Category Archives: Tunnels

Number Five. 19th July

Pipe Bridge 115A to Barrowford Locks

We really should try to get up earlier, the crew on NB Billy always seem to pass us just after we’ve finished breakfast. Boats were on the move today several having passed us early on and by the time we’d rolled the covers up the boat directly behind us had also moved on. The increase in boat traffic most probably due to Barrowford Locks now being open.

The sun was out but there was a touch of chilliness in the air. We continued on our way following the contour, wiggling back and forth all the time with the M65 close to hand but taking it’s own straighter route along the side of the valley. Views kept coming with every bend more miles of hillside could be seen. I know lots of people think the Ashby Canal is beautiful and has views, but we prefer doing a bit of hard work, climbing some locks and being repaid with spectacular views.

We passed a floating dry dock, a moorhen with her babies and encountered a lot of duck weed. In places the weed stretching right across the canal, we mixed the mushy peas up as we went.

NB Billy was moored up on the visitor moorings at Hapton, meeting with some friends, we leap frogged them, although Pete said we’d hopscotched them! Neither Mick or I used to play hopscotch, but I certainly sang and played The Big Ship Sails. This got me thinking, where had this song come from to keep kids amused and tide up in knots in school playgrounds?

A look on the internet confirmed that it was the last day in September that the big ship sailed, but just where was the Alley, alley O? Some theories were The Manchester Ship Canal, others the Suez Canal and more the Atlantic Ocean. Then the date? The Arctic ship sank on the 27th of September, high tides at the end of September, ships bound for St Lawrence River in Canada had to enter it before the winter ice set in, all sorts of theories about the songs origin. I just remember getting tied up in knots.

Is this a Chinese or an African goose?

As we got closer to Burnley the canal winds under the M65 several more times. We took the opportunity to stop for water at the services on the offside just before Dugdale Bridge. A Dutch Barge sat at one end of the moorings and an ABC hire boat at the other end, leaving the water point free. As we tied up the hire boat pulled out, the chap being a touch too friendly as he cranked up the engine.

As we filled up and disposed of rubbish along with things that had been picked up around the bow and prop, the hire boat returned at warp speed! He shouted over to Mick who was down the weed hatch, ‘You okay?!’ The reply came ‘If you slowed down I would be!!’ Their engine slowed a touch then was cranked back up to warp drive to continue. At least we didn’t think we’d catch him up!

Under the motorway again and then into the blackness of Gannow Tunnel. I remembered to turn the lights on this time. Back in 2016 I’d been drawing below and had forgotten that there was a tunnel so had no cabin lights on!

Now over the motorway for a change, plenty of bridges to keep our interest, new, old. Old mills that have been redeveloped into offices, workshops and residencies.

The moorings at Burnley Wharf were chocka, boats breasted up and a group of boaters sat in the sun drinking with each other outside the closed pub, all very cheery. As we looked back under the bridge we could see a section where steel or iron had been added to the archway. Had this been an access point to load goods, or just reinforcement to the bridge?

Rivets holding the metal to the underside of the bridge

Then the final left hand bend round to line up with Burnley Embankment, The Straight Mile (even if the embankment is only 0.71 miles long). This stands 60ft above the valley floor and reduced the distance it would have taken continuing along the contour to reach the other side. This is one of the Seven Wonders of the Waterways and crossing it Oleanna was bagging her fifth wonder.

From the canal the view of the structure is just straight, not that impressive to look at. But the shear amount of work that went into building the embankment! For us it is the views of the houses that make it special, the lines of neat chimney pots all identical running off down the streets and the views across the roof tops.

At the half way point the embankment becomes an aqueduct to cross over Yorkshire Street, breaking up the straight line just a touch.

The warp drive hire boat was back at base at Reedley Marina and people sat out on the balcony having a drink in the afternoon sunshine. Another day of lunch on the go for us.

Mill after mill after mill. Most have been restored and converted into offices or housing. During the Industrial Revolution Burnley became one of Lancashire’s most prominent mill towns, at it’s peak it was one of the largest producers of cotton cloth and had many foundries and ironworks supplying the mills and coal mines with machinery.

A stone wall had numerous drain pipes, one every 10 to 12 foot. A look at google earth confirmed it was a factory with rows of angled glazing on the roof, letting natural light in and each requiring a gutter and drain pipe.

Between Scotland Road Canal Bridge 141C and Hodge Bank Bridge 141D there is a very handy recycling centre on the off side with its own mooring. Here we could dispose of any recycling and deposit the engine oil from Oleanna’s last service.

Only a mile further on we pulled up below the Barrowford flight. A dutch barge was moored on the end of the bollards, we pulled in on the off side and banged some spikes in. On this side there would be less footfall and Tilly had a great variety of trees to climb which kept her busy for a couple of hours before she was called in for dingding.

0 locks, 13.1 miles, 0.71 miles of embankment, 1 tunnel, 1 scaredy cat again! 1 warp drive, 1 full water tank, 0 rubbish, 2 lots of engine oil, 2 lunches on the go, 1 slow cruise, 1 parasol flying, 1 boat caught, 1 flung glass of red.

https://goo.gl/maps/hapT4vRm86j1KvrR8

Pioneers. 7th July

Rawton Walls Bridge to Droylsden Marina

Alarm, an early alarm! After a patchy night of sleep, I think I managed about four hours, we were up and having breakfast, no chance of extra views from our mooring this morning!

Breakfast eaten, we were pushing off at 7:30ish. The top lock at Marple was to open at 8 am and we hoped to be able to get down the locks without too much of a soaking from the forecast rain. Time to wave the views goodbye and go and join the queue.

As Marple Junction came into view there was a boat on the lock landing and all other spaces were full, however there was only one boat facing the locks, the one on the landing. We trod water and a volunteer shouted to ask which way we were heading, we pointed towards the locks. Second in line, marvellous.

From today the Marple flight is open three days a week, Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday, first boat in at 8am, last boat 12pm, flight locked at 3pm, this is to help conserve water levels on the summit pound for the next couple of months.

