Almyne journeying in 2008
Tue, 1 Jul 2008
Isn't that sweet
Wheaton Aston
Mangled
Wonderful chimney
4 miles
4 miles
Up and about by about nine this morning, which was surprising after such a heavy night last night. Walking D'fer
I came across another of those little tunnels under
the canal that are there far more often than you can tell from just motoring along. This one is just for a little
stream that crosses the canal.
When I got back to Almyne a vehicle had pulled up with a couple of Aussies and a trailer full of canoes. Since I was moored up against the 'maintenance mooring' I asked if they would like me to move and the very polite reply was yes, because they would prefer to put their canoes into the water from grass rather than concrete.
I had planned to move down to the refuelling point anyway, so it was no bother to do that now rather than in twenty minutes or so. Did the engine checks and motored through the bridge to the cheapest diesel on the cut. It was indeed, 73.9 pence per litre, at least 80 pence per litre anywhere else. Filled up, 86.3 litres, £64, should keep me going for another month or so and a bottle of gas as well. There are some twenty or so steps from the mooring point to where the gas bottles are kept, but I was told that Paul, one of the owners, would bring the bottle down for me when he got back from wherever he was. About a quarter of and hour later he did indeed bring the 19kg bottle of gas down the twenty steps to Almyne and put it in my gas locker. I might add that a 19kg bottle of gas holds 19kg of gas, the weight of the container must be more than that on its own, so no mean feat, which is why I was happy for him to bring it down.
Then took Geri
for a spin along the canal, carefully avoiding all
the budding canoeists that the Aussie had in tow, to the turning point, about three miles there and three back. Sat her on top
of the hatch so that she could enjoy the sunshine.
rest of the afternoon inside in the shade it is so hot.
Spent the evening with Clive
and
Shelley
on their boat. Started off as
chips, chops and salad on the bank, but the heavens opened, so we all crowded into their boat.
D'fer kept wanting to get on and get off and get on and get off, real pain in the butt.
Mark
visited and admired the work done on Almyne and
told me that Almyne was featured in an edition of Towpath, a newspaper for boaters about three years ago. Perhaps I will
contact them and see if I can get some original pictures of her.
If Marks girlfriend can get me a bag of Field and Trial for D'fer (she works in a pet shop) I will stay here till Thursday morning, otherwise I will start back tomorrow so that Ady can help me down the flight.
Wed, 2 Jul 2008
Stream under the canal
Looking back
Looking forward
Woke up to the early morning sunshine and made the most of it as it soon clouded over and stayed that way for most of the day with the occasional break in the clouds. Took advantage of D'fer's morning walk to go to the farm where they sell fresh free range eggs, two pounds a dozen for extra large, a bargain in my book. With everything else covered I did not need to go to the local shop, so encouraged D'fer to find Almyne so that I could have breakfast, bacon,
tomatoes and fresh free range eggs on toast.
Mark rang and said that his girlfriend is getting the dog food for
D'fer, so I am staying put today.
Fished for an hour or so till the rest of the area came to life and then wandered along to Clive and
Shelley for a cup of tea and a chat, they were off shopping and
offered to get me anything that I needed, but as I have said, all covered.
Took the time out to get a picture of the stream under the canal, that tunnel I mentioned yesterday and walk back along the tow path for some good pictures from the bridge above Wheaton Aston lock.
It still all seems a bit unreal and a little uncomfortable, just not quite right. I feel no sense of achievement having got here, even though yesterday, taking Geri for a run, felt emotionally very satisfying.
Spent the afternoon going through all the pictures that Jim had taken of the sun rising during the solstice, so it might be worth your while going back to that page to see all the new ones, although the signal was not good enough to upload them then.
Shelly has been having problems getting a signal with her modem, which is the same as mine so I said I would have a look at it as I am getting a signal here which is workable but she isn't.
Checked out her computer and all the settings and tried to get a connection, nothing. Collected my modem and the software from Almyne and installed it on her machine. Got a connection and as good a signal I get with my computer. Hmmm, looks like it is either her carrier or, more likely, the modem she has is duff. Recommend that she returns it to the supplier and gets them to check it out. Having done that she wanted me to look at her Web-Cam, a movie camera for connecting to a computer, but I could not find any drivers to test it with, but I did get her ordinary digital camera working and downloaded the pictures on it to her computer for her. She needs a new lead to connect it to the computer.
Sat nattering for a whole and the next thing I knew there was a meal in front of me, again. Then the heavens opened and it bucketed down. Realised that I had left the hatch open on Almyne so ran back closed the hatch and ran back to dinner. I was soaked, Shelley gave me a towel and I dried off and finished dinner. The rain cleared and we then sat outside on the tow path setting the world to rights again.
Eventually settled down in bed at around ten still feeling unfulfilled.
Thu, 3 Jul 2008
Wooden face
7 miles 2 locks
Up early to a day that promised to be of mixed weather, situation normal. No particular rush as Autherley junction, today's target, is only seven miles away and Mark is due to deliver D'fer's food around ten. I was in the process of clearing up after breakfast and a boat cruised past me. As the name came into view I realised that it was Roy
on NB Gerald. He sort of recognised me and I managed to ascertain that he was pulling over for water, so rushed down to the water point. Now, for those of you who have not read the 'The adventures of Almyne 2006' Sue
on Thea and Roy on Gerald were the first people that Geri and I met on the canal and we had spent our first few days in their company, being regaled with stories of life on the cut and the trials and tribulations and the joys and pleasures they have experienced.
Roy and I renewed our acquaintance and I explained the mission to him. He was sincerely moved by my story and recounted the fun we had all shared rubbing 2000 scratch cards in The Fox and Anchor.
Somehow meeting Roy put the icing on the cake. We had come full circle, we had ended up exactly where we had started with all the people that we had started the journey with. It just seemed so fitting and fortuitous that the last person in the puzzle turned up just a few hours before my planned departure. Roy said he would ring Sue and let her know who the crazy guy that had gesticulated so wildly at her was and I returned to Almyne. Mark had delivered the dog food for D'fer so there was nothing now to keep me at Wheaton Aston.
I said my goodbyes to Clive and Shelley and set off with a song in my heart a whistle on my lips and a promise to keep in touch and meet up again soon.
Now I am told that it rained nearly all day in Wolverhampton just nine miles south of my starting point and two south of my finish point, but I travelled with a big blue hole in the clouds all day with the very occasional drop of rain from time to time, and they were from clear blue skies.
Arriving at Autherley junction I moored up and got dinner going. I had purchased the makings for spaghetti Bolognese with pork chops for my sojourn at Wheaton Aston, but since I had been fed by Clive and Shelley on all three days I still had it all to cook. So put that on to simmer and be ready for when Rosie
, Jim
and Ady
turned up later on in the evening. Gave Almyne a good clean inside and out, the first proper clean for some weeks now and set off to walk to Aldersley junction a short distance away and my next decision point.
The weather held off and after twenty minutes or so noticed several faces with very wooden expressions. So simple, yet so delightfully refreshing. At the junction noticed another of those 'holes' in bridges that seem to have absolutely no function whatsoever. Not the one on the right but the one on the left, it is just a hole that goes nowhere and does nothing, Why?
D'fer found somewhere to swim on the way back so took time to let him have fun in the water and get thoroughly wet. I still find it so funny the way he leaps into the water to retrieve his stick.
Rosie, Jim and Ady arrived for dinner and it was decided that Rosie and Ady would accompany my up the flight of 21 locks into Wolverhampton tomorrow, much to my relief as it would make the transit so much easier. They even came prepared with sleeping bags and after a few glasses of wine we all retired to bed to get ready for an early start the following day.
Fri, 4 Jul 2008
Almyne from Almyne
I want one
4 1/4 miles 21 locks
Breakfast all round of bacon egg and tomatoes on toast, made from the loaf I baked on the way down from Wheaton Aston yesterday. The weather promises to be good all day but bad all over the weekend so it is sensible to get the bulk of the travelling done in good weather and with assistance.
Set off just after nine and just a couple of hundred yards from our start we spotted the dearest little narrow boat ever. It was a small scale replica, probably half size but perfect in all details. I must get me one of those. Ady took Almyne round the first bend but when it came to mooring up he asked me to take over. I showed him how to operate a lock, but only after a frantic search for the special key that is needed to operate this flight. It is a bit like a radiator key, but longer and made of a white metal. I checked everywhere and was ready to go and buy another from the boat yard when clairvoyant Rosie
magicked it from the knife drawer. I will keep it with all the other keys in future.
Anyway, I showed Ady how to operate a lock and he took to it like a duck to water. It was fairly heavy going as the first fourteen of the twenty one were against us so we had to empty each one before going into it. At lock seven (we started at lock twenty one) we met a boat coming in the opposite direction, so from then on life got much easier as the rest of the locks were in our favour and we just sailed into each one as we arrived at it.
We cleared the last just after two and were but two miles from our destination for the day, The Royal Tiger. So the first two miles had taken nearly five hours. Fortunately Rosie had kept us going with ham sandwiches and copious quantities of tea during the long uphill slog, about 130 foot in only two miles.
Coming through Wolverhampton there was a stainless steel span over the canal and we could see our reflection in it. I just managed to get the camera out in time to catch the back of Almyne as we passed.
Rosie and Ady had rung ahead to warn the habitués of the hostelry of our arrival and there was quite a welcoming party outside with refreshments lined up for each of us. We spent the rest of the afternoon giving guided tours of Almyne and were close to putting up a sign saying 'Guided tours, £5 per person' but as they were mostly friends of Ady and Rosie and they were plying us with drinks, we didn't.
Evening meal of the pork cops from yesterdays bolognese sauce with mashed potatoes and sweated leeks and carrots, scrummy and well received. Late night due to nattering and putting the world to rights with some of the clientele of The Royal Tiger
Sat, 5 Jul 2008
As I am moored up only a few hundred yards from Rosie s house she has offered to do my washing for me. She has already taken the curtains from the windows, leaving me feeling a bit exposed and has said that she will be back later to collect the bedding and anything else that I want washed. I can cope with the small stuff easily enough but getting the bigger items like the bedding done is a godsend.
Sun, 6 Jul 2008
Late night, late rising. Rosie brought the washing back and we both spent most of the day cleaning all the little tiny brass rings that the curtains hang from. Is was a laborious task and I must admit that Rosanne did far more of them than I did. We both ended up with calluses on our fingers, not surprising really as there are 144 rings and each one had to be grasped between finger and thumb with the Brasso wadding in one hand and then rotated with the other hand through the wadding till bright and shiny. Then the hanging rods got cleaned and the hooks that they hang from.
Rosanne, bless her, then sat and polished all the other brass on Almyne, and believe me there is some brass here.
While we were doing this a couple of Rosanne's friends popped by, hoping for a look at Almyne, so gave them a guided tour. Julie and Jenny were most impressed especially as Jenny is looking to get a narrow boat herself. She and her husband have their moorings already and I have a standing invite to use them if ever I am passing.
I have been thinking of ringing Richard
for a few days now and out of the blue he rang and asked where I was. 'Wolverhampton' I replied. 'Well, well, well, I am driving through Wolverhampton right now, I'll give you a ring tomorrow morning and come and visit.'
What a turn up for the books.
Mon, 7 Jul 2008
Richard rang and said that he would be with us by lunch time. so got the kettle on got some bacon ready for some sarnies.
He turned up shortly after midday and we spent the rest of the day catching up on who, what, why, where, when and how. I had been considering renting a car to go down to Worthing to see Church, as he needs assistance with a new printer he has purchased and Richard, always game for a laugh, said that he would take me so we arranged that he would spend the night and we would set off early tomorrow morning for a trip to Worthing, a mere 196 miles one way.
During the afternoon we decided that Droitwich is not too far away and Richard took me there to find Aquosis, a company that supplies things like saddle bags for dogs. Arrived there just before four but there was no-one there. Gave them, a ring and was told that someone would ring me back. Hung around for the length of time it takes to roll and smoke a cigarette, during which time a delivery guy arrived to collect some parcels. He told us that there was usually someone here at this time of day. Waited a little longer and then set off for Almyne. During the course of the journey I mentioned that perhaps I should forego the saddle bag idea and get D'fer a little cart instead. Richard tells me that dogs are often used for pulling carts so I must investigate it.
