Date: Sun, 16 Apr 2000 18:53:29 +0100 From: Kevin Maslin Reply-To: Canals To: Canals Subject: Trip Report: BCN Part 1 (long) [ The following text is in the "iso-8859-1" character set. ] [ Your display is set for the "US-ASCII" character set. ] [ Some characters may be displayed incorrectly. ] * Tuesday 4 April * Our journey begins at the Black Country Museum where I meet up with long time colleague, writer extraordinaire and fellow Black Countryman Graham Fisher. Being a man of no particularly strong ties this trip is no big deal to Graham, but as a family man with our second child due in roughly a months time, you can appreciate that I required a very special pass-out for this week. T'other 'arf has even given me a lift here - gawd bless 'er. Our floating home for the next few days was to be "Pedigree", Graham's fifty foot all-steel replica BCN tug, built by little-known Pedigree Boat Builders of Burton-on-Trent. At just 12 months old it's an extremely well-constructed craft with solid quality fit-out and Lister ST2 air-cooled diesel. To be fair I'd had previous experience of Pedigree, having cruised the Ashby, Coventry and Staffs & Worcs canals with Graham last year. My luggage stowed in the fore-cabin, we settled down with a beer and talked towpath gossip, life in general and, most importantly, the week ahead. The main purpose of the trip was to navigate a set route around the Birmingham Canal Navigations whilst carrying out research and photography for a forthcoming project we had in mind. More will be revealed later on in the year. We were already very familiar with the BCN, but needed to re-acquaint ourselves with certain stretches whilst filling in some gaps in my photographic collection. Formal business over, we repaired to the nearby town centre of Tipton to check out the liquid refreshment (just for the sake of research, you understand). Now generally, I'm not too fussy about where I drink as long as the beer is drinkable and the bar staff reasonably friendly. "The Fountain" on Owen Street has now lost my custom for sure for failing to live up to both of these expectations. The main street itself was rather akin to Beirut on a bad night with local yobs making a nuisance of themselves. Three pubs later and on the brink of losing heart, we stumbled upon "The Victoria" on Dudley Road. A welcoming smile and a more than palatable Banks's Mild, meant that we'd found our Utopia, at least for this evening. * Wednesday 5 April * Radio 4 news, whistling kettle and Pedigree's Lister all compete for airspace as we make ready for the day ahead. We're to be joined for the first few days by Mike Pearson (Canal Companions) who duly appeared on the Birmingham New Road Bridge at later than the appointed time waving what appeared to be his mobile 'phone. Turns out our mooring for the night must've been something of a black hole for both Cellnet and One2One. As we cast off we note more ex-working craft than usual in the BCM canal arm, including both President and Kildare. We negotiate Batson's stop and turn on to the Old Main Line towards Wolverhampton, picking up our esteemed guest at Owen Street Bridge. Mike's purpose over the next few days will be to photograph and note changes to the route in readiness for an update to his Stourport Ring and BCN Companion later in the year. One change immediately becomes apparent with the new Neptune Health Park and a new housing complex flanking the canal in Tipton. A new boatyard also seems to have appeared just above Factory Top Lock as we take the sharp left-hander towards Coseley. Despite several layers of clothing it's a bitterly cold morning as we catch up on the intervening months and years since all three of us last met and pronounce the present climate as being thoroughly unsuitable for our respective photographic purposes. Can't decide whether it's actually warmer inside Coseley Tunnel than out as Graham disappears inside to sort out a warming brew (or similar). We're now making good progress across the long straight which leads up to Deepfields Junction. Funny, but I always get this feeling of vulnerability along this length. It matters not anyway as the place is totally deserted. It's so cold, even the infamous 'Ampton Pound Weed has gone into hiding today. Mike has a little wager that we won't see more than two boats on the move today. As cynical old me is just about to disagree, the first one appears from Catchems Corner Bridge, followed by an Anglo Welsh hire boat on the approach to Horseley Fields. And that folks, was the last boat we saw until we reached Birmingham two days later! As we take the sharp turn into the Wyrley & Essington Canal at Horseley Fields Junction, it feels like we've temporarily left civilisation behind. It's a sobering thought that we won't see a lock for about the next 17 or 18 miles or about a day and a half's time, which might seem singularly