HATS OFF TO ATHERSTONE

TUESDAY 13TH MAY 2008

When we started off on the boat, Tuesday morning, we realized how far we had actually cycled along the towpath, way passed where the M42 passes overhead, this practice ride would be very useful later on.

We stopped after the first four of the Atherstone locks. we had plenty of time to get to the Ashby Canal to meet chums, Marilyn & Brian on Friday evening, so there was no need to push on too hard. However we took a stroll up the rest of the locks and eventually turned left into the town. The main road was called Long Street, which was very appropriate as it is part of Watling Street. The town was a hat manufacturing centre and although it had many attractive original buildings and features, the top end of the town looked very depressed.

Things improved considerable at the bottom of the town when we found as Aldi store, although totally unprepared, no ‘bags for life’ or our fold up M&S trolleys. We came away loaded up with some of their great value specials. Fingers were nearly falling off by the time we got back to the boat.

FAZELEY'S FOLLY

MONDAY 12TH MAY 2008

A leisurely start through the last two Curdworth locks and then a long, almost straight secton of canal, flanked on the right by flooded gravel pits, which now form the Kingsbury Water Park.

As we approached Fazeley, the most amazing footbridge appeared, two small white painted castle turrets with an interconnecting footbridge between. When we got level with the bridge, we saw that there was a circular staircase inside each turret leading up to the bridge. This wonderful folly replaced an old swing bridge, I doubt that anyone would get planning permission nowadays to build such a thing.

Fazeley, as the Nicholson’s guide says, is more interesting from the canal, than from the road. Old satanic, red brick, mills snuggle up to the water, confirming what the canals were originally for. The small town was unattractive, but we did get essential supplies in the local store.

The Fazeley Junction is entered immediately under a bridge and excited via another bridge, a tight turn onto the Coventry Canal. Over the River Tame on an aqueduct and straight away around the perimeter of Tamworth, notable that all the moored boats had boards or netting over their windows, indicative that one of the local sports must be glass breaking.


We stopped for the night at Alvecote, which was very pleasantly rural. We unshipped the bikes and had had a long ride along the towpath, passing the remains of Alvecote Priory, just visible on the far side of the cut. On our return we visited The Samuel Barlow pub, which is built over the workshop/offices of the local boatyard, This is a smart newish building, in keeping with its location, but sadly the pub lacked warmth, maybe that was because we were the only customers.

CUCKOO TO CURDWORTH

SUNDAY 11TH MAY 2008

On leaving Cuckoo Wharf, we straight away arrived at Salford Junction. This junction is right under the eastern end of the M6 Spaghetti motorway junction, also to add to the confusion the River Tame flows under the canal, the Tame Valley Canal departs to the left of the junction, and the Birmingham & Fazely continues to the right, almost immediately another canal departed to the right, this is The Grand Union Canal heading back to Birmingham and London.

Our plan was to head down passed Nuneaton and then onto the Ashby Canal, before heading back to our own marina at Napton.

The industry and housing gradually dropped away until we were into open field, mostly bright yellow with Rape. We moored between two locks, very peaceful except for the roar from the M42, out of sight but not out of hearing, but as it was still very hot and we had worked our way through nine locks and we didn’t want to do anymore.

In response to comments received from previous blog.

Thanks Andrew from Granny Buttons re. The explanation for the 4am indicated timing for uploading my blog. When work out how to change the time from Google time to GMT I will do it.

Martin says, “That the Newer Post Link at the bottom of each blog doesn’t work”. I regret that in these matters I am so un-technical, that I don’t know what this means, Please comment again and explain.

Thanks Swampy for your good wishes, and although your Father referred to the part of the B & F that you found me fishing, as “Deepest Darkest Aston” fortunately with the sun shining so brightly it didn’t look so bad. Good luck with your boating plans.

Still can’t get a good enough speed to upload pictures, I will do so as soon as possible.

DOWN & OUT

SATURDAY 10TH MAY 2008

The descent from Birmingham centre via the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal couldn’t have been more different to our arrival on the Worcester and Birmingham. Almost immediately we delved beneath the guts of the City. In fact the grotto scenes of Phantom of the Opera could have been made here, the rubbish in the water was upsetting, most of it seemed to be empty bottles of ‘White Storm’ which I assume is a cheap cider. Not a place to be at night!

However the highlight was when I caught my first fish. Jacquie had given me one of those fishing rods that telescope down into a very large pen and when we stopped for lunch in this quite urban area Johnny and John came along and started to fish just behind where we had moored. Jacquie said I should ask them to get me started, but I said size does matter and mine in comparison to their rods was a bit insignificant. To my surprise they said that they had seen these little rods advertised but hadn’t been able to buy one They were really keen to convert me to be a fisherman and expertly wound my line onto the reel, fitted float, weight, and a barbless hook and baited my hook with a couple of wiggle maggots and what do you know I reeled in a fish.

