Heading North Spring Cruise Week 12

 

Monday 22nd May - Alvechurch to Tardebigge Top Lock

A short cruise today to the top of the Tardebigge Locks, so we spent the morning walking to Alvechurch and topping up on essentials.

We cruised past two Anglo Welsh hire bases, one at Alvechurch and the other at Tardebigge.  Both had lots of their boats out so manoeuvring through them was quite easy today.

Two tunnels, Shortwood Tunnel and Tardebigge Tunnel, both of which you can see through to the other end and both were clear, so an uneventful journey through both tunnels.

Once through the final tunnel we pulled over to use the services and then the plan was to drop down through the first lock and moor in the long pound before the second lock, but at the last minute we changed our mind and stayed above the top lock, very pleasant it was too!

4.5 miles, 0 locks, 2hr 18mins.

Tuesday 23rd May - Tardebigge Top Lock to Tardebigge Bottom Lock

A grey start to the day with a promise of sun later.  We made an early start as we are expecting some volunteer help at 9am, which will be most appreciated.  The fields around us are full of sheep and lambs, they have been incredibly noisy in the evening and through the night!

Tardebigge top lock is a very deep lock, it has a rise of 11 feet, unusually high for a single lock. This lock was built to replace an experimental vertical boat lift.  The Tardebigge vertical lift was invented by John Woodhouse and installed at his own expense, with excavation and masonry provided by the company. Finished on 24 June 1808, it was housed in a covered shed and used a fixed counterweight of bricks, connected by a set of eight parallel chains and pulleys. Lifting was performed by two men using a windlass. The 64 ton wooden caisson was sealed at each end by guillotine gates, as was the lock chamber. It succeeded in lifting 110 boats in 12 hours but was considered too fragile for permanent use.  Consequently there was recourse to locks for the remainder of the canal and the lift was replaced in 1815. The lift mechanism has gone but the outline of its balancing pit may be seen near the lock keeper's cottage.

We were met by two volunteers at Lock 57, Kev and Trev, Trev is a trainee and therefore can only work alongside a fully qualified volunteer.

Tardebigge Reservoir is a large feeder reservoir covering about 25 acres (ten hectares), built to supply water for the flight of locks. It is maintained by Canal and River Trust and still supplies water to the canal system. The lake is up to forty feet (twelve metres) deep at the dam end, shelving off to around fifteen feet (4.6 metres) at the inlet end. The reservoir is very popular with anglers.  The reservoir is the fullest we have seen it for a long time.

We were struck by these large fields of blue, but I’m not sure what it is.  It could be a field of flax in flower.  The cloth made from the finest fibres in the stem of linseed (flax) plants is well known to us as linen. Coarser fibres are used to make rope and twine.  Or it could be Phacelia, commonly used by farmers and vegetable growers, it works well as a green manure because it's fast growing and tolerates lower temperatures – it may even survive a mild winter. Phacelia doesn't fix nitrogen to the soil like leguminous plants but it does hold on to nitrogen, which is then dug back into the soil.

We met up with Tom, an old friend from nbMinuet days and who assessed Dave and I for our volunteer roles.  Tom used to be the lead volunteer on the Tardebigge Locks but has stepped down and enjoys a variety of different roles, he is being a volunteer ranger today and came out especially to see us!

As the reservoir is so full, there is a lot of water on the flight, here you can see the water cascading over the lock gates.  Kev was able to manage the water by filling the lock behind us and drawing the surplus water out of the pound.

A lock keepers cottage is now a Landmark Trust property, an organisation set up by John Smith in 1965 after the demolition of the Junction House at Hurleston on the Shropshire Union Canal.  The Trust is devoted to rescuing and refurbishing of worthwhile buildings in all different shapes and sizes.

Kev and Trev, our volunteer helpers today, many thanks to them both for turning out to help us today and for all the work they do generally.

2.25 miles, 30 locks, 3hrs 12mins. 

Wednesday 24th May - Tardebigge Bottom Lock to Hanbury Junction

We left The Queen’s Head, a very pleasant pub and a very nice mooring, this morning and headed towards Hanbury,. 

Toby and I worked the first few locks, you can just see Toby lying down at my feet as I finish off the lock, we then walk to the next lock and do it all over again!