Back at Almyne we decided top have a Chinese for dinner so walked along to the local Chinese takeaway. Dinner and a few beers later we settled down for the night as an early morning was the order of the day.
Tue, 8 Jul 2008
Down to Worthing for the day. Left D'fer with Rosie
who spoilt him for the whole day and he hardly said hello to me when I got back. Sorted out Church's three printers, so now he is back in production again.
When we got back D'fer made more of a fuss of Richard than he did of me. To make it up to me he would not leave my side all evening, I only had to twitch and he leapt up and leant against me.
Dog cart
Rosanne had a fry up ready for us which went down really well as we had forgotten to eat all day and then Richard set off for Oxford as he was due to see someone early in the morning. It had been a long tiring day for me and I had not been driving but Richard tells me he is used to it being a coach driver.
During the day we spent a lot of the time discussing dog carts and harnesses and the like and the more I think about it the more I like the idea.
Wed, 9 Jul 2008
Rained nearly all day so spent most of the time washing and cleaning Almyne. Took a short walk during a break in the rain and found a pigeon in the canal. It was a damp, all over and was unable to fly. Carried it back to Almyne and settled it on D'fer's towel to dry out.
D'fer, interested as usual, had to see what was going on and gave the pigeon a good checking out with his nose but having once done this he was content to let the pigeon have it's own space. After an hour or so it started to perk up a bit and fluffed its neck feathers.
From time to time I would offer it my hand and at first it shied away and tried to fly away, but was unable to as it was still too wet. Several attempts later it allowed me to almost stroke it without flinching and at this point I put some banana cake beside it to see if it might want to eat something. No.
After another hour or so I picked the pigeon up and took it to the bedroom where I settled it in to D'fer's bed. After a few minutes it crawled out to where it could see us playing cards and stayed there. I kept an eye on it and when it looked sufficiently dry I picked it up again, this time it did not protest at all, and put it in the cratch area where one side was open to the outside. It seemed to settle quite happily so I left it to its own devices and when I checked on it again an hour later it was gone.
Good deed for the day done.
During the five days that I have spent outside The Royal Tiger I have only seen two boats go past, one a normal boater, the other a BW tug full of Community workers removing rubbish, and that one went past in both directions. The normal boater told me that he passes this way perhaps four or five times a year. If this is the only traffic it gets it will soon fall into disrepair and decay and become so overgrown that no boats will be able to get through.
There are two reasons I have come this way, one I have promised Geri that I will do as much of the system as I can and two, Jim
and Rosie
live here. Looking at the maps of the canal I would not have chosen this route as a pleasure trip as there are no facilities marked on the maps of the canal.
When planning a trip one of the important things to look for is where to get water from and where to empty the porta pottie (or get a pump out if you have a domestic toilet on board). With none marked on the map for twenty five miles and nineteen locks, why would anyone want to undergo those hardships? It would put most people off, but I am on a mission.
Thu, 10 Jul 2008
6 miles
Set off late morning to do the Wolverhampton Ring with Rosie and Ady
on board for the trip. Started off on the Wyrley and Essington canal and proceeded to Sneyd junction where there are facilities. Emptied the porta pottie, topped up with water and got rid of all the rubbish. The facilities are not marked in the route book, so I must contact Nicholson's and let them know of this little omission.
Once Almyne was adequately replenished set off again and ended up at Sainsbury's at Birchalls. As the store is only a hundred yards from the canal a big shop was in order as it could be done in several trips.
The canal for the first few miles was overgrown and rather weedy, probably because there are so few boats using it. The closer to Sneyd Junction the less the weeds encroached. From Sneyd onwards the canal cleared of weeds but there was quite a lot of rubbish floating around, including Jon's garden shed. We know that it was Johns as his name was on the door. We saw the door first, then a section of roof, closely followed by a couple of sides and an end. The roof supports followed and I think the floor.
From Stokes Bridge onwards the canal cleared up and became as pleasant as any other flowing through the suburban countryside.
At Birchalls Junction we left the Wyrley and Essington and joined the Walsall Canal till we reached Sainsbury's, where the mooring was excellent.
After doing a major shop to last us at least a week we settled in to play cards for the rest of the afternoon and evening as the rain had decided to make another appearance as a light but continuous drizzle. Not to worry, it has been a good days travel and a change of scenery, the life blood of travelling the canals.
Fri, 11 Jul 2008
6½ miles 8 locks
Early start, off by half eight. Ady has to go home today to get ready for work and I want his assistance to get through the Birchalls flight. Worked the full eight locks on my own with Ady
taking Almyne through. Ady
had decided to depart at Pagetts bridge, a mile after the flight and as we approached the bridge hole where he was due to depart we got weeded up.
Now being weeded up is not a major problem just an inconvenience. Got Ady's bike off and sent him on his way and then unpacked everything off the back of Almyne. The weed hatch is under the floor boards at the back where the generator sits along with the anchor and chain and a whole bunch of other stuff. Not really politic to stop in a bridge hole but I could see nowhere else to do it. Anyway managed to remove a couple of carrier bags worth of weed, plastic bags and other assorted debris from the propeller and re-packed everything back on to Almyne, leaving the hatch cover board as free as possible, just in case.
I normally manage to keep the propeller free of debris by running in reverse for a few seconds when I detect that slight change in engine note that says that something is wrong but don't always get it right.
Ever since leaving Wednesfield we had noticed that there were occasional coconuts in the canal (as there had been in the Coventry canal) and I had determined to try and get one so was keeping the landing net handy. The other thing that had caught my imagination was the number of footballs and tennis balls in the canal. Today we managed to collect two footballs and two tennis balls, but no coconuts. We also missed several balls by going too fast or being too far away to reach them with the net.
Carried on under the M6 (again) and over an aqueduct only to get weeded up again at Foresters Bridge, a good job I had left the weed hatch cover relatively free.
Between Wittingsworth Hall Bridge and Monway Bridge the canal sides are clear and with excellent tow path areas, seating and tables and the like, but absolutely no mooring rings and the tow path is metalled so next to impossible to put in a mooring pin. Such a shame as it would have been nice to stop off there.A little further on passing under Wiggins Mill Bridge we hit something under the water and the front of Almyne rose about eight inches into the air and as we continued Almyne rolled over the obstruction quite alarmingly, it was a bit like hitting a big wave at sea.
Ended up at the old BW offices at Ocker Hill where the facilities include showers. Oh, bliss, a shower as hot and as long as you want it with room to swing a cat, actually swing a tiger there was that much room in it.
Chatting to a local inhabitant he suggested that we might want to try to moor up in the residents moorings branch a few yards further on as this part of the towpath is used by the less affluent section of the community.
We managed to get in to the residents section and spent a peaceful night with no interruption.
Sat, 12 Jul 2008
John at last lock
Staircase lock
5 miles 13 locks
With thirteen locks to do today (and no Ady) we had decided to start fairly early again but in the preparation to get going started chatting to one of the resident boat owners and while doing that another joined us and asked which way we were going. Told him we were heading towards Sandwell and he volunteered to help us until we met up with his friends coming the other way. He had intended to set the locks in their favour anyway.
While we waited for him to have his breakfast we went up to the turning point and winded (that's the official term for turning around) and returned to our mooring.
Set off to the first of eight with John
on board.
John 's boat is called Four Seasons and he has four pictures on the side each one of a tree and each on a different season, it is very attractive.
At the first lock we entered easily enough but once in a mother duck flew out leaving a bunch of little baby ducklings stranded between the front of Almyne and the lock gates. Spent nearly half an hour shooing five of them around and out of the back gates. They really did not want to go between Almyne and the lock side as there was very little room. I held Almyne over to one side and John shooed them along the side and out the back gates. Then we noticed the other three that had been left behind, so we started all over again. I think we managed to get them all out. John opened the gates and then went ahead to prepare the next one. This was when I realised that I had acquired a roll of cling film. Now I did not know that I wanted one so it was quite a surprise. Running the engine quite hard we were going nowhere. Stop, undo the weed hatch and check. You have no idea how tightly it is possible to wrap a propeller up with cling film when you apply the full thirteen horsepower to the process. I am sure that if I could have looked at the propeller out of the water it would have looked as it it were a brand new delivery.
Pulled, wrenched and cut it loose during the course of the next thirty minutes and set off to the next lock.
John helped us through the next five of the eight lock flight with no more incidents, where we met his friends coming the other way. Since they were coming down the rest of the flight was in our favour so the rest was relatively easy.
If you didn't mind things being damp you could furnish a house with the debris in the next part of the canal, a fridge a sofa, some office chairs, several supermarket trolleys and even a table.
On to Pudding Green junction where we turned right on to Birmingham Level Main Line for about half a mile where we turned left on to the Gower branch. I wanted to take this route as there is a staircase lock at the end of it where it joins the Wolverhampton Level.
My very first staircase lock. This is where the top gate of one lock is the bottom gate of the next lock.
Along the Wolverhampton Level we spotted Netherton tunnel which we were passing over on an aqueduct and then on to Tipton junction where we moored up about two hundred yards short of the junction. The water in this part of the canal is so clear you can see the bottom and the fish swimming around, so clear it looks good enough to drink, not that I would.
Moored up just before four and strolled round the junction to see about going through the Dudley Tunnel .
No go there, it has a low roof and no boats over 5'6" can get through.
Access along the tow path to the Black Country Museum and Dudley Tunnel is blocked by a gate, but the padlock is a BW one, so we just unlocked it and walked in. There were several boats moored up there, including one from Newbury but as there was no one on board I did not get the chance to speak to them.
Back to Almyne for tea of a Frey Bentos steak pie with roast potatoes and a mixture of vegetables, which did not cook properly so we left them for tomorrow.
Sun, 13 Jul 2008
Do you know this face
Coseley Tunnel
2 1/4 miles 1 tunnel
Spent the day at the Black Country Museum . Met Jim at the entrance as Rosie
and I had come in the back way with the BW key.
The museum spreads over some thirteen acres and it is one of those that actually takes several days to do justice, but we only have the one day at the moment. Take a trip down memory lane.
We were lucky enough to see a couple of veteran boats returning from a show somewhere and they were going under the lift bridge which is rarely used. See it Here .
Getting back to Almyne put a bit of a damper on it though as Almyne Too was no longer in evidence. The ropes holding her to Almyne had been cut and she is no longer.
Rang the police to report it and arranged to send them a picture by email hoping that this will help them trace her.
Set off towards Wolverhampton just after five and rounding Factory Junction got mooned! Took a picture just to see if anyone recognises the face!
Carried on to Coseley Tunnel and moored up just the other side where we were soon regaled by a couple of elderly gentlemen and their stories of the canal when they were youngsters. I wish I had a tape recorder or similar as I can remember very little of what they told us, interesting though it was.
Mon, 14 Jul 2008
Almyne from Almyne again
Dfer and D'fer
Devils Elbow Bridge
4 miles
4½ miles
I know that Rosie has enjoyed the round trip seeing so many places that she knows well but from a totally different viewpoint and this being her last day I can tell that she does not really want to go home, which is why there is a sort of sadness on board.
Set off just after ten and and continued along the Wolverhampton Level to the junction with the Wyrley and Essington canal where we turned right. Almost missed the stainless steel structure but got one good picture of Almyne from Almyne even though the sun was not very bright.
Stopped of at The Royal Tiger to let Rosie off and said our goodbyes. I walked round Wednesfield to look for a highlighter pen to mark on the maps where I have been as it will not be too long before I start to forget. Decided that the highlighter and the maggots and the meat and the bread were not that important so returned to Almyne and set off straight away for Sneyd Junction and arrived at half four.
I have already done this part of the canal but intend to take the route through Pelsall and Casthill to Brownhills this time and then drop down through Rushall and Walsall to the Tame Valley Canal .
Only made it as far as Sneyd junction where I emptied the porta pottie again and settled down to update the site, or try to as there are so many pictures I have to prepare that it will take forever.
D'fer, as always, jumped off to investigate and found a couple of playmates while I got rid of all the rubbish. The next thing I knew was that the woman on the next boat was yelling at Dfer
to 'Come here'.
Did a double take and walked along to talk to her. Her dog is called Dfer, mine is called D'fer.
