2020 Lock Up Cruise - Week 1

Monday 6th July - Stoke Works to Tardebigge Top Lock

A super start to the day with a visit from a lovely family of swans. 

After a few minutes cruising we stopped to fill up with water and then headed towards the Stoke Prior Locks.  

Toby is comfortably seated on the roof of the boat, especially useful when we are working locks as he can see both of us at all times. 

From the Stoke locks we continued into the Tardebigge Locks, a beautiful set of locks in stunning countryside. We met Tom, the lead volunteer for the flight and an old friend from nb Minuet times. So we were blessed with the aid of three volunteers to get up the flight in record time. 

We moored for the night before the top lock, in a very pleasant pound of water along with other boats either waiting until tomorrow to go down the locks or like us having completed the flight and having a well earned rest. 

We went for a walk and saw a family of ducks with some very young ducklings.  I was most impressed by the mother duck who squared up to Toby whenever he got too close to the ducklings. 

We headed away from the canal up and around Tardebigge Church and through several enormous fields of peas.  The pea pods were not quite ready for harvesting and all I could think of was the Bird’s Eye advert for frozen peas - picked to frozen in under 2 hours!  



3.5 miles, 34 locks, 5 hours 30 minutes cruising. 

Tuesday 7th July - Tardebigge Top Lock to Withybed Marina

Tardebigge Top Lock with Tardebigge Church on the hill in the distance.  A favourite view of mine, the church spire is very ornate. 

Then straight into Tardebigge Tunnel, and yes there is a light at the end of the tunnel - hang on in there everyone!

Today I saw something for the first time ever, a kingfisher dived into the water ahead of the boat and came up with a fish, then flew into the bushes in the photo.  The fish was almost as long as the kingfisher.  However I was so excited that I didn’t zoom in and instead took a random shot!  But believe me in here is a kingfisher with a fish in it’s beak!

Once we were moored up for the day and the rain has set in, Toby and I went for a walk and got soaked, so Toby retreated under the towels to get warm and dry! 

Dave used the new bike to cycle into Alvechurch to buy provisions for the next few days, very handy in the circumstances as we can continue to moor up in some pretty secluded areas but still have access to shops for essential foodstuffs. The bike is transported on the bike carrier attached to the stern of the boat, very nifty! 





3.5 miles, 1 lock, 1 tunnel 2 hours cruising.


Wednesday 8th July - Alvechurch to Waring’s Green Wharf

We left Alvechurch and headed out through the Bittell Reservoirs, some lovely permanent moorings and socially distanced fishermen!  

We left the Worcester and Birmingham Canal and turned right onto the Stratford Canal, this building at the junction was damaged in a fire but it looks as though some work is going to be carried out on it. 

 
The first lock on the Stratford Canal is a guillotine lock, it is no longer working but looks quite impressive. The next lock on this canal isn’t until you get to the Lapworth flight of locks.    

This heron was so intent on the fish he was watching that he let the boat glide straight past him. 











We moored up for the evening at Waring’s Green Wharf, a lovely quiet mooring just down from Wedges Bakery, where there are some delicious cakes and sandwiches to tempt you!  

13 miles, 1 moveable bridge, 2 tunnels, 5hours 18 minutes cruising. 

Thursday 9th July - Waring’s Green Wharf to Pinner’s Bridge 31

We left our mooring and cruised down to the bridge so that Dave could walk back to Wedges Bakery and buy sandwiches for today’s lunch, yummy!  

Unfortunately it was a very wet day and we did as much as we could and then decided to call it a day.

Driving the boat and holding an umbrella does compromise how much you can actually see, so after a stop for lunch we simply didn’t cast off again!!!  






3.75 miles, 4 locks, 2 moveable bridges, 2 hours 36 mins cruising.


Friday 10th July - Pinner’s Bridge 31 to John’s Bridge 55

Today we woke to sunshine!  Toby and I walked down to the start of the Lapworth Locks and I worked the boat down the first half of the locks.

We stopped to fill up with water and then took the left hand lock to join the Grand Union Canal, then a right turn onto the Grand Union. This is a very different canal, much wider with double sized locks.  It was built to create a trade corridor from London to Birmingham.

