Into Birmingham

Tuesday 17^th October; Coseley to Birmingham centre

Last night I didn't get around to posting yesterday's blog, which is annoying as I was doing quite well in keeping up posting on the day things actually happened.  Oh well, only one day late!  Or so I thought, it's more than a week now, because Google/blogger is refusing to let me access my images to add photos to the text, unless I accept cookies - but even after allowing it, nothing happens.  We were running low on data and the supplier's software is refusing to process our request for extra, so I had to go back to tethering the phone - which is often slow and drops out, so research will have to wait.  Back at home, after trying all sorts of things using Firefox help, I finally resorted to a formal request to Firefox and have been given more things to try.  It seems to be working now - but whether it will still work tomorrow is another matter!

I also stopped being able to comment on some of the blogs unless I logged into Google, which I finally sorted out too - when I find the bit of paper I wrote it all down on, I'll add it to a post in case anyone else needs the info.

We slept in a bit this morning after yesterday’s exertions and didn’t leave till nearly 10.

Hurry up with that photo, we are ready to leave!

The sky was bright and the sun doing its best to emerge as we continued on the Wolverhampton Level at Factory Junction.  We prefer its more varied course to that of the Main Line, and hoped to see some nice fish in its clear waters.  But there were two problems with that – the ripples caused by the wind made it difficult to see anything, and then there was the duckweed ….  but nothing to hold us up.

A heron takes off from a pipe bridge

We saw another pair of little grebe, along with many coot and moorhen, but after a while the weed got worse and the wildfowl fewer.  Still only floating weed and nothing to trouble the prop, but the duckweed had been joined by azolla (the invasive fairy fern) which gave an unattractive dull colour to the canal.

Closing in quickly behind us

The sun was shining in a blue sky but we were cruising into the wind which was very cold.  We got rather fed up with the weed so decided to go down the Gower Branch to see if the Main Line was any better.  It didn’t take long to go down the Brades Hall staircase.  By the the single lock below the staircase is this amazing building.

The Shri Venkateswara Balaji Hindu Temple

I looked on the web to find out what it was.  It is one of the largest functioning Hindu temples in Europe.  The building work between it and the canal appears to be for enlarging their premises – they do a lot of charitable work in the community and according to comments the free meals for those who need it are delicious and much appreciated.  Currently they seem to be using a large marquee.  There were still patches of azolla below the locks but the main line looked to be clear apart from a bit of duckweed.

Leaving the Gower Branch

It was jolly cold in the shady bits – we were lower than the Wolverhampton Level, maybe we should have stayed up there in the sunshine!  But then we would have missed seeing – and hearing - a gentleman practicing a very loud wind instrument.  It sounded like bagpipes from a long way away, but more like a loud and piercing clarinet as he got closer.  It was clearly not a European instrument, but I couldn’t identify it.  We stopped for lunch on the rings at the pumping station and I took Meg for a short walk up the steps to the old line.

Smethwick pumping station on the Wolverhampton Level

Dave took her out after we’d eaten, back to the Galton tunnel (the one that is concrete lined and not very attractive) and climbed the slope above it (because it was there).  Nothing of interest to be reported.  By 2 o’clock, the sun was just dipping below the treetops, so we cracked on into Birmingham.

Subbuteo figures, with spray cans at the ready on their bases!

Last year’s maybe?  All good fun

We moored at our usual place opposite the Arena car park as the chiming clock struck 3.  Dave took Meg for a walk to the park but found travellers in residence (with dogs) so that wasn’t as good as usual.  I went for a (shorter) walk too, crossing the canal on Sheepcote St bridge.

A little patch of sun for the solar panels

I thought I would have a browse round the Round House, but it’s closed on Tuesdays, so I walked back on the other side of the canal.  We’ve noted the lovely planting that has been going on here in the last few years – now the fruit trees are growing well and there are plenty of flowers even this late in the year.

I noticed that Alchemy was just mooring up a few boats down from us, so crossed the bridge for a quick hello with Mike.  They missed several weeks cruising when they picked up a tyre in the Slough Arm which wrecked their prop shaft and prop.  Luckily RCR sorted them out with a tow to a boatyard for repairs, but it left them with a lot of locks, miles and long days to get back to Droitwich for the winter.  Then as I returned to Bonjour I was approached by a couple of chaps wanting to know what it cost to live on a boat – and at first thought what we paid a couple of years ago would have been for a new boat.  I think they need to do a lot more research.  In particular they asked where would I want to be if the canal froze over.  They seemed quite surprised I thought proximity to water and an elsan point would be important – couldn’t you just tip it in the canal?!  In the end I suggested they look for an older boat with a lot of stuff on the roof, who could probably give them a much better idea than I could of the practicalities of life aboard.

I left Dave lighting the fire and setting up the TV to watch the England v Italy match tonight, and walked round to Barajee’s on Broad Street for a takeaway.  Rather than have a coffee while I waited, I wanted to see whether all the changes to the pedestrianised bit in front of the library had been completed.  The tramlines are all finished and operating, though as I walked through Symphony Court I noticed the middle was still largely fenced off – an ice rink is on its way, probably just for the winter season.  Then down I went past the museum and art gallery to the top of New Street – directly now, whereas for years there were diversions and underpasses all over the place and we kept getting lost.

The Golden Boys sculpture – Boulton, Murdoch and Watt

I’m sure that sculpture used to be the other side of Broad Street.  Everywhere seemed to be full of people walking on their way to an evening out, and all the new buildings seemed to consist of shiny new places to eat, or upmarket glass and steel office blocks.

We usually stay a couple of days in Birmingham, but this time we’re not so sure.  All the places we like to visit are closed for refurbishment, and the shows are either sold out (Ade Edmonson) or not our thing (Frank Sinatra – the musical).  We’re not sure what we’ll do this time.  The forecast isn’t too good tomorrow.

3 locks, 10 miles, Galton tunnel