Lapworth to Radford Semele

Thursday 13th August 2009

Off down the rest of the Lapworth flight, we passed a Canal World forum member's boat at the marina at the end of the flight, but the marina is through a locked gate - so we couldn't go to introduce ourselves.

Leaving the Northern Stratford Canal at the bottom of the Lapworth flight















One of the strange barrel roofed cottages on the Stratford Canal















When we got to the top of the Hatton flight, at about 11:30, we had the opportunity to admire the attractive new brass nuts on the throttle of Canal World Forum's "Tawny Owl".














At the lock there was a single hander waiting for another boat to go down with him. At his suggestion we lashed the boats together to 'breast them up', so that they could be driven down together. Chalice is 50 foot, and when we've 'breasted up' before, it's been with similar sized boats. This boat was 70 foot, and the owner wanted the bows together, although it became clear that it would have worked much better if the sterns were together. It's also quite difficult to get the two boats to stay close enough when you can't lash both ends together. No problem, he steered the two boats down, while I lockwheeled on 'Margaret', and Alan and David worked the locks. There were a lot of boats moving, including several breasted up. We did the flight in about 3:00 hours - not very fast.














Travelling down Hatton.














The weather was completely different to the last time we did Hatton, the sun shone, and there were loads of gongoozlers out.

At the bottom of the flight we stopped to take on water, where I took this picture of a painted lady butterfly on a late buddleia bloom.















On through the Cape locks, and a stop at the big Tesco near bridge 46. We decided to have a barbecue if we could find somewhere suitable to moor.

We stopped near Radford Semele, where there were a lot of other boats moored, and set up our little portable barbecue near the hedgerow. Because we like to do baked potatoes in the barbecue it tends to take a bit longer than traditional barbecues, but we had a good meal ready in about an hour. I like barbecues, but they take quite a lot of care, and because of the constant traffic of walkers and cyclists along the towpath here you need to be careful where you put it.
Miles: 12.8, Locks: 29
Total miles: 315.9, Total locks: 315

Birmingham to Lapworth

Wednesday 12th August 2009
We were woken up by the clatter of stillettos on the towpath as the good citizens of Birmingham went to work. It seems hard to think of people working while we are on holiday.

Alan wanted to do an engine oil change, and I needed to get supplies while they were easily available, so I trotted off to the Sainsbury's Local in Broad Street. When I got back I was complaining that I couldn't get everything I wanted, so David asked,
"Why did you go to Sainsbury's? The Tesco Express is only just around the corner at the Mailbox."
Argggghhh!!! Because we usually moor nearer to the Sainsbury's I'd gone there out of habit - despite the fact that it is a much further walk. So off to the Tesco to get the things they didn't have at the Sainsbury's.

I love Birmingham, the people are friendly, and it is cosmopolitan and multi-cultural, and it is much more laid-back than London, where I was born. There is something strange, yet very appealing about walking around the middle of a city, watching the boats go past, and doing your general shopping.

As a complete aside - what the hell is the Mailbox shopping centre about? It's all expensive restaurants and extremely expensive art galleries and shops. Who is it designed to attract? It always seems virtually empty when I go in there. Quite unlike the shopping centre a mile or so away, which is packed.

Eventually we set off - sometime late morning. This time we went via Edgbaston, Kings Norton and towards Lapworth - the Northern Stratford. Out through the suburbs of Birmingham and towards open country.

The hydrogen powered boat at the University of Birmingham.














'Nuff said - someone with a sense of humour - I always thought it was a very strange song.















The key operated lift bridge at Hockley Heath. The road crossing here seems quite busy, so you have to grab a gap in the traffic, and hope you don't upset too many drivers.














At the next lift bridge the mechanism was slipping, so David had to go and sit on the balance beam while Alan wound the bridge up with a windlass.















We worked down the Lapworth flight as far as the longer pound between locks 14 and 15. After lock 6 the locks are very close together and you can't moor in the pounds, but when we got through lock 14 we saw the pound was very full of boats. We got the last mooring, and a boat arriving later had to moor on the lock moorings for lock 15.

Miles: 17.6, Locks: 14 (including the stop lock at Kings Norton - which is left permanently open)
Total Miles: 303.1 , Total Locks 286

Wheaton Aston to Birmingham

Tuesday 12th August 2009
Canal Plan AC (route planning software) said that to get to Birmingham would be a very long day, however, we didn't want to hole up in Wolverhampton, so we got up early, and got going at about 7:30. I walked up to set the lock, and was somewhat surprised to see the solar powered 'obelisk' by the lock, which seems to be for monitoring lock fills.














Fortunately the weather was much nicer than the previous day, and it got quite warm later on.

Chalice crossing the Stretton Aqueduct.















