A long weekend off, then a longer than planned cruise.

We stayed near Little Onn till today. I fitted a new chain (collected with the mail) to the saw, and made short work of slicing up some of our log collection. Meg and I had some good long walks, I had some good hard runs on the local minor roads, and Moore 2 Life arrived from Wheaton Aston and stayed till yesterday. Chas and Ann came aboard and we caught up with the news.

Pics while out walking….

A better shot of that elusive kingfisher
More sheep

Ted and Jenny set off under Bridge 23 yesterday
At one time we had 6 boats on this popular spot, but by this morning all but ourselves and the chap on NB Sparrowhawk had moved on. We left him on his own at around 11:30 this morning.

Had a very gentle cruise to Gnosall, past High Onn Wharf and to bridge 25, where the towpath swaps sides.

High Onn Wharf
Turnover Bridge No. 25



Up to this point there’s about a ½ mile of permanent moorings on the offside, and the sign on the bridge asked boaters to slow down as they are going “passed”…..



Cowley Tunnel comes soon after, entered at the end of a long, damp cutting. Apparently, this cutting was supposed to be part of a 690 yard long tunnel, but instability in the rock led to it being opened out, leaving a short 81 yard length.

Lush vegetation on the cutting wall

Probably not a good idea to put a couple of logs on the fire just before the tunnel….

In the tunnel – cough!

Fresh air at the northern end.
Gnosall visitor moorings were pretty busy, but we weren’t intending to stop here, just through the village and out into the country would do.
But the plan went awry as I couldn’t get the boat into the bank, though I tried in a few places before we hit Shelmore Embankment.

Shelmore Embankment
This structure proved to be a major headache for the engineers, as time and again the slopes collapsed. It was the last link in the navigation to be completed, taking nearly 6 years and millions of tons of earth and rock to be shifted from Woodseaves Cutting, a few miles to the north. About a mile in length, it stands up to 60 feet above the surrounding farmland.
The sides are now wooded, affording only brief glimpses of the view to the west, but helping to stabilise the steep slopes.

Distant horizons
We ended the day moored on the visitor moorings just south of Norbury Junction.

Moored near Norbury.
Not our usual sort of spot, busy with boats fore and aft, and permanent moorings opposite. But I’ve got to make a visit to the chandlers tomorrow. Then we’ll shove off for points further north.

It’s not been a bad day, starting drizzly but drying up by mid-morning. Quite mild too, and the wind we’ve had over the last couple of days has dropped.

Locks 0, miles 5½

Grand Slam at Wheaton Aston

Today was another fine day after an overnight frost. It was warm in the bright sunshine, and cold when we ducked into the shade of one of the cuttings. A bit like one of those Scandinavian saunas, where you cook in a steam room, then run outside and roll in the snow…

Chillington Bridge and cutting

Approaching Stretton Aqueduct
Them Romans certainly could build roads… Watling StreetThe original route runs from Dover to Kenchester, near Hereford on the Welsh border, via London. A distance of 276 miles. And we have the temerity to call it the "A5"

Kingfisher dozing in the sun. A bit fuzzy. I got the Mbyte setting wrong.

We had a busy time at Wheaton Aston. First it was onto the services for water and rubbish and loo emptying…

Waiting for the tank to fill, and enjoying the sunshine.

Then under the bridge onto Turner’s wharf for diesel and a gas bottle. Still 51.9p for a litre of the red stuff.

And finally across to the visitor moorings so I could make a trip up into the village. Mail collection at the Post Office, and a few groceries from the Spar shop.

In common with Brewood, the towpath alongside the moorings in the village is a bit grim, so we’d already decided to push on out into the countryside to stop. It was only as we were moving out I realised we’d been moored just a few yards from Chas and Ann on Moore 2 Life!
Chas was waving out of the window. I hope he didn’t think we were ignoring them. Sign language between us told me that they were turning round and heading north again, maybe tomorrow. So we’ll probably see them over the weekend.

We moved on a couple of miles to Little Onn Bridge, pulling over just clear of Rye Hill Cutting. It’s a pleasant spot here, with good TV. The farm opposite is a little aromatic at times, though. Good country air!

We’ve been joined by Ted and Jenny on NB Conway. Had a chat, found out that this is their favoured mooring on this stretch. And that the tree cutters are busy at Gnosall, with plenty of wood available for the taking. They can’t see over the stack on their roof!

I meant to give my views on the southern half of the Staffs and Worcs yesterday, but got distracted. So here they are today, for what they're worth.