Had a brief chat and checked that I could stay here overnight, she told me to check with Ralph, when he gets back. He is the warden for this little set of moorings.
Back to Almyne again and had a nap. Woke just after half six, got dinner, chips, mushy peas and chicken slices.
Some more picture editing and off to bed.
Tue, 15 Jul 2008
Daw End Branch
Pelsall Wood
Pelsall Wood
Pelsall Wood
8½ miles
1½ miles
Slept like a log last night, even after a couple of hours nap in the afternoon and woke to the sun streaming in the front doors.
Set off just after nine with a good breakfast inside me. The first few miles were mucky and it was not long before I spotted Jon's shed again, but once past Goscote the canal is beautiful.
Moored up for lunch by Pelsall wood and if I were not anxious to get through Birmingham, I would be happy to spend a week or two here, except that I get bored after a day or so. I need to keep travelling while the sun is out as the weather forecast is not so good for the rest of the week.
After Pelsall Wood I set off again and stopped near Brownhills . At the BW point there is the canal, the tow path the road and Tesco. Popped over the road and got a loaf of bread and a pack of Hula Hoops. Back to Almyne, out with the wheels and over to Tesco again. They have a 'Country Manor' White wine, 7.5%, 3 litres at £4.15, got 4, and four of my French Red and two cases of Carling because Richard prefers that. Got it all on the wheels and back to Almyne.
Set off again and passing Northywood Bridge I spotted some BW moorings, just by Daw End Branch, all fenced off and looking very secure, so made an executive decision and pulled over. There is no padlock on the access gates, but I used the one off my back doors. Must remember to take it with me tomorrow.
The idea is that, weather permitting, I will set off early and do the three miles to the Rushall flight (9 locks) and get to the Rushall junction .
From there 5 miles and 13 locks to Salford junction where I hit the Grand Union to Bordesley and then on to Kingswood junction . From there I can either go to Napton and the Oxford or go on to the Stratford-on-Avon canal. That will depend on how much rain there has been because it turns into River on the Stratford, whereas the Napton route is purely canals.
Just looked at the forecast and tomorrow looks quite good, so an early start should see me well on my way.
Sausage and mash with baked beans (and a spoonful of Marmite) for dinner and now I am settling in to try to update all the pages on the site that I have skimped.
I've just emailed Nicholson's, blaming them for the decline and fall of the Wyrley and Essington canal. They have not marked any of the facilities on it and with no facilities marked very few boaters will attempt it. Took quite a while to do my research and point out exactly where in their books the facilities should be marked, so I hope it will be worthwhile.
Maybe I should write to some of the canal magazines and let them know of this shortcoming of the Nicholson's books.
Now I must get on with the web site updates.
Although dark and brooding the evening view from Almyne was just awesome.
Wed, 16 Jul 2008
A mile of lilys
Not far to go
I've just been there
Turning right, under the M6
Underneath Spaghetti Junction
Under the M5
8½ miles 22 locks
Up at Up at 5:45, breakfast and off by six thirty. I know it is going to be a long day, but I want to get as far through Birmingham as possible.
Overnight at Daw End Branch where the mooring is fenced off with a stout gate to get in and out. The gate was not padlocked so I used the one from the back doors of Almyne. D'fer had the run of about half an acre in all through the undergrowth and bushes as well as along the tow path.
The three and a half miles to Rushall Top Lock went smoothly with very little debris in the cut. In this fairly built up are I managed to catch two tennis balls, one football and two coconuts, my first. When they have dried out I will see how intact they are but will refrain from eating the nut, that will go for the birds. In to the first two of nine locks and the canal is then as straight as a die for one and a half miles, with a slight kink and then another one and a half miles of dead straight motoring, apart from the seven locks to negotiate. Through lock three, which is very pretty, and on to lock four. This is where the fun began. Got in to the lock with no problem, closed all the gates and opened the two bottom paddles to empty it. That went without a hitch. Pushed open on of the gates and started to walk round to open the other one and noticed that the gate was closing all by itself. Went back and opened it again, stepped back only to see it drifting closed. Hmmm.
Hmmmmmmm.
Got the boat pole out, pushed the gate open and tried to lever the other gate open with the boat pole while holding the near-side gate. That didn't work. There was no-one walking past to assist, so gave it some more thought. After wracking my brains for some twenty minutes I took the last resort and rang British Waterways. Explained the problem and was told that they would get someone out to me.
With D'fer on the bank I could not really climb down into Almyne to make a cup of tea so I just sat on the balance beam waiting. D'fer could not understand why the lack of activity and did his usual thing of asking 'What's up, why are we not travelling, will you play with me, I want to run around, when are we setting off again, have you got any biscuits, is it lunch time yet, look I've found a stick' all in his very loudest voice.
While I was waiting for the BW guy to arrive I wondered about the possibility of getting a long rope, tying it to the far balance beam and pulling the far gate open, then pushing the near gate open and tying the two together while I got the boat out. something inside said that I should wait for BW to attend and perhaps they might do something about the wayward gates.
A wait of forty minutes saw the BW guy walking along the tow path toward me and when he arrived and saw the problem he got on his phone to get more assistance. It was obvious that if he held one gate open and I held the other there would be no one to get Almyne out. So with further assistance the lock was negotiated and I checked that there were no other locks with this problem on the flight.
Locks five, six, seven and eight presented no problems, but at lock nine I prepared it and opened the gate while Almyne was still in lock eight and as I walked back to Almyne two lads decided that it would be fun to close the gate again. No real problem, just a mild irritation, as I could open it again when I got there.
Through lock nine and it was another straight run for just under a mile to the junction with the Tame Valley Canal . The junction quite took me by surprise and while scrabbling for the horn to let boats on the main channel know of my approach I lost concentration, so much so that I hit the opposite bank rather harder than I would have liked. No harm done and I turned left towards Salford junction .
Another three miles of 'roman road' canal with lilies all along one side and rushes along the other. I got another football on this section.
I don't remember much of the Perry Barr flight of thirteen locks, I think I was getting tired. I do know that I was thankful of the short stretches between locks seven and eight and again between locks eleven and twelve. By the time I was at lock thirteen I was getting irritable and kept D'fer on the boat. I didn't want him loose on the bank while I was struggling with Almyne and then barking at me while I took Almyne out of the lock.
A short way further on we reached Spaghetti Junction , not just for the motor-ways but also for the canal, where four meet right under the motor-way. Although the plan is to head for the Stratford-on-Avon I was tempted to head in to Gas Street Basin as I have been reading Annie Murrays 'The Narrow Boat Girl' and it features quite heavily. Stuck to my guns as I can do that bit another day and took the turn in to the Grand Union Canal. Three or four hundred yards along I spotted a secure mooring provided by BW and made the executive decision to pull over, I really had had enough for one day.
Pulled over at half five (an eleven hour travelling day) and had a look around, fenced area with limited access through the bushes to the road and then on to the casino, not for me.
Then another boat arrived. Having not seen another boat for three days I just had to go and say hello. Got invited to soup and bread with Chrissie
and Richard
on board Digitalis so accepted and now I am back on Almyne trying to catch up on everything.
I am still working on the pictures of the Black Country Museum , all 82 of them.
Thu, 17 Jul 2008
Today's the day for resting and catching up. It is meant to be raining all day, so I have decided not to travel.
Chrissie and Richard
set off shortly after nine as they felt uncomfortable with the moorings here. Yesterday during their travels they had been bombarded by rocks by some lads between bridge 86 and 88, so I must remember to look out for that. Guess if I set off early enough I should be through that section before silly people are up and about.
Overcast with a chill wind but warm and cosy in Almyne and I have enough provisions to stay here for a couple of weeks if need be, not that I want to.
I have managed to get most of the pages updated and revamped some of the previous pages as I have come across notes about the journey that have been mislaid and have now come to light. My next task is to continue with the Black Country Museum pictures and get them uploaded.
Fri, 18 Jul 2008
3 miles 11 locks
Bordesley junction lock
Bordesley junction lock
Bordesley junction
Started the day at ten past five with breakfast of peanut butter on toast and set off just before six. Five locks and twenty three bridges later I got to Bordesley junction, where I turned left and immediately got to the first of the five locks up to Camp Hill.
There was no where to moor up to attend to the lock, so I had to point Almyne at the lock gates, engage forward gear with a slow throttle jump off, and pray. Gt through that one OK. All the locks seemed to be a problem, either there was only one paddle working or there was loads of rubbish blocking the gate so I had to remove it before leaving the lock. Then some of the locks had no mooring points so I had to keep juggling between Almyne and the lock gates.
Got quite irritable and found it hard not to take it out on D'fer.
At one of the locks the button got caught awkwardly and one of the restraining chains broke, leaving the button at the front dangling uselessly to one side. Now when I 'nose' in to a lock it is the prow of Almyne that hits the lock gates instead of the button.
When I got to Camp Hill top lock and spotted the facilities, a shower, a laundry, water, elsan disposal, rubbish disposal I decided that I would stop off for a while and see if I cheered up.
Spoke to the lock-keeper and he said that I could moor up by his boat in the secure compound for the night if I wanted to. This was at ten to ten in the morning.
I think part of it was that I had wanted to get past Solihull early as there are a bunch of kids that like throwing big rocks down the hill on to the boats going past.
By staying here tonight I can set off early again tomorrow and will be past the bad patch before they even wake up.
So, spent the day having a shower, doing the washing, clearing out all the rubbish, re-arranging the stocks of alcohol, most of it hidden in the cratch, Oh, and painting one side of Almyne below the gunwale getting rid of all the scuff marks. Just before he packed up for the night the lock-keeper walked past Almyne carrying a length of chain. 'Too heavy for a button' I said.
'Oh yes' he said, 'This is for my motorcycle'.
Two minutes later he popped up with about thirty inches of chain that was just right for the button. 'Will this do' he said.
What a result. Now I can hang the button off the front of Almyne properly again.
Sorted out the rest of the pictures of the Black Country Museum so you can see all the pictures.
Off to bed as an early start is the order for the day tomorrow.
Sat, 19 Jul 2008
7 miles
Up early again, breakfast, and set off by six. Very pleasant motoring down to Catherine De Barnes, baking a loaf of bread on the way, where I pulled over and moored up. Rosie is joining me here for the trip down to Stratford-on-Avon , her excuse is so that she can see a Shakespeare play, but I think it is more that she enjoys Almyne so much. Spent the day doing not a lot at all, except for adjusting the button at the back of Almyne, now it looks just like what it should do, instead of hanging down and drooping in the water.
Walked up to the shop and purchased some bacon so I can have a proper breakfast.
Did a little fishing, but I still cannot get the bread to stay on the hook properly.
I have been reading the Annie Murray books about life on the cut in the 20's and 30's and am really tempted to try and follow their route from Birmingham to Oxford, but as I am on my way to Stratford-on-Avon I will leave that till another day.
Sun, 20 Jul 2008
D'fer's big friend
D'fer's big friend
Lazed around all day, waiting for Rosie to arrive. She and Jim
turned up shortly after five and we spent the next hour or so catching up on their trip to Jim's brothers wedding and enjoying a salad with a glass of wine on the back of Almyne. It seems that they thoroughly enjoyed themselves.
Jim is a teacher and at the end of term he tends to spend the first week in bed, recovering from the stress of school life. I have known a number of teachers and it is a job that I could never cope with, but then I do not deal with stress easily. So I think that he is happy to have Rosanne away while he just sleeps.
Mon, 21 Jul 2008
The link
Benches
Kingswood junction
Benches
8½ miles 14 locks
Up at five fifteen, breakfast of tomatoes on toast, this early I can't face a greasy fry up, but I still like to eat. Rosanne tucked in to hers and enjoyed it but when I told her it was still before six she got quite cross. Rosanne does not usually get up before midday unless she is working.
Set off at half six and arrived at Knowle locks about nine ish. At this point the Grand Union Canal has double locks all the way to London instead of the single locks that I have been getting used to and the locks at Knowle are bigger than most.
There are five of them and we got through them easily enough although I made sure that Rosanne was on the bank rather than on Almyne as it can be a bit daunting floating around in an enormous lock and not knowing if and when you are going to get out again.
