we were off at 8-30 again, I wanted to look at the work that has been carried out opposite Sainsbury's for the Lapel Canal winding hole. Its nice to see they are installing mooring bollards, I hope they make them very short term moorings, like 2 hours and then they will be ideal for shopping, not 2 days or more.

We have seen more boat on the move today than I think we have seen in the rest of the trip, 8  in total. It wasn’t long before we were heading through Edgbaston tunnel, this was originally wide enough for two boats to pass but a few years back it was narrowed to make the towpath wider so the bikes didn’t need to slow down, it’s now classed as being 7 foot wide, as you can see it runs parallel to the railway tunnel.

Just along a bit from the tunnel by the winding hole there were 15 boats moored in the shade of the trees, I have never seen more than a couple here before.

Then it was passed Sainsbury's and the work ongoing there, it looks as id the dam is now fully submerged, I don’t know when they plan to pull the steel out.

  There doesn’t looked to be much progress at the toll house at Kings Norton Junction, its still completely clad in scaffolding and film.

We decided to carry on down the Worcester and Birmingham canal for a bit. I must say it was very pleasant in Wast Hill Tunnel with the occasional lightcool shower even is we did meat two boat, the first with a LED headlight. It would seem that not only do CRT ‘s sign department not have a spell checker they also don’t have a calculator looking at the length, speed and time.

Once clear of the tunnel we carried on for 20 minutes to the winding hole to turn, and then retraced our route almost the the south portal of the tunnel where there was a bit of shade.

Our route to date on Google maps, please click the map to open it. We should close the ring in a couple of days.

Today’s Journey

 

8¾ miles, no locks in 3½ hours.

Banksey

 

 

Birmingham, Gas Street.

We set off at 8-30 this morning to avoid the forecast heat, we had just pushed off and a boat came round the corner towards us, so I was unable to slide straight into the channel where there were no weeds, so I had a blade full before I had done 200 yards, thankfully most of it cleared with a couple of blasts of backwards.
A nice new  deck has been installed on Coneygree rail bridge  since we were last this way, I am guessing its for the tram and not a train.

We didn’t meet any more boats until we got to Birmingham. The Old Main Line must be the ideal canal in this weather travelling under the M5 motorway.

A lot of construction work going on beside Spon Lane Junction with drilling machines and other plant.

Out in the sun again for a bit until we went into Summit Tunnel, the south entrance is guarded by this chap, a little further along there is a bird keeping an eye on things. I don’t know how long they have been there but the graffiti brigade havent found them yet. Talking of graffiti, is this graffiti or is it art, a short way back from where we are moored tonight, CRT seem to look upon it as art and even put a plaque and QR code up.

Due to the weather forecast we decided to put Harnser into summer cruising mode, I do suffer with the sun even though I do go a very dark brown and don’t burn.

Approaching Smethwick new locks you can see the line of the original locks going off to the left. There were two flights in parallel at one time when traffic was heavy.

Some time ago the BCNS completely cleared the toll islands of vegetation, its now back with a vengeance and needs tackling again.

We moored in Birmingham at Symphony Court as it looked a bit shady at 12-30 but as the afternoon went on it was in full sun, however by now Gas Street was in the shade so we moved round there. It was quite empty when we arrived as you can see from the photo but now we have boats both sides of us.

Our route to date on Google Maps

Todays Journey 8¾ Miles, 3 locks in 3½ hours

Tipton, John the Lock moorings

It was a good mooring last night, the outside seating at the pub was busy until mid evening which just left two ladies on the table closest to us to constantly chatter loudly until closing time, not sure how they managed to drink their wine.
I did hear some voices around 3am. but all was fine. Here are the moorings, we were on the left hand side next to the pub.

I always like to take a photo passing under this stainless steel arch bridge, I am not sure if it has a practical purpose or just an art work, if it is just art then its one of the best I have seen on the system, this is a more distant view.

We managed to get all the way to the Community Moorings by the junction without fouling the prop and then just passed the moorings we picked it all up in the last 200 yards.
At Horseley Field Junction we turned to the left towards Birmingham. The going was much easier now with deeper water and we made much better progress. It wasn’t long before we passed the old rail interchange yard with its overhead traveling crane, I am quite surprised that it is still surviving but sadly slowly decaying. What history is being lost.

I think CRT must have been cutting the weed down the Bradley Arm as there was an awful lot of it floating on the surface slowly making its way towards Wolverhampton We were soon at Coseley tunnel, CRT have the headroom down as a couple of meters on their information boards, I wonder where they bought their tape measures.

Leaving this tunnel is one of the few places that I have stoned and when you look back its ideal for the little angles, with nice low walls to hide behind so you can’t photograph them and a good escape route it the hill if required.

