Hanbury Juncton and back to base

Thursday 10^th and Friday 11^th October; Hanbury junction, then home for the winter

There was more rain overnight, but it had stopped by the time I took Jess out first thing, though the towpath was rather puddly and muddy.

The puddles had drained a bit by the time I took this.

The sky was blue as Dave left to walk down to Droitwich to catch the train for the car shuffle, foot pump in his backpack in case the car tyres were flat.  

Near our mooring

It was only 8.30, so I got on with some jobs, like clearing and laying the fire.  Jess needed a good walk too, so we went down the Droitwich Junction canal as far as the horse chestnut trees near lock 7, between the M5 tunnel and the town.  We hadn't managed to collect any conkers this year so far.  I had to look carefully but there were still a few to be found, and though there weren't many I hope there will be enough to deter the spiders!  I have rehomed several this trip and there are still two evading capture.  On our way back we played with her ball on the wide bits as far as the marina, where we called in to find our berth number.

Bracket fungus spotted on our walk

Dave returned in time for lunch, having had an easy journey by walking, train and taxi to Aston marina and then driving back down the M6 and M5.  The car tyres were all in order, and having done the reset of the electronics advised by an engineer he spoke to, the warning light had vanished and everything was ok.

Intermittent sun only, so although the batteries were ok when we got up, with the fridge switched back on the engine needed running for a while as we are not moving today.  And we needed hot water!

An annoying feature of the design of our cratch cover is that when, inevitably, sometimes the bow scrapes against the lock as you go in, there is a risk that the studs below the gunwale get scraped off too.  Dave had bought a set of studs and the tool to attach the top part to the fabric of the cratch cover.  In the event he only needed to drill out the holes for two studs on the hull side.

Screwing the new studs in place

Meanwhile I had started the Big Clean inside.  Jess didn't get in the way.  After she got bored chewing a bit of stick while Dave drilled and paid her no attention, she stationed herself on the stern deck staring fixedly at the overgrown hedge on the offside, nose whiffling.

What’s there Jess?  Squirrel?

She stood like that for half an hour or more.

It was starting to get colder – a change in the weather was forecast.

On Friday morning the weather had changed, with a sharp frost.

No one else was about as Jess went out first thing.

We got on with packing as we waited for the frost to go before we moved off – Hanbury locks are deep and I didn’t want to risk slipping.  By about 10 I was filling the top lock when the first volunteer arrived, shortly joined by the second.  They took over the emptying of the lock and the bottom gates while I went on to set the two remaining locks.  Then once Dave had brought the boat into the bottom lock, I stepped back on board and they completed the job.

Emptying half the water into the side pond, bottom lock.  Check out that glorious blue sky!

Thanks guys, sorry I’ve forgotten your names!

Straight onto the marina wharf to fill with diesel, get a pump-out and empty the Porta-Potti which we had been using instead of the macerator loo to save the batteries.  There was barely a breath of wind, highly unusual in this marina, as we slid easily into our berth – bow first so Dave could wash and wax the starboard side.  The solar was now going great guns keeping the batteries topped up.  A perfect day for an autumn cruise, or at least sitting out drinking coffee in your well deck as our neighbours were doing!  Sadly we have appointments coming up and need to be back home.  At least it was dry to pack up the car.  We'd left at about three, but delays round Bristol meant it was nearly dark by the time we got home.

Half a mile’s cruise, 3 locks.

Trip stats;

74 miles 6 furlongs narrow canals, 91 narrow locks.

1 working swing bridge (Fradley Junction), 1 aqueduct at Brindley Bank, Rugeley.

8 tunnels – Curdworth, Factory, Curzon St, Ashted, Edgbaston, Wast Hill, Shortwood, Tardebigge.  2 miles 4½ furlongs underground.

Wasps!

Wednesday October 9^th; Stoke Works to Hanbury junction

I got up at 5.30 to put the porthole bung in on the starboard side, as the car headlights of the early shift were shining through the curtains, but they were going right through to the far end of the business park, so with no noise of slamming car doors I soon went back to sleep.  This is not a pretty mooring but in yesterday’s rain it was perfect!  We were running out of milk so I went straight along to the shop in Ryecroft Road.  Sadly, the butcher’s shop next door – the Butcheress – has closed down.  I collected some good chestnuts from the grass below the row of trees half-way back to the boat.  After breakfast we moved along to top up the water tank a bit, but not fully as we are not planning another cruise before winter, though we will have to return to fit new batteries at some point.  Our coping measures are keeping the old ones happy for the moment.