We waited and then pulled onto the lock landing as NB Freedom moved on into the lock. Time to have a look at Bridge 1 of the Macc. It is so pleasing to the eye, most probably my favourite bridge on the network.

It was our turn at 8:30 and as Mick closed the top gate I walked down to reset the lock below. NB Freedom had a couple of crew so I hoped we’d not catch them up. Before they left the bottom gates I did call to them to check the paddles were down as I could see one was a few inches up. All sorted and we could start working our way down the fight.

Two people looked out from their top floor, watching boats on the flight again. Others smiled to see the locks in operation again.

By the time we reached the third or fourth lock we’d picked up one volunteer who was going ahead to set the lock in front for us.

It also started to rain, which necessitated adjusting layers and adding waterproofs. Another two volunteers arrived and walked down the flight with the full time lock keeper, it’s their first day back on duty on the flight.

All very chatty, we ended up with two volunteers the first chap now going ahead and setting locks in front of Freedom.

The Lockie imparted updated knowledge to the volunteers as we headed down the flight. One pound is likely to be full on a morning, but two of the locks bottom gates leak like sieves, so best to open and close the gate as quickly as you can to conserve the water level in the pound above.

At Lock 11 you can see where the wall along the side of the towpath has been rebuilt. This lock had serious problems and ended up having to be rebuilt as it got too skinny even for modern slimline boats! The rebuild took sometime and meant the flight was out of action for what felt like an eternity, the wall alongside was demolished to ease access to the site. New stones were quarried at Bollington to replace damaged stones. All looks fine now and you’d hardly be able to tell.

Down eight locks and we were into a good rhythm. Three crew with each boat.

But now we stopped. NB Freedom was tucked in nicely on the offside just before the next lock, no point in joining them in the pound and letting all the water run round the bywash so we sat in the lock above and waited.

Was he stuck or had we started to meet boats coming up? It turned out to be the former. Eventually he managed to get off the bank and reversed quite a long way back across the big pound. The depth a bit of a problem so it seemed.

Lack of boat movements most probably had caused a build up of silt. He revved his engine churning up black from the bottom, a few branches also appeared from the dark depths for good measure. In the end he got into the lock and continued downhill, I waited for the thumbs up from the volunteer before emptying our lock.

A short distance on and we met an uphill boat, a single hander who’d now got the help of the first volunteer.

Help could now be divided between boats, so I thanked the lady volunteer as she would now help going up hill.

Myself and the volunteer now leapfrogged locks, one going ahead to set the next lock and work it.

We almost caught the chaps ahead of us up, except we ran out of locks.

The bottom gates over the handy footbridge

I got back on board and descended in the lock too so as to make an easier get away.

Thank yous again as we waved goodbye to the volunteer. 2 hours top to bottom, 13 or so with light rain, not a bad mornings work, glad my breakfast refuelling kicked in and kept me going.

NB Freedom had stopped to pick up crew so we caught them up very quickly on the approach to Marple Aqueduct.

This is our first time across the aqueduct since the off side railings have been added. This caused a huge hooha in boating circles. But I have to say I quite like them.

Marple Viaduct and view of the Goyt Valley

They are not trying to look old but are obviously modern, they do the job of stopping people from falling yet you can see through them. I don’t think they distract from the view of the viaduct.

It was very slow going following the chaps in front. Tick over at most, it was damp, getting damper all the time and we still had quite a distance to cover today. In the end they got stuck shortly before Hyde Bank Tunnel, almost right across the cut. The more they revved the engine the more it looked like they had something round their prop. Gradually they managed to get to the side and waved us past. We said it looked like they had something round their prop, but they were certain they had just got stuck on the bottom and got in a flap, they’d be fine.

Tunnel light on and through the shallow tunnel, the going slow. Glances over our shoulders confirmed that the boat behind was still trying to continue without checking their prop. They made it into the tunnel, no light!

Glad we were now ahead we could forge onwards, feeling like pioneers cruising the cut for the first time since it had been cut. The depth was shallow and filled with chunks of trees, branches half submerged that required coasting over, willow trees hanging almost into the water, the lack of boat traffic obvious.

A day boat came towards us, getting grounded on the towpath side. Mick suggested a touch of reverse would help them get off the bottom and warned of the boat behind us, hopefully now through the tunnel! A touch too much reverse had the day boat now stuck on the offside, oh well, it’s all an adventure.

The rain was gradually getting heavier the further north we pootled. A mid morning snack was required, cheese scone and a cuppa as we cruised along, able to go a touch faster than tick over now, but still having to avoid the forest that lay beneath the surface.

A snake bridge, under the M67 all the time staying close to the Tame Valley a green corridor leading to Ashton-under-Lyne.

Dukinfield Lift Bridge took some winding up, but half as much effort as I remembered it being when we first came through on a hire boat. In the past we’ve moored up here or carried on to the junction to moor the night, but today we’d cover some more miles and not have to pick up the mountains of rubbish left around the benches!

Past Portland Basin Marina where we had our first experience of a pooh sucky machine as the portable pump gulped up our offerings into it’s tank. More smiling faces greeted us as we forged our way ahead, the canal now open, the Cheshire Ring now navigable again.

Left please! at Dukinfield Junction, turning to face Junction Mill Chimney which was bought for £1 and saved as a landmark when the mills were demolished in the late 1980s.

We don’t remember much of this stretch. I’ve been along it once, Mick twice, both early in the morning hoping to get through the Ashton Locks early in the day. Today we had chance to look around through the constant rain. The depth now a lot deeper beneath Oleanna we could cruise at normal speed.

Along a stretch of moored boats we spotted an old neighbour of ours. NB Mr G used to be moored at Crick and when we first bought Lillian they were next door neighbours. We’d heard that she’d been sold as the people we knew had split up and their dream of cruising the network disappeared. Good to see her still looking smart and now with a cratch.

Kids ran along side us excited to see a boat, youths smoked their aromatic tobacco under bridges and the amount of plastic floating and sitting in the hedges increased. We are back in a land of many people.

