Worcester & Birmingham Canal ....to Brum and back - 4.10.13

Worcester & Birmingham Canal - to Brum and back, quick!

Friday 4th October 2013

As we made our right hand sweep off the Stratford Canal and under the bridge the landscape changed. 

We came on to the canal from the left, went under the bridge.... 

This was our first taste of the Worcs & B'ham canal, in the rain, and it wasn't that nice! 

Graffiti covered every surface reachable

Graffiti covered every wall and surface possible, and some that you wouldn't think was possible! We were definitely heading towards the city!

We've got 5.5 miles of this part of the canal to do, and none of it is that pleasant! 

The train ran alongside the canal the whole way to the centre

The busy train line follows the canal the whole way in to the city centre. It's busy with joggers and cyclists, its shallow all the way, its wet with rain and miserable and we're nervous in case we have to stop anywhere as we've been warned not to! There are no boats moored anywhere, no groups of boaters, no communities or singletons, none!

Trains whizz past the canal as we make our way to Gas Street Basin

So you can imagine its not going to be pleasant! It's shallow and slow going, we cruise on past people's back gardens, industrial areas, past the Cadburys and Bornville factories (oh, the smell is amazing).

The chocolate factory even has its own station, right next to the huge factory

We cruise under railway bridges and past the University of Birmingham, 

The university of Birmingham, thats all we could see of it!

All the while the train is rushing past us taking people somewhere fast! 

Edgebaston Tunnel, lights in the ceiling light the way, and stop any unwanted problems

We go under Edgebaston tunnel, only short but lit up for saftey! 

New buildings seem to pop up from flat packs... and the graffiti is still everywhere

It's so built up here, new modern DIY houses erupt from the ground, looking like a strong wind would blow them down! As we approach Gas Street Basin it's so busy! 

This is the start of the brand new shopping centre, due to open in 2015, but lots of eateries already trading

There's a huge shopping centre looming up in front of us called The Mailbox, it used to be a sorting office but now all it has is very expensive and lots of high class eateries. Apparently the shops are moving in in 2015! 

Up ahead is Gas Street Basin, in amongst all the high rise modern buildings

Around the sharp bend and we see Gas Street Basin (apparently named because it was the first narrow boat basin to be lit by gas lamps), but were not able to moor in the basin, its Residential Permit Holders only and we don't have a permit! 

This is our mooring spot for the night, not quite what we're used to!

Its busy here, people walking past going into town.. up ahead is the stop lock, the junction of the Birmingham Canal Mainline and the Worcester & Birmingham Canal. Also 'Jimmy Spices' is beckoning us in over on the right!

So we pull over to the public moorings on the side of the canal and tie up to some rings. This is not what we imagined at all! There's no security except for the mention of CCTV cameras (I could only see one) and there's hoards of people making their way to Broad Street via the canal (Broad Street is the happening place for clubs and pubs) all going past our boat!

After having a look around I go off into town (there's a Primark in town!) and Paul stays with Jack. The town is buzzing, heaving with shoppers.

Junction of the BCM and the Birmingham & Fazeley Canal, right by the National Indoor Arena

We walk Jack along the paths of the canal, by the Canalside Bar and Cafe where we met our friends, Neil and Chrissie

Back at the boat we take Jack out along the towpath, well, the street pavements that follow the spaghetti of canals here, and see the people from Comfortably Numb, the guys who we first met in Stratford upon Avon. They were at a street bar and cafe and invited us to join them so we had a couple of drinks with them, and before we knew it it was time for dinner. 

Jimmy Spices, all you can eat, all freshly cooked...and right by the basin! We loved this place!

We went to a place called Jimmy Spices, amazing place! Indian, Thai, Chinese, Turkish and Mexican, all you can eat buffet it was! We ate and ate, stuffed ourselves to bursting, and then had pudding! You were encouraged to keep trying all the different foods. Everything was delicious and freshly cooked. I had even had bubblegum ice cream! We rolled home, bellies bulging.

Then we went to bed, tried to sleep but it was so noisy we couldn't. People were inches away from our boat shouting and screaming, last people past were just after 4:30 am, it just went on all night, and then the traffic started!

The stop lock, not really a lock but the junction separating two canals

So its 8am on Saturday and we decided to get up and leave. I had to turn the boat round in the Stop Lock, its the junction where the Worcs & B'ham canal meet with the Birmingham Main Line canals. 

Paul and Jack walk the towpaths, not much green grass in sight here!

Paul walked Jack down the path that went alongside the canal. I cruised the boat out of the city centre and back the 5.5 miles out of town, back the way we'd come the day before! It was a nice day and the sun was shining. There was a small tunnel to go through, a tiny aqueduct over a busy road, nothing too challenging. 

The aquaduct over a built up area and road

The train passed us numerous times, we passed the chocolate factories again, ah the smell..... 

