Sleepless in Birmingham

I have always had an inbuilt dislike of Birmingham, even though my mother was a Brummie and proud of it.I loved and love her to bits, a lovelier lady would be impossible to find, but I still dislike Birmingham.  Against our will and the advice of many locals we are moored in the middle of Birmingham, having run out of daylight negotiating the umpteen locks taking us through the city centre.We avoided the yobbo and alcoholic sections, but are perilously close to the A38(M) which never sleeps.The city centre canal locks are all fitted with anti-vandal locks, which reinforces the image of lawlessness already achieved by vandalism and endless graffiti, badly spelt. Around midnight the inevitable happened. A group of teenage girls noisily released our moorings, but Lynne had heard them and we were able to re-engage with land fairly quickly. It seems the girl yobs in Birmingham do not carry knives as none of our ropes were cut, fortunately

We are now on the Birmingham and Fazeley canal heading for Fazeley Junction on our way home, and it's raining. A fitting end to our Birmingham stay.

We moored for breakfast once we completed the 11 Aston locks, but still in pouring rain. A local man told us we could celebrate escaping Birmingham once we caught sight of "spaghetti junction", the infamous aerial motorway knot. I found nothing of note for a photo but below is our bedroom window view this morning. The painting went on for hundreds of yards, which says it all.

Tardebigge

All told we tackled 38 individual locks in the  Tardebigge flight today, non-stop for 5 hours rising over 200 ft, only passing 3 boats on the way down. Arriving at the top lock in late afternoon and topping-up with water, we then traversed 2 tunnels of 580 and 613 yards respectively, emerging from the second into a charming woodland scene at Cobley Hill where we moored for the night, exhausted. As if 38 locks are not bad enough they virtually all featured the toughest paddles I have ever encountered. I feel a letter to the Canal and River Trust coming on.

Weather-wise today was warm but overcast, although the forecast is not so good.

Black Pig Dream

I have to admit, I'm having recurring lock syndrome. They never seem to end, one after the other after the other, not helped by our almost frantic search for diesel and gas finally involving a short detour and 3 extra locks on Droitwich Junction canal, only to discover the damn thing has been completed since our map and guides were printed, which had we have known, could have saved many miles cruising and more importantly, umpteen locks. Only recently completed It now joins the River Severn with the Worcester and Birmingham canal after the Dunhampstead tunnel. Another exhausting day ended at Stoke Works with an average meal in the Boat and Railway pub, after which we were speaking with a  broad Birmingham accent.

A new map and guides are being sought.

Have you ever had a dream where you wake to find there was some truth in it? I dreamt I was captain Pugwash on the Black Pig at the voyage start, steering the ship and making decisions, only to end up as Roger the cabin boy, making tea and coffee plus washing up and undertaking all the basic tasks. The only consolation is that Roger is far more intelligent than Pugwash and often saves the Black Pig from imminent danger and ensures the intended destination is reached.

Trent to Worcester/Birmingham canal and beyond

From our "posh" pontoon on the River Trent we ventured downstream in thick mist ( Hammer - horror style), lights ablaze ,through two giant,manned locks reaching Worcester around lunchtime in warm sunshine. We were impressed with the place, a sort of posher Stourport with less history. Our plan was to join the Worcester and Birmingham canal, heading towards home, despite horror stories of the 58 lock journey to Birmingham, none of  which has proven true to date, and we are already moored after the 12th lock.    

Debdale lock to Stourport-on-Severn and beyond

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Debdale lock is hewn out of solid sandstone and also is the site of a large cave with a door-shaped entrance, previously used to rest canal horses ?

The Staff and Worcs from here to Kidderminster is predominantly rocky with each lock having unusual by-passes.

Near Stourton Junction is Stewpony Lock ( ? ) I did not research the origin of the name but merely left it to your imagination.

At Cookley there is a solid rock 65 yard tunnel with terraced houses atop and then we moored for supplies from Sainsbury's in Kidderminster, a town boasting a pleasant mix of old and new warehouses, now home to several household name stores such as M & S, Next, Debenhams, Tesco etc. Having quietly admired the town design we then noticed the town centre locks were all fitted with ant-vandal locks or "water conservation keys", which says a lot. Luckily we had purchased one yesterday from a CRT volunteer.

Next stop Stourport on Severn where a series of  4 staircase locks led us to the River Severn , a seemingly endless expanse of water. It is fair to say the Stourport basins increased Lynne' tension levels but a very friendly and understanding CRT volunteer  was on- hand with excellent advice and expertise throughout our adventure.

For some unknown reason Lynne chose to ignore his advice to moor on a pontoon near the locks exit and we trundled past Stourport marina to Lincomb lock. Following advice from the lock keeper we headed for mooring next to the Hampstall Inn, site of the Hampstall ferry disaster in 1919, when nine people drowned as the ferry was swamped by the waves of a passing steamer.

Minutes after mooring we suffered a very heavy and prolonged shower, an unfitting end to a warm and sunny day.

Caves alongside River Trent allegedly used by bandits in the time of Oliver Cromwell.

I will publish this blog sometime tomorrow as we currently have no internet, TV or phone connections.

Compton to Bumble Hole and beyond.

From Compton we set off in pleasantly warm sunshine passing Whitwick Manor, now National Trust, and Pool Hall, Dimmington reservoirs and 5 locks quite nicely spaced until  the infamous Bratch locks, a set of 3 raising or lowering the canal 30.2 feet within a very short distance .

Whilst the procedure for operating the locks is well explained by notice boards on-site, a lock keeper is based there to help or advise if needed. No problem.

A few locks later Botterham staircase set looms (20 ft ) but with no lock keeper to help. Again no problem.

Bumble Hole lock failed to live up to it's name and sadly was instantly forgettable . 

All in all we completed 15 locks today and moored near Ashwood Marina to recuperate. 

Staff & Worcs plus Bittern

My viewing of an adult Bittern in Staffordshire warranted a call to the UK RSPB as the species was pronounced extinct here in the early 1900's. It is a member of the Heron family but chunkier and far more beautiful, with speckled plumage. The RSPB are hoping for another Red Kite success story of bringing a species back from extinction. Very exciting stuff. I'm sorry I do not have a Bittern photo, but if you google it there is a wide range of photo's there.

Tonight we are at Gailey on the Staffordshire ring, although where we go tomorrow is anybodies guess.

We're playing it by ear and attempting to stay cruising until the last possible moment. Gailey brings back pleasant memories as we regularly used to hire Viking Afloat boats from here when we were younger and fitter. Their boats were good, apart from the colour scheme, a hideous yellow and red. There was no hiding place with those. A few still remain.

The days are certainly getting colder but remain good for cruising, with shorts, tee shirts and sandals being a no-go now.

We made it to Compton for overnight mooring, still on the Staff & Worcs canal, which has considered itself to be a river up to this point. Very wide with gradual sweeping curves. Suitable mooring became rare today so we squeezed between a boat and Compton lock, bearing in mind locks are not used at night so will not disturb us.