At the top of the Ashton Flight we hung a right and entered Droylsden marina. We’d pre-booked a space for a couple of nights with electric to work the washing machine hard. We slotted in between a couple of boats on a short pontoon, bow end first so Mick can do the fender when hopefully it’ll be dry tomorrow.

Once inside a tin of soup was opened and the stove lit hoping to warm us up. The washing machine could wait a little while.

16 locks, 11.39 miles, 1 right, 1 left, 1 aqueduct, 1 slow boat, 1 prop clogged, 3 volunteers, 1 day boat, 1 hire boat, 1 lift bridge, 40 up, 26 down, 0 shore leave, 1 disappointed cat, 3 afternoon snoozes, 1 load washed and dried, 1 stove, 12 C outside, 2 damp pooped boaters.

https://goo.gl/maps/SmciC1T8EwYf7t6d6

Magnet Fishing. 11th March

Shushions Bridge to High Meadow Aqueduct, Norbury Junction

Look what Mick caught this morning!

Our ash pan. Last night when he was emptying it into our ash can it slipped off the handle thingy and dived into the depths of the Shropshire Union. It apparently made a very good noise as it hit the water, instantly cooling down in a sizzle. Luckily our Sea Magnet did the job of retrieving it from the not too deep depths.

A sea magnet is a very useful thing, when we were at Sandford Lock on the Thames, a shareboat moored nearby somehow dropped a side hatch door into the cut. Our magnet managed to hold it’s weight for it to be pulled out. You hope never to use it, but when the time comes they are very handy.

Tilly was allowed shore leave before we set off, she found her own breakfast and then returned for a snooze.

Whilst still in bed the first boat went past, then as we had breakfast several more. Has the boating season just suddenly started? We’ve seen more moving boats today than in the last few months! Just as we were pushing off one appeared through the bridge hole behind us, Mick pulled us back in quickly to let them go first.

Our route took us through more wooded cuttings, one boat had stopped to fill his hold with large chunks of tree, suspect he’ll keep warm for quite some time.

Looking back the arch made by the trees and ivy were a fairytale, sadly waiting for the next windy day to topple a few more of them.

A day boat came towards us, pulled too far over to the side and got stuck. Mick suggested going into reverse to help pull the stern away from the bank, they were soon free again.

The approach to Cowley Tunnel, all 80 yards of it was a haze of branches just starting to turn green at their tips. Through the tunnel cut from stone with trees clinging on for dear life above.

We considered stopping here, but first checked out the two canalside pubs menus. With plans on meeting friends tomorrow I wanted to see if I could have anything other than steak or gammon. Sadly neither The Boat or Navigation menus on line gave many options, so we stuck to our original plan and continued.

Just through the bridge a dog ran back and forth, checking either end of it’s boat. We knew who this was, the plant boat. A couple of years ago we bought a Thyme plant from them which is still going strong, we told the chap, he was happy but it did mean no sale. I’m considering trying to grow strawberries this year, wonder when I should plant them? Have to look that up.

Now on embankments we got views, views stretching to the Wrekin.

Then we could see the end of moored boats, we pulled in behind one leaving no git gap. But then looked around. The wind was strong and we were under a large tree, at least we knew the size of gap to leave for a 58ft boat, we pulled back to avoid trees should they fall.

Tilly spent the afternoon up the trees. One route up, across three tops to a suitable route down again. Mick climbed into the engine bay again to finish off the engine service, this time the smelly fuel filters.

I got the drawing board out and spent the afternoon measuring and drawing up my design for The Garden. Three sheets of drawings, 1 for a carpenter, 2 for me. The whole show drawn up in a couple of hours.

0 locks, 6.06 miles, 80 yards of tunnel, 0 mysterons, 1 tasty friend, 1 mandarin spring roll, 1 very fit dog, 2 noninclusive menus, 1 changed fuel filter, 1 cleaned fuel filter, 2 outsides, 1 ground plan, 3 sheets working drawings, 2 much sewing to do, I’d best buy some fabric soon and start.

https://goo.gl/maps/iJoR2UCtk3iNAT5F9

Skating

Tipton Medical Centre to Off Side mooring Wolverhampton

Ice!!! That hadn’t been factored into the plan for today!

The alarm had been set, a full days cruise ahead of us, but we woke to Coots ice skating outside the boat. After breakfast Mick went to see how thick it was with a boat hook, too thick. Oh well, stand down everyone.

One job today was buying filters for the next engine service. So instead of picking them up as we cruised past Oxley Marine, Mick caught a train then a bus down to Autherley Junction just in case the boatyard there is closed tomorrow. The chaps said that they were always there and furnished Mick with all he wanted before returning back up to the Wolverhampton Level.

Not only did he return with filters but with news that at 132ft lower there was no ice, there was also no ice in Wolverhampton. By now the sun had worked it’s magic and melted the ice in Tipton too.

So after lunch we pushed off to get ourselves to the top of the locks ready for the morning. With a bit more time on our hands than originally planned we were disappointed that it was too late on a Friday to turn down the Bradley Arm. The C&RT Bradley Workshops are at the end there and needs to be open to provide enough room to wind, Fridays they knock off at 3pm, we wouldn’t get there in time. So that is one thing left on the list for next time.

The sun was out, warming everything. Bright blue skies, such a shame not to make the most of it going down the locks, but that’s boating for you.

Coseley Tunnel dripped at the northern end, buildings were being built. We tried to remember what this stretch was like when we first did it on NB Winding Down. Far more derelict factories and warehouses then.

It would make a fantastic set, not sure what for though

At Horseley Fields Junction we looked out for the old entrance to what is now Urban Moorings, a bricked up archway must have been where it was. The service mooring visible as we came past the junction, no need to do any washing today so we would cope with the ringroad noise for a night.