Whilst I was trying my luck with the fish, a chap walked passed and said to Jacquie that he was following our blog exploits and that he was a boater in waiting, I wish you good fortune and hope that wait isn't too long.

The weather had been very warm and sultry and we had just stopped in the last lock of the Aston flight, to see if we could help a couple of guys who had a rope around there prop, when the air was filled with the crash of thunder and then an immediate torrent of rain crashed down. My large diving knife was of some help, but after half an hour they decided they handed it back as they thought it was going to take several more hours of sawing to get it off and they didn’t want to delay us any longer.

The air was now comfortable and we moored at Cuckoo Wharf, just before the Salford junction. This was actually a BW residential mooring, on the opposite side to the towpath, but there was a place by the water point and at 7 pm we thought it unlikely that anyone else would come passed, this was fortunate as there was no other place that we would have willingly moored on this stretch.

CITY CENTRE

FRIDAY 9TH MAY 2008

The original canal serving Birmingham was a contour canal, in other words it followed level land. This avoided the cost and time of having to build embankments or cutting or locks, but this meant that it very ofter meandered, just like a river. In the mid 1820 a new cut was started, straight as an arrow, lopping of many miles, but the old loops were still left connected, as they obviously still served the factories and warehouses.

We decided to investigate a couple of these old loops. They were as you can imagine surrounded by the derelict remains of these old factories and warehouses, but there was a tranquility about them. The water was clean and many Canada Geese had made their homes there.

On the second loop, The Soho, there was more housing and eventually a lovely old house came into view, close to Asylum Bridge, we asked a fisherman if it had been an asylum, and he confirmed, but added that it was now one of the Queen's Hotels, in other words Winson Green Prison. Around the next bend this became very evident, even with its own entrance from the canal, looking much like Traitors Gate at The Tower of London.

Jacquie and I had visited Birmingham twice a year for many years, but spent all the day at the NEC at a childrenswear trade exhibition and only got into the City centre in the evenings looking for somewhere to eat. We were really surprised at the space and grandeur of the centre. There was no traffic, the old buildings could have been lifted from Athens and Italy and the new buildings competed competently for space and the fascinating statuary completed the picture. We enjoyed the museum off Victoria Square and returned to the boat having left so much more to return to Birmingham for.

TUNNELS, TOWERS AND TRAINS

THURSDAY 8TH MAY 2008

Nothing left to do, but gird up our loins and head for Birmingham City Centre. We were both a bit nervous about leaving behind the lush countryside for the smoke, but it was fine.



First thing to pass through was the Wast Hill Tunnel, all two and a half kilometers. The otrher end couldn’t be seen when we entered and it was cold with lots of water dripping from the tunnel roof. Not far from the exit, thirty five minutes later we met another boat coming towards us. He had come to a standstill and we crept passed him with just inches to spare. The sun was shining brightly on finally leaving the tunnel and the remainder of the way into Birmingham was surprising. Apart from the railway following alongside most of the way, we were surrounded by a green canopy of trees and could neither see housing or industry. The only exception was the Chamberlain Camponile tower, built 1900, and the domes of Birmingham University.

There were no other boats moored alongside us in Gas Street Basin and we felt a bit exposed, after a short walk we found several boats moored just into the Oozells Street Loop. There was no pedestrian traffic and another boat owner said that they had had two undisturbed nights, there were CCTV cameras and regular security patrols. We moved the boat up to there and can confirm that this was indeed a good place to stay.

DIAMONDS IN THE SKYY

WEDNESDAY 7TH MAY2008

Oh well, best laid plans!! We had a call from P & L, on Tuesday to say, that they had to wait another week after Stanley’s last injection before they could expose him to the world. Another date for late May has been set aside for their visit and we spent the rest of Tuesday and Wednesday doing boaty things, like, enabling the engine hatch to be locked down. I keep all my tools down in the engine bay, which would be a considerable cost to replace if they got stolen, also I had heard that boats batteries have been known to disappear. It seemed prudent to be able to secure the engine bay if having to leave the boat in a less salubrious area.



Paul from WaterWay Routes suggested that we should have the name of the boat in the two empty panels on the bow, we had been considering putting some diamonds and circles patterns in these panels, so I set about mocking up a combination of SKYY and diamonds, not quite Diamonds in the Sky, but I think it works. We will leave it taped on he the left side panel for a few days to see if we still like it.