Shrewley Tunnel is wide enough for two boats, but this was the first time I had seen a boat coming through a tunnel so I wanted to watch it leave the tunnel.  The little arch to the right is a separate tunnel for the footpath, quite unusual as the footpaths generally go over the top. 

We have moored up for the night above the Hatton Locks which we will work tomorrow, and walked down to the locks where we had tea and cake at the canalside cafe, very nice.  The cafe was doing a brisk trade with everybody sitting at socially distanced tables in the garden. 








5.25 miles, 15 locks, 1 tunnel, 4 hours 24mins cruising. 

Saturday 11th July - John’s Bridge 55 to Radford Road Bridge 35

Today we left our mooring and headed down towards the Hatton Locks, Toby and I walked and the first lock was ready and waiting for us.  There was also a solo boater, John, waiting at the top hoping to share the locks with a willing boater, so everyone was happy!!!

The weather was glorious, blue skies and just a few clouds, Dave bought cake from the cafe on the way down, so we shall enjoy that when we have completed this marathon. 

A good shot of Ella in one of the wide locks waiting for John to join us.  It shows the cycle on the bicycle carrier and Toby keeping guard.  But something is missing, any ideas?  

These moorhens were making the most amazing amount of noise, just in front of the adult is the tiniest of babies I have ever seen!  

We moored for the night just opposite Radford Semele, there are a lot of boats moored here, the evening is beautiful, and we went for a lovely walk along the towpath.














7 miles, 23 locks, 6 hours 42 mins cruising

Sunday 12th July - Radford Semele to Nelson’s Wharf

We woke to beautiful blue skies with the most amazing cloud formation.  A lovely warm day ahead of us.

We were lucky enough to share the next few double locks with a week old boat, made by Aqualine, it looked very smart.

It was quite busy around these locks, but everyone sorted themselves out eventually!  









We moored up for the night just past Willow Wren training centre, a lovely day with some great cruising. 

7 miles, 20 locks, 6 hours 6 mins cruising. 

2020 Lock Up Cruise

Saturday 4th July - Diglis Basin to Oddingley

Today we are allowed to stay overnight on our boat for the first time since the lockdown began. So we have decided to begin our first cruise with a gentle cruise up the Worcester and Birmingham canal to Oddingley.

We left our mooring and headed out to fill up with water before setting off.  Dave used the new cycle to go ahead to the lock and set it for me so I could go straight in. 

At this lock we met Joe, a CRT employee who was helping to rescue some swans along with the swan watch team. We had to go up in the lock with a swan who had been traumatised by a rival family of swans. It did look a little sorry for itself. 

A very young foal in a field alongside one of the locks, it was very inquisitive and was keen to come and investigate our antics. 

Our mooring at Oddingley, we shared it with three other boats, and through out the day’s cruising we saw 6 boats moving, a mixture of shared boats, owners and hirers.  We didn’t need to queue at locks and everyone was friendly and chatty. Generally I think people were pleased to be able to go out and use their boats for cruising.  

7 miles, 14 locks, 6 hours cruising. 

Sunday 5th July - Oddingley to Stoke Works 

Today it was very windy and we were undecided whether to cruise or not.  Eventually the wind seemed to calm down a little so we decided to make a move.  It seemed that several other boats had the same idea! 

There were two boats ahead of us and one coming towards us, the sedge growing along the edge of the canal was making visibility quite difficult as well and made the cruising channel even narrower. 

One tunnel today, Dunhampstead Tunnel, a two way working tunnel but fortunately we didn’t meet anything as we went through.

We liked the look of this boat, it belongs to the people who run Hanbury Wharf where we always buy our diesel and marine supplies.  It was named after a 1935 film, starring George Formby.







We stopped about a mile from Stoke Wharf as the wind had got up again and we were hungry and tired, so a late start and an early finish today. 

5.25 miles, 6 locks, 4 hours 6 minutes cruising. 

1st permitted trip out this year

 Monday 1st June 2020

Today we have been allowed to travel on our boat for any distance so long as we don’t sleep on her.  So we planned a day trip with friends on nbBilly, they (as liveaboards) are allowed to sleep on their boat so are beginning their travels for the summer. This is Ella leaving the Diglis Basin and locking down onto the River Severn. 

