Wolverhampton

Last nights mooring was much quieter than last time we stopped there, they have erected fencing and gates between the road and the industrial unit carparks so the boy racers can’t do doughnuts. When we went to leave we had a fisherman set up a short way in front of us and another behind us. Like yesterday almost as soon as we set off it started raining. We went to Hawne Basin for a pumpout , fill with diesel and dump rubbish.
The bridge at the entrance to the basin is actually lower than the tunnel to get down here. As we left we exchanged pleasantries with the two fishermen who were very cheerful even if it had started to ran. Before you get to Gosty Tunnel there are the remains of some side slips on the offside, I think there may have been 6 of them but this is the best preserved one.

Once through the tunnel we saw a couple of police cars on the off side by a bridge and then spotter two officers walking back along the tow path carrying something between them but were unable to see what it was.
We did meet one boat today in Netherton Tunnel, we were over 600Mt from the end when he approached the tunnel with his head light on and was dazzling me with it then. It was set pointing straight ahead so just reflected all the way along the surface to me. We joined the New Main Line again and turned left  to Factory Lock which were all in our favour. Once passed Factory Junction the land on the offside has now been cleared and just consists of large piles of broken bricks, I expect it will become another housing estate. They have left the pump house and the large pipe in situ so I assume that the pump is still used for something.
There are a lot more shopping trollies in this length of canal now than there use to be also quite a bit of oil on the water around Dixon Street Bridge area, probably due to all  the rain and runoff from all the industrial sites in the area.
CRT have a yard in Wolverhampton on the offside and this rather nice tug was moored there, I don’t know were it worked when it was in service. I am not sure you will be able to read the name but its Gloucester and I like it.
We carried on into Wolverhampton mooring on the offside just through Wolverhampton tunnel, this is a stretch of mooring only accessible by boat, so no take a way.

Today’s Journey 12 miles, 3 locks in 4¾ hours