At Autherley Junction there is a stop lock between the Shropshire Union Canal and the Staffs and Worcs. It has a level difference of only a few inches of water. I leapt off the boat to do the work, only to be told by two boys that they would do it. They told me that they do 'all the boats coming through'. I don't know how much they do help, but they were pleasant and polite and I was pleased to see them doing something helpful.














Through the bridge I could see a heron standing on the direction sign.














In the bottom lock of the Wolverhampton 21.














We were following several boats up the Wolverhampton 21, so that most of the locks were 'against us'. The sun was shining by now, and we got 'Margaret', the bicycle, off the boat and took it in turns to work the locks.

During one of my stints of doing the lock wheeling I cycled under a bridge and saw a man coming in the other direction. "That bloke looks just like 'Hairy Neil'," I thought. However, only a day or so earlier I'd seen Neil heading in the other direction on the back of a boat.

"It really does look like Hairy Neil," I thought. At which point Neil said "Hi".

He was walking back to his car having completed his boating, and caught the train back. He does seem to get around.

Hairy Neil talks to Alan.














We decided to stay on the 'old main line' through Birmingham, as we'd come on the 'new main line' in the other direction. The 'old main line' is a Brindley canal, and winds a lot, while the 'new main line', which is the canal equivalent of a motorway, was built by Telford. The 'old' canal is about 20 feet higher up than the 'new' canal, and has a very different feel. One of it's peculiarities is that it passes under the motorway for some distance.





























Smethwick pumping station, mosque on the horizon.



















Descending from the 'Wolverhampton Level' of the 'old main line'.















Typical Birmingham iron canal bridges - rejoining the 'new main line'














We arrived in Birmingham at about 6:30, by which time all the usual moorings that we have used near the NIA were full. After some messing about we were told about a mooring up near the Mailbox. We were a bit wary that it might be noisy, but it was absolutely fine.

Out for a pizza.

Miles: 25.0, Locks: 26
Total Miles: 285.5 , Total Locks 272

Betton Wood (nr Adderley) to Wheaton Aston

Monday 10th August 2009
Grey to start the day, then drizzly and wet.

We headed south on the Shropshire Union Canal - stopping to try to get supplies in Market Drayton. This wasn't particularly successful. After a fairly long walk I found an Aldi supermarket, and was told by a young Eastern European woman that the other supermarket was a Lidl. Sorry, I don't need mega packs of Haribo or bargain garden solar lights.

Tyrley Locks start in a cutting, and have strong bye-washes at each lock, causing boats to head off in all directions. There were long queues and people began to get quite short tempered. The scenery is however, like the rest of this stretch, beautiful.


Bottom lock, Tyrley.

A short distance after the locks, Woodseaves cutting is extremely narrow, through solid rock. Trees overhang on both sides. It's also very damp, with ferns and mosses growing on the slopes of the cutting. In places the towpath is so damp that there is duckweed growing on it, and it looks more like a pond.

Green, and damp






Towpath


We were part of a convoy travelling through the cutting, and fortunately didn't come across many coming the other way.


Approaching Cadbury Wharf, Knighton in the rain.

The wharf formerly had deliveries of chocolate crumb, but there is no longer a chocolate factory here. There were several working boats moored.


Alan looks back at the working boats as we pass Cadbury Wharf.






After this is Shebdon embankment, which was closed only a couple of days after we passed through, due to a leak in the embankment. We were fairly close to finding that we had to go back in the other direction around the Four Counties ring.

We were getting low on diesel, and Alan was getting worried that we might run out, so we started standing on one side of the boat, to tip the tank. However, we safely made it to Norbury Junction, and refilled there.

Then on through Gnosall, which I've often wondered how to pronounce - we were told by someone that it's "knows all".

Many miles without locks, after the five we tackled early in the day. We eventually moored up in Wheaton Aston, and off to the pub for a drink before dinner.

Miles: 21, Locks: 5
Total Miles: 260.5, Total Locks: 245

Sorry about the delays to the blog

Apologies about the gap in posting.

It takes time to choose and then resize the pictures, then I have to write the text. This can be done in Word, and saved as a text file, and finally uploaded to Blogger but I have had technical difficulties in doing this in the past. Wherever possible I try to enter directly into Blogger.

This of course can be impossible where mobile connections are weak, which happened several times as we travelled around.

Additionally, if we do anything else in the evening, then I just don't have the time required to do the blog. So, going for a meal, organising a barbecue, meeting friends, etc, interrupts the writing, and I rarely get the time to finish it off the following day, as we tend towards 'extreme boating'.