From there it is a four mile run to Kingswood junction where the Grand Union meets up with the Stratford-on-Avon canal. Rosanne decided that she needed a proper breakfast so made egg and bacon butties while we were travelling. Most unusual as Rosanne apparently does not eat very much at the best of times and this was still well before lunch time.
The junction is one of the nicest places I have been on any of the canals and we spent an hour or so wandering around it trying to make sure we knew which way we needed to go so as not to cause a traffic jam when we entered the junction as there were loads of boats going this way and that.
Through the junction and in to the first of thirty five locks to Stratford Basin, our target for the end of the week.
We were in a queue of boats all the way, which means that the boat in front uses the lock and leaves it empty, so we have to fill it before we can go in and continue our journey. All went well until we were mooring up to go in to lock 28. I had checked where the bank was and stepped off Almyne to sort the lock out and I missed. I think Almyne had drifted just six inches from the bank between the time I looked and the time I stepped off.
Anyway, I missed. I stepped in to the water between Almyne and the metal piles. One small cut, one deep cut and loads of bruising. Sorted that lock out and continued on our way. The blood was dribbling down my leg but it did not seem to be giving me too much distress.
At the next lock Rosanne insisted that I do something to dress it so she found the first aid kit and the plasters. Diluted some Dettol with water, as per the instructions, and bathed the cuts,, one of which was quite deep and put a plaster over it all.
One more lock and we spotted moorings so pulled over and moored up.
A cup of tea later I wandered down to the next lock to see what was what and found the sanitary station and the water point. By the time I got back to Almyne blood was running down my leg from the bottom edge of the plaster. Decided that I would rest the leg for a while and keep it up.
Rosanne took over all the domestic duties and made me just sit there while she got dinner, Liver Italienne, served it up, cleared up afterwards and, after a game of cards, tucked me up in bed.
There was enough dinner for D'fer who had us roaring with laughter as he got mash all over his nose and even licked the wallpaper looking for more. (I think Rosanne deliberately cooked enough for D'fer as she has a soft spot for him.)
Tue, 22 Jul 2008
Resting, spent almost all day in bed, it was the only way I could get any relief from the ache of the calf and thigh. The main bruising was on the calf but there was sufficient secondary bruising on my thigh that it was also uncomfortable. I suppose that it was because I was in pain that I was up by six again and while I was fumbling around Almyne to get a cup of tea Rosanne woke and sent me back to bed insisting that I stay there while she ministered to my needs. What a lucky guy I am.
Again, Rosanne was really surprised to be up before seven, but put on a brave face and didn't complain (too much). She set too and got me a cup of tea and breakfast and then cleaned Almyne from stem to stern. It took me back to being a very small child when I was ill and would lay on the sofa wrapped up in a blanket while mum
did the housework around me. The sound of a hoover while I am dozing gives me a real sense of security and comfort.
I spent the day in bed, reading and doing Sudoku, while Rosanne got out her paints and practised doing Roses and Castles, but first she touched up the 'No fixed abode' on the name plate. It has been getting a little faded. When I am mobile enough I will get to look at it.
During the afternoon I removed the plaster and washed the cuts with a solution of Dettol and water again and put on a much smaller plaster, it seems not to be infected and is healing quite well.
I feel so useless, but Rosanne is coping with me at the same time as keeping herself occupied with her painting and the occasional foray into the wilderness of the tow path, meeting other boaters, walking D'fer and bringing me little bunches of wild flowers.
Early night for me again and I left Rosanne in the salon listening to the radio while I drifted off to sleep.
Wed, 23 Jul 2008
Up shortly after seven to enjoy another day of rest, well mostly after a broken nights sleep. the leg is not a lot better and extremely swollen and bruised. Slept on and off all morning while Rosanne did a wonderful job of bringing out the nameplate on Almyne by sharpening up all the edges and touching up the little duck. She tells me that the boats going past caused a bit of a problem as just as she was going to make a delicate stroke with the brush, Almyne started drifting either forwards or backwards, a bit like trying to paint a flys feet while it is on the wing. She also practised doing 'roses' and is getting rather good. I might let her loose on some of the panels that are not yet decorated.
I got up (ish) at eleven when Rosanne presented me with scrambled eggs on toast - I need to keep my strength up to get my leg better. We played cards for a while to relieve the boredom of just laying there, after which I retired to bed again. Keeping the leg horizontal seems to help.
Late afternoon I realised that the leg needed attention, so rang Netta, my little sister, who agreed to collect us and take us to her house tonight and then on to the bungalow tomorrow.
Netta, collected us from Almyne early evening and transported us to her house. The journey was good, with my leg resting on all the luggage stacked in the foot well beneath Jake's seat.
Rosanne was an amazon, she sorted out a meal, cleaned Almyne, sorted out all the little things that need to be done when 'battening down the hatches' for a week or so.
Netta arrived with Jake in Fleur De Lys car park at 7.30pm and Rosanne walked down to lock to meet them with D'fer, made Netta a cup of tea then helped me hobble to the car while she carried the stuff down in 2 goes.
I had taken some pain killers which helped a bit but is still very painful after standing for a few moments.
Bed just gone midnight.
Thu, 24 Jul 2008
Up at 6am. Set of from Netta's at 7am, arriving at the bungalow before nine. The Morris was still there and looking good.
Rosanne played with Jake and D'fer while I showed Netta the site then we waved Netta and Jake off.
Not wanting to be too much of a cripple I hobbled to kitchen and made a scrambled egg on toast.
Rang the surgery and asked for a home visit and, after explaining that I could not walk, I was told that Dr. King would ring me back. He did not, but just arrived at about noon. Fair enough, if I could not walk then I was bound to be in when he called. He gave me a tetanus jab (the last one I could remember was twenty five years ago) and a prescription for 2 lots of antibiotics.
Spent the rest of the day having a video and DVD orgy. Rosanne picked up my prescription during the afternoon, while I took the doctors advice and kept my leg above my heart. The idea being that the blood could get to the leg, but because of the bruising it could not get back and keeping it above the heart meant that the blood would flow back by gravity. Seemed to work as the pain was less.
Watched Dances with Wolves, such a good film. Rosanne got tea of bacon sausage tomatoes pepper mushrooms and rice and did all the domestic stuff that goes with clearing up afterwards.
Played Skip-Bo with my leg balanced on the back of the arm chair, most ungainly.
More films and off to bed.
Fri, 25 Jul 2008
Woke at 9.15am. Mornings seem to be easier on the leg so took the opportunity to make myself tomatoes on toast and some really crispy bacon for Rosanne.
Discovered that the surround sound system plays CD's so put some music on while we played Skip-Bo again.
Rosanne went shopping and was told how nosy all the neighbours are and was I back from the boat yet and was I staying this time and so on. She made a wonderful salad for lunch after which we played Skip-Bo again, Rosanne beating me soundly.
Rosanne went to the shop again, placing an order for two loaves of bread, real bread, not this sliced stuff. Roast chicken with roast potatoes, mash roasters and veg for tea.
D'fer was getting very bored with this life on the bank, so Rosanne took him into the garden and tired him out.
Had 2 games Skip-Bo while listening to Evita then went to bed.
Sat, 26 Jul 2008
Didn't wake till 11.30.
Rosanne spent most of the day looking after me, reading some canal booklets that I had found and practising 'roses' while I just lay there getting more and more restless. I don't think that the heat helped, but I am missing Almyne and the freedom.
The leg is a lot better today and I think that I might be able to rustle up enough energy to get the Morris going tomorrow, or maybe the day after.
Sun, 27 Jul 2008
Another day of rest. Leg improving, so Rosanne decided that it was time she attended to her own needs and went back to Wednesfield . I pottered around as best I could, which was quite well by now, and spent most of the day working on a revamped 2006 web site. During the afternoon one of the locals knocked on the door and asked if I could cut the bushes back as they were encroaching on the public footpath, and although I agreed, I was not sure when I might be able to manage it.
Mon, 28 Jul 2008
Another day of rest, well sort of. Started off at five pruning the bushes in the front garden,so that was complete before any of the other neighbours got up. If I feel so inclined I might just have a bonfire to get rid of all the rubbish later on.
Spent most of the rest of the day, intermittently, charging batteries and trying them on the Morris, none of them seemed to work so rang Peter
to see if he could pick up a battery from Halfords for me. He arranged to bring one over early tomorrow. The rest of the day was spent updating the 2006 web site, dozing and eating.
Tue, 29 Jul 2008
Up in time for mum and Peter to collect me. They arrived at close to ten, had a cup of tea and Peter helped me sort out the battery for the Morris. With a new (to me) battery it started up 'just like that' and off we went to Trowbridge. Got the printer working with the other equipment and after a bite to eat set off to find Glyn
and Cath.
Caught up on all their news, most of it not so good, but that is their story. Glyn happy to take on the task of keeping my garden neat and tidy, so all I have to do now is get the keys to them. It was good to see them again after three months, although it seems a lot longer than that. Cath
tells me that they don't often get to read the site, but when they do it has them in stitches which is good to know.
Called in to see Blynda
on the way home and she offered to take me back to Almyne tomorrow, so will take her up on that.
Called in to see George, who owns the lockup I rent, and sorted that out till next year and collected the back door keys fro Glyn.
All set for the return to Almyne.
Wed, 30 Jul 2008
Up early full of enthusiasm. Blynda is collecting me about ten to take me back to Almyne. Packed everything up and got it all ready by ten to seven. Twiddled my fingers till nine, when I popped round to see John, who does my Morris for me. Left him a set of keys and arranged that he would sort out the MOT, which is due by the end of August. Shouldn't need much as I have only done a couple of hundred miles in it since the last MOT.
Back in time to be there for Blynda to arrive dead on ten. She has brought the spare set of curtains for Almyne so will be able to hang those when I get back.
Set off just before eleven after having a cup of tea and loading her car, and arrived at Almyne shortly after one and a couple of missed turnings. Enquiries led us to the nearest shop, two miles away, so Blynda took me there and we got some stuff for lunch, which we ate on the back of Almyne in the sunshine.
I walked Blynda back to her car and waved goodbye and the went back to Almyne to set up the computer. D'fer, in his own inimitable way, waited till I was thoroughly occupied before setting off to look for Blynda. I eventually found him at the car park where she had parked. Dragged him back to Almyne and realised that my leg was bleeding again - too much activity for one day - so bandaged it up again and went to bed for an hour or so.
Woke up, had dinner, did some internetty stuff but bad signal area so couldn't upload new pages. Off to bed as planning on an early start tomorrow.
Thu, 31 Jul 2008
Marker post
1½ miles 6 locks
After a disturbed and restless night I eventually woke just after nine, so much for an early start.
Set off at ten, having had a good breakfast and stopped almost straight away after the first lock to top up with water and get rid of the rubbish.
Blynda had left me a book by a guy called John Russell about a survey he did of the Kennet and Avon canal from Newbury to Bath in 1964. Fascinating reading and made me more aware of the various architectural features I pass along the way. James Brindley had a lot to do with the K & A and also the Stratford-on-Avon canal and it is interesting to note some of the similarities between the two canals as well as their differences. The Marker post is one of these. It is actually a piece of wide gauge railway line from the Great Western Railway and originally had a board on it indicating the 'Gang Number' that was assigned to maintaining this particular stretch of canal and the miles from the start of the canal in normal digits and the quarter miles in roman numerals.
We also crossed over a river on an aqueduct, built in 1834.
See all the Aqueduct pictures .
Motored for three and a half hours in total but was held up at most locks by the volume of traffic, usually two or three boats waiting at each lock.
Decided to pack it in just after half one, if only for a bit of lunch and a cup of tea. Turned in to a stop for the night. Although the connection was not good it was stable so uploaded all the changes both to 2008 and 2006. 2006 is now much more in line with 2008 and it will let me make alterations and additions much more easily in future.
Spoke to David, my nephew, and he wants to spend a little time on Almyne fishing, sounds good to me and he has arranged to join me sometime over the weekend. Must make sure he brings some maggots with him.
I am glad I have taken it easy today as the leg is still uncomfortable and aching, but have spent the evening with my foot on my shoulder to keep the calf above the level of my heart, as the doctor ordered. People walking past keep giving me funny looks though.
