Sometimes Birmingham means no locks at all

Tuesday 29^th April; Windmill End to Birmingham, Arena mooring

The day dawned brilliantly sunny and Jess and I had a pleasant walk first thing.

One of the ponds near the canal, 7 am

We knew it was likely to get very hot and thought we’d get the cruising done early, so were away at 8.30 – straight into Netherton tunnel which was cool, and dripping from the ventilation shafts.  It took about 35 minutes, our usual sort of timing.  Boat-wise the morning was utterly quiet.

Pudding Green Junction.  Not that way – Walsall canal is still closed after the cyanide spill although dredging has now taken place.

This article describes the incident and the re-opening of the towpath

This article is about the dredging.

The weather was hot by the time we passed Bromford Junction, where the three Spon Lane locks rise up to the Wolverhampton level.

We went up those locks once, years ago.  It was so long since they had been used that the water in the bottom lock was stagnant, black and stinking as I raised the paddles and let it out.

It wasn’t long before we were passing under the M5 and the Stewart aqueduct.  We did once see the stern of a boat disappearing across it as we approached, but today there was no activity.  On we went past Smethwick Junction, the other access to the Wolverhampton level from the new Main Line.

Smethwick Junction

Then a sheen began to appear on the water.  I remembered there had been a CRT alert about pollution in the previous week and as I was checking back on my phone, an update came through;

Last week, the Trust responded to reports of an oil-based pollution incident in the New Main Line Canal at Rabone Lane and Soho Loop, near Asylum Bridge.  Our team was able to deploy oil-absorbent pads and booms onto the water to soak up the spill and minimise the impact on wildlife in and around the city’s canals.  The team visited Soho Loop today, and the canal is looking much improved, with no evidence of fresh oil or animals in distress.  We will check the canal at Rabone Lane tomorrow.  We have informed the Environment Agency about the pollution, and they will be investigating the incident.

The smell of diesel was still noticeable.  But there were nicer things to look at than a diesel spill.

A blaze of colour

Then, almost 3 hours since we started, we saw our first boat – making for the ‘wrong’ side of the ex-bridge support.

Oh well, as long as we both go the 'wrong' side.  The fuzzy look to the the water is caused by squillions of little fluffy willow seeds, lots more in the boat!

It wasn’t even lunchtime before we were mooring in the centre of Birmingham, on the Arena side as our usual spot opposite was occupied.  We were running low on bread and milk so we sat down to write a shopping list, when I saw a wisp of smoke rising from the table between us.  WHAT??  A tiny charred spot on the table was getting bigger by the second!  The sun streaming through the window was also streaming through the magnifying glass sitting in the pencil pot  … quick action meant disaster averted.  It would have been a fascinating experiment to watch the situation develop and see how long it took for fire to take hold, but that would have been rather stupid.  We may do the experiment at home though, though more likely in the garden, with newspaper.  

We were already puzzled by a small black burn mark on the table, which appeared last year.  Now we know how it must have got there!

The magnifying glass now has a new home under the gunwale.  After lunch we decided to walk up to the Edgbaston reservoir, where you can walk by the water in the shade of trees.  It is less than a mile from the towpath, through the new Port Loop development.

Edgbaston waterworks tower

A different view of the BT tower

The last few weeks have been very dry and the water level seemed very low, with changes in vegetation indicating the normal water level.

Like mangrove trees

We completed the walk by crossing the dam, from which you can just see the CRT yard on the loop.  The photo showed the canal reflecting the blue of the sky but was not worth uploading.  On the back wall of the Sailing Club was a colourful mural, depicting people of significance to Edgbaston and scenes from local life.

The figure on the left is Thomas Telford, who was employed in the 1820s to inspect and advise on improvements to Birmingham's canals, which had severe maintenance problems.  The other main figure is William Ward, who turned out to be the Earl of Dudley and was the first Commodore of the Sailing Club.  (There was another local William Ward, who played cricket for Warwickshire and made his debut at the Edgbaston ground).  The figure between them, walking the tightrope, is the famous Charles Blondin, who crossed the reservoir in 1873.  On the far left of the photo is the Edgbaston Waterworks tower, which is still standing.

We stopped at the Distillery for a drink, but with a Guiness and a pot of tea coming to over £10 we won’t do that again in a hurry.   Back on the boat we took out some hopper windows to cool the boat down, and later had an excellent takeaway curry from Barajee.

10 miles, Netherton tunnel, Galton tunnel, a fire averted.