0 locks, 5.31 miles, 2lefts, 1 straight, 2 ice skaters, 2 oil filters, 1 fuel filter, 1 air filter, 2 buses, 2 trains, 1 sunny day, 1 pumpout tank taking root, 2 dabchicks, 1 sour dough starter ready for use, 1 more night on the plateau.

https://goo.gl/maps/VxaePMcfotKbP7a1A

Day 8.

One starter bubbling away waiting to be fed. The discard jar is now full. Bread and pancakes this weekend me thinks.

Traps, Tunnels, Terra Firma And Tara. 5th March

Black Country Museum to Owen Street Bridge, Tipton

After booking ourselves onto the midday tunnel trip we walked back into the Black Country Museum. There were places we’d not looked at yesterday. The first to catch our eye was the Trap Shop.

Here a very knowledgeable chap talked us through the history of trap making. From men sitting hammering shapes, to fly wheel presses churning out parts to a gas powered engine that turned the presses. Sidebotham’s sold animal traps around the world even after they were banned in England. Not the nicest of things they were designed to hold their victim until the hunter came along to release them!

The building was originally ran along the back wall of Sainsburys in Wednesfield, well before the supermarket was there. It was dismantled kept in storage and took four years to build back to how it had been.

We called in at the Pawnbrokers, Tipton in the day had forty such shops, for such a small town this just showed how most of the inhabitants lived from day to day hand to mouth, or not even managing that.

Bottles of stuff, whether they did you any good was a different matter they just looked the business

The chap in the Chemist was full of the new street plans further up the hill. The first building to be erected will be a pub from Wolverhampton. Around 30 million has been raised to create the new street and after many years of planning things are starting to happen. The aim is for the new street to be fully open in two years time, sadly our years pass won’t cover that, but maybe there will be something new before the end of the year for us to look at.

Then Mick spotted a trolley bus. Would it get us up the hill and back down in time for our trip into Dudley Tunnel? We walked up to catch it, but with no passengers waiting for it it headed back up the hill. So instead we walked back down to the lime kilns to see if we could work out which of the sunken boats was an Ampton. Below the surface hulls lurked.

Oleanna is 26 paces long and 58ft 6″. So we needed to find a hull that was around 35 paces long. We think we found two, both very well submerged.

Dudley Canal Trust was heaving with young kids who’d all been on a trip into the tunnel. They were full of it. One lad almost gave us a guided tour without being in the tunnel, he said it was quite ‘Bumpy’. Our boat was far quieter, only six of us. We donned hard hats and sat on the benches. The chap at the helm gave us a running commentary and another fella kept an eye on us and untied the boat ready for the tunnel.

Limestone mines in Castle Hill necessitated a tunnel system to help extricate the limestone. Lord Ward had the tunnels and canals built under the hill, work started in 1775 a year before the Act of Parliament was passed for both tunnel and canal. The work was completed in 1778. The tunnel gave access to the other side of the hill, 3 miles underground, the second longest in the country.

One of the caverns without it’s roof and two tunnels ahead

Large caverns and various tunnels fill the hill. Today the first two caverns have no roof and are open to the sky, then our boat dipped into the black of the tunnels. Now lined with concrete and areas oversprayed the first section is very round, but this soon becomes more rock like. Opening out into a larger cavern we were shown a film explaining how the limestone was created, then the hills pushed up creating fault lines.

On further and another cavern, more film showing how the limestone was mined and how the Victorians used the tunnels for excursions, coming in by boat and listening to bands, having picnics. Today there is a stage where performances can happen, people get married and concerts are performed.

We backed out through a different tunnel, this one lined with handmade bricks. The original method for boats to come through the tunnel was to be legged. Two volunteers took to a plank in the middle of the boat and they started to leg us along. The tunnel being only one boats width meant one way traffic and boats would queue up at either end to await their turn. One chap could leg three boats joined together on his own, meaning he made more money than the normal pairs of leggers.

Once through the main tunnel the boat would enter the big cavern where numerous tunnels headed off, which one was the right way? A lamp hangs in what would have been dusty air to guide you through. They say this is where the term ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ comes from. However our guide didn’t explain how the leggers got the boats across the wide cavern, presumably the boats were poled across here.

Passage through the hill was much easier through Netherton Tunnel, opened in 1858, which was wide and had a towpath on both sides. So by 1959 Dudley tunnel was more or less disused and British Waterways were going to close it, despite protests it finally closed in 1962. Much work was done by determined enthusiasts and it reopened in 1973. In the late 80’s more work was done to open up links between the caverns. Now visitors can go inside in the electric powered boats to see the sights. No diesel engines are allowed in the tunnel due to lack of ventilation and most modern boats don’t have a low enough profile to manage the journey. A very interesting tour, well worth the drips and getting very cold.

Mick still wanted a ride on the trolleybus so we headed back into the museum, but it seemed that the driver must be at lunch, so we joined the queue for a sneaky bag of chips between us before we left.

Time to head onwards. We winded with the bow under the bridge into the museum then pulled up at the services. Water topped up and yellow water disposed of we pushed off and headed to Tipton.

We pulled in behind a couple of boats moored on the off side by the Medical Centre,walked down into the shuttered town centre to find the Co-op to stock up on a few items.

Back at Oleanna we decided that our second mate should be trusted with some outside time, she most probably wouldn’t like it. Chaperoned for a while she nosed at the people in the doctors waiting room and checked under the friendly cover, but no one was around to play with.

A short whole after 4pm a visitor arrived. Heather, Mrs Bleasdale, was in the area and had spotted we were too, so she called in for a cuppa, a hot cross bun and a very good boaty catch up. NB Bleasdale is currently stuck down on the Great Ouse due to high river levels and delayed maintenance. Last year we had a catch up in Weedon, so there was plenty to talk about. The subject turned to the Irish waterways, this is the second person who’s brought the idea up. Costs need to be looked into, but it’s an idea, I might need to do extra work for us to be able to afford it, but it is an idea!

Heather headed off to catch a train and we headed off to walk through Tipton to Mad O’Roukes Pie Factory. We’ve heard mention of this pub by several bloggers but never been. This being our last night on the Birmingham plateau we decided to treat ourselves and managed to time it with Thursday Pie for a fiver night.