It stayed dry and bright as we started down the Astwood flight, with one boat far ahead, but a couple of boats on their way up eased our descent. 

One lock had a top paddle out

And another had a bottom paddle out, as well as a rotten balance beam.  I hope they are in the stoppage list this winter.

Wonderful autumn colour near the winding hole above the second-to-bottom lock

The offside garden of Astwood lock cottage is always worth a look.  The roses have suffered in the wet weather, but the hollyhocks always look good.  This year the gnomes have been supervising a tall sunflower.

Eight-foot sunflower and pretty pink hollyhock

Plenty of seeds for the birds

We got down the flight in plenty of time for a lunch stop on one of our favourite moorings, though we had to reverse smartly from the first spot we chose because of a wasp’s nest.  We passed two on the offside yesterday, both marked with a yellow notice like the hornet’s nest. 

No sheep today! Frisbee opportunity at the bottom lock.

While Dave took Jess to the field to play, I went to mark the location of the nest.  I tried to get the what3words address, but the gps signal was so weak it thought I was a hundred yards away in a field.  I got the secateurs and garden gloves and cut some spiky brambles and hawthorn from the hedge – there were plenty sticking out over the path – to mark the spot.  

Beware!

The wi-fi signal wasn't that good either, but I did manage to use what3words on my laptop to get an approximate location, and to notify CRT in the hope that they would come out and mark the spot.  I know from experience you can still be stung in December if you inadvertently disturb a nest, and with this such a popular mooring spot I thought it was important it should be marked.  We moved on once this was done as we need to be at Hanbury junction tonight so Dave can get to the station early to go and fetch the car tomorrow.  We got the best spot – no overhanging trees and furthest from the road.  It was a good thing we’d moved on early as several boats came by looking for a mooring – there is only room here for three normal-sized boats so most had to move on to find somewhere to stop.

Robin’s pin-cushion

It rained on and off all afternoon.  Dave went down the engine hole to check the battery size – he shouted the dimensions from under the golfing umbrella while I sheltered inside to write them down.  We ate in the Eagle and Sun, where there is a daily carvery.  It was ok – the beef was good, the veg ok but of course had been kept (fairly) hot for a while.  The Yorkshires were a disgrace and would not have dared to show their faces in that beautiful county.

2½ miles, 6 locks

 

 

Tardebigge and the Stoke flight – more than we had planned

Tuesday 8^th October; Tardebigge top pound to Stoke Works visitor moorings

We awoke to gentle rain.  The forecast was for rain coming and going all morning, but today’s the day for the descent and we’ll have to get on with it.  We just hoped it wouldn’t be as wet as last year, when all movement on the flight was halted for 2 hours to stop flooding lower down – we had to moor in a lock by the reservoir to have lunch and wait it out.  No rush today, as only one other boats was moored, and they came up yesterday.  These locks mostly drain overnight, so they would all be empty anyway.  We started at about 8.45.  We were just descending in the first lock when a volunteer arrived to set the next one!  Sam was soon joined by Rob, who we have met before.

Probably lock 48, near the reservoir.  Sam and Rob are following Jess down.

Progress was swift and smooth, though poor Dave gets a bit bored when there is lots of help to deal with locks, and it’s also much colder standing still on the boat – I was getting hot and peeling layers off while he shivered.  The bywashes had been running all morning from the rain over the last couple of nights, and with locks being emptied too there was a lot of water coming down.

The extra water was doing the job of the offside ground paddle – lucky, as I was not going to walk round across the bottom gates – and certainly not going to risk walking through that flow!

No need to raise paddles, the locks were filling themselves with the extra water.

At Halfway House bridge we met a boat coming up, with three more volunteers.  Dave, who is still undergoing his training, joined Rob and Sam to help us.  We started to get warnings about a hornet’s nest at a house by the canal, apparently in a dog kennel.  Where could that be but the Noisy Dog House? 