Top
Isn't that sweet
Wheaton Aston
Mangled
Wonderful chimney
4 miles
4 miles
Up and about by about nine this morning, which was surprising after such a heavy night last night. Walking D'fer
I came across another of those little tunnels under
the canal that are there far more often than you can tell from just motoring along. This one is just for a little
stream that crosses the canal.
When I got back to Almyne a vehicle had pulled up with a couple of Aussies and a trailer full of canoes. Since I was moored up against the 'maintenance mooring' I asked if they would like me to move and the very polite reply was yes, because they would prefer to put their canoes into the water from grass rather than concrete.
I had planned to move down to the refuelling point anyway, so it was no bother to do that now rather than in twenty minutes or so. Did the engine checks and motored through the bridge to the cheapest diesel on the cut. It was indeed, 73.9 pence per litre, at least 80 pence per litre anywhere else. Filled up, 86.3 litres, £64, should keep me going for another month or so and a bottle of gas as well. There are some twenty or so steps from the mooring point to where the gas bottles are kept, but I was told that Paul, one of the owners, would bring the bottle down for me when he got back from wherever he was. About a quarter of and hour later he did indeed bring the 19kg bottle of gas down the twenty steps to Almyne and put it in my gas locker. I might add that a 19kg bottle of gas holds 19kg of gas, the weight of the container must be more than that on its own, so no mean feat, which is why I was happy for him to bring it down.
Then took Geri
for a spin along the canal, carefully avoiding all
the budding canoeists that the Aussie had in tow, to the turning point, about three miles there and three back. Sat her on top
of the hatch so that she could enjoy the sunshine.
rest of the afternoon inside in the shade it is so hot.
Spent the evening with Clive
and
Shelley on their boat. Started off as
chips, chops and salad on the bank, but the heavens opened, so we all crowded into their boat.
D'fer kept wanting to get on and get off and get on and get off, real pain in the butt.
Mark
visited and admired the work done on Almyne and
told me that Almyne was featured in an edition of Towpath, a newspaper for boaters about three years ago. Perhaps I will
contact them and see if I can get some original pictures of her.
If Marks girlfriend can get me a bag of Field and Trial for D'fer (she works in a pet shop) I will stay here till Thursday morning, otherwise I will start back tomorrow so that Ady can help me down the flight.
Wed, 2 Jul 2008
Stream under the canal
Looking back
Looking forward
Woke up to the early morning sunshine and made the most of it as it soon clouded over and stayed that way for most of the day with the occasional break in the clouds. Took advantage of D'fer's morning walk to go to the farm where they sell fresh free range eggs, two pounds a dozen for extra large, a bargain in my book. With everything else covered I did not need to go to the local shop, so encouraged D'fer
to find Almyne so that I could have breakfast, bacon,
tomatoes and fresh free range eggs on toast.
Mark
rang and said that his girlfriend is getting the dog food for
D'fer, so I am staying put today.
Fished for an hour or so till the rest of the area came to life and then wandered along to Clive
and
Shelley for a cup of tea and a chat, they were off shopping and
offered to get me anything that I needed, but as I have said, all covered.
Took the time out to get a picture of the stream under the canal, that tunnel I mentioned yesterday and walk back along the tow path for some good pictures from the bridge above Wheaton Aston lock.
It still all seems a bit unreal and a little uncomfortable, just not quite right. I feel no sense of achievement having got here, even though yesterday, taking Geri
for a run, felt emotionally very satisfying.
Spent the afternoon going through all the pictures that Jim had taken of the sun rising during the solstice, so it might be worth your while going back to that page to see all the new ones, although the signal was not good enough to upload them then.
Shelly has been having problems getting a signal with her modem, which is the same as mine so I said I would have a look at it as I am getting a signal here which is workable but she isn't.
Checked out her computer and all the settings and tried to get a connection, nothing. Collected my modem and the software from Almyne and installed it on her machine. Got a connection and as good a signal I get with my computer. Hmmm, looks like it is either her carrier or, more likely, the modem she has is duff. Recommend that she returns it to the supplier and gets them to check it out. Having done that she wanted me to look at her Web-Cam, a movie camera for connecting to a computer, but I could not find any drivers to test it with, but I did get her ordinary digital camera working and downloaded the pictures on it to her computer for her. She needs a new lead to connect it to the computer.
Sat nattering for a whole and the next thing I knew there was a meal in front of me, again. Then the heavens opened and it bucketed down. Realised that I had left the hatch open on Almyne so ran back closed the hatch and ran back to dinner. I was soaked, Shelley gave me a towel and I dried off and finished dinner. The rain cleared and we then sat outside on the tow path setting the world to rights again.
Eventually settled down in bed at around ten still feeling unfulfilled.
Thu, 3 Jul 2008
Wooden face
7 miles 2 locks
Up early to a day that promised to be of mixed weather, situation normal. No particular rush as Autherley junction, today's target, is only seven miles away and Mark
is due to deliver D'fer's food around ten. I was in the process of clearing up after breakfast and a boat cruised past me. As the name came into view I realised that it was Roy
on NB Gerald. He sort of recognised me and I managed to ascertain that he was pulling over for water, so rushed down to the water point. Now, for those of you who have not read the 'The adventures of Almyne 2006' Sue
on Thea and Roy on Gerald were the first people that Geri and I met on the canal and we had spent our first few days in their company, being regaled with stories of life on the cut and the trials and tribulations and the joys and pleasures they have experienced.
Roy and I renewed our acquaintance and I explained the mission to him. He was sincerely moved by my story and recounted the fun we had all shared rubbing 2000 scratch cards in The Fox and Anchor.
Somehow meeting Roy put the icing on the cake. We had come full circle, we had ended up exactly where we had started with all the people that we had started the journey with. It just seemed so fitting and fortuitous that the last person in the puzzle turned up just a few hours before my planned departure. Roy said he would ring Sue and let her know who the crazy guy that had gesticulated so wildly at her was and I returned to Almyne. Mark had delivered the dog food for D'fer
so there was nothing now to keep me at Wheaton Aston.
I said my goodbyes to Clive
and Shelley and set off with a song in my heart a whistle on my lips and a promise to keep in touch and meet up again soon.
Now I am told that it rained nearly all day in Wolverhampton just nine miles south of my starting point and two south of my finish point, but I travelled with a big blue hole in the clouds all day with the very occasional drop of rain from time to time, and they were from clear blue skies.
Arriving at Autherley junction I moored up and got dinner going. I had purchased the makings for spaghetti Bolognese with pork chops for my sojourn at Wheaton Aston, but since I had been fed by Clive and Shelley on all three days I still had it all to cook. So put that on to simmer and be ready for when Rosie
, Jim
and Ady
turned up later on in the evening. Gave Almyne a good clean inside and out, the first proper clean for some weeks now and set off to walk to Aldersley junction a short distance away and my next decision point.
The weather held off and after twenty minutes or so noticed several faces with very wooden expressions. So simple, yet so delightfully refreshing. At the junction noticed another of those 'holes' in bridges that seem to have absolutely no function whatsoever. Not the one on the right but the one on the left, it is just a hole that goes nowhere and does nothing, Why?
D'fer found somewhere to swim on the way back so took time to let him have fun in the water and get thoroughly wet. I still find it so funny the way he leaps into the water to retrieve his stick.
Rosie, Jim and Ady arrived for dinner and it was decided that Rosie and Ady would accompany my up the flight of 21 locks into Wolverhampton tomorrow, much to my relief as it would make the transit so much easier. They even came prepared with sleeping bags and after a few glasses of wine we all retired to bed to get ready for an early start the following day.
Fri, 4 Jul 2008
Almyne from Almyne
I want one
4 1/4 miles 21 locks
Breakfast all round of bacon egg and tomatoes on toast, made from the loaf I baked on the way down from Wheaton Aston yesterday. The weather promises to be good all day but bad all over the weekend so it is sensible to get the bulk of the travelling done in good weather and with assistance.
Set off just after nine and just a couple of hundred yards from our start we spotted the dearest little narrow boat ever. It was a small scale replica, probably half size but perfect in all details. I must get me one of those. Ady
took Almyne round the first bend but when it came to mooring up he asked me to take over. I showed him how to operate a lock, but only after a frantic search for the special key that is needed to operate this flight. It is a bit like a radiator key, but longer and made of a white metal. I checked everywhere and was ready to go and buy another from the boat yard when clairvoyant Rosie
magicked it from the knife drawer. I will keep it with all the other keys in future.
Anyway, I showed Ady how to operate a lock and he took to it like a duck to water. It was fairly heavy going as the first fourteen of the twenty one were against us so we had to empty each one before going into it. At lock seven (we started at lock twenty one) we met a boat coming in the opposite direction, so from then on life got much easier as the rest of the locks were in our favour and we just sailed into each one as we arrived at it.
We cleared the last just after two and were but two miles from our destination for the day, The Royal Tiger. So the first two miles had taken nearly five hours. Fortunately Rosie had kept us going with ham sandwiches and copious quantities of tea during the long uphill slog, about 130 foot in only two miles.
Coming through Wolverhampton there was a stainless steel span over the canal and we could see our reflection in it. I just managed to get the camera out in time to catch the back of Almyne as we passed.
Rosie and Ady had rung ahead to warn the habitués of the hostelry of our arrival and there was quite a welcoming party outside with refreshments lined up for each of us. We spent the rest of the afternoon giving guided tours of Almyne and were close to putting up a sign saying 'Guided tours, £5 per person' but as they were mostly friends of Ady and Rosie and they were plying us with drinks, we didn't.
Evening meal of the pork cops from yesterdays bolognese sauce with mashed potatoes and sweated leeks and carrots, scrummy and well received. Late night due to nattering and putting the world to rights with some of the clientele of The Royal Tiger
Sat, 5 Jul 2008
As I am moored up only a few hundred yards from Rosie
s house she has offered to do my washing for me. She has already taken the curtains from the windows, leaving me feeling a bit exposed and has said that she will be back later to collect the bedding and anything else that I want washed. I can cope with the small stuff easily enough but getting the bigger items like the bedding done is a godsend.Sun, 6 Jul 2008
Late night, late rising. Rosie
brought the washing back and we both spent most of the day cleaning all the little tiny brass rings that the curtains hang from. Is was a laborious task and I must admit that Rosanne did far more of them than I did. We both ended up with calluses on our fingers, not surprising really as there are 144 rings and each one had to be grasped between finger and thumb with the Brasso wadding in one hand and then rotated with the other hand through the wadding till bright and shiny. Then the hanging rods got cleaned and the hooks that they hang from.
Rosanne, bless her, then sat and polished all the other brass on Almyne, and believe me there is some brass here.
While we were doing this a couple of Rosanne's friends popped by, hoping for a look at Almyne, so gave them a guided tour. Julie and Jenny were most impressed especially as Jenny is looking to get a narrow boat herself. She and her husband have their moorings already and I have a standing invite to use them if ever I am passing.
I have been thinking of ringing Richard
for a few days now and out of the blue he rang and asked where I was. 'Wolverhampton' I replied. 'Well, well, well, I am driving through Wolverhampton right now, I'll give you a ring tomorrow morning and come and visit.'
What a turn up for the books.
Mon, 7 Jul 2008
Richard
rang and said that he would be with us by lunch time. so got the kettle on got some bacon ready for some sarnies.
He turned up shortly after midday and we spent the rest of the day catching up on who, what, why, where, when and how. I had been considering renting a car to go down to Worthing to see Church, as he needs assistance with a new printer he has purchased and Richard, always game for a laugh, said that he would take me so we arranged that he would spend the night and we would set off early tomorrow morning for a trip to Worthing, a mere 196 miles one way.
During the afternoon we decided that Droitwich is not too far away and Richard took me there to find Aquosis, a company that supplies things like saddle bags for dogs. Arrived there just before four but there was no-one there. Gave them, a ring and was told that someone would ring me back. Hung around for the length of time it takes to roll and smoke a cigarette, during which time a delivery guy arrived to collect some parcels. He told us that there was usually someone here at this time of day. Waited a little longer and then set off for Almyne. During the course of the journey I mentioned that perhaps I should forego the saddle bag idea and get D'fer
a little cart instead. Richard tells me that dogs are often used for pulling carts so I must investigate it.