This is Ella in the lock beside nbBilly. 

This was taken from nbBilly as we came alongside, we are travelling up river and cutting quite a wake through the water. It felt really good to be taking Ella through her paces!  

We stopped before Bevere Lock, waving goodbye to nbBilly as they continued towards Stourport where they will stop for the night.  We moored up at the mooring for Camp House pub, obviously the pub was closed but the mooring was free, had some lunch and a walk for Toby. I had to carry Toby along the pontoon as it was quite large open metal squares and he froze and refused to move!!  

After lunch we turned round and returned to Diglis Basin, a beautiful day, splendid weather and a real treat for us!  Also a delightful family of swans with three tiny cygnets, made my day!

4 locks, 8 miles and 4.5 hours. 

London Calling Week 19 - Alvechurch to Diglis Basin

Monday 7th October - Alvechurch Visitor Moorings

Today we have decided to stay in Alvechurch opposite Withybed Moorings of Alvechurch as there is rain forecast for most of the day.  So a quiet day catching up with chores around the boat.

Tuesday 8th October - Alvechurch Visitor Moorings to Tardebigge Bottom Lock

An early start this morning as we intend to complete the Tardebigge locks by the end of the day.  This is Alvechurch Marina with a lot of the hire boats back in for the end of the season.

The conditions were perfect for todays cruising, calm and dry and the bridge showing a perfect reflection in the very still canal. 

The weather is looking really good for our descent of the Tardegigge Locks, blue sky, light breeze and feeling quite warm.

We met up with Tom, the lead volunteer lock keeper on the flight.  He assessed Dave for his Lock Keeping Certificate at the beginning of our cruise, and today he presented Dave with his Certificate of Competence.

At this stage the sky became very threatening and with three locks to go, the heavens opened and we completed the flight in torrential rain, I don't think I have ever got so wet in such a short space of time!

5.4 miles, 30 locks, 2 tunnels, 5 hrs 12 mins cruising time.

Wednesday 9th October - Tardebigge Bottom Lock to Oddingley

An early morning shot of our mooring below the Tardebigge Bottom Lock.  The days cruising was pleasant and we stayed dry, but not many photos taken.  

We moored up for the evening at Oddingley opposite this picturesque farmhouse with the church behind it.  The weather was beginning to turn wet and windy again, so we called it a day.

7 miles, 13 locks, 1 tunnel, 4 hrs 30 mins cruising time.

Thursday 10th October - Oddingley to Diglis Basin

A better shot of Oddingley where you can see the farmhouse and the church clearly.  Another early start to complete our tour and get back to Diglis before the rain forecasted for this afternoon.

Hurrah, we are getting close to Worcester now, not much further to go!

Passing Perdiswell Leisure Centre, where Dave goes swimming when we are living in the apartment.  

The autumn colours are beginning to show through now, but unfortunately as we went through this bridge we managed to pick up a zip up jacket around the propeller so we had to pull over and Dave went down the weed hatch to cut it off.  This is the first time in the whole of this cruise that we had fouled the propeller, quite pleased about that!

We arrived back at Diglis Basin by 1pm, moored up on our pontoon and had lunch before gathering essentials to take back with us to our apartment.

  

6.5 miles, 14 locks, 4 hrs 42 mins cruising time.

Some thoughts and statistics to finish off with.

Highlights 

• the exploration of new canals to us, the Grand Union, the Paddington Arm, the Regents Canal, the River Wey and the Kennet and Avon Canal.
• the Aylesbury Arm and the delightful mooring in Aylesbury at the end of the arm.
• the Wendover Arm and the secluded mooring at the end.
• Stoke Bruerne, the busy canalside village.
• London - so pleased we did this and didn't listen to other people telling us it is impossible to moor and meeting Fraser and Di on nbAnge de L'Eau.
• River Wey - a beautiful river with some super towns and villages to visit.
• River Thames - especially Goring eating at the Miller of Mansfield and meeting Professor Alan Brookes and taking the opportunity to buy the painting he did of our boat!
• Newbury - reliving past memories and meeting Mark and Di on nbEnbilulu.
• revisiting the Oxford Canal and meeting up with Clare and Pete on nbBilly.
• visiting Birmingham and discovering the Birmingham Rep Theatre.
• the time and effort friends and family have taken to come and find us on the boat, a big thank you goes out to all of you, we have loved seeing you all.
• the successful BSS assessment at Aynho of nbElla which also affirmed the outstanding craftsmanship of Bourne Boat Builders.

