West Mids Meander: Day 16

We did exactly today’s trip six years ago.  This morning we left at about 8.15 and about 45 minutes later moored up outside Tesco in Brownhills for some shopping for the next few days.  Once that was done we turned left at Catshill Junction, which is actually staying on the mainline of the W&E Canal.  It’s not until Ogley Junction where we joined the Anglesey Branch.  The mainline used to have 30 locks down to join the Birmingham & Fazeley Canal.  There is a restoration group aiming to make it possible again, but I’m not convinced it’ll be done in time for us.

Last time we were able to moor right at the end of the canal by the feeder, but there’s now a barrier across so we turned in the wide pool and moored a little way back down the canal.  This was the most northerly point of the BCN, and of our trip this time.

We walked up to the Chasewater reservoir where people were learning paddle board and water ski, and continued round to the railway, where they were having a steam day.  There were little traction engines and a steam model railway.

We waited for the proper steam train to come back from its trip, and then watched while it was uncoupled to be taken round to the front of the train.  Unfortunately we didn’t have enough time to go on the next trip.

We walked back to the boat and set off back down the arm.  There are great views across the valley towards Lichfield.

At Catshill Junction we turned left onto the Daw End Branch (pronounced Doe End).  Almost immediately I had to go down the weedhatch, to remove a thick plastic sack from the prop.  We’d hardly got going again when there was more clunking below; a burst of reverse produced more noise, and eventually lots of bits of plastic bucket.  All along the canal was a green blanket weed, but at least it disintegrates easily, not like the black stuff which clogs the prop.  Progress was pretty slow, and there’s not a huge amount to see, beyond the rooftops of houses and factories at Walsall Wood, and industry along most of the length.  We moored for the night at Longwood Junction.  This evening, we’re being taken to Andy and Helen’s house nearby for dinner.

13 miles, 0 locks.  (183 miles, 197 locks)

West Mids Meander: Day 15

We quite like the moorings outside the health centre in Tipton: they’re much quieter than the ones at the Black Country Museum, because you’re protected from the roads.  We left this morning at 8, heading back to Factory Junction, then turning left towards Wolverhampton.  A huge site is being cleared on the offside just past the junction, where there used to be a foundry.  Coseley Tunnel was uneventful, then we got to Deepfields Junction, where the Bradley Arm goes off.  Here the mainline was covered in weed, which slowed us to a crawl.

Fortunately, the weedy section didn’t last too long, and we made it to Horseley Fields Junction, where we turned onto the Wyrley & Essington Canal, known as the Curly Wyrley.  There was another weedy patch right there, and getting through the narrows was a struggle.  We pulled up almost immediately at the Urban Moorings on the offside, a group of boaters who are gradually regenerating their site.  The reason for the stop was that they have compost bins, where we could deposit the dry contents of our loo, which we emptied yesterday.  It’s a really nice place, and Alison who met us was very friendly.

In Wednesfield, there’s a stainless steel arch across the canal which gives an opportunity to take a photo of yourself taking a photo of yourself.

The canal through Wednesfield was reasonable clear of weed, but there’s still plenty of rubbish and progress was a bit slow.  All the locals were friendly, though, and seemed excited to see a boat.  One man said it was years since he’d last seen one.  A little while later we past a boat going the other way.  He said we were the first boat he’d seen in three days, and to avoid the Walsall Canal because of the weed.

A brief green respite is provided by Rough Wood Chase, although the M6 runs alongside and eventually over the canal on a very ugly bridge.  The traffic was going almost as slowly as us.

There are two right angle turns to make at Sneyd Wharf, then you’re heading towards Walsall.  At Birchills Junction the Walsall Canal goes off, and as we approached a CRT flat was just going under the bridge.  It was with a weed cutter, which was bobbing about trying to clear a path.  Beyond Birchills, the canal was completely green, but it turned out to be a duck weed type of growth which parts to let the boat through, then closed up again behind you.  It looks awful, and smells quite bad too.

This came and went in sections, but progress was still pretty slow.  At Little Bloxwich it rained for a while, although there was still blue sky all around.  Just after that, it’s back out into the countryside.

We continued to Pelsall Common, where we eventually found a mooring deep enough for us to get to the edge.  