Bornville to the left, Cadbury to the right.... the smell of chocolate was mouth watering

Some of the gardens reached down to the canal, some were nicely kept too! See the pink shed in the distance!

...and at 10.30 am we were back at Kings Norton junction with the Stratford upon Avon canal to our right, this time we were going straight on! 

The junction with the Stratford upon Avon Canal, we continue down the Worcs & B'ham canal, towards Worcester

After a mile further on we'd got to Wast Hill Tunnel, nearly two miles long and you couldn't see from one end to another. It's the third longest tunnel on the system, very wet and very cold! 

Wast Hill Tunnel, and there's a boat coming... you can just see the head light

We met 3 boats coming towards us, but very slowly we crept past and all was great! Out the other end the canal enters a cutting with tree lined high sides.

We leave the tunnel after nearly two miles of darkness, and enter the tree lined cutting the other end

Past the village of  Hopwood we go, with its distinctive smell of a recycling dump! We had hoped to moor up by the two reservoirs past Hopwood but there was nowhere to get in, the banks were impossible to moor up against, full of brambles and stingers and reeds. 

We had hoped to moor up somewhere here, but we couldn't get in any where. Mooring spots are few and far between

So we cruised on, under the M42 bridge and into Alvechurch, the hub of the hire boaters, again! There's a decent mooring here, we stop for lunch and decide to stay. We're really knackered, last nights lack of sleep had really done us in!

We moored up and went for an explore, up the hill we could see the purple boat tucked in the side  

.... Jack having a great run around the meadows, look at the view!

It's very pretty here, we go off to explore and we find hills and fields and woods, all accessible!

Jacks a very happy boy! We stay in for the evening and cosy in by the fire, there's no telly signal again tonight!

On a very chilly but bright Sunday Paul's brother and his family come and visit and we all have a lovely day, I made soup with too much chilli and not enough potatoes! The bread was nice tho, fresh that morning from the local Co-op!

Looking down onto the boat, you can just see the purple of the boat near the pub on the bridge

We spotted this heron on the top of a telegraph pole!

They left for their hour long journey home and we took Jack over the fields and meadows.

When we got back the sun was shining and we decided to go the 3.5 miles (including two tunnels) to the top of Tardebigge locks, 30 in total that we would be tackling the next day.

Looking around us on our way to Tardebigge, look at the views we had!

So we set off about 3.30pm in the glorious sunshine, lots of people out walking, very few boaters about. 

Entering Shortwood Tunnel, it wasn't too long as you can see the exit the other end, and a boat on its way

We went through the first tunnel, only a short one, and about a mile on we reach Tardebigge tunnel. 

Hire boats moored right across the canal again, anyone would think they owned this section!

Just before the tunnel was another hire boat yard, boats moored right across the cut on a tight bend before a bridge leaving a very small gap big enough for only one boat to get through.

They're all the same, think they own the canal, I just think they have no consideration for others. Rant over....

Tardebigge tunnel, at least it was dry!

The tunnel is another short one, only 530 yds, and its a dry one! Makes a change! Out of the tunnel there's a huge boat yard, and a turning point, and then the start of the Tardebigge flight.

We get to the first of 30 locks, and decide to go through one as the mooring is decent below the lock

It's lock No. 1 of 30, but there's a really nice mooring in the long pound between lock No. 1 and lock No. 2. 

Lock No.1 of the Tardebigge flight, at 11' deep its a big one

So we decide to do the first lock, its a deep one, 11' deep! Out the bottom we moor up for the night on the 14 day moorings in the lock pound, a resting place before we tackle the rest tomorrow.

We stopped after the first lock, and before the next 29!

We walk Jack to the flight of locks to see what's awaiting us tomorrow! Back at the boat, no telly again, we have a quiet night in, logs burning on the fire and food in our bellies.

On Monday we wake to a very grey start to the day. 

There's a lovely walk in the field over the sty, we just can't see it!

We walk Jack over some sheep fields, and get back to the boat ready for our big day. the 29 locks we have to do today are only over a distance of 2 miles, but the bike is a godsend. Paul sets it up, and off he goes, Jack running along beside him, to get the first lock ready.

It's a grey start to the day, but we keep on going, lock after lock....

.... Paul goes ahead on his bike to get the next lock ready

Lock after lock after lock, in and down and out, reverse and forward ...... they just go on and on. Paul cycles on to the next one, lifts the top paddles and fills it up ready while I'm going down the previous one, then comes back to open the gates of the one I'm in, (by now im at the bottom of the lock) shuts them behind me, drops the bottom paddles, cycles on to the now full lock im about to go in, opens the top gates to let me in, drops the top paddles, opens the bottom paddles, cycles on to the next lock ...... and this goes on 29 times! What a man!!!