Not so highlights

• the poor state of some of the locks especially on the Grand Union and Kennet and Avon Canals.
• the Olympic Park
• the unfortunate incident concerning our river licence at Teddington Lock.

Statistics

Cruise duration - 18 weeks or 126 days

Total miles - 582.4

Total locks - 656

Total tunnels - 14

Total moveable bridges - 32

Total cruising time - 352 hours

Total number of cruising days - 85

Average cruising time per day - 4 hrs 6 mins.

London Calling Week 18 - Wootton Wawen to Alvechurch

Monday 30th September - Wootton Wawen to Lowsonford

Another good day for cruising, a lovely sunrise early in the morning.

We spoke to the lady who runs the farm shop at Yew Tree Farm and she lives in this barrel roofed lock keepers cottage.  She also features in series 2 episode 5 of Celebrity 5 Go Barging!

The barrel roofed cottage at Lowsonford is now owned by the Landmark Trust, which lets it out as a self-catering holiday home for up to four people. The lock is called after Ned Taylor who was born in the cottage in 1921 (as part of a family with eleven children); he was a life tenant of the cottage.

4 miles, 8 locks, 3 hrs 24 mins cruising time.

Tuesday 1st October - Lowsonford

We spent a quiet day in Lowsonford as heavy rain was forecast.  We walked up to Finwood Hill Farm and bought some beef and pork for meals.

Wednesday 2nd October - Lowsonford to Waring's Green

Woke to a lovely dry morning and the prospect of a dry day for working our way up the Lapworth Flight of locks.  Whilst waiting in a lock we are bombarded with the noise and sights of vehicles racing along the motorway over the canal.  Which do I prefer?

At Kingswood Junction we go straight on heading up the Lapworth Locks.  The finger post shows three destinations which we have been to on this trip.

Good to see volunteer lock keepers out on duty, we were happy to accept the help of Pat on the left all the way up the flight of locks, made the journey so much faster and easier.

An excellent view of the locks as we approach, the Lapworth Lock Flight consists of 26 locks in all with locks 6 to 14 immediately next to each other - the locks themselves are single locks with double bottom gates. In between each lock there is quite a large pool / pound of water available for any transitting narrowboats needing to wait their turn - these mini-reservoirs are also very useful for providing an immediate water source to the locks.

Bridge 32 is a cast iron canal turnover footbridge

 i.e. the towpath changes sides and to accommodate the towrope and avoid un-harnessing and tangling up the tow-rope was guided round an iron "cotton reel".  Simple but very effective.  We arrived at Warings Green and moored up for the night, we were very pleased with the days cruising.

6.75 miles, 28 locks, 2 moveable bridges, 6 hrs 36 mins cruising time.

Thursday 3rd October - Warings Green to Birmingham, Oozell Street Loop

Today's journey into Birmingham is completely lock free, apart from the guillotine lock towards the beginning of the Stratford Canal.  This lock is always open, and you can see where it gets its name from!   These type of canal locks were used to control water flow between canals owned by different companies - water was a valuable commodity. The guillotine stop lock mechanism is still there and shows the gearings, chains and iron gantry as well as the oak "guillotines" at each end of the lock.

King's Norton Junction where we turn right, the Toll House is all boarded up and ready for some serious work after a fire in February which caused a lot of damage.

Edgbaston Tunnel is the only tunnel on the Worcester and Birmingham Canal to have a towpath and just recently the towpath has been widened over the canal to accommodate pedestrians and cyclists, is this really necessary?

We moored up in the same place as last time, at the beginning of the Oozell Loop Visitor Moorings, not so busy as on the main canal with fewer people walking past.

We went for a stroll and found that one of the bridges has been renamed Black Sabbath Bridge in honour of Birmingham's heavy metal rockers.  A photo opportunity on the bench?