The interior of the pub is very much an old style boozer, no modernisation here, just tables and benches to pack in the masses. We managed to find one of only two free tables, ordered our pies and drinks.

Their gluten free menu had five pies for me to choose from. I was excited, it’s not often I get to enjoy a pie. The only shame was that my puff pastry top was only just browned on top. Gluten free things always take longer than normal and I suspect my pie had been put in the oven at the same time as Mick’s. His crust had bubbled up wonderfully, but mine was doing the chewy under cooked gluten free thing that I now avoid by making my own pastry. Such a shame as I’d been so looking forward to a good pie. The filling was very tasty beef and my gluten free battered chips were tastier than Mick’s.

0 locks, 0.54 miles, 1 wind, 1 straight, 0 trolley bus, 1 trap shop, 2 horses, 1 new street all the talk, 1 year and 1 week, 1 sneaky bag, 76 of each, 6 on a boat, 9 million bricks and counting, 1 text message underground, 2 leggers, 1 lamp, 1 Heather, 1 hour shore leave, 2 boxes wine, 2 pies and chips, 1 pint, 1 glass wine, 2 boaters in need of veg.

https://goo.gl/maps/oEFWY2fRKsq1UJhK8

Day 7.

Things are doing well, I’ll give it a day longer, but start keeping the discard for some pancakes. Fed twice today and bubbling nicely.

Elbow Bumps. 3rd March

Urban Moorings to The Black Country Museum, Dudley No 1 Canal

Everyone talks about how slow water points are around the network, Hillmorton and Cambrian Wharf being especially known for it. Well we now know where the slowest one is. The ladies at Urban Moorings had warned us yesterday, there is a leak in the supply, luckily on the other side of their water meter, but this reduces the pressure, a lot.

Mick set the hose up whilst we had breakfast, the tank carried on filling whilst we did various chores. We handed over spare oil containers for reuse and added our recycling to theirs. Not quite a full tank of water but it would do us.

Time to say thank you and be on our way. Elbow nudges all round, no-one is shaking hands or hugging at the moment. We left them to continue work on their pumpkin patch and a bench with a glass bottle base. Photos on their facebook page.

Just a short distance to Horseley Fields Junction where we turned southwards and meandered our way. From out of nowhere came this rather odd noise, I remembered hearing it around this area before. Was it an alarm or a bird call? Looking in the overgrown offside vegetation, Friendly cover! I spotted two birds swimming around. Not Coots or Moorhens, they had orangey brown cheeks and were a touch smaller than other waterbirds. Hunting through Google I came to the conclusion that they were Dabchicks. I’ll keep an eye open when we pass later in the week and try to get a better photo.

By a new housing estate a damn has been erected with buoys around it’s edge. We feel the wrong sign has been put up. Also beware as the white tarpaulin looks like it is quite happily floating around almost mid cut, just waiting to get entangled around an unsuspecting prop.

As we had sneaked an extra load of washing in this morning we decided that the Bradley Arm/ Wednesbury Oak Loop would have to wait for the next time we’re up this way, so we sailed on past at Deepfields Junction, through Coseley Tunnel. I was fine inside even though She has put my Escape Pod away! Then at Factory Junction we turned right missing out on the locks.

Factory Locks, we’ll get enough locks in a day or two

Through Tipton we made note of moorings, all free at the moment and continued onwards. At Tipton Junction we stayed straight, onto the Dudley No 1 Canal, what there is that you can navigate on your own boat before reaching Dudley Tunnel. Not far till we reached our destination joining a couple of other boats on the moorings outside The Black Country Museum.

A black corrugated fence surrounds the museum, not much for Tilly. A quick check on the situation deemed it sadly unsuitable. The trees that she would naturally be drawn to are far too close to the busy road, no shore leave again.

Taking a walk down to the back gate of the museum we planned on crossing over the new swing bridge (well new to us along with the new visitor centre since we were last here on NB Lillyanne) to make use of the boaters facilities on the other side. Except the bridge was swung open to boat traffic, the old route over the top of the tunnel entrance was blocked off, so we’d have to walk all the way round. Through the gate with our key of power, up over the bridge, along the road to the main entrance to the Dudley Canal Trust. All just to go for a pee! We then tried to come back via the swing bridge but were told it was closed now so we’d have to walk round. Good job they weren’t too keen on closing the gates at 4pm!

There is most probably a reason for them closing the bridge to pedestrians, but it didn’t make sense to us. Out of hours it means that to reach the service block we would have to go by boat as the bridge is padlocked. We walked all the way back round!

I have perseveared with what I thought was a lost cause of my sour dough starter today, adding in an extra feed to try to pep it back up. I think I have sussed what was wrong. The instructions say to drain off any liquid that forms on the surface, hooch. This I’ve been doing, but because of this it has all become quite thick. So this morning I just stirred it back in, an option given on the full youtube instructions. I then spooned off some to discard and fed it. By late lunchtime it was bubbly again, another feed and things are definitely not dead.

0 locks, 5.47 miles, 1 load washing, 4 elbow bumps, 1 slooooow tap, 1 left, 2 straights, 1 right, 1 tunnel, 0 mysterons, 1 tarp lurking, 1 bridge closed, 0 shore leave, 1 thinner starter rising again, 1 possible solution for Vienna, 2 boaters waiting for the museum to open.

https://goo.gl/maps/BvwnPCNEtCkn4Skk6

Day 5. Morning

Houch mixed in, 10 dessert spoons discarded then fed

Lunchtime.

Extra feed showing signs of bubbles again

Evening.

Bubbles! Visible bubbling. Some discarded and fed

Ryding Over. 25th February

Coombes Bridge to Lower Ocker Hill Branch

A much quieter evening last night and we were up earlyish to start the day the only way we could with Blueberry Pancakes. A couple of years ago Jaq on NB Valerie had suggested using Bobs Red Mill’s 1 to 1 flour in baking, it’s that bit more expensive than the usual brands of gluten free flour, but I hunted down a bag. I haven’t used it that much and this morning noticed that it was just about to run past it’s best before date, so it went to the batter. It does make the best pancakes for breakfast.