The noisy dog is no more, but last year the other dog, much more friendly, was still around and the house occupied, as ever surrounded by a vast array of radio aerials.  The house is now empty, and we realised later that the aerials had gone too.

Dave and Dave (and walkers too) at lock 38

After the early drizzle it had stayed largely dry, apart from the occasional few spots of rain.  Locking ahead, I spotted another boat on its way up, so after relaying the message to the others I waited for them to arrive.  With two crew they were working well.  While the lock was filling there was a beautiful rainbow.

Rainbow at lock 37

 

 

Pot of gold in that field?

Sam and Dave went back up the flight with the other boat while Rob stayed to help us down the rest of the flight.  It had taken us just a few minutes over three hours, and we were easily moored in time for lunch. 

Community workboat moored near the bottom of the flight.  The volunteers had been hard at work cutting back offside vegetation.

Sponsors

 

When I made the soup yesterday, we had no idea how cold, wet and tired we’d be by now.  We weren't cold or wet, and not even particularly tired! – but it was nice not to have to make sandwiches.

Moored at the Queen’s Head – not the best spot.  Poor edge and too close to the pub garden.

The original plan had been to stay here and eat in the pub.  But tomorrow morning there is a temporary stoppage at Stoke Bottom lock while a paddle is repaired and an attempt made to lessen leaks.  Normally we wouldn’t mind the delay, but Dave needs to collect the car from Stone on Thursday – what if there is a problem with the repair and the stoppage goes on all day?  Or longer?   The forecast for the afternoon was not good, but fortified by our hearty soup we still had the energy for more locks.  We thought we'd best get the wet-weather gear on before we started.  It quickly became apparent it would be needed and it rained the whole way down the Stoke flight.

Ferns and/or liverworts in one of the locks, enjoying the conditions

We met just one other boat on the move, and we cheerily waved at each other as we passed.  We moored on the rings at Stoke Works, by the new housing and opposite the business park.  We lit the fire straight away to start drying out – Dave discovered his jacket was beginning to need reproofing and his jumper was damp.  The sun came out for a short while but the rain didn’t stop!  We briefly considered visiting the Boat and Railway, where we’ve never been before, but not for long – it was far too wet to be bothered.

3¾ miles, 35 locks.

Three tunnels

 Monday 7^th October; King’s Norton junction to Tardebigge top pound

The sky was clear-ish this morning and with the fridge off overnight, the batteries had pretty much kept their charge.  As Jess will be spending a lot of time inside on her own (which she hates when we are moving) we all went for a walk in the park before leaving.

Flying frisbee and St Nicolas’ church

While Jess was playing with another young dog we got chatting to the owner.  He knows the midland canals well, but from a fishing point of view rather than boating.  He is one of the fishermen who thanks boaters who pass properly - slowly, in the middle of the canal as they are usually fishing along the offside edge with poles, or close to the towpath side if not.  He is also fully aware that no boating equals no fishing, because the canals would quickly silt up and fill with reeds,  and he tells his grumbling colleagues so too.  He once competed in a match which started below Stoke Bruerne locks and continued for 70 pegs …. that must have been somewhat tedious to pass!  He said that on the Grand Union, in spite of the electro-fishing to remove the introduced zander, the effect on native fish has been terrible – for example, very few small roach are caught nowadays, because the zander polish off most of the fry before they have a chance to grow up.  A really nice chap, you could easily imagine having a pleasant evening in the pub with him.  I popped up to the little convenience store near the bridge by the water point, then we set off around 10.30.

North portal, Wast Hill tunnel, a boat's headlight dim in the distance

There was a boat coming, but it looked a long way away.  We were through in 31 minutes, getting a bit wet but not too wet, and having passed the other boat with neither touching the sides of the tunnel or each other.  The wind was cold but the sun was warming us up nicely. 

Swan family at the fishing lakes

At Lower Bittell reservoir the weed boat must have been through as there was less invasive pennywort than on last year’s trip, though there were lots of smaller bits floating about.  There is not usually much of interest on the reservoir, just a couple of swans and one great crested grebe today.