unusual. After all, the BCN has over 130 locks hasn't it? Well, yes, but the Wyrley & Essington itself is the classic example of a contour canal and meanders about almost haphazardly - hence its nickname "The Curly Wyrley". The cynics would have you believe that we're now well and truly within "bandit country", likely to get ambushed at any moment. Currently, the only offensive weapon that's pointing our way is the lens of Mike's camera, as he's obviously keen to get shooting, despite the grimness of both the weather and the surroundings. Mind you, this *is* the *real* BCN, so whaddya expect? He rejoins us on the run-in to Heath Town where the road system seems to be receiving major surgery. By this time I have taken the tiller and am enjoying the warm glow from the boatman's stove! Wednesfield Junction has undergone a complete transformation since my last visit, with the addition of the ubiquitous retail park development and a new pub "The Nickleodeon". Looks nice enough with a newly surfaced towpath complete with mooring rings and we contemplate its suitability as a future night stop. It would certainly make for a good lunchtime mooring. If developed correctly, Holly Bank Basin would make good long-term moorings. It's a shame that only the BCN Society realised this untapped potential several years ago and consequently the project came to nothing. We seem to reach Sneyd Junction in no time, having earlier passed through the rather pleasant Rough Wood Nature Reserve on the run-up to the busy M6. Sneyd Yard now has residential moorings, welcomes short-term moorers and has a thriving canoeing facility. Conversely, the next stretch, to Birchills Junction, seems to take an eternity. Generally, it's typical of the western first few miles of the W&E insofar as the landscape is dull and uninspiring. But, despite the fact that these waters are mainly perceived as rubbish tips, note that we have had only one major visit down the weedhatch. After a fruitful and enjoyable day Mike leaves us at Birchills Junction to wend his way, via the Walsall Branch Canal, to Walsall train station for the journey home. We had considered the detour down to the Walsall Canal Museum, but have now decided to press on through Harden, Coalpool and Goscote. IIRC, Graham cracked open the first bottle of the day here - a rather cheeky little Australian Chardonnay - a bit late for us, actually, but I blame it on the night before. As we pass by Shakespeare Crescent, a notorious local blackspot, there are kids playing on a local park - despite the fact that it's still only 3:00pm school time. They seem too busy to be concerned with the likes of us and by now the weather has brightened up considerably. Bright enough, in fact, for me to be shooting off my first few frames of Fujichrome, so Graham takes the tiller. This, I might add at this point, was the beginning of a very long, but thoroughly enjoyable walk for me. By the time we got to Little Bloxwich it was most definitely school chucking out time as a group of youngsters and their mums waved at us from Teece's Bridge. It was obvious that the sight of a boat was, for them, a rare occurrence. After Little Bloxwich the canal environs take on a very rural appearance as we enter the confines of Pelsall Common. By the time we'd reached Freeth's Bridge the sky had darkened and rainclouds formed in the distance, but the sun still shone, making for some quite dramatic lighting, which of course I took advantage of. Just as we passed under Pelsall Works Bridge the heavens opened, but our night stop at The Royal Oak (or the "Pelsall Office" as we affectionately know it) was in sight. I'd previously mooted the idea to Graham of detouring up the Cannock Extension (my favourite BCN canal) as I had some shots in mind. As it was only 4:30pm when we reached Pelsall Junction and I had been "cloud watching", I was confident that the rain would only last as far as Norton Canes and we took the gamble. In fact, it brightened up considerably sooner than I expected and it was a most enjoyable run up to Denis Cooper's yard (Canal Transport Services where we winded and I rejoined the towpath for the 1.5 mile walk back to Pelsall Junction. Suitable pictures taken, we rejoined the W&E main line and moored up for the evening. The sun still shining but with rain threatening once again I took a walk over to the common and photographed the boat against the pub with a double rainbow framing the whole scene - perfect! Rounded the day off nicely in the "Pelsall Office" with their home-cooked "He-Man" grill and a few pints of Burton Ale, whilst discussing tactics for the next day and beyond. Part 2 to come. ATB -- KEVIN MASLIN Waterways Photography Great Bridge, West Midlands, England. {Remove *not* if replying by e-mail} Waterways Liaison Service website: http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~kmaslin/WLS/ ---