These irises are so pretty.  The water-loving yellow iris can be found along the margins of waterways and ponds, and in wet woodlands, fens and saltmarshes. Often mingled among other reedbed plants, its large, bright yellow flowers appear between May and August; they are thought to be the inspiration for the fleur-de-lys symbol, which is used in heraldry and also by the Scouts.

We made a stop here to fill up with water opposite the Boat and Railway Pub, aptly named as the canal and railway run parallel here.

The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost (1874-1963)

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

We have struggled along this stretch as Canal and River Trust have been cutting the towpaths back and we have had to clear the propeller of cuttings.  This photo shows the amount of pollen that has blown from the surrounding hedges, trees and fields.  We moored up just past the Hanbury Junction here we shall spend the night.

4.2 miles, 12 locks, 3hrs 54mins.

Thursday 25th May - Hanbury Junction to Perdiswell

A lovely morning, we moved gently down canal until we got to Bridge 35 Chandlery where we stopped to put on diesel.  We then continued on our cruise to Perdiswell.

Dunhampstead Tunnel, a short tunnel which you could easily see through, and then heading towards the locks.  The tunnel was opened in 1815 and is 2 way working with chains on the inside of the tunnel for safety reasons.

Through the trees we could see this shell of a disused windmill, near to a farm, I’m sure it would be a delightful residence once renovated.  The Offerton Locks were in good condition today, pounds all full and an excellent journey down.

The welcome to Worcester marker as we approach the City.

Two more cygnets with their parents and I also saw another swan standing beside a nest which had 4 eggs in it.  We stopped just opposite the golf course at Perdiswell and spent a quiet night there before finishing off our cruise into Worcester.

6.75 miles, 8 locks, 3hrs 54mins

Friday 26th May - Perdiswell to Diglis Basin

The last day of our trip, leaving our mooring and heading for the first of our 6 locks.

Here we are passing a Trinity hireboat, and unfortunately their crew had turned the lock on us.  The lock was in our favour, they emptied it and we waited in a pound that was already low on water.  It was a real shame, that after 12 weeks this was the first boat to do this to us, combined with the low water, I was not pleased!

The last time we saw a hole in a bridge like this was the Marple Aqueduct, and the reason was to cut down on the weight bearing above the arch way.

This is the first time we have seen the cathedral from this lock, as there has always been a line of trees blocking the view.  The trees have recently been cut down and suddenly there is the Cathedral!

Sidbury Lock beside The Commandery, with decoration on the bridge of swords and helmets.

The last stretch, towards the swing bridge and into the Basin where I was able to moor the boat backwards into our space, very happy with that!

2.5 miles, 6 locks, 2hrs 18mins

Some thoughts on our trip

- very pleased with the distance we have covered.

- a challenge - rivers, canals, tunnels

- hugely enjoyable - excited to see what was around the next corner

- new experiences - Hebble spike, short locks, huge river locks, deepest lock, highest canal pound.

- stunning scenery - Pennines, Yorkshire, Lancashire

- wonders of the waterways - Bingley 5 Rise, Burnley Embankment, Barton Swing Bridge

- Leeds - loved the city, Hebden Bridge - very friendly and fascinating 

- very friendly people

- many thanks for all the help from Canal and River Trust volunteers.

Statistics

Miles - 456

Locks - 463

Tunnels - 7

Hours - 260hrs  9mins

Heading North Spring Cruise Week 11

Monday 15th May - Great Haywood to Handsacre

Woke to blue skies and sun, but a chilly wind.  We cruised through the bridge and stopped immediately to fill up with water as it was there and easy.  

Our first lock of the day is a little further on and we made our way down through there. From there we went on to Rugeley where we moored up and went shopping in the town.  Time to replace certain items in the kitchen after almost 8 years, so a new dish drainer and sink tidy - how exciting is that?

Whilst we were shopping we were passed by the Jam Butty that was also moored at Great Haywood.  As he was towing the Butty he kindly moved over safely so that we could pass him and continue on our way.

This is the Armitage Tunnel, the canal tunnel was built at Armitage in 1770, though it no longer exists as a tunnel. The roof was removed after subsidence damage caused by local coal mining.  However it is a blind tunnel and you are advised to send crew ahead to alert oncoming traffic.  We didn’t meet anything so all was good.