We think it’s almost the same spot we used six years ago.  Then, the journey from the Black Country Musem had taken six and a half hours; today it took eight.  Just after we moored, there was a very heavy shower, but then the sun came out again.

18 miles, 0 locks.  (170 miles, 197 locks)

West Mids Meander: Day 14

This was a day which went wrong.  It had started ok — it had hammered down with rain in the night, but was dry if murky when we set off at 8am and went through the Waterfront development.  We were soon up Blower’s Green Lock, and moored on the services to fill with water, start a wash load, and empty the loo.  We then carried on to Netherton Junction where we turned right, to stay on the Dudley No 2 canal.  There were lots of boats moored up, getting ready for the Black Country Boating Festival this weekend.

The main feature is Gosty Hill Tunnel, which is narrow and although it starts tall enough has a low section in the middle.  I was quite pleased with a photo up the air shaft.

There are more photos of the tunnel is a post from six years ago when we last came down here.  We carried on to the end of navigation, where we took the narrow entrance to Hawne Basin.

The Coombeswood Canal Trust sells cheap diesel, partly to encourage boaters to come down here.  Today it was 65p — which is a bargain.  Retracing our steps, I was amazed to see another boat emerging from the tunnel.

I was even more surprised when I saw a boat approaching the far entrance — he had to wait for us to emerge.  Back at Netherton we turned right and went into the very different Netherton Tunnel: long, wide, and tall.

It took half an hour to go through.  At the far end is a nice row of cottages.

We wanted to finish today at Tipton, facing Wolverhampton, so the plan was to turn right at Dudley Port Junction onto the New Main Line, then right again at Albion Junction onto the Gower Branch, go up the Brades Locks, and then right again on the Old Main Line.  I got off to work the locks.

We went up the bottom lock, and then went on to the top two, which are a staircase pair.  I found that the top lock was completely empty — so empty that the bottom cill was exposed.

I started filling the top lock, and found that one of the middle paddles was so leaky that Adrian was finding it difficult to get the boat into the lock against the flow.  When he was finally in, the boat started rising immediately, even with no middle paddles raised.  Before long the two locks were on a level, and we made it into the top lock.  However, the leaky paddle meant it was impossible to make a level in the top lock.  However long we waited, the lock was always a few inches short — so we decided we’ve have to go back.  As we were going down the bottom lock of the staircase — backwards — the boat caught on the lower edge of the overspill and started to tilt, getting to quite an angle before slipping off and righting itself.  Things had come off many shelves, but miraculously the only breakage was the teapot lid.  It was all, frankly, quite traumatic.  Adrian then reversed along the pound into the bottom lock, at which point it started raining.  We then had the half mile of the Gower Branch to do in reverse.  This is quite time consuming, and half way along we picked up something on the prop which stopped the engine.  There was no option to go down the weedhatch.  It was still pouring with rain, as I removed plastic bags and a combat jacket.

We eventually made it back to the end of the branch at Albion Junction, and turned towards Tipton.  We checked the time as we passed Dudley Port Junction — it had taken two and a quarter hours to return to the same spot.  We eventually made it up onto the Wolverhampton level at Factory Locks.  Even there, there was a slight problem, as one of the anti-vandal locks was broken, with the lock on, meaning the bottom lock took ages to empty.

We turned right at Factory Junction, went past the moorings, turned around at Tipton Junction, and returned to the John the Lock moorings.  Once we had tied up (at gone 5.30 — very late for us — I checked the weed hatch again and got another significant haul of plastic bags off the prop.

16 miles, 8 locks.  (152 miles, 197 locks)

West Mids Meander: Day 13

We decided that in spite of Delph Top Lock being closed for emergency repairs, we’d head up the Stourbridge flight and hope it was fixed by the time we got there.  A hire boat set off before we had breakfast, so we knew we wouldn’t be first up the locks — but when the boat moored behind us also set off (going to turn in the basin) we got our act together and got moving.  It was half an hour along the arm to the junction, and just after 8.30 when we turned into the bottom lock.

It’s a really pretty flight.  I’m pretty certain that one old warehouse had scaffolding round it last time we came this way, and is now offices and flats.

There’s plenty of history, with both the Cone and Dadford’s Shed, and a very pretty former pub.