Once filled up we made ready to cruise, the sun was out, would we need all our layers? We put them on just in case and within an hour we were glad we had. The lady from Hawne Basin was walking her dog, we said we’d maybe see them on the Leeds Liverpool this summer, but she’d just been offered a job so would be staying put. But their friends on NB Lottie Jane would be up there for the festival in May. Could that be the NB Lottie Jane we had drinks on at the beginning of May last year with the NB Mr Blue Sky crew?

When talking to Paul the other week he’d suggested walking over the top of Gosty Hill Tunnel, I hopped off just before the south portal and waved Mick goodbye as he ducked into the dark. Yesterday it had taken us 18 minutes to travel through and the second half had taken around 10 minutes. I set the stop watch going.

Gosty Hill is pretty steep at the southern end but this gives you good views towards Dudley and Tipton. I knew I’d be quicker than Oleanna and at around 8 minutes stood for a rest against a brick structure in someones garden.

This is the top to the one and only air shaft from the tunnel (a mysteron). I hoped to be there to listen out for Mick passing below and maybe say hello as he did so. But sadly the traffic on the road was a touch too noisy and a very friendly electrician chatted to me as he got things from his van, his mate hadn’t believed him that boats still passed below.

After five minuets I finished walking down the hill to see Oleanna already popping out of the north portal, 17 minutes, positively speedy.

Mick made sure we lined up differently to bridges that had been problematical a month ago and coasted through without too much bother. Just a shame sleet seemed to be setting in now.

A right at Windmill Junction and through Netherton Tunnel for the last time this visit. We’d been wondering if our chosen route northwards would exclude tunnels until we reach Foulridge, but there are quite a few small one’s we’d forgotten about en route.

Sleet had turned to rain on the otherside of the tunnel. A right then a left brought us to the top of the Ryder Green flight. Most locks were full and we made steady progress downhill. Zooming in to Lock 7 I couldn’t see the usual drinkers but then all of a sudden they were there. No sign of the chap with dreds or the Polish chap from last time, but three new drinkers. One chap was very interested in how a lock worked, he was considering a boating holiday but would need to cut out the beer to save up!

I hopped on board. The next pound the supermarket trolley pound. If we were to get stuck I’d rather be able to make a cuppa and stay warm whilst we waited to be rescued. On the Asda side, trolleys poked their wheels up for air as we coasted along at a safe distance on a slightly jaunty angle.

The last lock landing was harder to pull into, but we got there in the end. Were the cans in the lock just one days consumption? I trod carefully around the gates as there was so much broken glass, you wouldn’t want to go falling over.

Now we hoped luck would be on our side. I stood at the bow and waited to peek around the corner at Ockers Hill but an orange blob caught my eye. Was it? Would it stay put?

A Kingfisher sat in a tree just a few feet away. As we levelled with it it swooped away to another perch and continued to show us the way for a few more hundred yards. Such beauty in amongst all the rubbish.

There was space, Hooray as we wanted to stop now. Tied up and Tilly let out we could warm up again.

This evening I made a batch of buckwheat flour pancakes. Four savoury with ham and strong cheddar which baked for a while in the oven. Then five sweat, chocolate, sugar and lemon and golden syrup. Not all together! All very nice indeed.

8 locks, 8.46 miles, 2 rights, 2 lefts, 1 straight, 2 tunnels, 8 mysterons, 1 seen from the top, 1 chilly day, 2021 May, 3 drinkers, 31 cans, 1 kingfisher, 1.5 hrs shore leave, 15 blueberry, 4 ham and cheese, 5 sweat, happy pancake day.

https://goo.gl/maps/3wpbUd9a1oc8ZAAx5

Blue Skies And Empty Pounds. 23rd February

New Inn Road Bridge to Bumble Hole

We took time over breakfast and waited to see if the forecast was correct, the rain was meant to stop at 9am. It did, but we left it a while longer just in case before pushing off.

The top lock was full with it’s gate half open, as was the second one down. I walked to have a look from the bridge and noticed that that was where the good news stopped, the next pound down was decidedly low, bordering on being empty.

Tim and Tracey had said they’d had to fill pounds the other day when they came up the flight so I decided to have a walk down to see if this was the only pound. Mick lifted paddles and started to fill up from above. The pound between locks 5 and 6 only had a few inches of water in it, this would take a touch more than just a couple of locks full.

I phoned Mick to let him know we’d be needing water further down the flight, then walked to the bottom lock to check everything was closed, it was. By lock 5 there is a bridge hole where I could count 14 brick courses above the puddle that lay at the bottom of the canal. These would be around 4 inches each, Oleanna’s draught around 2ft 7inches. So we would need to fill the pound so that at most 4 bricks showed, this would still be lower than the marks on the wall suggested the pound normally sits at. Hopefully this would be enough for us to move from one lock to the next.

All the lock gates were closed, then paddles at both ends opened. Once the level was up to four bricks I started to walk back up the flight closing all the bottom paddles and leaving the top ones open on the upper locks, so that they would fill as we descended. I most probably could have done this with all of the locks but if someone started to head up they might not notice an open paddle and we’d be back to filling pounds again.

It had taken about half an hour to sort levels, thank goodness the pounds weren’t all that big, and we could start to work our way down. Mick closed top gates and would lift a paddle on the bottom gate whilst I walked down to open the next gate and make sure the lock below was already filling, then walk back up to set Oleanna free and close the gate.

On reaching the bottom pound the lock of water brought the level up to three bricks, just enough to get us over the cill and slowly into the next chamber, in hindsight another bricks worth would have been good.

Once out of the stinky bottom lock we swung a right. No horn blowers today, although there were a couple of chaps walking around in high-vis, maybe just keeping an eye on things.

