For those that don’t follow me on Facebook, last night we had dinner at the Indian restaurant Barajee on Broad Street. The meal was very nice but it was quite noisy with two all male parties of 10 right behind me, not young males I might add.
A rather late start this morning due to a communications failure, I thought Diana wanted to go into town but she didn’t, so it was gone 11 before we left.
I had just pulled away when the trip boat came round Old Turn junction and so he followed me all the way round the Oozells Loop and back onto the Main Line at Ladywood Junction and we both then went north, but I pulled a good way ahead before turning left at Icknield Square junction to go round the Icknield Port loop, he carried straight on. Development on the Port island is ongoing,I wouldn’t want to be living there at the moment.
The fronts of the properties are almost all glass, so unless you are an exhibitionist, good curtains are a must.
As the trip boat didn’t follow us into the loop I guessed he must be coming round the other way and we would meet him at some point, at least he should expect to meet me at some point, as we approached Icknield Port Loop Bridge 2 I heard his horn, this is quite a wide bit so he had plenty of room when he exited the bridge. At Rotton Parkjunction we went straight across and round the Soho loop, they were still building these flats last time we came this way. I like the way they have used different bricks as well as different bonds to improve the look of large square brick blocks.
On the other side of the canal where the old industrial units have lost their roofs the gable ends have been refinished with stepped coping stones.
From here you get a quick glance of Birmingham City skyline, its definitely on the up and up. Now is that top bit leaning, I will leave you to decide.
We were almost at the far end of the loop, just before Winson Green Prison when we passed this monument to Black people in the UK, it wasn’t here last time we were this way. I didn’t think it was verywell designed as I had trouble reading the inscription. “Black British History is British History”. Winson Green Junction and hard right back on the Main Line. The first Toll Island we came to had quite a nature reserve growing within it wings, but the Island its self has had all the saplings removed again.
The next one we came to has also seen some maintenance with the saplings all cut back, several years ago CRT said they would treat them to stop regrowth, but nothing looks to have happened on that score.
As you have probably realised we are following the New Main Line and passing through Galton Tunnel another first for me. A heron fishing half way through, it dived into the water a short way behind us but I couldn’t see if he caught anything. The towpath is closed beside the old glass works as the wall is considered unsafe, they have been discussing for years what to do with the building, I expect it will soon catch fire and get pulled down, that’s what seams to happen to old historic buildings around here .
We carried on in the sun which was pleasant, but it soon cooled down when you went into the shade. The canal was quite busy today, including the trip boat we met 4 boats. At Dudley Port Junction it was hard left and through to Netherton Tunnel, the sun was quite bright at the far end and I managed a photograph of someone taking a photograph, with the bright sun I didn’t even know he was there until I looked through the view finder of the camera and saw him silhouetted in the light.
We stopped just after the tunnel at the Bumble Hole Visitor Centre to fill with water before dropping back to the visitor moorings for the night.
Today’s Journey 10 miles with no locks in 3¾ hours
1 comment:
Netherton not Dudley tunnel?
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