Back at Almyne we decided top have a Chinese for dinner so walked along to the local Chinese takeaway. Dinner and a few beers later we settled down for the night as an early morning was the order of the day.
Tue, 8 Jul 2008
Down to Worthing for the day. Left D'fer
with Rosie
who spoilt him for the whole day and he hardly said hello to me when I got back. Sorted out Church's three printers, so now he is back in production again.
When we got back D'fer made more of a fuss of Richard
than he did of me. To make it up to me he would not leave my side all evening, I only had to twitch and he leapt up and leant against me.
Dog cart
Rosanne had a fry up ready for us which went down really well as we had forgotten to eat all day and then Richard set off for Oxford as he was due to see someone early in the morning. It had been a long tiring day for me and I had not been driving but Richard tells me he is used to it being a coach driver.
During the day we spent a lot of the time discussing dog carts and harnesses and the like and the more I think about it the more I like the idea.
Wed, 9 Jul 2008
Rained nearly all day so spent most of the time washing and cleaning Almyne. Took a short walk during a break in the rain and found a pigeon in the canal. It was a damp, all over and was unable to fly. Carried it back to Almyne and settled it on D'fer's towel to dry out.
D'fer, interested as usual, had to see what was going on and gave the pigeon a good checking out with his nose but having once done this he was content to let the pigeon have it's own space. After an hour or so it started to perk up a bit and fluffed its neck feathers.
From time to time I would offer it my hand and at first it shied away and tried to fly away, but was unable to as it was still too wet. Several attempts later it allowed me to almost stroke it without flinching and at this point I put some banana cake beside it to see if it might want to eat something. No.
After another hour or so I picked the pigeon up and took it to the bedroom where I settled it in to D'fer's bed. After a few minutes it crawled out to where it could see us playing cards and stayed there. I kept an eye on it and when it looked sufficiently dry I picked it up again, this time it did not protest at all, and put it in the cratch area where one side was open to the outside. It seemed to settle quite happily so I left it to its own devices and when I checked on it again an hour later it was gone.
Good deed for the day done.
During the five days that I have spent outside The Royal Tiger I have only seen two boats go past, one a normal boater, the other a BW tug full of Community workers removing rubbish, and that one went past in both directions. The normal boater told me that he passes this way perhaps four or five times a year. If this is the only traffic it gets it will soon fall into disrepair and decay and become so overgrown that no boats will be able to get through.
There are two reasons I have come this way, one I have promised Geri
that I will do as much of the system as I can and two, Jim
and Rosie
live here. Looking at the maps of the canal I would not have chosen this route as a pleasure trip as there are no facilities marked on the maps of the canal.
When planning a trip one of the important things to look for is where to get water from and where to empty the porta pottie (or get a pump out if you have a domestic toilet on board). With none marked on the map for twenty five miles and nineteen locks, why would anyone want to undergo those hardships? It would put most people off, but I am on a mission.
Thu, 10 Jul 2008
6 miles
Set off late morning to do the Wolverhampton Ring with Rosie
and Ady
on board for the trip. Started off on the Wyrley and Essington canal and proceeded to Sneyd junction where there are facilities. Emptied the porta pottie, topped up with water and got rid of all the rubbish. The facilities are not marked in the route book, so I must contact Nicholson's and let them know of this little omission.
Once Almyne was adequately replenished set off again and ended up at Sainsbury's at Birchalls. As the store is only a hundred yards from the canal a big shop was in order as it could be done in several trips.
The canal for the first few miles was overgrown and rather weedy, probably because there are so few boats using it. The closer to Sneyd Junction the less the weeds encroached. From Sneyd onwards the canal cleared of weeds but there was quite a lot of rubbish floating around, including Jon's garden shed. We know that it was Johns as his name was on the door. We saw the door first, then a section of roof, closely followed by a couple of sides and an end. The roof supports followed and I think the floor.
From Stokes Bridge onwards the canal cleared up and became as pleasant as any other flowing through the suburban countryside.
At Birchalls Junction we left the Wyrley and Essington and joined the Walsall Canal till we reached Sainsbury's, where the mooring was excellent.
After doing a major shop to last us at least a week we settled in to play cards for the rest of the afternoon and evening as the rain had decided to make another appearance as a light but continuous drizzle. Not to worry, it has been a good days travel and a change of scenery, the life blood of travelling the canals.
Fri, 11 Jul 2008
6½ miles 8 locks
Early start, off by half eight. Ady
has to go home today to get ready for work and I want his assistance to get through the Birchalls flight. Worked the full eight locks on my own with Ady
taking Almyne through. Ady
had decided to depart at Pagetts bridge, a mile after the flight and as we approached the bridge hole where he was due to depart we got weeded up.
Now being weeded up is not a major problem just an inconvenience. Got Ady's bike off and sent him on his way and then unpacked everything off the back of Almyne. The weed hatch is under the floor boards at the back where the generator sits along with the anchor and chain and a whole bunch of other stuff. Not really politic to stop in a bridge hole but I could see nowhere else to do it. Anyway managed to remove a couple of carrier bags worth of weed, plastic bags and other assorted debris from the propeller and re-packed everything back on to Almyne, leaving the hatch cover board as free as possible, just in case.
I normally manage to keep the propeller free of debris by running in reverse for a few seconds when I detect that slight change in engine note that says that something is wrong but don't always get it right.
Ever since leaving Wednesfield we had noticed that there were occasional coconuts in the canal (as there had been in the Coventry canal) and I had determined to try and get one so was keeping the landing net handy. The other thing that had caught my imagination was the number of footballs and tennis balls in the canal. Today we managed to collect two footballs and two tennis balls, but no coconuts. We also missed several balls by going too fast or being too far away to reach them with the net.
Carried on under the M6 (again) and over an aqueduct only to get weeded up again at Foresters Bridge, a good job I had left the weed hatch cover relatively free.
Between Wittingsworth Hall Bridge and Monway Bridge the canal sides are clear and with excellent tow path areas, seating and tables and the like, but absolutely no mooring rings and the tow path is metalled so next to impossible to put in a mooring pin. Such a shame as it would have been nice to stop off there.A little further on passing under Wiggins Mill Bridge we hit something under the water and the front of Almyne rose about eight inches into the air and as we continued Almyne rolled over the obstruction quite alarmingly, it was a bit like hitting a big wave at sea.
Ended up at the old BW offices at Ocker Hill where the facilities include showers. Oh, bliss, a shower as hot and as long as you want it with room to swing a cat, actually swing a tiger there was that much room in it.
Chatting to a local inhabitant he suggested that we might want to try to moor up in the residents moorings branch a few yards further on as this part of the towpath is used by the less affluent section of the community.
We managed to get in to the residents section and spent a peaceful night with no interruption.
Sat, 12 Jul 2008
John at last lock
Staircase lock
5 miles 13 locks
With thirteen locks to do today (and no Ady) we had decided to start fairly early again but in the preparation to get going started chatting to one of the resident boat owners and while doing that another joined us and asked which way we were going. Told him we were heading towards Sandwell and he volunteered to help us until we met up with his friends coming the other way. He had intended to set the locks in their favour anyway.
While we waited for him to have his breakfast we went up to the turning point and winded (that's the official term for turning around) and returned to our mooring.
Set off to the first of eight with John
on board.
John 's boat is called Four Seasons and he has four pictures on the side each one of a tree and each on a different season, it is very attractive.
At the first lock we entered easily enough but once in a mother duck flew out leaving a bunch of little baby ducklings stranded between the front of Almyne and the lock gates. Spent nearly half an hour shooing five of them around and out of the back gates. They really did not want to go between Almyne and the lock side as there was very little room. I held Almyne over to one side and John shooed them along the side and out the back gates. Then we noticed the other three that had been left behind, so we started all over again. I think we managed to get them all out. John opened the gates and then went ahead to prepare the next one. This was when I realised that I had acquired a roll of cling film. Now I did not know that I wanted one so it was quite a surprise. Running the engine quite hard we were going nowhere. Stop, undo the weed hatch and check. You have no idea how tightly it is possible to wrap a propeller up with cling film when you apply the full thirteen horsepower to the process. I am sure that if I could have looked at the propeller out of the water it would have looked as it it were a brand new delivery.
Pulled, wrenched and cut it loose during the course of the next thirty minutes and set off to the next lock.
John helped us through the next five of the eight lock flight with no more incidents, where we met his friends coming the other way. Since they were coming down the rest of the flight was in our favour so the rest was relatively easy.
If you didn't mind things being damp you could furnish a house with the debris in the next part of the canal, a fridge a sofa, some office chairs, several supermarket trolleys and even a table.
On to Pudding Green junction where we turned right on to Birmingham Level Main Line for about half a mile where we turned left on to the Gower branch. I wanted to take this route as there is a staircase lock at the end of it where it joins the Wolverhampton Level.
My very first staircase lock. This is where the top gate of one lock is the bottom gate of the next lock.
Along the Wolverhampton Level we spotted Netherton tunnel which we were passing over on an aqueduct and then on to Tipton junction where we moored up about two hundred yards short of the junction. The water in this part of the canal is so clear you can see the bottom and the fish swimming around, so clear it looks good enough to drink, not that I would.
Moored up just before four and strolled round the junction to see about going through the Dudley Tunnel .
No go there, it has a low roof and no boats over 5'6" can get through.
Access along the tow path to the Black Country Museum and Dudley Tunnel is blocked by a gate, but the padlock is a BW one, so we just unlocked it and walked in. There were several boats moored up there, including one from Newbury but as there was no one on board I did not get the chance to speak to them.
Back to Almyne for tea of a Frey Bentos steak pie with roast potatoes and a mixture of vegetables, which did not cook properly so we left them for tomorrow.
Sun, 13 Jul 2008
Do you know this face
Coseley Tunnel
2 1/4 miles 1 tunnel
Spent the day at the Black Country Museum . Met Jim
at the entrance as Rosie
and I had come in the back way with the BW key.
The museum spreads over some thirteen acres and it is one of those that actually takes several days to do justice, but we only have the one day at the moment. Take a trip down memory lane.
We were lucky enough to see a couple of veteran boats returning from a show somewhere and they were going under the lift bridge which is rarely used. See it Here .
Getting back to Almyne put a bit of a damper on it though as Almyne Too was no longer in evidence. The ropes holding her to Almyne had been cut and she is no longer.
Rang the police to report it and arranged to send them a picture by email hoping that this will help them trace her.
Set off towards Wolverhampton just after five and rounding Factory Junction got mooned! Took a picture just to see if anyone recognises the face!
Carried on to Coseley Tunnel and moored up just the other side where we were soon regaled by a couple of elderly gentlemen and their stories of the canal when they were youngsters. I wish I had a tape recorder or similar as I can remember very little of what they told us, interesting though it was.
Mon, 14 Jul 2008
Almyne from Almyne again
Dfer and D'fer
Devils Elbow Bridge
4 miles
4½ miles
I know that Rosie
has enjoyed the round trip seeing so many places that she knows well but from a totally different viewpoint and this being her last day I can tell that she does not really want to go home, which is why there is a sort of sadness on board.
Set off just after ten and and continued along the Wolverhampton Level to the junction with the Wyrley and Essington canal where we turned right. Almost missed the stainless steel structure but got one good picture of Almyne from Almyne even though the sun was not very bright.
Stopped of at The Royal Tiger to let Rosie off and said our goodbyes. I walked round Wednesfield to look for a highlighter pen to mark on the maps where I have been as it will not be too long before I start to forget. Decided that the highlighter and the maggots and the meat and the bread were not that important so returned to Almyne and set off straight away for Sneyd Junction and arrived at half four.
I have already done this part of the canal but intend to take the route through Pelsall and Casthill to Brownhills this time and then drop down through Rushall and Walsall to the Tame Valley Canal .
Only made it as far as Sneyd junction where I emptied the porta pottie again and settled down to update the site, or try to as there are so many pictures I have to prepare that it will take forever.
D'fer, as always, jumped off to investigate and found a couple of playmates while I got rid of all the rubbish. The next thing I knew was that the woman on the next boat was yelling at Dfer
to 'Come here'.
Did a double take and walked along to talk to her. Her dog is called Dfer, mine is called D'fer.