.... and he's still setting the locks, they just keep on coming!

We meet only one boat coming up the flight, 4 locks from the end. the canal is very quiet.

Leaving one of the last locks on the flight, and Paul's still smiling!

And we've made it! The last of 29 locks.... 

We finally got to the bottom of the 29 locks after 3 hours and 45 mins, hungry and tired. There's a lovely mooring spot right at the bottom especially for weary souls, with rings to tie up to and a pub nearby!

We were grateful for this lovely mooring spot at the bottom of the flight of locks

But we didn't go in the pub, looked a bit posh for us!

After a hearty lunch we walk Jack over the meadows and fields, lovely walks here. Lots of public paths cross and meet over the stubble, hay, cow and sheep meadows. We all have a lovely time exploring, and come back with huge Bramley apples we 'found' hanging from someone's garden over the path we were walking on!

Back at the boat we ate dinner and had apple crumble for pudding! Yum!

On Tuesday we woke early and walked Jack, getting back to the boat in good time to leave our overnight spot by 8.30am. 

We've got 12 locks to do today, the Stoke flight of 6 locks, a mile of cruising and the Astwood flight of another 6 locks

The first of 6 Stoke Locks

Paul goes off on his bike and sets the first of the Stoke Locks ready for me to go straight in.

The view as I leave one of the locks on the flight

We've got a great system going and soon we're through the first flight of 6 locks, past another huge hire boat yard, Black Prince boats this time. again, boats are moored right across the canal, even in the turning point, leaving little space around for boats to pass.

Again hire boats swamp the canal leaving only a narrow gap to get past

Between the lock flights we stop at Bridge 42 to fill up with water, and were on our way again to our next lot of 6 locks.

Paul leaps over the lock gates instead of going round the lock and over the bridge

In and out of the locks we went, Paul scurrying off on his bike, and before you know it we were at the bottom of the Astwood locks too and heading down a straight, narrow and very reedy section. 

Reeds tower over us as we make our way to the Droitwich Canals junction.....

We pull over on the Hanbury Wharf  24 hr mooring spot and decide what we're going to do next!

Only a mile on and the newly restored Droitwich Canals (the Droitwich Junction Canal and the Droitwich Barge Canal) meet up with the Worcs & B'Ham canal at a place called Hanbury Wharf. There's 24 hr moorings opposite the turning into the Droitwich canals, we decide to pull over and take a look at the newest canal on the whole system.

The narrow bridge that leads onto the newly restored Droitwich Canals

Theres a pub called the Eagle & Sun on the junction and after looking at the menu we decide to give it a try for lunch. only because its like no other pub we've been in before.

We sit in a window seat overlooking Hanbury Wharf ....

.... and tuck into our £4 lunch!

It's a 2468 pub, meaning that all meals are either £2, £4, £6 or £8! We had a great lunch for £4 each, tasty, presented really well, top quality food. Paul had two very full and spicy chicken fajitas for £4 and I had a plate full of wedges, onion rings, garlic mushrooms, chicken wings and the tastiest garlic mayo and BBQ dip ever! Yummy!

We then got Jack and walked down the Droitwich Junction Canal to suss out what were going to do.

The first three locks on the Droitwich Junction Canal, deep but narrow, they seemed to work well....

I only say that because without a doubt we wanted to go that way. But there's a very low culvert that goes under the M5, it was originally built for the small stream to flow under the motorway when it was first built. The only way they could fully restore the canal from this end was to divert the original canal, via three new locks, using the small culvert under the motorway. But the problem was that the stream still used the culvert under the motorway, and the water level changed all the time depending on how much water was flowing down the stream.

The river level gauge was below the green level, meaning the river was low

Headroom was restricted to what was showing on the gauge, and there wasnt much!

The gauge was showing 2 metres, the river level was low today. 

This was the culvert under the motorway that we were worried about, but you could imagine why!

We walked the mile or so  back to the boat, chatting to a volunteer lock keeper on the way, getting any information we could from him.

We got back to the boat and immediatly measured the highest point on our roof, it was the new roof box with the solar panels attached. Our headroom measured 1.9 metres. This meant we had 4" above us, enough to get through, just, if we ducked down low! We emptied the wood box, moved a few bags of coal and we felt we should get under it as long as the river level didn't rise overnight.

It felt quite special to be able to cruise the latest completed fully restored canal on the system, so we decided we would go for it.

As our meal was so good at lunch we went to the pub again in the evening! We both had mixed grill: gammon, steak, pork chop, sausage, chips, peas, tomato, onion rings. All for £6! it was absolutely delish, really lovely meat, chips melted in your mouth! Then we had a yummy pudding each for £2! We went home with a doggy bag for Jack, and huge great bellies!

Wednesday 9th October and the decision is made, lets see what today brings.......