Locks 9 and 10 are telescoped together, Bratch-style, with just a tiny pound in between — but a big side pound beyond the cottage.

We got to the top, marked by a tall chimney, in two and a half hours, which seemed not too bad for 16 locks, all of which had needed turning.

We turned right at Leys junction and were soon at the bottom of the Delph Locks.  There was no-one waiting, which we took to be good news.  Almost immediately, notification came through that the stoppage was over.  Sure enough, there were two boats going up in front of us, and reports of a number coming down (which turned out to be three).  The first one turned out to have discovered the problem with the paddle yesterday morning.  With so much traffic on the flight — a local told Adrian he’d never seen so many boats — most of the by-washes next to the locks ran only intermittently.  When they did, they looked impressive, and the ducks and moorhens seem happy to be swept over them.  When they’re not running, the birds have to walk up.

The views from high up the flight are fantastic, with the Stour valley and the hills beyond.

Just below the top lock there’s an old arm, which is where the old locks used to be.  There used to be nine, whereas now there are only eight.

The eight locks took an hour and a half.  We moored on the embankment overlooking the Merry Hill shopping centre.  It looks rather different from six years ago, because there’s new cladding, and some of the shops have changed.

We went for lunch in the M&S cafe, then picked up an item from an Amazon locker.  We’ve been having trouble with the tv antenna for a while, and earlier in the trip in stopped working completely.  Having seen the neat one on Debdale, we got one delivered to a locker in Worcester — but it had the wrong size connector.  Today’s package was an adapter — which works.  The new one looks very neat, so we’ll see how it fares where the signal is less strong.

As the engine was still warm, I did an oil change which had just become due.  For once, I got the old oil filter off very easily.  I checked the oil in the gearbox which I know hasn’t been changed for a while, but it still looked very clear, so as the process is a bit of a nightmare I decided it could last a bit longer.

6 miles, 24 locks.  (136 miles, 189 locks)

West Mids Meander: Day 12

There was a slight autumnal mist on the water when we left this morning at around 8.30.

It soon warmed up though and has been very hot again.  We went up the locks at Whittington and Kinver, and stopped on the water point.  It’s good drying weather so we wanted to get another wash load done.  The next lock, Hyde, has a cottage with what must be the best garden gates on the system.

Dunsley Tunnel is only 25 yards long.  We’ve been through motorway bridges that are longer.

Above Stewponey Lock there’s a CRT yard and a very nice building.

From the lock I walked up to the Stourton Juntion, where we were turning onto the Stourbridge Canal.  Much to my surprise, there was a boat coming down the bottom lock; they seemed a bit surprised someone would be going up.  Fortunately they were turning right.

Even more surprising was that another boat was coming down — and there was a further surprise because it was Debdale.  It’s a tiny pound between the locks, so as theirs was ready first they ended up waiting on the offside.

We met another boat below the top lock too.  Some of the pounds were a bit short of water, and it was also pretty shallow and slow going at the top.  It was 2015 when we last came this way, and we couldn’t remember much.  It is surprisingly pretty, though, particularly along by Primrose Hill, where there are ponies.

We moored on the rings between the aqueduct and the junction bridge, and walked up the first few locks to the Red House Cone glass centre.  Quite a lot is closed for refurbishment at the moment, but we had lunch at the cafe (ok, but the toasted sandwiches rank third out of the three we’ve had in the past week), poked our head in the cone itself, and looked round the artists’ studios.

Back at the boat, we went through the junction bridge and turned right down the town arm.  We didn’t come down here in 2015, so the last time we did this would have been on a hire boat more than 20 years ago.

Again, the water was shallow and slow, and there are water lilies everywhere, but it’s also quite pretty.  We went right to the end and turned at the winding hole by the Bonded Warehouse, then returned a little way to moor on rings next to what seems to be a fairly new public open space.

We wandered into town and had a look at Stourbridge High Street, which has some nice buildings, but not a lot else to recommend it.  This afternoon a stoppage notice came through saying the Delph Top Lock is currently closed for repairs to a paddle, which are planned for tomorrow.  We’re going that way, so it with a bit of luck it will be fixed by the time we get there.

7 miles, 8 locks.  (130 miles, 165 locks)