Started late, ended early

King’s Norton junction to Selly Oak and return

Another sunny day with a cold wind.  We didn't have much planned for today, so Dave took Jess for a good long walk and I cleaned through with the hand-held Dyson we brought from home.  The one that came with the boat was fiddly to use and gave up the ghost over winter so I was quite glad to see the back of it.  The Dyson was twice as efficient and much easier to use.  We cruised up to Selly Oak for a big shop at Sainsburys. 

Fire hose doors in bridge

There are at least two cruisers we have seen round here whose name refers to the rather disparaging term narrowboaters sometimes use for them, ‘yogurt pots’.  This one is called Yogurt and has an amusing little graphic.

Müllered

It was a four-handed shop to get the shopping back to restock the galley cupboards, and when we got back to the boat Dave immediately went off to Halfords while I put everything away.  We had lunch before retracing our steps back to King's Norton.  I had a Zoom meeting this afternoon, and rather than stay where we were where it is shady and the towpath is busy,  Dave steered while I zoomed.  Apart from the signal cutting out as we passed a high wall by the railway, and briefly as trains went by, it all worked well and I was finished in about half an hour,before we got back to the junction.  There is a lot of graffiti on urban waterways, a lot of it just tags, but it is always worth looking out for interesting examples.

Gypsy Tokes?

We knew what a toke was, although the spell checker on Word didn’t, but gypsy?  There were only two relevant references online.  A thread on Reddit reckoned it’s the names of two graffiti artists, one called Gypsy and one called Tokes which seems like a wild guess.  Or, as the Urban Dictionary says; A rule-breaking intervention during the passing of a spliff, where a 'middle-man' (aiding the passing of the spliff from one person to another across a long distance) cheekily takes a toke of the spliff before passing it on.  That sounds more likely to me.

Shortly before the junction was a sunken workboat.  We've seen plenty of sunken boats but never a workboat.  How on earth did that happen?

At the junction, we winded and reversed back to moor near where we were this morning.  Jess got another good walk and I got to write up the minutes of the meeting!

4½ miles

 

Let’s get that tunnel out of the way!

Sunday April 19^th; Crown Meadow Arm to King’s Norton

Wow it was cold this morning when we got up, less than 10 degrees in the galley.  But it soon warmed up once we got moving and the kettle was on.  Straight after breakfast I walked Jess down to the village centre for the paper.  Outside the Co-op are three stout Incredible Edible raised beds growing flowers, herbs and veg for locals to pick.  There were the remains of a couple of purple sprouting broccoli plants which looked as though they had been successful, chard, herbs and rhubarb.

Community raised beds outside the Co-op

We had another cup of tea when I got back but the sun moved round behind some trees and we started to feel cold.  So instead of a relaxing morning with the paper over coffee we put the kettle on again, got the insulated mugs out, wrapped up warmly and set off.

Cherry blossom near the M42

Just past the motorway is a house with a beautiful garden and a mooring for a narrowboat.  We have often thought what a super place to live that would be – just for one small detail, the motorway at the bottom of the garden.

You can’t see much of the house, which is quite nice looking too

We were soon at Upper Bittell reservoir, which is a source of water for the canal as well as a fishing spot.  Two chaps were fly fishing from a rowing boat, but of more interest to me was my first house martins of the year, hunting insects over the reservoir close to the canal.

The fishing lakes on the towpath side were very busy

We stopped at Hopwood to top up the water tank then pulled in on the visitor moorings for lunch.  The pub was doing Sunday lunches but we felt we wouldn’t have done a full lunch justice, so ate on board.  Although it was lovely sitting in the dinette with the sun streaming in we decided to move on and get Wast Hill tunnel out of the way.  I'm not a fan of long tunnels.

Wast Hill tunnel south portal

The tunnel is 2,726 yards long but straight, and with no boats to pass we were through in 30 minutes, and with no accidental touching of the sides either.  There was a group of boats moored at our usual spot several hundred yards before the junction with the North Stratford, so we went closer to the junction and stopped for the night about 100 yards before the old toll house.  Jess, knowing exactly where we were, bounced around until she got taken to play in the rec behind the trees.

A small furry visitor, luckily Jess was inside and didn’t spot it

When we were mooring a chap was throwing bits of white sliced into the belt of trees between the towpath and the playing fields.  He said he’d seen a rat (well of course, if he was in the habit of chucking bread about!).  I said, in a conversational way, and I hope non-judgmentally, we can’t feed bread to the birds where we live as it attracts rats (true) and he wandered off.  But clearly that squirrel is a fan.

5 miles, Wast Hill tunnel

The larks ascended, and so did we

Saturday 18^th April; Tardebigge flight to Crown Meadow Arm, Alvechurch

By ’eck it was cold this morning.  We left our quiet mooring at 8.20, wanting to be ahead of any other boat to take advantage of the empty locks – most of the locks on the flight drain overnight, which is why we checked last night before bed that the lock below us was doing exactly that and we wouldn’t end up aground.