When the M5 yielded we got to see the sky. It was a funny colour, a sort of blue! It’s been a while since we’ve seen blue sky and white fluffy clouds. Almost a lovely day if the wind would just calm down a touch.

This visit to the area we’d not been up or down the Spon Branch and it’s such a good name ‘SPONNNNNN!!!’ that we just had to go down the locks. At Spon Lane Junction the canal is wide to enable the almost 330 degree turn to face the locks. This should have been okay, but the wind had different ideas and kept pushing us this way and that. Eventually we got close enough to the side for me to hop off and open the gate.

Double bottom gates again, the top one with a handy bridge, but the other two on the branch only have a walkway on the gates without a handrail. No kicking these gates open and I don’t hop from an open gate to a closed one, only one thing to do walk round! Luckily my assistant on Oleanna had positioned the boat hook within reach so once Oleanna was clear of the gates he could push the off side gate closed, saving a trip round.

A couple of muffins helped to fend off starvation as we made our way back along the New Main Line and turned at Dudley Port Junction to face Netherton Tunnel. Up on Tividale Aqueduct we could just make out a moving boat, the only one we saw all day, we waved but no wave came back.

Then we were plunged into the darkness of the tunnel. Two torches followed us and towards the southern portal four bicycles headed in, none with any lights. Popping back out into day light and sunshine we pulled in to the moorings, water could wait for tomorrow, lunch couldn’t.

Tilly had a good sniff around, climbed a few trees, but the whole place smells too much of woofer to be really good. A lad on a motorbike could be heard zooming around the area, luckily Tilly had taken to sitting in the pram cover for when he came past at speed. We all decided that maybe it would be better for her to be indoors.

9 locks, 6.38 miles, 5 straights, 1 right, 2 lefts, 2 empty pounds, 14 to 3, 0 work for DPD today, 1 tunnel, 7 mysterons, 1 annoying motorbike, 2 muffins, 1 huge joint of roast pork with excellent crackling.

https://goo.gl/maps/5ptr32yJWiLxqkga7

Cadburys Goodness. 18th February

Bridge 68 to Hopwood to BUMingham

Last Friday Mick had tweeted C&RT regarding the Figure of Three Locks on the Calder and Hebble. The stoppage notice for that stretch of canal after Storm Ciara was that the towpath was closed. Was the damage really as bad as it looked in the photos and video we’d been seeing on Facebook? This morning they tweeted back the following.

Hi Mick thanks for getting in touch. Sadly Figure of Three Locks won’t be open for your visit in summer. It was badly damaged during the recent storms and flooding. We estimate it will be 12-18 months before it reopens. Please get in touch if you have any more queries and we look forward to welcoming you in Yorkshire this summer. Naomi
@CRTYorkshireNE

Later in the day a stoppage notice was sent out too. At least 12 months before the lock will reopen. We’ll have to put plan B or C into operation.

Waiting for it to stop raining took a while this morning. But we were ready for it when it stopped. Outside covers rolled up and folded down, ropes untied. ‘Hang on! There’s a boat!!!!!’ ‘What? A boat?????’ We waited for them to come past before we pushed off. That’s not happened for months.

As we made our way towards Hopwood very dark storm clouds were gathering, we wondered if we’d make it into Wast Hill Tunnel in time before it started to rain again. No was the answer. A strong gust of wind coincided with us winding meaning the engine had to work hard to get the stern round, then the heavens opened. Oh well!

We could tell it was half term, plenty of hire boats were about. The boat ahead of us could still be seen in the tunnel and by the time we’d got three quarters of the way through ourselves another boat was following. Was it drier in the tunnel than out in the rain was debatable!

Popping back out into day light all signs of the crime scene had gone, apart from one length of plastic Police tape attached to branches.

Despite there being a boat moored on the bollards at the water point there was enough room for us so we pulled in and topped up the tank another load of washing was just finishing. We then pulled along a touch further for some lunch before carrying on retracing our steps back into Birmingham.

The aroma passing Cadburys today was more caramel than chocolate, or was it salted caramel, or fudge? We decided that it must be fudge and both started to sing the song from the advert. Link. ‘It’s full of Cadbury’s goodness’! No way would you be able to suggest fudge is good for you in adverts today.

What a jingle though, we both remembered it, well Mick forgot the bit about ‘it’s very small and neat’. It was written by Mike d’Abo based on the folk song The Lincolnshire Poacher. Mike d’Abo was more famous for being the lead singer of Manfred Mann and ‘The Mighty Quinn’.

I also found out that Fingers of Fudge are no longer produced in England, production moved from Keysham to Poland in 2010. So what was it we could smell today?

Talk turned to our cruising plans.

Plan A. Go over the Pennines via the Huddersfield Narrow through Standedge Tunnel for me to work at the Lawrence Batley Theatre. Then cruise the Huddersfield Broad, Calder Hebble, Aire and Calder then the tidal Ouse to get to York. This is now out of the window.

Plan B. Cruise over the Huddersfield Narrow so that I can go to work with ease, but then have to retrace our cruise and not head to York to meet friends and family with one days work at York Theatre Royal. Maybe.

Plan C. Cross the Pennines via the Leeds Liverpool Canal then Aire Calder and Ouse to York. This would mean having to commute to work on and off, then find somewhere handy to do this from for production week, or paying to stay in Huddersfield when needed, my expenses come out of my fee or the production budget. But then we’d be able to carry on to York, so long as the Ouse behaves itself! This is looking the most favourable plan.

Back in BUMingham we turned back towards Sheepcote Street Bridge. Loads more boats moored here today, but still three familiar ones from yesterday. We pulled in.

If looks could kill! Tilly was so not impressed.

0 locks, 8.99 miles, 1 wind, 1 straight, 1 left, 2 tunnels, 2 mysterons, 1 damp soggy cruise, 1 load washing, 1 full water tank, 1 very disappointed cat.

https://goo.gl/maps/1wU33kPsmQrJXZTF8

Vampires and Elephants. 22nd January

Bumble Hole to Hawne Basin to Bumble Hole

The temperature had risen overnight and despite it being a touch foggy this morning there was no ice on the stretch we were moored. Waiting an extra day had saved some of our blacking.