As we approached Factory Junction I had to hold back as there was a boat coming round from the old main line, the first we have seen today, at the junction just before we turned to the right I could see another working their way up Factory locks, it was a hire boat and they passed us just after we had moored up John the Looks moorings outside the health centre. There is no shade here but with zero footfall we can have all the hatches wide open.

Our journey to date on Google Maps

Todays Journey

6¼ miles, no locks in 2¾ hours.

Wednesfield Bentley Arm

Two new moorings for us, last night we moored just above the Walsall locks, its in a gated area and first class, a good nights sleep, to night we are in the Bentley Arm outside the Green King pub, even the Green Keen beer went down well in this heat.

This morning as we were about to set off Diana noticed the top paddle up, further investigation showed the bottom paddle half up and a CRT van parked by the gate, so all good. I hope they dont take to much water from this level as its down between 6 and 8 inches at a guess, I didn’t measure it and its a very long pound to replenish.
It took us just on half an hour to get from the top of the locks to Birchills Junction and one weedhatch visit, when we got there someone has pushed a length of rebar right in the middle of the canal and I went hard aground on the near side getting out. Surprisingly the Wyrley and Essington were much better going, although I did have a few visits to the weedhatch the worst being a sofa cushion that was covered in a strong calico type material, Unfortunately its still on the bed of the canal waiting for someone else, but it took me quite a time with the Stanley knife cutting it off.
I only took one picture, the Short Heath branch with a boat moored in it, I have always thought it looked like a nice spot.

We have seen two boats on the move today, Iron Maiden was just leaving the water point at Sneyd and a boat came by just after I had backed into the Bentley Arm.

The trip so far on Google Maps

Todays Journey

7¼ miles, no locks in 4¼hours

Walsall Top Lock

Last nights moorings tucked up at Ocker Hill were first class, we reversed in through this small bridge safely behind a steel fence and locked gates. Due to the angle of the entrance its easier to leave and face  Birmingham and then reverse to the Tame Valley to wind to carry on up the Walsall canal. Once winded we headed towards Walsall, passing some fishermen one said its like the M1, your the third boat today that’s gone by. It wasn’t long before we caught up with the Rothen workboat with 2 crew in the hold with long handle nets and grabs picking up rubbish, but not until after we had passed the disused Old Gospel Oak branch

A little further on we passed the entrance to the Bradley Arm which is presently being restored by the Bradley Arm Restoration Society

As we chugged on, the Rother boat pulling over to allow we finally caught up with the other boat, it turned out they had also overnighted at Ocker Hill but further up the arm.

We had a couple of trips down the weedhatch for a mixture of weed and plastic and it was slow going at times but eventually the Walsall bottom lock came into sight so we stopped on the lock moorings for a bite of lunch. We had just tied up when the boat we had been following came out from the basin and tucked in behind us, they were also going up the flight and also stopping for a bit of lunch, so when we went up the flight we back set every lock for them, it seemed only fare as the locks were with us. Once at the top of the flight we pulled over onto the visitor moorings until they went by, then we reversed into the lock to fill the water tank, even then the hose was only just long enough to reach from the tap. Once full of water we returned to the visitor moorings for the night.

The route so far on Gogle Maps 

Todays Journey
6½ miles, 8 lock in 4½ hours

Ocker Hill

Two boats passed a little before 8-30  this morning and we left at 9am to avoid the heat that didn’t happen today. We had to reverse back from Star City to Salford Junction as there is no where to wind and then set off up the Tame Valley Canal. Luckily I had just completed this manoeuvre when two boats came along the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal to turn up the Aston Locks. We were soon passing under more of Spaghetti Junction, It must have been a major task building it without closing the canal network down.

 

Just by one of the bridge supports is this memorial stone to a police officer who was killed here.

Just below the lock flight coming from the offside there is a steady flow of water feeding the B&F canal, so the water in this section is crystal clear. We arrived at the locks to find them full so we expected a lot of work going up the flight but later they were all empty and at the top full. The lock cottage by lock 13 is looking very smart and it was good to see that the one at the top of the flight by lock one now looks just as good. Last time we were this way it was in poor state with a planning notice pinned to the door.

Once we got to lock 11, the pond between 12 and 11 is quite long the ground work had changed completely, the grass cut to within an inch of its life and all lock freshly painted, including the paddle gear with everything looking pristine. I had completely forgotten that they use Community Pay Back labour on this and the Walsall flight, of course there were some CRT chaps and volunteers working as well.