The area in front of the library and the Birmingham Repertory Theatre is now a large stretch of water with fountains, Toby was most impressed!

Gas Street Basin with iconic barges and the modern Cube in the background, extremely colourful.  The reason for Gas Street Basin’s name? Simple – it was the first street in the city with gas lighting.

14 miles, 2 moveable bridges, 2 tunnels, 4 hrs, 54 mins cruising time.

Friday 4th October - Birmingham

Today we went for an explore around the Jewellery Quarter in Birmingham.  We followed the canal down Farmers Locks, all these modern buildings which have grown up around and beside the canal, the old and the new together.  

The Coffin Works was established in 1882 by Alfred Newman and his brother Edwin. Originally brass founders, they predominantly made cabinet furniture until 1894, when the company moved to the present site on Fleet Street and began to specialise in the production of coffin furniture. Newman Brothers continued to specialise in this area until, due to competition from abroad and failure to modernise, they were forced out of business and ceased trading in 1998. They produced some of the world’s finest coffin furniture, including the fittings for the funerals of Joseph Chamberlain, Winston Churchill and the Queen Mother.

 The Chamberlain Clock is the most visible and perhaps memorable of the many historic landmarks and interesting features to see in the Jewellery Quarter. This fine clock tower, located centrally at the junction of the districts main streets (Vyse St, Warstone Lane & Frederick St.), was erected in 1903 in honour of one of Birmingham's favourite sons & most respected public servants, Joseph Chamberlain, MP for the area in the late 1900's.

 Warstone Lane Cemetery is well known for its catacombs.  The catacombs were built because of a sandpit problem on the site, providing added capacity by creating a sort of tiered burial ground. The catacombs had been open to the public – daring those who were brave enough to venture into them. Unfortunately, they were sealed with lead and pitch as part of the regulations arising from the Birmingham Cemeteries Act and due to the emission of unhealthy vapours. However, plans are afoot to regenerate the cemetery and re-enable access to the ancient catacombs.

The Birmingham Jewellery Quarter has a prestigious background with a history spanning over 250 years, having been a mecca of jewellery production since the 1800s.  It rapidly expanded during the 19th century when a taste for fashionable jewellery really took off. Tradesmen worked from their homes or in small workshops and business flourished, with jewellery production quickly becoming a thriving industry that led to the expansion of the area with new streets, elegant properties and fantastic profits.  In 1824 the Birmingham Assay Office was granted permission to hallmark goldware and by the beginning of the 20th century some 30,000 people were employed in the Birmingham Jewellery Quarter, and in the 1970s UK jewellers of the area began to trade to the public to make its appeal even more far-ranging. To this day the Jewellery Quarter in Birmingham is responsible for around 40% of the UK’s jewellery production, with some of the biggest names in the jewellery trade continuing to operate from this impressive area.  In the evening we went to the Birmingham Rep to see 'The Prism' with Robert Lindsay and Tara Fitzgerald, an excellent play.

Saturday 5th October - Birmingham

Today we are spending another day doing some retail shopping and catching up on some chores around the boat.  In the evening we watched some of the walkers on the 10k Shine Night Walk in aid of Cancer, very colourful indeed and all in a good cause.

Sunday 6th October - Birmingham to Alvechurch 

On a bright and sparkly morning we prepared the boat and left Birmingham for the second time on this trip. We stopped to put on water and then continued on our way.

Back at the Junction with the Stratford Canal we continued on the Worcester and Birmingham Canal towards Worcester.  Yes, there are 58 locks as we leave the plateau that Birmingham is built upon and descend to the River Severn.

As we approach Wast Hill Tunnel we noticed this circular part of the canal, the tunnel is wide enough to pass another boat and in the day of horse drawn boats, steam powered tug boats would pull the boats through the tunnel and this was where the tugs would turn round.

Wast Hill Tunnel is the longest tunnel on the Worcester and Birmingham Canal and took us 31 minutes to traverse and we passed 2 boats coming the other way!

Quite an impressive shot taken with our new camera!  We arrived at Alvechurch Visitor Moorings and moored up opposite Withybed Moorings of Alvechurch, a quiet and peaceful spot.

11.5 miles, 2 tunnels, 4 hrs 36 mins.