We pushed over to the water point and topped up the tank, making use of being on the port side we also emptied out the yellow water into a container. The Conservation Centre was busy and a young chap stopped to ask Mick the usual questions. People were having cuppas looking at the displays and enjoying being out in the open air.

Lots of high-vis appeared. The first few picking up litter, they were volunteers. The next group included the lad who’d been talking to Mick, they had spades, brooms and swapped sides of the canal where another chap put on an orange top. These chaps waved their tools at the edges of the path just counting down the hours they had to do of Community Payback.

Reversing back to the junction Oleanna was spun round and now faced the route to Hawne Basin, new water for everyone on board. A short distance on we could see a chap wearing a life jacket holding a tablet, he was trying to look over new fencing that had been put around a new housing estate. We had to ask him what he was looking for. ‘I’m trying to get access to a weir to check it, but this new fence is in the way.’ He continued to walk round eventually finding a hole in the mesh fence which he could get through, obviously the developer has omitted to leave access for C&RT leaving the chap to scramble through a hole made by locals.

We pootled onwards wondering what the area would have been like 100 years ago. Busy and smokey guaranteed. Along the towpath of the Dudley No 2 are cut out information boards. Local characters and places are explained in a few lines.

Doulton originally produced terracotta and engineering bricks here but moved on to specialise in glazed sanitary ware. The works closed in the early 20th C and were demolished in the 1970’s. (More info here)

Eliza Tinsley. Following the death of her nail making husband Thomas in 1851, Eliza continued to run the business and began to make chain. Known locally as ‘The Widow’ she made a name for herself as being a fare and knowledgeable business woman. By 1871 she employed around 4000 people making nails, chains, rivets etc. She retired in 1872, but the business continued turning to mechanisation and concentrating on chain making for the booming ship building industry and mining. The company has since branched out expanding with demand. (More info here)

When travelling circus’ came to the area Elephants were often found frolicking in the canal. That must have been a sight as you headed towards them with your fully laden boat! The sculpture trail was made by local artist Luke Perry.

After a couple of miles we’d reached Gosty Hill Tunnel. Here the entrance is very narrow and shallow. The sign says passage should take around 10 minutes, we didn’t believe it as our progress was already very v e r y slow!

The tunnel is only 509 m long but is very narrow. Head height varies quite a bit, more than enough height to stand tall at the helm then two lower sections where stooping is your only option. The northern end starts off high with the change comes a large white line and a portrait of a Vampire.

In 2017 a boat managed to get wedged in the tunnel by two logs. They had no way of getting free, presumably they were in the part with little head room. No phone signal, so all they could do was wait for another boat to come and help them. Their wait was around 20 hours in the dark. I wonder what the rescue boat thought, how long had they waited for the tunnel to clear before entering?

Today all we had was some plastic packing that made a crunching noise as we passed through v e r y slowly.

What a busy place this would have been 100 years ago

A different world when we popped out the southern end. Large brick walls angled away from us with large arched openings. Major industry obviously. A sign for Stewarts and Lloyds sits in an old arch giving a hint to the industry here. The two largest manufacturers of steel tubes in great Britain amalgamated in 1903. By 1967 the company had become part of British Steel.

A short section of online moorings brings you to the entrance to Hawne Basin a very sharp turn under a narrow bridge.

Mick managed without touching anywhere, but it looks like many don’t! Across the way was the service mooring as we positioned ourselves a very friendly chap came to say he’d be a few minutes.

Oleanna’s stern had to be tied to a skip then we were ready to fill with the cheapest diesel we’ve seen in a long time. At 63p a litre we topped the tank up right to the top. I kept an eye on the pump so it would stop bang on a litre. This I did at 100, a nice round number. If we’d have filled at Sherbourne Wharf it would have cost us another £22, that’s 1.75 boxes of wine!

More bags of coal, Multi, an untried brand for us, but at £7.80 for 20kgs who was complaining. Apparently it burns quite hot, so it’s best to mix it with our normal coal. We emptied our bins and enquired about staying the night, but it looked doubtful as boats had been shoehorned into every available space, no pontoons visible.

So we headed back out, pulling in where another boat was moored. We came to rest at a jaunty angle and decided that after lunch we’d move back to Bumble Hole.

The tunnel was clear again so we set off through, this time timing ourselves. The old boatmen would set the boat going in the tunnel and then retire below to make themselves a mug of cocoa as little steering was required. Mick kept hold of the tiller though to save our nav lights coming a cropper. When we popped out the northern end my stop watch had just reached 17 minutes.

Approaching Totnal Bridge, Oleanna decided that she’d like to keep going straight! Not the required line as this headed us towards the bank. Mick managed to get her to turn a touch after the bridge which lined us up with a submerged something. We could hear it under the hull bumping along, then when it reached the stern we stopped dead!

Forwards, backwards, we tried pushing sideways. No movement possible. There was a request that I should head to the bow, rearranging the movable ballast (me). This brought our stern up a touch, a bit of reverse got us closer to the side from where Mick managed to push the back further out, then a blast of the engine got us away. Phew!

We’d chosen to do our return journey at possibly the worst time to travel, school kicking out time. A group of lads stood on a bridge and we half expected to have projectiles throw at us, but they were too interested in smoking their aromatic tobacco to be interested in us.

Back at Bumble Hole we returned to where we’d been this morning. The towpath edges trimmed back, the trimmings of mud now brushed all over the tarmac.

0 locks, 6 miles, 1 reverse, 2 rights, 2 lefts, 1 wind, 1 full water tank, 1 load washing, 1 empty wee tank, 1 clean pooh box, 100 litres diesel, 63p! 6 bags coal, 1 tunnel twice, 2 mysterons, 1 waiting boat, 1 stuck stern, 6 engines, 0 shouting in tunnels, 0 shore leave.

Narrowboat Oleanna

Travels of Narrowboat Oleanna