Bright and breezy to Fazeley

We seem to be having alternate days of good and bad weather.
We battened down the hatches yesterday, although the wind and rain didn’t really hit us till after lunch. But when it did you certainly knew about it!
Every so often the boat would heel to a violent gust, mooring lines and fenders creaking. And then I’d have to brave the elements and line up the TV aerial again!

In contrast this morning was bright, sunny and almost wind-free.

I took Meg for a walk up into Hopwas Woods this morning. We did the same yesterday, or tried to, but the bang and crash of a tree coming down further up the slope made me think that discretion was the better part of valour, as they say. We beat a retreat back to the towpath. Today was much more relaxing…



On Tuesday the River Tame was swollen, after the rain yesterday it’s swelled itself over the surrounding fields.








We weren’t in any rush to get going, and a couple of boats went past before we did.


Heading into the sun it was difficult getting pictures looking forward, but the views to the north more than made up for it.

Looking back to Hopwas, Hopwas Hays Wood rising in the background.

I bet that mast was swaying a bit yesterday!

 






It’s the Sutton Coldfield TV transmission mast, at 270.5 metres it’s signal can reach Oxford! It was extended from 225m in 2009 ready for the digital switch-over.
There’s been a mast here, transmitting for the BBC, since 1949. It stands on high ground to the north of the town, at an elevation of 560 feet above sea level. So the top is around 1450 feet up! At night it’s lit by a stack of red lights running up the structure.



There’s usually a gaggle of boats moored just below Sutton Road Bridge, it’s a handy access to a large retail park.
I was tempted, there was plenty of room today, but decided to stick to Plan A and stop in Fazeley.
Which we did, mooring almost opposite Peel’s Wharf.

We had a first today; our 40 Watt solar panel was delivering over 1 amp in the bright afternoon sunshine!

Wow, free power! We could run a third of the fridge off of that!

There won’t be much coming in from that source tomorrow. Another day of rain and wind in store, so we’ll be staying put. Again.

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Sunny skies after snow…

Rain this morning turned to snow for half an hour, fat slushy stuff that had no chance of settling. We waited till the day started to show some improvement, getting away just before midday.

Just around the corner is Huddlesford Junction, once giving access to the Northern Birmingham Canal Navigations, now a short stub occupied by the Lichfield Cruising Club.

Huddlesford Junction and LCC moorings

The canal swings around the edge of the village of Whittington, where there’s a marker indicating the junction of the Coventry and Birmingham and Fazeley Canals.

The Coventry Canal was built to link the coalfields of Nuneaton and Bedworth to the city, and ultimately to connect to the Trent and Mersey and points north. The first section, up to Atherstone, was completed by 1771, but by then support and financial resources were dwindling and the canal stopped at this point.

The Birmingham and Fazeley Canal was started in 1784, one of this company’s aims was to join the Coventry Canal at Fazeley (hence the name). One major drawback was that the Coventry hadn’t reached Fazeley, and seemed unlikely to do so.

So an agreement between the two companies was reached, whereby the CCC would undertake to get their canal to Fazeley, and the B&FCC would continue the line up to Whittington Brook. In a rare spirit of co-operation, the Trent and Mersey Company would then build the link up to Fradley Junction, thus completing the scheme.

The whole route was finally finished in 1790, bringing immediate benefits to all three companies involved. The Fradley to Whittington section was later purchased by the Coventy Canal Company, else we would probably know it today as the Whittington Branch of the Trent and Mersey.
For convenience we now call all the canal from Fradley Junction to Coventry the Coventry Canal, but this bit we’re on now is actually the B&F. It should really be the Birmingham and Whittington Canal, eh?

The Birmingham and Fazeley Company were unusual in that they gave their bridges names, rather than the prosaic numbers others used.

The skies continued to brighten, sunny spells lengthening as we approached Hopwas. We even saw several boats on the move, including these two, one towing the other.
A bit of a project, maybe?

The sun was shining out of a clear sky as we chugged alongside Hopwas Wood, with the very swollen River Tame on the other side.

Hopwas Wood

I decided to pull over at Hopwas, mooring just before School Bridge. We were thinking of heading for Fazeley, but I needed to chop some wood and thought I’d take advantage of the fine afternoon. I don’t think I’ll be cutting any tomorrow, in fact we probably won’t be stirring far from the boat at all…more rain, snow, ice and wind due to hit us.

Hi Rita and Scooby, good to hear from you. Bill and Ginny, Wilvir, send their regards. How’s the paint job looking?

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A foxy lady makes my day…

We had a good, hard, frost last night, we’ve not had many of those this winter! Recorded temperature on our roof mounted sensor was -2°, but it felt colder than that as I’d let the stove out last night to give it a good clean. In retrospect, not good timing.

We let the day warm up a bit before getting away, and by then the early morning sunshine had given way to cloudy skies.