Had a brief chat and checked that I could stay here overnight, she told me to check with Ralph, when he gets back. He is the warden for this little set of moorings.
Back to Almyne again and had a nap. Woke just after half six, got dinner, chips, mushy peas and chicken slices.
Some more picture editing and off to bed.
Tue, 15 Jul 2008
Daw End Branch
Pelsall Wood
Pelsall Wood
Pelsall Wood
8½ miles
1½ miles
Slept like a log last night, even after a couple of hours nap in the afternoon and woke to the sun streaming in the front doors.
Set off just after nine with a good breakfast inside me. The first few miles were mucky and it was not long before I spotted Jon's shed again, but once past Goscote the canal is beautiful.
Moored up for lunch by Pelsall wood and if I were not anxious to get through Birmingham, I would be happy to spend a week or two here, except that I get bored after a day or so. I need to keep travelling while the sun is out as the weather forecast is not so good for the rest of the week.
After Pelsall Wood I set off again and stopped near Brownhills . At the BW point there is the canal, the tow path the road and Tesco. Popped over the road and got a loaf of bread and a pack of Hula Hoops. Back to Almyne, out with the wheels and over to Tesco again. They have a 'Country Manor' White wine, 7.5%, 3 litres at £4.15, got 4, and four of my French Red and two cases of Carling because Richard
prefers that. Got it all on the wheels and back to Almyne.
Set off again and passing Northywood Bridge I spotted some BW moorings, just by Daw End Branch, all fenced off and looking very secure, so made an executive decision and pulled over. There is no padlock on the access gates, but I used the one off my back doors. Must remember to take it with me tomorrow.
The idea is that, weather permitting, I will set off early and do the three miles to the Rushall flight (9 locks) and get to the Rushall junction .
From there 5 miles and 13 locks to Salford junction where I hit the Grand Union to Bordesley and then on to Kingswood junction . From there I can either go to Napton and the Oxford or go on to the Stratford-on-Avon canal. That will depend on how much rain there has been because it turns into River on the Stratford, whereas the Napton route is purely canals.
Just looked at the forecast and tomorrow looks quite good, so an early start should see me well on my way.
Sausage and mash with baked beans (and a spoonful of Marmite) for dinner and now I am settling in to try to update all the pages on the site that I have skimped.
I've just emailed Nicholson's, blaming them for the decline and fall of the Wyrley and Essington canal. They have not marked any of the facilities on it and with no facilities marked very few boaters will attempt it. Took quite a while to do my research and point out exactly where in their books the facilities should be marked, so I hope it will be worthwhile.
Maybe I should write to some of the canal magazines and let them know of this shortcoming of the Nicholson's books.
Now I must get on with the web site updates.
Although dark and brooding the evening view from Almyne was just awesome.
Wed, 16 Jul 2008
A mile of lilys
Not far to go
I've just been there
Turning right, under the M6
Underneath Spaghetti Junction
Under the M5
8½ miles 22 locks
Up at Up at 5:45, breakfast and off by six thirty. I know it is going to be a long day, but I want to get as far through Birmingham as possible.
Overnight at Daw End Branch where the mooring is fenced off with a stout gate to get in and out. The gate was not padlocked so I used the one from the back doors of Almyne. D'fer
had the run of about half an acre in all through the undergrowth and bushes as well as along the tow path.
The three and a half miles to Rushall Top Lock went smoothly with very little debris in the cut. In this fairly built up are I managed to catch two tennis balls, one football and two coconuts, my first. When they have dried out I will see how intact they are but will refrain from eating the nut, that will go for the birds. In to the first two of nine locks and the canal is then as straight as a die for one and a half miles, with a slight kink and then another one and a half miles of dead straight motoring, apart from the seven locks to negotiate. Through lock three, which is very pretty, and on to lock four. This is where the fun began. Got in to the lock with no problem, closed all the gates and opened the two bottom paddles to empty it. That went without a hitch. Pushed open on of the gates and started to walk round to open the other one and noticed that the gate was closing all by itself. Went back and opened it again, stepped back only to see it drifting closed. Hmmm.
Hmmmmmmm.
Got the boat pole out, pushed the gate open and tried to lever the other gate open with the boat pole while holding the near-side gate. That didn't work. There was no-one walking past to assist, so gave it some more thought. After wracking my brains for some twenty minutes I took the last resort and rang British Waterways. Explained the problem and was told that they would get someone out to me.
With D'fer on the bank I could not really climb down into Almyne to make a cup of tea so I just sat on the balance beam waiting. D'fer could not understand why the lack of activity and did his usual thing of asking 'What's up, why are we not travelling, will you play with me, I want to run around, when are we setting off again, have you got any biscuits, is it lunch time yet, look I've found a stick' all in his very loudest voice.
While I was waiting for the BW guy to arrive I wondered about the possibility of getting a long rope, tying it to the far balance beam and pulling the far gate open, then pushing the near gate open and tying the two together while I got the boat out. something inside said that I should wait for BW to attend and perhaps they might do something about the wayward gates.
A wait of forty minutes saw the BW guy walking along the tow path toward me and when he arrived and saw the problem he got on his phone to get more assistance. It was obvious that if he held one gate open and I held the other there would be no one to get Almyne out. So with further assistance the lock was negotiated and I checked that there were no other locks with this problem on the flight.
Locks five, six, seven and eight presented no problems, but at lock nine I prepared it and opened the gate while Almyne was still in lock eight and as I walked back to Almyne two lads decided that it would be fun to close the gate again. No real problem, just a mild irritation, as I could open it again when I got there.
Through lock nine and it was another straight run for just under a mile to the junction with the Tame Valley Canal . The junction quite took me by surprise and while scrabbling for the horn to let boats on the main channel know of my approach I lost concentration, so much so that I hit the opposite bank rather harder than I would have liked. No harm done and I turned left towards Salford junction .
Another three miles of 'roman road' canal with lilies all along one side and rushes along the other. I got another football on this section.
I don't remember much of the Perry Barr flight of thirteen locks, I think I was getting tired. I do know that I was thankful of the short stretches between locks seven and eight and again between locks eleven and twelve. By the time I was at lock thirteen I was getting irritable and kept D'fer on the boat. I didn't want him loose on the bank while I was struggling with Almyne and then barking at me while I took Almyne out of the lock.
A short way further on we reached Spaghetti Junction , not just for the motor-ways but also for the canal, where four meet right under the motor-way. Although the plan is to head for the Stratford-on-Avon I was tempted to head in to Gas Street Basin as I have been reading Annie Murrays 'The Narrow Boat Girl' and it features quite heavily. Stuck to my guns as I can do that bit another day and took the turn in to the Grand Union Canal. Three or four hundred yards along I spotted a secure mooring provided by BW and made the executive decision to pull over, I really had had enough for one day.
Pulled over at half five (an eleven hour travelling day) and had a look around, fenced area with limited access through the bushes to the road and then on to the casino, not for me.
Then another boat arrived. Having not seen another boat for three days I just had to go and say hello. Got invited to soup and bread with Chrissie
and Richard
on board Digitalis so accepted and now I am back on Almyne trying to catch up on everything.
I am still working on the pictures of the Black Country Museum , all 82 of them.
Thu, 17 Jul 2008
Today's the day for resting and catching up. It is meant to be raining all day, so I have decided not to travel.
Chrissie
and Richard
set off shortly after nine as they felt uncomfortable with the moorings here. Yesterday during their travels they had been bombarded by rocks by some lads between bridge 86 and 88, so I must remember to look out for that. Guess if I set off early enough I should be through that section before silly people are up and about.
Overcast with a chill wind but warm and cosy in Almyne and I have enough provisions to stay here for a couple of weeks if need be, not that I want to.
I have managed to get most of the pages updated and revamped some of the previous pages as I have come across notes about the journey that have been mislaid and have now come to light. My next task is to continue with the Black Country Museum pictures and get them uploaded.
Fri, 18 Jul 2008
3 miles 11 locks
Bordesley junction lock
Bordesley junction lock
Bordesley junction
Started the day at ten past five with breakfast of peanut butter on toast and set off just before six. Five locks and twenty three bridges later I got to Bordesley junction, where I turned left and immediately got to the first of the five locks up to Camp Hill.
There was no where to moor up to attend to the lock, so I had to point Almyne at the lock gates, engage forward gear with a slow throttle jump off, and pray. Gt through that one OK. All the locks seemed to be a problem, either there was only one paddle working or there was loads of rubbish blocking the gate so I had to remove it before leaving the lock. Then some of the locks had no mooring points so I had to keep juggling between Almyne and the lock gates.
Got quite irritable and found it hard not to take it out on D'fer.
At one of the locks the button got caught awkwardly and one of the restraining chains broke, leaving the button at the front dangling uselessly to one side. Now when I 'nose' in to a lock it is the prow of Almyne that hits the lock gates instead of the button.
When I got to Camp Hill top lock and spotted the facilities, a shower, a laundry, water, elsan disposal, rubbish disposal I decided that I would stop off for a while and see if I cheered up.
Spoke to the lock-keeper and he said that I could moor up by his boat in the secure compound for the night if I wanted to. This was at ten to ten in the morning.
I think part of it was that I had wanted to get past Solihull early as there are a bunch of kids that like throwing big rocks down the hill on to the boats going past.
By staying here tonight I can set off early again tomorrow and will be past the bad patch before they even wake up.
So, spent the day having a shower, doing the washing, clearing out all the rubbish, re-arranging the stocks of alcohol, most of it hidden in the cratch, Oh, and painting one side of Almyne below the gunwale getting rid of all the scuff marks. Just before he packed up for the night the lock-keeper walked past Almyne carrying a length of chain. 'Too heavy for a button' I said.
'Oh yes' he said, 'This is for my motorcycle'.
Two minutes later he popped up with about thirty inches of chain that was just right for the button. 'Will this do' he said.
What a result. Now I can hang the button off the front of Almyne properly again.
Sorted out the rest of the pictures of the Black Country Museum so you can see all the pictures.
Off to bed as an early start is the order for the day tomorrow.
Sat, 19 Jul 2008
7 miles
Up early again, breakfast, and set off by six. Very pleasant motoring down to Catherine De Barnes, baking a loaf of bread on the way, where I pulled over and moored up. Rosie
is joining me here for the trip down to Stratford-on-Avon , her excuse is so that she can see a Shakespeare play, but I think it is more that she enjoys Almyne so much. Spent the day doing not a lot at all, except for adjusting the button at the back of Almyne, now it looks just like what it should do, instead of hanging down and drooping in the water.
Walked up to the shop and purchased some bacon so I can have a proper breakfast.
Did a little fishing, but I still cannot get the bread to stay on the hook properly.
I have been reading the Annie Murray books about life on the cut in the 20's and 30's and am really tempted to try and follow their route from Birmingham to Oxford, but as I am on my way to Stratford-on-Avon I will leave that till another day.
Sun, 20 Jul 2008
D'fer's big friend
D'fer's big friend
Lazed around all day, waiting for Rosie
to arrive. She and Jim
turned up shortly after five and we spent the next hour or so catching up on their trip to Jim's brothers wedding and enjoying a salad with a glass of wine on the back of Almyne. It seems that they thoroughly enjoyed themselves.
Jim is a teacher and at the end of term he tends to spend the first week in bed, recovering from the stress of school life. I have known a number of teachers and it is a job that I could never cope with, but then I do not deal with stress easily. So I think that he is happy to have Rosanne away while he just sleeps.
Mon, 21 Jul 2008
The link
Benches
Kingswood junction
Benches
8½ miles 14 locks
Up at five fifteen, breakfast of tomatoes on toast, this early I can't face a greasy fry up, but I still like to eat. Rosanne tucked in to hers and enjoyed it but when I told her it was still before six she got quite cross. Rosanne does not usually get up before midday unless she is working.
Set off at half six and arrived at Knowle locks about nine ish. At this point the Grand Union Canal has double locks all the way to London instead of the single locks that I have been getting used to and the locks at Knowle are bigger than most.
There are five of them and we got through them easily enough although I made sure that Rosanne was on the bank rather than on Almyne as it can be a bit daunting floating around in an enormous lock and not knowing if and when you are going to get out again.