This pussy cat spotted something, but it wasn’t interesting enough for it to jump down to investigate

We stopped for lunch near the Crown Meadow arm, where the pennywort was already building up again on the offside.  We called in at Alvechurch marina for a bag of coal.  Dave didn't expect them to have our kind of batteries – they are 130ah rather than 110ah – and they didn’t.  However, he did get some engine oil which was on offer.  It was also a good opportunity to dump rubbish and recycling.

Stay!

On we went in the sunshine to Shortwood tunnel, which was a bit wet inside, and past the site of the massive landslip which happened the day after we passed though last year.  The slip has been dealt with, and it looks as though the drainage pipe to carry away rainwater before it floods down the bank is still in place.

Maybe the pipe is now a permanent feature

There are still small slips happening

The Anglo-Welsh base, now closed, appears to have occupants in the house but there doesn’t seem to be much else going on.

The pennywort has spread through Shortwood tunnel to the stretch of permanent moorings between the tunnels.  Sadly, it has made it through Tardebigge tunnel and down the first lock too.

Tardebigge tunnel was dry, and then there was just the top lock of the Tardebigge to do.  Great, a boat just above, it would be set for us … but no, this is one that must be left empty, and they had just done it.  This lock has narrowed somewhat (there is a Mikron short video showing the crew ‘unjamming’ Tyseley by all jumping at once) and now use is restricted to boats of width 6’ 10” or less.  We found a sunny mooring about mid-afternoon, and Dave set to washing and polishing the port side, washing the roof and bow deck, and then bar-keepering the soot and rust marks on the roof around the chimney.  He finished at 6.30, just in time to avoid a heavy shower.  Good thing he hadn’t been tempted to touch up paintwork instead.  Meanwhile I made soup for tomorrow and laid the fire – but it was so mild we didn’t need to light it this evening.

8½ miles, 1 lock, 3 tunnels.

Out of the city for some peace and quiet

Sunday 6^th October; Birmingham to King’s Norton junction

We put the port side porthole bungs in last night, as the light from the car park was so bright, but it didn’t cut out the sound of passers-by as the Arena show finished and the pubs closed.  Most had gone home by midnight but there were small chattering groups passing on and off till after 4.  One person thought it highly amusing to knock their knuckles along the boat as they passed.  We were up and about by 8, even so.

Flowers still blooming in Albert's Garden

 The engine started ok, and we cruised down to Cambrian Wharf to top up with water and empty the cassette – just to be on the safe side last night, we brought out the Porta-Potti in case the macerator toilet stopped working!  The flush uses quite a bit of power, so by not using that, and turning the fridge off overnight (luckily we don't have a separate freezer) we hope we can keep going back to Droitwich without having to work out which battery has failed and isolating it.  We were finally on our way south as the musical clock struck 11.

The wonderfully painted Botanist restaurant, across Gas Street basin

 The footbridge over the canal at the Mailbox turn is still festooned with padlocks.  I tried to take a photo showing the strange pointy affairs at the top of the block beside it, but pretty much failed.  We wondered if they were penthouse suites up there.

Pointy

We made our way down towards Selly Oak, where we moored at bridge 60, where the Lapal canal may one day be restored.

Watching us leave the city

I went one way to Sainsbury’s, and Dave went the other to Halfords to buy a foot-pump, as when he goes to fetch the car later in the week he may well find one of the tyres is flat.  We had lunch and set off again, having decided to leave going through Wast Hill tunnel for tomorrow, as it would likely be raining by the time we were through and looking for somewhere to moor.  This is a very familiar stretch of canal so I started looking for different things to photograph.

This railway enthusiast lives near Bournville

It drizzled lightly for most of the way.  This old chestnut still made me chuckle, lifting the spirits on a dreary afternoon.

At least as old as my schooldays but still funny!

And some autumn colour too.  A gleam in the gloom.

We didn’t go much further before mooring.  Usually we go much closer to the water point several hundred yards further on, but there are also rings not far from the junction – and no overhanging trees either.

That way to Stratford – maybe next year?

Even though the toll-house was attacked by arsonists some years ago, and the self pump-out machine that used to be here was removed because of constant vandalism, we have always found it fairly quiet round here.  Apart from a chap having a furious argument on his phone – by the sound of things it was just as well the other party was not physically present – there were only a few dog walkers.  Dave and Jess had just got back from a walk in the park when the rain started.  It continued for most of the evening. 

6 miles