This canalside factory is Ideal Standard and has been furnishing homes, hospitals, offices, pubs and more for over 200 years. The factory in Armitage remains the only large scale ceramics manufacturing operation in the UK, producing millions of toilets and basins annually, each proudly bearing the name Ideal Standard or Armitage Shanks.

 We moored for the night in Handsacre and went for a walk through the village.  This is the Olde Peculiar pub which we have visited many times before.  We spent Christmas one year here on our share boat Minuet and we also stayed in one of their rooms when we were house hunting for our move away from Basingstoke to the West Midlands.

8.25 miles, 2 locks, 3hrs 42mins

Tuesday 16th May - Handsacre to Whittington

A lovely sunny day, ideal conditions for cruising, so we are making the most of the weather.  We leave the Trent and Mersey Canal and join the Coventry Canal.

This is Bromley Wharf Marina where our share boat nbMinuet used to be moored when we had shares in her.  She is moored at Nantwich now.  Still a good few boats moored here.

Our first lock was Woodend Lock and there was a lot work going on.  It is towpath improvements all the way down towards Fradley.  We remember there used to be a lot of permanent moorings both above and below the lock, but they were all empty, deserted.

I wonder if it has anything to do with the progression of HS2, it looked as though the farmland had been taken over by HS2 and possibly the moorings as well?

Leaving the last lock and heading for Fradley Junction where we shall turn right onto the Coventry Canal.  Many thanks to the volunteers who helped us through the two locks, much appreciated!

Turning onto the Coventry Canal and through the easiest swing bridge on the whole system, just one finger will push it open!  In the background is The Swan Pub known locally as The Mucky Duck.

Another one to add to the list, these are baby moorhen chicks, so tiny and very noisy.  The only one we haven’t seen yet is cygnets, let’s hope we see some before we finish this cruise.  We moored up for the night at Whittington, Dave was sure that there was mooring with good open views and rings.  When we got there, the rings were still there but the open views had been replaced by housing!

8.7 miles, 3 locks, 3hrs 54mins

Wednesday 17th May - Whittington to Dog and Doublet

Awoke to grey skies but dry so set off for a new canal to us, The Birmingham and Fazeley.  Here we are passing Whittington Wharf and behind the house is a line of smaller cottages, which could have been canal cottages.

A lone mast, not like the one we have today, but apparently this was put up in 1956 to broadcast the new ITV channel to the Midlands.

Here we are approaching Fazeley Junction and for the first time we are going to turn left under the bridge and go into Birmingham that way.  It looks pretty busy so we are going slowly to wait for all the other boats to move on.

Tasteful graffiti, behind the tree on the left is a beautiful kingfisher, rather obscured now.

Directly in front of the boat is a handsome junction house.  It may have served as a toll house at this important junction.

This is Tolson’s Mill, a fine example of Victorian architecture.  Tolson's Mill began life as Sir Robert Peel's Mill, where they made narrow tape and webbing. Peel leased and eventually sold the mill to William Tolson, who was leasing Dosthill Hall at the time.  In 2003 the mill was still owned by the Tolson family, but was used as small industrial units.  Today it has been divided up into 50 apartments.

This is Drayton Footbridge, this unusual Gothic-style footbridge was probably built in the 1830s by the celebrated architect Sir Robert Smirke, while constructing nearby Drayton Manor for local MP Sir Robert Peel (later to become Prime Minister). The manor house was demolished in 1929 and later became the site of the Drayton Manor Theme Park.  The Grade II listed footbridge is located near to the entrance of the Drayton Manor theme park and is among the most ornate bridges anywhere on Britain’s canals.  They have turrets on the tops and a spiral staircase up the middle of each tower.

We continued on to the Dog and Doublet where we found some excellent moorings and stayed there for the night.

10.25 miles, 3 locks, 4hrs 39mins

Thursday 18th May - Dog and Doublet to Wiggins Hill Bridge.

A shortish cruise today to get to a safe mooring before beginning our ascent into Birmingham.  We think we will stop once through the Curdworth Tunnel.

Approaching the lock half way through we found the route of HS2 where it is proposed that it will cross the canal.  To one side the land has been flattened and on the other side there is a segment of bridge, ready to be put in place.  It is a picture of utter devastation!