I had hoped to get all the posts completed as soon as I got back, but somehow, restocking the shopping, mounds of washing, visiting elderly MIL, etc. took over. Also, having regained a bit of fitness over the last three weeks of boating I'm keen to continue, and get back some of the levels of fitness that I used to think was normal - so I've been walking and cycling.

Hopefully I should get all the posts completed over the next few days.

Apologies.

Barbridge to Betton Wood

Sunday 9th August 2009
Another bright day, we set off heading southwards on the Shropshire Union Canal, and within a mile or so passed the junction with the Llangollen Canal. I desperately want to go down this canal, but time doesn't allow it, so we passed it with a strong sense of regret.
Hurleston Junction - the road to Wales












Bare tree - there seemed to be a lot of these





























This sign was on the waste bins at a boatyard at Nantwich - has all responsibility for thinking been removed from the individual?

There are a couple of locks at Hack Green (where there is a 'secret nuclear bunker'), but the main flight is at Audlem, and we worked through with many gongoozlers watching. A short way up the flight is the famous canal pub "the Shroppie Fly", and many people were enjoying the sunshine and the beer. By the pub is a canal and craft shop, with many books on canal topics, where Alan and I spent too much time, and too much money.

The Shroppie Fly

























Chalice waiting for a lock - there is an extremely strong by-wash below many of the locks, providing a hazard for the unwary, and entertainment for the 'gongoozlers'.














By one of the locks up the Audlem flight was an 'honesty box' with fruit and vegetables. I bought some cooking apples for apple crumble.














Chalice passes some young cattle drinking in the canal.

Worn bridge post - as I cycle up to the next flight of locks.
















After the Audlem flight of 15, there are another 5 locks at Adderley, then soon after, we moored up near Betton Wood Bridge. As Alan and David were pulling the boat into the side to moor it, I looked out of the window to the other bank of the canal and saw what I thought was an unusually large cow - a closer inspection showed that it was a prime bull, and the field was full of heifers. I went outside to explain to Alan that we might have something of a disturbed night if we stayed where we were, when a boat came past. A voice came from the back, "I know that man!". It was 'Hairy Neil', who we know from the Canal World Forum. Alan was still thinking about what we were going to do about the amorous bovines, and so just stood looking stunned. "Hairy Neil," shouted 'Hairy Neil'. "I know," called Alan - as 'Hairy Neil' disappeared into the distance.

We moved the boat up a bit, but found that the bellows of Roger the Bull carried for hundreds of yards, and there was also a bull in the field behind where we had finally moored - I thought that all of that kind of thing was now dealt with by a man with a pair of latex gloves and a test tube. However, we crossed our fingers, and hoped that as darkness fell, so would the bullish bellows.
Cow country - the view from our mooring












We dug down into the lockers and found a table and folding chairs, and ate on the towpath.













In fact, Roger and his harem were remarkably quiet, it was an extremely peaceful location, and we slept very well.

Miles: 13.2 , Locks: 22
Total Miles: 239.5 , Total Locks: 241

Saltisford Locks to Barbridge (updated)

Saturday 8th August 2009
Up early, and back at the Lift by 9:00 am. Once again we were taken straight into the caisson.

This time was just as interesting as last time, having seen it already we found we were concentrating more on the features of the lift than last time, and once again the operator was happy to talk about the lift.

We headed back towards Middlewich on the Trent and Mersey, following the boat Pavo for some of the journey.














Passing a 'flash' on the T & M - a sunken boat is a perch for ducks.














At Big Lock with Pavo - once the boat worked by Eily (Kit) Gayford, one of the trainers of the wartime 'idle women'.

In Middlewich I stopped for supplies while Alan refilled the water tank. What is it with Middlewich? Every second shop seems to be a hairdressers or 'spa' - are the people the most stylish and well turned out in the country?

We turned right onto the Middlewich Branch of the Shropshire Union Canal and I promptly broke the head off a brand new aluminium 'long throw' windlass. I went to help a woman who was having difficulty with some paddle gear, and nearly fell into the canal when the head came off my windlass.

It was a glorious, hot day, and the scenery was as stunning as the rest of the ring.

We got to Barbridge by evening, but found it difficult to moor, as there were many boats, and was a ledge along the edge of the moorings in some places. Once we'd found somewhere we went to the pub to eat. It was an extremely still and quiet evening, as this long exposure shot (64 seconds) taken by David shows.















Miles: 22.5 , Locks: 8
Total Miles: 226.3, Total Locks: 219

PICTURES
Approaching the Lift













The caisson gate descends behind Alan

























Looking up at the other caisson, and the gears which still remain at the top, from when the Lift required the counterbalance weights.

Passing the other caisson

























Almost at the top, the short stretch to the second guillotine gate ahead of us.

Leaving the caisson












View of the maze from the top.