Up at lock 9 there were a gang of them with their supervisor painting the lock, so all Diana had to do was draw the top paddles as they worked the gates so we wouldn’t get paint on us. The stadium for the Commonwealth games now look enormous with temporary stands and lighting/camera towers specifically for the games. They have even built a

 

lock within the complex, probably the best maintained lock in Birmingham, I understand that it will all be on the TV later this month with the opening ceremony.
By the top lock CRT were holding an event which I think was amid a foreign ladies with refreshments and a catamaran canoe. It was very noticeable how the gardening in the flight stop completely at the top lock and you can only just spot the mooring rings in the long grass the other side of the bridge. The weed growth was much better than I could have hoped for and we only had to hatch visits all day, the first was a ball of weed at the second lock, the other included polly on the M5 Aqueduct, maybe I shouldn’t have laughed at all the lorries on the motorway who were at a standstill.

Maybe one of the reasons the weed conditions were so good was down to these chaps who were working near Rushall Junction, we would see them again later when they brought their boats to Ocker Hill forthe night. Probably the only safe place to leave them.
One of the very tall bridges on the Tame Valley canal is called Chimney Bridge, when you look at the brick support it’s fairly obvious how it got its name.

The Tame Valley canal is wide and straight and we carried on to the end at Tame Valley Junction where we turned left for a short way before reversing in under the bridge to the long term secure moorings. Although they are long term just inside to the right there are two full length moorings for CRT work boats which can be used as visitor moorings if CRT are not using them. Needless to say we had been moored up about half an hour when the weed clearance boats arrived for the night, luckily there was room for all three of us.

The Journey to date on Google Maps

Today’s Journey. 9½ miles, 13 locks in 5½ hours.

Star City

In view of the forecast hot weather we decided to push off a little earlier at 0845hrs. this turned out to be a good thing as we hadn’t long left lock 7 and another boater came up behind us, mind you it wasn’t that long before we met a boat coming down so it wouldn’t have been too bad, as it was they were all with us except the one with the leaking top gate.
I took a couple of photos as we passed where HS2 is crossing, to the south is what I think is a long accessroad, to the north not much has changed canal side but there are large cranes just the other side of the motorway. It was actually quite cool this morning with a cool breeze and didn’t really warm up until lunchtime ish.
There has been a lot of talk on the internet about whether towpaths should be mown or left for wildflowers. The volunteers on the Curdworth flight do boat, 2 years ago the decision was made to leave the offside of locks for wild flowers, which they have, but they have also kept the edge by the lock mown, so the best of both worlds.

We just cleared Curdworth tunnel when we met a boat, the steerer madly waving at us, as I don’t wear my glasses when boating I didn’t have a clue who it was, when they got closer I could see it was Seyellas a fellow blogger, Having been on holiday fro 3 weeks I have lost track where people are, I have 130 unread blog on the machine. Just past The Cuttle Bridge Inn on the offside they are building a huge industrial estate, earth works have started and building on the very far side.

There is a recreation ground adjoining the development, its been there for many years, it looks as if they may have some new buildings, but what caught my eye was two groundsmen marking out the pitches, In my day you pushed a small tank full of white liquid along a string line to paint a white line, today they use a robot and follow it around with a smart phone, or maybe it knows where to go and he was just doing Facebook.

We carried on to Salford Junction, on the way the offside bank in places is just a mass of Blackberries, around our way in Suffolk they are all in flower, a lot of these are in fruit and we even spotted a few black ones. At the junction we turned a very hard left up the Grand Union to moor for the night at Star City, since we have been here only one boat has been passed.

Today’s Journey

10 locks 8 miles in 4¼ hours

Lock 7 Birmingham and Fazeley canal

Well we are back on the boat, we actually arrived yesterday, but I have been doing some electrical mods until lunchtime today.

needless to say as soon as we set off it started raining, not heavily, just spitting. We left the marina and turned left towards Fazeley only meeting one boat between here and Tamworth. At Tamworth there was a boat just entering Glascote top lock to go down, so both locks were against us, needless to say as soon as we cleared the locks we met a couple of boats.
At Fazeley Junction we turned left and called in at  Fazeley Mill to pump the toilet tank, it had got a bit wiffy after sitting in the sun for the past two month not being used. There pumpout machine works really well and we were soon sorted, it cost me £20, I think its gone up since we had the last one. If anyone is interested there diesel is 131/153p a Lt.
It was a tossup as to stop below lock 11 or go up to the moorings between 11 and 19, the decision was made when a Canal Time came out of the lock leaving it ready for us. Unfortunately there were boats moored where we wanted to be so we carried on, there was one space at the far end by the Dog and Doublet but a boat already coming down in Lock 8 had his eye on it so we carried on to just below lock 7 to moor for the night.

I didn’t see anything worth photographing but I expect there will be some HS2 shots tomorrow

Todays Journey

9 Miles, 6 Locks in 4¾ hours