From there it is a four mile run to Kingswood junction where the Grand Union meets up with the Stratford-on-Avon canal. Rosanne decided that she needed a proper breakfast so made egg and bacon butties while we were travelling. Most unusual as Rosanne apparently does not eat very much at the best of times and this was still well before lunch time.
The junction is one of the nicest places I have been on any of the canals and we spent an hour or so wandering around it trying to make sure we knew which way we needed to go so as not to cause a traffic jam when we entered the junction as there were loads of boats going this way and that.
Through the junction and in to the first of thirty five locks to Stratford Basin, our target for the end of the week.
We were in a queue of boats all the way, which means that the boat in front uses the lock and leaves it empty, so we have to fill it before we can go in and continue our journey. All went well until we were mooring up to go in to lock 28. I had checked where the bank was and stepped off Almyne to sort the lock out and I missed. I think Almyne had drifted just six inches from the bank between the time I looked and the time I stepped off.
Anyway, I missed. I stepped in to the water between Almyne and the metal piles. One small cut, one deep cut and loads of bruising. Sorted that lock out and continued on our way. The blood was dribbling down my leg but it did not seem to be giving me too much distress.
At the next lock Rosanne insisted that I do something to dress it so she found the first aid kit and the plasters. Diluted some Dettol with water, as per the instructions, and bathed the cuts,, one of which was quite deep and put a plaster over it all.
One more lock and we spotted moorings so pulled over and moored up.
A cup of tea later I wandered down to the next lock to see what was what and found the sanitary station and the water point. By the time I got back to Almyne blood was running down my leg from the bottom edge of the plaster. Decided that I would rest the leg for a while and keep it up.
Rosanne took over all the domestic duties and made me just sit there while she got dinner, Liver Italienne, served it up, cleared up afterwards and, after a game of cards, tucked me up in bed.
There was enough dinner for D'fer
who had us roaring with laughter as he got mash all over his nose and even licked the wallpaper looking for more. (I think Rosanne deliberately cooked enough for D'fer as she has a soft spot for him.)Tue, 22 Jul 2008
Resting, spent almost all day in bed, it was the only way I could get any relief from the ache of the calf and thigh. The main bruising was on the calf but there was sufficient secondary bruising on my thigh that it was also uncomfortable. I suppose that it was because I was in pain that I was up by six again and while I was fumbling around Almyne to get a cup of tea Rosanne woke and sent me back to bed insisting that I stay there while she ministered to my needs. What a lucky guy I am.
Again, Rosanne was really surprised to be up before seven, but put on a brave face and didn't complain (too much). She set too and got me a cup of tea and breakfast and then cleaned Almyne from stem to stern. It took me back to being a very small child when I was ill and would lay on the sofa wrapped up in a blanket while mum
did the housework around me. The sound of a hoover while I am dozing gives me a real sense of security and comfort.
I spent the day in bed, reading and doing Sudoku, while Rosanne got out her paints and practised doing Roses and Castles, but first she touched up the 'No fixed abode' on the name plate. It has been getting a little faded. When I am mobile enough I will get to look at it.
During the afternoon I removed the plaster and washed the cuts with a solution of Dettol and water again and put on a much smaller plaster, it seems not to be infected and is healing quite well.
I feel so useless, but Rosanne is coping with me at the same time as keeping herself occupied with her painting and the occasional foray into the wilderness of the tow path, meeting other boaters, walking D'fer
and bringing me little bunches of wild flowers.
Early night for me again and I left Rosanne in the salon listening to the radio while I drifted off to sleep.
Wed, 23 Jul 2008
Up shortly after seven to enjoy another day of rest, well mostly after a broken nights sleep. the leg is not a lot better and extremely swollen and bruised. Slept on and off all morning while Rosanne did a wonderful job of bringing out the nameplate on Almyne by sharpening up all the edges and touching up the little duck. She tells me that the boats going past caused a bit of a problem as just as she was going to make a delicate stroke with the brush, Almyne started drifting either forwards or backwards, a bit like trying to paint a flys feet while it is on the wing. She also practised doing 'roses' and is getting rather good. I might let her loose on some of the panels that are not yet decorated.
I got up (ish) at eleven when Rosanne presented me with scrambled eggs on toast - I need to keep my strength up to get my leg better. We played cards for a while to relieve the boredom of just laying there, after which I retired to bed again. Keeping the leg horizontal seems to help.
Late afternoon I realised that the leg needed attention, so rang Netta, my little sister, who agreed to collect us and take us to her house tonight and then on to the bungalow tomorrow.
Netta, collected us from Almyne early evening and transported us to her house. The journey was good, with my leg resting on all the luggage stacked in the foot well beneath Jake's seat.
Rosanne was an amazon, she sorted out a meal, cleaned Almyne, sorted out all the little things that need to be done when 'battening down the hatches' for a week or so.
Netta arrived with Jake in Fleur De Lys car park at 7.30pm and Rosanne walked down to lock to meet them with D'fer, made Netta a cup of tea then helped me hobble to the car while she carried the stuff down in 2 goes.
I had taken some pain killers which helped a bit but is still very painful after standing for a few moments.
Bed just gone midnight.
Thu, 24 Jul 2008
Up at 6am. Set of from Netta's at 7am, arriving at the bungalow before nine. The Morris was still there and looking good.
Rosanne played with Jake and D'fer
while I showed Netta the site then we waved Netta and Jake off.
Not wanting to be too much of a cripple I hobbled to kitchen and made a scrambled egg on toast.
Rang the surgery and asked for a home visit and, after explaining that I could not walk, I was told that Dr. King would ring me back. He did not, but just arrived at about noon. Fair enough, if I could not walk then I was bound to be in when he called. He gave me a tetanus jab (the last one I could remember was twenty five years ago) and a prescription for 2 lots of antibiotics.
Spent the rest of the day having a video and DVD orgy. Rosanne picked up my prescription during the afternoon, while I took the doctors advice and kept my leg above my heart. The idea being that the blood could get to the leg, but because of the bruising it could not get back and keeping it above the heart meant that the blood would flow back by gravity. Seemed to work as the pain was less.
Watched Dances with Wolves, such a good film. Rosanne got tea of bacon sausage tomatoes pepper mushrooms and rice and did all the domestic stuff that goes with clearing up afterwards.
Played Skip-Bo with my leg balanced on the back of the arm chair, most ungainly.
More films and off to bed.
Fri, 25 Jul 2008
Woke at 9.15am. Mornings seem to be easier on the leg so took the opportunity to make myself tomatoes on toast and some really crispy bacon for Rosanne.
Discovered that the surround sound system plays CD's so put some music on while we played Skip-Bo again.
Rosanne went shopping and was told how nosy all the neighbours are and was I back from the boat yet and was I staying this time and so on. She made a wonderful salad for lunch after which we played Skip-Bo again, Rosanne beating me soundly.
Rosanne went to the shop again, placing an order for two loaves of bread, real bread, not this sliced stuff. Roast chicken with roast potatoes, mash roasters and veg for tea.
D'fer
was getting very bored with this life on the bank, so Rosanne took him into the garden and tired him out.
Had 2 games Skip-Bo while listening to Evita then went to bed.
Sat, 26 Jul 2008
Didn't wake till 11.30.
Rosanne spent most of the day looking after me, reading some canal booklets that I had found and practising 'roses' while I just lay there getting more and more restless. I don't think that the heat helped, but I am missing Almyne and the freedom.
The leg is a lot better today and I think that I might be able to rustle up enough energy to get the Morris going tomorrow, or maybe the day after.
Sun, 27 Jul 2008
Another day of rest. Leg improving, so Rosanne decided that it was time she attended to her own needs and went back to Wednesfield . I pottered around as best I could, which was quite well by now, and spent most of the day working on a revamped 2006 web site. During the afternoon one of the locals knocked on the door and asked if I could cut the bushes back as they were encroaching on the public footpath, and although I agreed, I was not sure when I might be able to manage it.
Mon, 28 Jul 2008
Another day of rest, well sort of. Started off at five pruning the bushes in the front garden,so that was complete before any of the other neighbours got up. If I feel so inclined I might just have a bonfire to get rid of all the rubbish later on.
Spent most of the rest of the day, intermittently, charging batteries and trying them on the Morris, none of them seemed to work so rang Peter
to see if he could pick up a battery from Halfords for me. He arranged to bring one over early tomorrow. The rest of the day was spent updating the 2006 web site, dozing and eating.Tue, 29 Jul 2008
Up in time for mum
and Peter to collect me. They arrived at close to ten, had a cup of tea and Peter helped me sort out the battery for the Morris. With a new (to me) battery it started up 'just like that' and off we went to Trowbridge. Got the printer working with the other equipment and after a bite to eat set off to find Glyn and Cath.
Caught up on all their news, most of it not so good, but that is their story. Glyn happy to take on the task of keeping my garden neat and tidy, so all I have to do now is get the keys to them. It was good to see them again after three months, although it seems a lot longer than that. Cath
tells me that they don't often get to read the site, but when they do it has them in stitches which is good to know.
Called in to see Blynda
on the way home and she offered to take me back to Almyne tomorrow, so will take her up on that.
Called in to see George, who owns the lockup I rent, and sorted that out till next year and collected the back door keys fro Glyn.
All set for the return to Almyne.
Wed, 30 Jul 2008
Up early full of enthusiasm. Blynda
is collecting me about ten to take me back to Almyne. Packed everything up and got it all ready by ten to seven. Twiddled my fingers till nine, when I popped round to see John, who does my Morris for me. Left him a set of keys and arranged that he would sort out the MOT, which is due by the end of August. Shouldn't need much as I have only done a couple of hundred miles in it since the last MOT.
Back in time to be there for Blynda to arrive dead on ten. She has brought the spare set of curtains for Almyne so will be able to hang those when I get back.
Set off just before eleven after having a cup of tea and loading her car, and arrived at Almyne shortly after one and a couple of missed turnings. Enquiries led us to the nearest shop, two miles away, so Blynda took me there and we got some stuff for lunch, which we ate on the back of Almyne in the sunshine.
I walked Blynda back to her car and waved goodbye and the went back to Almyne to set up the computer. D'fer, in his own inimitable way, waited till I was thoroughly occupied before setting off to look for Blynda. I eventually found him at the car park where she had parked. Dragged him back to Almyne and realised that my leg was bleeding again - too much activity for one day - so bandaged it up again and went to bed for an hour or so.
Woke up, had dinner, did some internetty stuff but bad signal area so couldn't upload new pages. Off to bed as planning on an early start tomorrow.
Thu, 31 Jul 2008
Marker post
1½ miles 6 locks
After a disturbed and restless night I eventually woke just after nine, so much for an early start.
Set off at ten, having had a good breakfast and stopped almost straight away after the first lock to top up with water and get rid of the rubbish.
Blynda
had left me a book by a guy called John Russell about a survey he did of the Kennet and Avon canal from Newbury to Bath in 1964. Fascinating reading and made me more aware of the various architectural features I pass along the way. James Brindley had a lot to do with the K & A and also the Stratford-on-Avon canal and it is interesting to note some of the similarities between the two canals as well as their differences. The Marker post is one of these. It is actually a piece of wide gauge railway line from the Great Western Railway and originally had a board on it indicating the 'Gang Number' that was assigned to maintaining this particular stretch of canal and the miles from the start of the canal in normal digits and the quarter miles in roman numerals.
We also crossed over a river on an aqueduct, built in 1834.
See all the Aqueduct pictures .
Motored for three and a half hours in total but was held up at most locks by the volume of traffic, usually two or three boats waiting at each lock.
Decided to pack it in just after half one, if only for a bit of lunch and a cup of tea. Turned in to a stop for the night. Although the connection was not good it was stable so uploaded all the changes both to 2008 and 2006. 2006 is now much more in line with 2008 and it will let me make alterations and additions much more easily in future.
Spoke to David, my nephew, and he wants to spend a little time on Almyne fishing, sounds good to me and he has arranged to join me sometime over the weekend. Must make sure he brings some maggots with him.
I am glad I have taken it easy today as the leg is still uncomfortable and aching, but have spent the evening with my foot on my shoulder to keep the calf above the level of my heart, as the doctor ordered. People walking past keep giving me funny looks though.
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