Our overnight mooring

We weren’t in a rush, no point with 24 locks before the next mooring opportunity.  Neither of us is really locking-fit and we both have a dodgy knee so were prepared to stop in a lock for a breather if we felt we needed to!  But this is a lovely flight with not-too-heavy gates and only the occasional stiff paddle, so if you take it steadily everything is fine.  The larks were singing their feathery little hearts out and the weather was glorious (if you ignore the need for gloves and woolly hats for the first hour).  The towpath was busy with runners, and the closer to Halfway House Bridge we got the more dog walkers there were – they park along the road there.

Halfway House Bridge

This is a misnomer, as the true halfway point of the flight is a few locks further on.  But this is where we were hoping to pick up a volunteer or two .... unfortunately the little hut place where they brew their tea was locked up and their car park empty.  Perhaps they would be parking at the top and cycling down?  No matter, we had hot cross buns and biscuits to keep us going – sadly not the home-made flapjack I had hoped to bring, there was no time to make it at home, and most of the ingredients I need to make it now are still in the Sainsbury’s at Selly Oak.  On we went.

Beyond that bridge is the edge of Tardebigge reservoir

We know that from here there is still an hour or so’s work before we can moor, but the lock numbers are in the psychologically significant 50s, which means the number of locks remaining is now in single figures.  A few locks further on and we were leaving the reservoir behind.

The water levels have recovered at last

At 12, oh joy! we were opening the top gate of the last-but-one lock of the flight, with a long stretch of mooring just round the bend.  We felt we had deserved a lunch break – 24 locks in 3 hours 40 minutes, no CRT volunteers on duty, and our knees were still working.

The question then was whether to stay put as we usually do, or move on - we were about to run out of milk and had run out of wine!  The nearest shops are in Alvechurch, a few miles further on.  Dave checked the weather forecast.  There was time to move on a bit before the rain was due to start, with only one more lock to do.

The towpath wall of Tardebigge Top Lock had to be completely rebuilt last year

You may remember that this lock was closed last year, officially from April to the end of August.  It was already restricted to boats of 6’10” beam or less, as the older boats like Mikron theatre’s Tyseley had been getting stuck, but with winter stoppages elsewhere on the way to Hanbury Junction the flight had been effectively closed from November the previous year.

You are still requested to leave the lock empty, which is annoying

Just before Tardebigge tunnel we saw our first ducklings of the year (not strictly true, as their dead sibling was belly-up below the lock).

Tardebigge tunnel was mostly dry, as was Shortwood tunnel a bit further on.

Lovely bluebells between the tunnels

We made our way through Alvechurch, waving to Helen and Andy Tidy who bought NB Briar Rose (Adam and Adrian’s previous boat before they moved onto their newbuild Kingley Vale).  

We moored at our favourite spot along here at Crown Meadow arm, where the M42 is not too noisy. .  By 4.30 Dave had walked the dog and I had been to the Co-op for essential supplies (getting caught in a sharp shower along the way).  I had to buy myself a chocolate bar to help me up the long hill back to the canal, it’s nearly a mile after all.  We were mightily pleased with ourselves though – 25 locks on our own, which is 100 paddles and 75 gates (though passers-by opened or closed four of those).

We were knackered and really enjoyed that glass of wine.

2 dodgy knees, 25 locks, Tardebigge and Shortwood tunnels, 5¾ miles

 

 

 

 

 

A chat about paint

Friday 17^th April; Astwood Top Lock to Tardebigge flight above lock 33

We started a little earlier than usual as we wanted to to call in at Crafted Boats at Stoke Prior at about 9 to discuss a repaint.

This is the third swan sitting on eggs we have seen in less than 24 hours

There isn’t much space at Crafted Boats at the moment, and we had to breast up against a recently built boat which has a permanent mooring there – or will do once the wharf has been extended.   The owner helped us tie up and Aaron came out to have a look at Bonjour.  We have to choose between a full repaint – windows removed, back to bare metal etc – which would be £15,000 plus, or something less thorough.  We had a lot of questions, which he answered very thoroughly.  As we don’t live aboard and are unlikely to keep her for long enough to recoup the cost of a full repaint, we will probably go for the cheaper option.  That’s something we will have to decide in the next few weeks.

The first lock of the day, Stoke Bottom lock, wasn’t much further on.  After a brief pause to dispose of some rubbish we continued up the rest of the Stoke locks, mooring opposite the Queen’s Head, just below the Tardebigge flight.  It was early enough for a cup of coffee before a relaxed lunch.  And decision time – the forecast was for rain within the hour, but not much of it – and it would take us a bit less than that to get up the first five locks of the Tardebigge flight and moor on the handy length of piling above lock 33.  Before we did I went to check that the space was free – and there was a boat coming through the bridge behind us.  Were they going to moor up?  As I came back down they were entering the second lock and yes, they were going all the way up this afternoon.  By the time I reached the bottom lock, Dave had already cast off and was on his way.