If you're in the area and have a few days to spare, head off to Stourport on Severn. Even if you've no intention of dropping down onto the river, it's well worth the visit. Even though the sections through Wolverhampton and Kidderminster are not that inspiring, the countryside in between is well worth seeing. The villages of Kinver and Wolverley are a delight. And the climax, the basins at Stourport, are an impressive and interesting destination. The locks are mostly in good condition, with a few leaky gates but nothing serious. Bratch is an interesting flight to work down and up, and you get a sense of history here and at the junctions with the BCN.

So there you have it. Go and have a look. And if you're doing the Stourport Ring, don't just dash through, take your time and have a look around.

Locks 1, miles 7

Back onto the Shroppie

I thought we were in for a wet day today. It was raining at 10 past 7 when I got up, but had stopped by half past. The sky started to clear, and there were warm sunny spells by the time we got underway at 10:30.

Near Pool Hall
Heron enjoying the sunshineA boater with a valid point to make, and the courage to make it!

We had a steady cruise up the remainder of the Staffs and Worcs to Autherley. All the locks were against us, as we were following a couple on NB Inglewood, heading back to Norbury. But it was no problem, the locks fill and empty quite quickly and we were in no hurry.

Waiting for Wightwick Lock, with mock-Tudor des-reses in the background.

Wightwick Mill Lock – Free boat wash!
We were disappointed to have missed Kev on NB 4Evermore at Compton. He was there yesterday, having some work done on a cover, but left for Coven Heath first thing this morning. He left a comment on yesterday’s post saying to look out for him.

At Oxley Marine there’s an unusual narrow narrowboat. All of about 18 feet long as well!

NB Sarni. She's even got a scaled down bow fender!
We turned onto the Shropshire Union at Autherley Junction, through the stop lock and past Napton Narrowboats hire base. A lot of boats laid up for the off-season here.

A short distance up the canal is the Wolverhampton Boat Club. This is where we spotted the Security Goose near the end of January, and Sue on No Problem spied him in the same spot a couple of weeks ago.
And, you’ve guessed it… He was on duty again today. Certainly conscientious. Though I’ve a sneaking suspicion that we woke him up this time…

Yes… Can I help you?….

We moored where we’ve stopped before, between Bridges 7 and 8, about 3 miles from the junction. Last time we were the only boat here for 2 days. Today we’re merely a quarter of the population.
While I was out with Meg this morning we walked past John Jackson’s boat on it’s mooring. It was being loaded with coal for a trip up to the River Weaver. I expected them to be passing us at some point today, and was not disappointed.

NB Roach
Working boats always look great when they’re loaded as they should be. Trouble is, on a lot of canals these days “the bottom is too near the top”, and a boat with more than 3 feet draught can be a handful!

Locks 4, miles 8

A short trip to Dimmingsdale

We only planned to get to Dimmingsdale Lock today. The mooring on the offside above the lock is quiet, we spent 3 days there during that snowy weekend early in the month.

So it was late start, after waiting for some drizzly rain to blow through. I had to chop up a load of wood and reorganise the roof, so we had room for half a dozen bags of smokeless we intended to collect on the way.

Awbridge Lock was the first of the 3 today. Full, after NB Phoenix with Victor and Nancy aboard, had gone up.

A fair few hobnailed boots must have crossed the cast iron tail bridge to wear away the grip rails.
Just around the corner is the home mooring of NB Roach, the coal boat where we stopped for the fuel.
We pulled alongside and transferred 6 bags of Taybrite onto our roof, at £9:30 quite a bit cheaper than at Turners at Wheaton Aston.
We weren't sure he'd be there, he passed us on the way down to Stourport some days ago. He must have snuck back up without us noticing...
John and his wife Jenny cover a fair bit of the midlands, and north and west network. If you're looking for fuel, check out the website.

John Jackson and NB Roach
Mags had to battle against a fierce bywash at the tail of Ebstree Lock, but made it in without touching the sides.
The foam stirred up by the gate paddles makes it look like wash day!
Another 15 minutes and we were in Dimmingsdale Lock, above which we pulled over for the night.

Locks 3, miles 1½

The Mad Swan of Swindon, more lambs and a boating Grand Master

That cob I mentioned last night was certainly persistent. He kept on attacking the boat till 11 0’clock last night, took some time out, then started again at 6 this morning! He was still at it when we left, chasing along the side of the boat, pecking at the hull. He must have a pretty tough beak. I reckon he needs some anger management counseling….

