Skirting Birmingham

On Wednesday, we moved on to the Rushall Junction, and turned left onto the Tame Valley Canal.

Through housing and industrial sites, the canal was still very shallow, and at one point Kantara was tipped violently to the left as we rolled over a mudbank in the centre of the channel.

This once had a toll booth on it, to collect passage fees from boaters

Brick pillars, built to support the huge rocks of the cliff along the bank

Perry Vale Locks, now - 13 of them. At the top lock, we cleared a mass of water weed that Kantara had picked up on her propeller on the approach.

At the next lock, I repeated the procedure. It was very frustrating for Grace. Weed like that on the prop doesn't just slow the engine, but it makes steering nigh on impossible. We had nine locks still to do. We took the pragmatic approach, which actually turned out to be the easiest one, too. We bow-hauled the boat. Pulled her by rope from lock to lock.

The biggest problem then was the huge mass of weed in the locks themselves. On one occasion, I simply couldn't haul Kantara out of the bottom of the lock because there were thick wads of the stuff jammed between the boat's hull and the lock walls. From that time onwards, Grace used the engine judiciously, just enough to get her past the obstacles, and moving out of the lock. When there's nowhere to go except in a straight line, the fact that she couldn't steer was irrelevant. Once out of the lock, the engine was put back into neutral, and we hauled. And hauled, and hauled!

After the ninth lock, we moored and ate a much-needed lunch. And I untangled more weed. We stopped in the next lock while I removed yet more weed, and an angler's catch basket, the wire frame of which was very well wrapped around the prop. Below that lock, however, the weed disappeared, and we continued as normal. We met no boats all of this time. There were three behind us, all of them struggling because of the weed, but all of them dealing with it by stopping and unwrapping it from their props.

This wasn't Spaghetti Junction, I don't think, but some time later, we passed under an amazing criss-cross of Birmingham motorway and other roads. (John on NB Samsara comments below, telling me that this is in fact Spaghetti Junction.) A mysterious underworld of shadow and huge concrete structures. Not many people get to see this. It's very impressive! 

Salford Junction

And before we left this weird world, there was Salford Junction, the confluence of the Grand Union and the Aston Canals, both of which take a route down through Birmingham, and the Birmingham & Fazeley Canal, which we followed.

We stopped for the night at Minworth, uncomfortably close to the A38, but just fine for rest and recovery!

Coventry Canal loveliness

One of the little things I enjoy about cruising is the leapfrogging we do with the same several boats travelling the same route as us. Some may pass us in the morning before we move on, but we'll overtake them when they stop for shopping, and then they'll pass us again while we're having lunch. There may be another pass after they moor for the night, but often we'll share a mooring. We're currently doing that with four craft. We'll probably lose some and gain others when we get to Fradley Junction tomorrow.

It was a peaceful, beautiful stretch of canal onwards from Bridge 50. We met very few other boats. The countryside is very green and lush, oak trees becoming common now, and in larger and larger patches of woodland. The clouds paint the sky, and poppies smear the fields.

Polesworth, then Tamworth, 

where there's a pair of locks. Glascote Locks.

And it was a very busy pair of locks today, with boats in both directions having to wait their turn to pass through, though this did have the advantage that, if everyone took it in turns, we were all able to "take the water" of the boat in the lock in front of us as it left its lock and approached the one we were leaving.

Note to self: Avoid commenting on people's dogs. At the top lock, I asked a dog-owning boater what breed her rather handsome dog was, and she immediately regaled me with tales of the poor creature's medical history. Most recently, "His testicles all swelled up", as did "all his eyes". ALL of them! A remarkable dog indeed. A Schnauzer, I finally discovered.

There was a hire-boat going down the locks ahead of us. A family group on holiday, their first time on the canals, and loving it. They'd only been out since yesterday morning, and this was their first lock. The mum who'd been sent out from the boat to "do" the locks admitted to not having a clue. I was glad to help her, of course, but why, oh why did the boat hire company, Valley Cruises, not make sure someone on the boat knew?

On from Glascote Locks, and a slow meander through attractive housing, the canal overhung by huge willows. Out came my secateurs. Well, someone has to keep the overhang short! It's very attractive to look at, but it can be a serious impediment to the view of the skipper!

This is a canal of white geese and ducks. Just like those in books for children in days of yore. The ones whose ducklings are yellow, like the plastic ones made for the bath. (What do you mean, you don't have one?!)

The mallards, more common elsewhere, are still here, but they seem to be getting bigger. And darker of feather. What are they? we wonder.

Next stop was for lunch, not a pretty, quiet spot, but timely.

Then on to Fazeley Junction, the meeting of the Coventry and the Birmingham and Fazeley Canals. Here we stopped for services, me filling the water tank and disposing of rubbish while Grace visited the not-too-distant Tesco Express for basic provisions.

On we went, back into the countryside, and, at the end of our day's cruise, as we moored amongst very attractive country homes in the village of Hopwas, we were leapfrogged by NB Constance May, who tied up ahead of us.

Sunday - week 5

Sunday started dull, but the sun broke through by mid-morning, and continued that way until about 6:00pm, when it resorted to dull. It was very warm though, and very breezy at times, too.

We're seeing a steady increase in canal traffic now. Since last weekend, the number of boats on the move has multiplied significantly, both privately owned and hire boats. And today was a good day to be out on the cut.

Because of the number of boats, and because we had two slow locks up ahead of us at which queues might form, we didn't leave our overnight mooring until 2:00 pm. We planned only to travel the three miles and two locks to Tamworth, where we would do some basic shopping.

We stopped for water at Fazely Junction, where the Birmingham & Fazely Canal meets the Coventry Canal.

It was good to chat with a “character”, an old chap who's been out in his 32' boat with his wife since the beginning of March. Their trip had taken in a good number of canals, and they were now on their way to buy a new boat, the current one being too small for “The Mrs”. “After 45 years of marriage,” he said, “I just do as she says.” No wonder a 32' boat's not big enough for them!

Another character was the man living in the Lock Keeper’s cottage at Glascote Bottom Lock, who had a 
great smile and a gentle sense of humour.

He too, however, had a thing about keeping as far away from “the wife” as he could. Sad. The funniest thing was him trying to share his witty repartee with a group of three Germans who had only a very poor grasp of English. Not realising this, the guy thought they were rather dim! It saddens me a little that Grace, who is always on Kantara in locks while I do the heavier job of locking, doesn't get to have these conversations with lockies, gongoozlers and other boaters. For me, it's part of the fun of boating. She does get to chat with other helmsmen from time to time, whenever she shares a lock with another boat, but really that's not that often.

Arriving at the top of Glascote Locks, we moored below Anchor Bridge (73) to do some shopping at the local Co-Op (who seem to have the small town supermarket monopoly in this part of the country.) Atherstone is the next town we pass through, and this has seven locks. We don't want to moor there overnight tomorrow, so we'll just have another short trip tomorrow – 8 miles and 4 locks. This will allow us time to get up the remaining 7 locks and 3 miles or so to get through the town in the day, and moor out in the countryside beyond.