It was a good mooring down the Stourbridge Extension, the only down side was the noise from the Deer barking at each other around midnight for half an hour.
This morning we reversed back to Brockmoor junction to wind and head back to Leys Junction and re-join the Stourbridge Canal and headed towards Merry Hill Shopping complex, on the way we went under the lowest bridge of the trip, Brettell Lane
Bridge about the same height clearance as the entrants to Hawne Basin.
Most of the Delph Locks were with us and we met a 70 foot boat just leaving the top lock, we had met them earlier just leaving The Bratch. There is a rather historical sign at the top of the Delph Locks, I do wonder how old it actually is .
We stopped for water at the old pump house at Blowers Green after coming up Blowers Green lock and then stopped for lunch just afterwards.
All the moorings at Merry Hill have been suspended for a floating Market Market from the 28 of August until 2 September.We carried on to Windmill End Junction where we turned right down the Dudley No.2 Canal (Lapal canal), hopefully one day this will be restored all the way to Selly Oak on the Worcester and Birmingham canal. We only went as far as Hawne basin, which is now the end of navigation where we filled with diesel, unfortunately due to the Covid regulations they have in force we can’t moor in the basin overnight so we had to leave the basin to moor just north of their canal side moorings on the towpath.
Todays Journey 9 Locks, 12.25 miles in 6.25 hours.Map courtesy of Waterway Routes https://www.waterwayroutes.co.uk/
1 comment:
Hi Brian. Can one not wind at the top end of the 'Extension,? Did used to be able... Brierley Hill, Brockmoor, Pensnett, Quarry Bank, Netherton, Stourbridge & Halesowen are all Geoffrey's old stomping grounds. Served at Dudley, Brierley Hill (first and last station I was posted at), Old Hill (later moved to Haden Hill - Old Hill was really, really small) and Halesowen. Know 'The Brenner' (Meeting Lane area, off Brettall Lane) very well. Regular customers. As you pass alongside Peartree Lane, you pass the site of a blacking plant that both terrified us and covered us in filthy coal dust during incidents and we had a darned good go at emptying the Dudley No 2 at Waterfall Lane Bridge one Sunday trying to quell a conflagration of 2 acres of sawn timber and 2 bindings. One fire engine on the bridge itself blew up! Couldn't pull the skin off a rice pudding after that! Hawke basin are lovely people, we thought. Very bestest to you both. Geoff Smith. Nb Minimum Blue Lights.
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