Leaving Fradley Junction




Five minutes into the trip I spotted what I thought was a stray dog on the towpath….






We followed her for a few minutes till she sat down and watched us go past. 

Meg spotted her at this point and gave a woof, spooking her into running back the way we’d come. What a treat, although she wasn’t looking her best in her winter woolies.





It’s been a good day for wildlife spotting, several squirrels, a jay near Brookhay and a couple of ducks with their heads on backwards!




The day spoiled itself as it started to rain as we approached the A38 road bridge.

Bell Bridge, No 89, carrying the A38
The A38 runs on a section of Ryknild (Iknield) Street, a Roman Road built to run from Gloucestershire to Templeborough in Sheffield. I wonder what the marching legionaries would have made of the 45 tonne artics thundering along at 60 mph? Poor old Clavdivs Maximvs would have been hard pressed to keep up 4 mph carrying upwards of 100lbs of weapons, armour and equipment.
In the rain…

Brookhay Cottage, next to the bridge, is going up for sale this year. A really nice property, downside is the proximity of the railway, upside is the canal alongside.

Brookhay Cottage

It was raining in earnest by this time, and I started looking for a likely spot to moor. I thought about just past Streethay Wharf, near the new Kings Orchard Marina, but the towpath was boggy.

Kings Orchard Marina, filling up but still with vacancies

We pulled over near The Plough at Huddlesford, the towpath good along here for a few hundred yards.

Moored near The Plough

It’s been raining on and off all afternoon, but is supposed to ease by lunchtime tomorrow. I’m glad we live in a floating home, unlike those poor souls down south. Even the canals are flooding now, stoppages on the Grand Union main line and the Aylesbury Arm.
Les and Jackie are stuck on the arm at the moment.

Of course, any navigation which relies wholly or in part on a river is closed. The Trent, The Severn, Calder and Hebble, Aire and Calder, New Junction Canal……

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Fradley Junction

We’re still here, we were thinking of moving on today but it was still very windy this morning so we’re hanging on till tomorrow. Aside from the wind it’s been a fairly good day, although it’s just started to rain now.

I’ve made good progress with my little project, enough so you can actually see what’s happening.

The new part-bulkhead behind Mags….
Still the capping to fit to the board edges, then sanding and varnishing.

We’re sheltered by a good stand of trees here, but they were looking a bit dodgy yesterday afternoon….

A couple came down on the far side where it’s more exposed, but nothing across the canal.

I broke off from what I was doing to get a couple of bags of solid fuel from a passing coal boat…

…who’s moored for the night outside The Swan.

Looks good in monochrome, doesn’t it. Could almost be 1950, apart from the satellite dish.The boat is the Auriga, a Grand Union Carrying Company Star Class boat, built in 1935 by Harland and Wolff. Before being sold into private hands she was part of the Trent and Mersey maintenance fleet.

It’s a pleasant short walk around Fradley Pool alongside the canal. Now a nature reserve, it was built to make sure that the Coventry Canal did not benefit from any surplus water coming down the flight.

Fradley Pool

Water is channelled from above Middle Lock, bypassing the junction and into the pool, from where it is released back into the canal below Keepers Lock.
The wet stuff was very precious to the canal companies.

Moving tomorrow, definitely!



Locks 0, miles 0.

Dull day, fine day.

Yesterday we moved the short distance to Woodend Lock, mooring just above as we’d planned on Wednesday. I’d walked down with Meg to make sure that the length of piling I wanted was empty. It was dull, and damp on occasion.

Today dawned bright and sunny, the birds were giving it up big time, there was a breeze but no wind, and we were on our way at around 10:45.

A boat (yes, a moving boat!) had come up the lock, so I just had to open the gate and usher Mags in.
Below the lock the canal takes a turn left, heading north-east on a half-mile straight to Shadehouse Lock.

Towards Shadehouse

Shadehouse Lock.

We only dropped down two of the five Fradley Locks, turning right at the junction onto the Coventry Canal.

Looking down from Middle Lock, The Swan in the distance on the left.

We topped up the water tank, then moored just beyond the water point.
We’ll be staying here tomorrow, waiting out the storm. We’ve seen half-a-dozen boats on the move today, but I doubt we’ll see too many tomorrow…

My latest carpentry project is coming along, slowly, but coming along. Should be ready for varnish after this weekend…

Hi Sue, according to the long range forecast we’ve got at least another couple of weeks of this! It’s that flaming jet-stream again. I wish it wouldn’t wander about so much….
We’re heading south as you’re heading north, via the Coventry and Oxford Canals. So we’re guaranteed to meet at some point. We’ll have to arrange it so we’re both stationary at the time! Looking forward to it.

Locks 3, miles 2½

Not a comfortable cruising day

But it is winter, after all!