Tardebigge bottom lock

I had my windlass with me so got to work, and it took just 50 minutes to ascend the five locks.  They are pretty easy.  It did rain, but not heavily, and we were soon moored up.

The only mooring on the Tardebigge flight

One of my Christmas presents was a windlass holster from CraftyBird.  It is made from an old welly.  I tried it for the first time yesterday on the Hanbury locks, thinking I could ask a volunteer what would be the best place on your belt to put it.  But the one I asked had only just got his, and was having to work it out for himself as none of the others had the same design – so I would have to do the same.  This is what I decided in the end.   

 

It is straightforward to use (as long as you aren’t wearing a waterproof) and doesn’t get in the way when you lean on a balance beam to open a gate.  It also means you have two hands free for negotiating lock gates.

Soon after we had stopped the rain got a lot heavier.  Dave and the dog got pretty wet on their walk but I stayed on board.  I did think of the two chaps still on their way up the flight though, I hope it wasn’t too unpleasant for them!  The sun came out later and it was a beautiful evening.  Cold though, so we lit the fire.

11 locks, 2¼ miles

 

 

 

 

Lucky locks on our first cruise of the year

Thursday 16^th April; Droitwich Spa Marina to Astwood top lock/bridge 41

For various reasons our first cruise this year is rather later than usual, but here we are.  We didn’t leave the marina till gone 3, wondering whether there would be any volunteers on Hanbury duty – they usually knock off at 4, earlier if it’s quiet.  A boat had left the marina just ahead of us so we knew the locks would be against us.  But that was to our advantage as the lockies, just about to pack up and go home, had spotted them just in time, and luckily saw us too in time to set the second lock for us.  I had hardly any work to do after closing up the first lock.

A new lead with an extra securing clip for easy attaching to a lock beam.  Bonjour is in the lock but I can't open the top paddles until the side pond water has been used to partly fill the lock.

Jess was excited to be cruising at last, bouncing around and desperate to be on the towpath.  With the fast road alongside the Hanbury locks she has to be on the lead at all times - here she has her eye on a squirrel.  But she had plenty of fuss from the lockies – five of them!

Second lock; 4 lockies visible and one more at the bottom lock behind me

The lockie not in the picture was filling the side pond from the full lock, as that lock leaks badly and this would avoid wastage.  We were their seventh (and final) boat of the day.  But we had gone up the flight so quickly that it was still only four o’clock, so rather than moor below the Astwood fight as we often do, we went up.  The locks were all empty so it didn’t take long, especially as a hire boat coming up behind us closed a couple of the top gates for us.  They were surprised we appeared to be going faster than them (with their two crew) even though we are a great deal older!  But we have our system, which still works efficiently, in spite of our creaky joints.

Astwood lock cottage gnomes present and correct

The weather stayed dry and not too cold, and we were moored up by 5.30.  The hire boat was due to hand over tomorrow so went on to get a bit closer to base at Stoke Prior.  They had done the Stourport ring in a week and had a great time.

Astwood Top Lock

We moored a few hundred yards beyond the top lock, with a good open view across fields before the canal passes through a long built-up stretch.

9 locks, 2¾ miles

A visit for some jobs

Tuesday 17^th to Friday 20^th March

I had a very busy week in prospect, so Dave took the dog and popped up to the boat for a few days and a couple of uninterrupted evenings watching football on telly!  He found the solar had kept the leisure batteries topped up, unlike the starter which needs the engine to charge it.  He had ordered a new chimney (the inner lining of the old one was beginning to rust through) so the first job was to fit the new one.  The next morning it was very cold when he took Jess out, and as they hurried back to the warmth of the boat poor Jess was spooked by the next door cat which was sitting under the pram cover, glaring at her through the gap where the swan’s neck comes down.  It put her off her breakfast!  After he persuaded her to eat it they went off for a lovely walk on the sunny towpath - with drier recent weather the towpaths were much better for walking than they were a month ago!  Remember those two days of spring we had before it turned cold again?  He wished he had taken his shorts.  Jolly cold and windy down here in Devon though. 

New chimney and shiny(ish) boat. 

Dave had ordered a new set of brasses – the surface on the old ones had been getting pitted and discoloured and no matter how he tried he couldn’t get them to a good shine.  Fitting the new one involved scraping off the old washer and sanding down the rough bits on the roof, then the holes needed enlarging to fit the new bolts.  Aligning the bolts with the holes was tricky.  Anyway he got the first brass done, then washed and polished the port side which came up quite well.  Poor Jess was on Cat Alert the whole time.  Nina, the boater next door who lives aboard came out to chat but I’m not sure if Jess approved.

Sunset over the Rugby Club after a beautiful day

On the Thursday he fitted the two remaining brasses, much easier than the first now he had got the alignment sorted out.  Then he turned his attention to the roof, where the gutters inside the handrails were very mucky, and there are various places where the paintwork will need some attention.   Next morning, when it was time to pack up and come home, the cat was no-where to be seen, much to Jess’s relief.

Our first proper trip this year will be after Easter after our grandparent duties have been fulfilled.