Passing a hire boat in a pound, a really don’t know why the lady is holding the rope, but apparently the captain insisted she did.  Am I really such an awful driver?

Curdworth Tunnel, a short tunnel about 75yds, it incorporates the towpath with ridged brick "horse treads" to reduce slipping and a wrought iron safety rail.  This makes the tunnel seem quite narrow and low on the right hand side.

We decided against mooring outside the tunnel as it was dark and overgrown so we kept going until we got to mooring rings by Wiggins Hill Bridge where we stopped for the night.

2.25 miles, 8 locks, 3hrs 18mins

Friday 19th May - Wiggins Hill Bridge to Oozell’s Loop Visitor Moorings.

We are expecting today to be a long day, about 8 miles and 27 locks climbing up into Birmingham.  So with this in mind we decided to leave our mooring at 7am and hopefully arrive by 3pm.  A gentle lock free cruise until the Minworth locks.

Our first lock with new housing overlooking the canal, such tall but thin houses!

This is a tunnel created by the overhanging works of a factory, although the canal is wide it is quite low and noisy.

Here we are almost directly underneath ‘Spaghetti Junction’, the Grand Union Canal comes in on the left hand side and we are taking the second turning to the left, continuing on the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal.  We stopped at the services to top up the water but the tap was dry, so we just got rid of rubbish.

We were then into the 11 Aston Locks, and the pound between locks 10 and 11 was very low.  Fortunately Dave had stayed on the towpath as I was scraping and bumping along the bottom of the canal with no chance to get anywhere near the side.  It took a long time to get into the lock as the levels were so low, with much use of the engine and Dave hauling on the rope.  But we did it eventually and the rest of the flight was fine after that.

Looking back down the fight of locks, from under the last bridge. The last six locks came in quick succession.

When we got to Aston Junction we turned right the Worcester and Birmingham Canal comes in on the right of this photo.  Our canal is marked by a Horsley Iron Works cast iron roving bridge similar to the ones found in Braunston.  We then headed for the last set of locks for the day, the 13 Farmer’s Bridge Locks.

This is the BT Tower completed in 1967 and standing at almost 500ft tall and currently Birmingham’s tallest building…

…and here we are underneath in a cavern between lock 10 and 11.  Unfortunately Dave met another boat here and had to pass in a very tight pound, not an easy manoeuvre!

Passing another boat in a short pound, and unfortunately it has started to rain, so it was wet weather gear to finish off our day.

Looking back down the Farmer’s Locks towards the BT Tower.  The Farmer's Bridge flight of thirteen locks raises the water level by 81 feet (about 25 metres) in under 2km.  We continued on to Oozell’s Loop where there was plenty of space and moored up for the next two nights.  Despite the scary passage through the low pound, we really enjoyed our cruise today, a fascinating journey.

8.5 miles, 27 locks, 6hrs 30 mins

Saturday 20th May - Birmingham

Today we have had a pleasant day wandering through the city, sitting in the sunshine and having an evening meal at Ju Ju’s before moving on for our final week tomorrow.

Sunday 21st May - Oozell’s Loop to Alvechurch

Images of Birmingham - top to bottom - Worcester Bar, Black Sabbath Bridge, Gas Street Basin and The Cube.

Edgbaston Tunnel now with the towpath going through it.

Behind the boarding is the University of Birmingham, dominated by the Italianate tower known locally as ‘Old Joe’.  Standing 100m tall it is the worlds tallest free standing clock tower.  It is named after the university’s founder and first chancellor, Joseph Chamberlain.

This is a new walkway built between University station and the university, British rail are rebuilding the station to improve facilities and accessibility.

A beautiful showing of poppies on the canal side.

Junction House at King’s Norton Junction has been renovated after a fire in February 2019. Originally opened as a toll house in May 1796, the list of charges are shown on the front of the office.

At last, our first brood of cygnets, that makes 4 different sets of babies we’ve seen this year!

A rather splendid mural on a bridge wall, not seen this one before, but beautifully done.  We moored up for the day on the outskirts of Alvechurch and met up with friends Anne and Steve for Sunday Lunch at The Red Lion.  A lovely afternoon, thanks to you both for coming to find us!

11 mile, 0 lock, 4hrs