Our Tesco order arrived as planned, by the time we got it all away it was gone 1 o’clock. We could have just pushed (been blown!) back across the canal and moored again, but the sky was showing signs of a bit of brightness, so we decided to move on.

Leaving the water point near Hawkesyard

The Priory and the permanent moorings

At the end of the moorings is the narrow channel that used to be Armitage Tunnel. The roof was taken off in the past, but the passage is still only one boat width.

Armitage “Tunnel”



The advice is to send someone ahead to make sure the way is clear as there’s a blind bend at the far end, but, as we’ve not seen another moving boat since Sunday, we decided to chance it.
It would have been Sod’s Law if we’d met another boat, but there was once again no company on the water today.





Past Armitage Shanks sanitaryware factory, and the obligatory shot of loos….

The rain had eased, but it was still windy. These sheep, munching on the remains of the winter turnip crop, reflect the weather.

Miserable!

We’d intended to head for Woodend Lock, hoping to moor on the short length of piling above the landing.
But, I reasoned, what if there’s a boat already there? We’d have to drop down the lock and hope for a spot on the popular moorings above Shadehouse Lock. And if they were full? Another three locks down to Fradley Junction. I didn’t want to put Mags through that on a day like today, so pulled over between Kings Bromley Marina and Bridge 55.

The weather seemed to be improving when I took Meg out at around 4, but we were wet through again by the time we got home. Ah well.

Locks 0, miles 3

Stop–start day

Less than four miles today, but we broke it up with two stops. The first was merely 50 yards behind us, to fill up from the diesel boat moored alongside the pig farm.

Taft Wharf
That done we set off to Rugeley, in bright but breezy conditions.

Looking back towards Cannock Chase

The Chase was a Royal Forest in the 14th Century. The right to hunt there was strictly controlled, under penalty of death. Today it’s managed by the local council with input from a variety of environmental groups. It’s crossed by paths; foot, mountain bike and bridle, and has several memorials within it’s boundaries.

The River Trent is crossed an an aqueduct just west of Rugeley.
It’ll stay to the north of the canal now until the two combine for a short distance below Alrewas.

We moored for a short while just before Bridge 67, while I went into town, then, after a bite to eat (there’s a Gregg’s in the town centre), we pushed on again.

The regular visitor moorings either side of Bridge 66 were empty, very unusual, even at this time of year. I guess the stoppage at Colwich is putting people off coming this far up.

Leaving Rugeley, Towers Plaza with the power station beyond

There was an aerial power line survey in progress; we’d seen the helicopter in the distance, but it crossed overhead as we passed the Ash Tree pub.

We pulled in just beyond the A513 road bridge. In the morning we’ve a Tesco delivery due, across the way near the water point.
I don’t think we’ll be going so far afterwards, the forecast is pretty grim.

Locks 0, miles 3¾

Maybe a touch of spring?

After the last couple of days of wet and windy weather, we could have been on another planet today! Such a change, warm, dry, sunny with just a gentle breeze.
I took my phone with me on this morning’s stroll with Meg, and took a few pictures around the junction.

The hire boats have overflowed onto the wharf…

Not much room under the aqueduct with the Trent being so full

Haywood Junction Bridge.
This is probably the flattest brick-built arch that can still be structurally sound.

We were away at around 10:45, just around the corner to Haywood Lock.

Haywood Lock, Lock House Tea Rooms on the offside.

We had a very steady cruise, the intention today was to get below Colwich Lock, where planned maintenance is to start tomorrow for a month. Work on the by-wash culvert, I think.

Looking back at Shugborough Hall and park

The river is only a couple of feet below the bank, in fact a lot of the lower fields on the estate are flooded.

Dropping down Colwich Lock

There’s no sign of any equipment here ready for tomorrow, but according to the stoppages list it's still on.

The footpath across to the village is a little “seasonal”…

Colwich Church

There was a shooting party just below the tree line on the opposite side of the valley, blasting away at clays, but they weren’t bothering two pairs of buzzards circling over the fields.




A bit nearer and you can get a good shot this time of year. The low sun lights up the underside of the wings. In the summer all you get is a silhouette. Superb birds.




We pulled in just past Taft Bridge, opposite the pig farm. We’re the only boat here, in fact, apart from the day boat out of Anglo-Welsh, we’ve only seen three other boats on the move.

We may stay here tomorrow now all the stoppages are behind us.

Hi Linda, thanks for the comment. Looking forward to a) colder, crisper weather, or b) warmer, drier weather. Either will help with the mud…

Chas, Ann. Don’t worry, the canals will still be here when you’ve got sorted out. Looking forward to seeing you in March, all being well.

Hiya Sue. I had to explain what I meant by “Poste Restante”, then they struggled to find my package
when I went in to collect. Bring back the old Post Office!

Locks 2, miles 3