Mad Swan of Swindon, looking a bit tired…
Jo on Hadar and Sue on No Problem have both beaten me to posting lamb pictures.

Big Ahhhh….

But I reckon I win the most in one picture award…

I count 24. Spot the 2 black ones on the right?

There are 2 locks at Swindon, one at either end of the built up area.

Heading to Marsh Lock
We’ve hardly seen a boat moving for the last few weeks, so it came as a bit of a surprise when we saw a boat waiting at the top of Botterham staircase locks for us to come up. I guess I’ll have to start checking for oncoming boats again…

Leaving Botterham, another boat ready to go down.
Wombourne is pretty well completely swamped with new housing, with still more under construction. It must be a handy dormitory area for Birmingham. Trouble is, no matter what they do, they all seem to look the same…

Wombourne “Legoland”
2 more boats passed us, heading to Stourport, before we reached Bratch Locks. And there was another just preparing the top chamber as we arrived.
This was Victor and Nancy on the hire boat Phoenix out of Norbury. They were a little unsure of the operation of this flight, so I gave them a hand down.
Then Victor kindly returned the favour as we went up. Chatting while waiting for the locks to fill (as you do…), I found out that he’s a semi-retired teacher, and now teaches chess to pupils in schools all over the country. They also organise international tournaments a few times a year. Twice a year, early winter and late winter, they hire a boat for a week. They’ll be taking Phoenix back to Norbury for Friday, so they’ll overtake us in the next couple of days.

Cheers, Victor.

There’s a lot of boaters gone through this ‘ole under the bridge at the bottom of the flight…
Vortex as the middle lock fills. You wouldn’t want to fall in there…
Coming up the bottom lock



We pulled over just around the corner from the visitor moorings, about 5 minutes from the locks.
We’re opposite the cricket ground here, near the sign that warns about errant cricket balls. I don’t think they’ll be playing this week, though.


Locks 8, miles 3

A touch of Spring in the air..

What a bonny day it’s been! It started out cool, but warmed up as the sun rose. Cooled down a bit early afternoon as a bit of cloud rolled in, but by teatime it as sunny again.
It was chilly out of the sun, but still mild compared to this time last week.

Snowdrops and wooden otter
We were off at just before 11:00 this morning. Climbed up Whittington Lock then under the pretty Whittington Horse Bridge.

This was only built wide enough for foot (or hoof) traffic.

Whittington Horse Bridge.
We didn’t stop in Kinver, I’d already walked up with Meg to get essential bits like bread and milk, so we kept going.

Coming out of the village is Hyde Lock, with a well-maintained cottage alongside.

The owner has carried the canal theme into the garden….even including the controversial square bollards!
We nearly met the BW tree fellers under Prestwood Bridge. The boats had been moored for the weekend at Gothersley Lock, but had taken all the cut logs with them. Shame.

There’s a nicely decorated boat just through the bridge.
We carried on, with a stop at the services at Greensforge, to moor just above Hinksford Lock. On the way down we’d moored a ½ mile on, near Swindon. But TV was almost non existent there. It’s much better here.

In the field alongside there is a flock of sheep, with lambs. One of the mums has 2 black youngsters. I’ll try to get a picture tomorrow. It was too dark tonight.

On the opposite side of the canal a pair of swans are setting up home. I reckon the Cob doesn’t want us around…

Locks 8, miles 7

A walk around Whittington.

We didn’t travel today, as planned. After my training run I took Meg on a ramble across Whittington Common, to the east of the canal.

Whittington Common
A lot of the stiles have a hinged top rail, making it easier to climb over. Very welcome if you’ve just done a 10 mile run!

Hinging StileExcuse the angle of the photo. It's not easy holding the rail with one hand, camera with the other, both arms fully outstretched..

Not all though! Groan….
At least there’s a dog flap. I couldn’t fit through it though.
At one point we had to deviate from the footpath to get around a blockage. Meg took one look at this lot and made it perfectly clear she was NOT going over that stile!

Traffic Jam
We swung back round, above the cottages overlooking the canal at the moorings at Kinver.

There’s 2 or 3 of these with no road access; the only way to get to them is by a footpath, or from the canal.
One of them is for sale….http://www.midcalf-nicholls.com/residential.asp - Gibraltor, Kinver

Dunsley Rock Cottage.
Here’s a fine looking pike, caught just as we walked past.
Back to the boat, feet up and a read before lunch of roast beef, roast potatoes and parsnips, carrots and Yorkshire pud. Life doesn’t get any better than this….

Locks 0, miles 0. (On foot 15)