Date: Wed, 19 Apr 2000 22:18:37 +0100 From: Kevin Maslin Reply-To: Canals To: Canals Subject: Trip Report: BCN Part 4 - The Final (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. ] * Saturday 8 April * Far from being a City that never sleeps, Birmingham is in a deep coma as we prepare to embark on what should be - at least in theory - our easiest day's cruising so far. We have several lock-free miles ahead, so a chance for me to put away the Dunton Double for a while and relax ... Not on your nelly mate. Following the usual morning formalities, fires well stoked and engine nicely ticking over, I already have my first shot of the day lined up at Sheepcote Street Bridge. It therefore makes sense for me to exercise my legs once again. The towpath surfaces, albeit muddy in a few places have been generally excellent throughout our journey and, as you might expect, Brum's waterside walkways are picture perfect. Leaving behind the three still-slumbering boats that had shared our mooring the previous night, I tell Graham I'll go on ahead and meet him at Rotton Park Junction, being the intersection of Main Line and loops Icknield Port and Soho. The eastern entrance of the IP Loop is fairly uninspiring. The only thing that really stands out is a large fluorescent pink arrow which tells the Convention Centre trip boats which way to go. You'd have thought they'd have got used to this by now wouldn't you? RP Junction, on the other hand, has two rather fine examples of cast iron Horseley-style bridges and a BCN Society direction signpost. At the last count I think there were 28 of these, marking every navigable junction except for Ladywood Junction and Sandy Turn. The old BW sign at Horseley Fields has still to be replaced as it's always been difficult to access by anything other than a boat. No excuse now the Society has its own workboat then ...? Taking inflation into account the signposts themselves must now cost in excess of 400 quid, so it's particularly galling when they're destroyed by vandals or maybe even taken by "souvenir" hunters. Some have been sponsored by individuals, others have benefited from local authority cash, but mainly the cost has been borne by BCN Society funds. As I've requested a little detour and we've set off early anyway, Pedigree takes the sharp right-hander into the Soho Loop and I signal to Graham that I'll continue on foot, as I'm particularly short of pictures along this stretch. A few frames later and my friends the Geese come back to haunt me. I adopt similar tactics to yesterday, but they seem to increase in number and are particularly hostile for some reason. I think Graham is aware of the fact that I'm likely to get into trouble and, to my relief, steers the boat towards the bank for me to hop back on. On approaching Spring Hill Bridge, two nesting pairs of Canada Geese on the offside become the apparent cause for their extreme aggressiveness. Realisation dawns that this must be their mating season as we spot several pairs apparently going through the motions along almost the entire length of the Loop. I'm annoyed that my photographic plans have been thwarted by these "dumb animals" as the light is particularly good again today and I resort to taking a few "snaps" from the foredeck, which I dislike intensely, but just for posterity ... The entrance to Hockley Port (the old Birmingham Heath Branch) is on our right, having been developed into a good quality residential site complete with all the requisite facilities. As we reach Winson Green Junction with the Main Line I'm able to signal to our steerer that it's all clear to nose out, although I never really imagined otherwise. As we pull level with the stop island I'm off for walkies again. The stretch approaching Smethwick is particularly interesting as there are a number of former entrances to old arms, including the Cape Arm which ran through a tunnel, underneath the embankment that carries the feeder from Rotton Park Reservoir to the Engine Branch. Due to the direction of the sun I decide to stay behind the boat, but it's difficult to keep up as Graham has obviously found some deep water and is giving the Lister a good run. Although way behind I manage to signal to him to steady down a touch and sprint along the towpath to my next vantage point at Smethwick Junction. The landscape along here is mostly industrial, as one might expect, but it was due to change very dramatically. At the junction, the Birmingham Level continues to the left, whilst the Wolverhampton Level is accessed via the 3 Smethwick Locks to the right. Both lines then run almost parallel as far as Spon Lane. For the purposes of our research we opt to stay on the "bottom road", passing underneath the magnificent Telford's Aqueduct which carries the Engine Branch from its junction with the upper level. It's a shame that the Galton Valley Centre here is no longer canal orientated, but the site is still used by the BCN Society for its annual Bonfire Rally. I gesture to Graham that I'm taking the path up to the Wolverhampton Level to inspect the former Brasshouse Pumping Station (shortly to be opened to the public, I believe). Oh dear, another Geese confrontation! But this time they're squabbling violently amongst themselves, so although hesitant, I do another runner. Passing under Brasshouse Lane Bridge, I notice the towpath is being churned up in readiness, I guess, for some cosmetic treatment. The Galton Valley itself is ablaze - not with fire, thankfully - but with a glorious display of bright yellow gorse. As I look down onto the bottom line, Pedigree has just come into view and, with the light just right, I take what turned out to be some of the most evocative shots of a BCN canal I've ever had the pleasure to own. Must show you sometime ... As the boat nears Summit Tunnel I run to catch up and enjoy the coolness inside the concrete "tube". As if by sheer contrast, at the other end stands the superb Galton Bridge - a scheduled ancient monument. A nice shot with the blue sky in the background and no rope swings attached - just for a change! I draw level with Pedigree and wax lyrical with Graham about the sights we've just seen. Whilst cruising along he's had chance to think about some exciting proposals to link in with our current project, which will be revealed at a later date. Something to encourage others to cruise the BCN's nether regions, perhaps ... We pass Chances Glassworks and approach what is possibly a unique (go on, someone tell me otherwise!)juxtaposition of canal crossing canal (Stewart Aqueduct), motorway and railway overhead. The huge M5 concrete supporting pillars "grow" out of the water and the upper level canal hereabouts is due to close later on in the year for a period of some 18 months for repair work to the motorway. Ironic that the canal can out-survive a modern structure by some 200 years. I rejoin the boat at Bromford stop and we venture into the watery backyard of the West Bromwich suburbs. From Albion Junction the Gower Branch gives access to the Wolverhampton level via Brades Locks, the top two of which are the only example of a staircase on the BCN. We continue ahead on the "Island Line" towards Dudley Port Junction. Graham has already cracked the first bottle of Bulgarian "something" and I have a livener before rejoining the towpath. It's around 11:00am as Pedigree glides around the turn and into the Netherton Tunnel Branch and, despite the purposeful but steady progress (Graham calls it "bimbling along"), we've done rather well. For the purposes of our current project - we've completed the intended circuit (almost) from Tipton to Tipton, but we need to get the boat back to Stourbridge. Before entering the tunnel we stop at Tividale Aqueduct to empty the loo and chat with Pete Roberts - resident of one of the BW cottages here - about his gleaming Kawasaki motorbike, life canalside and what's due to happen to Caggy Stevens' boatyard (startling revelations ...). There's also water here, but Pedigree's 250 gallon tank proves to be more than adequate for the two of us. Netherton Tunnel is wide bore, 3,027 yards long (about 1.75 miles?) with a twin towpath and handrails. I cycled through here once - just the once to say I'd done it and I've boated through it many times, but it doesn't get any more interesting. Of course it's always cold and the constant drips from no less than 7 brick-lined ventilation shafts are always wet. Obviously it takes quite a while for the light at the Tividale end to become just a pin-prick, but after 25 minutes we emerge into glorious sunshine and one of my favourite spots on the entire network - Windmill End Junction. For a brief moment we consider a quick sandwich and a pint in the "Dry Dock" but decide against it as we aim to get part way down the Stourbridge flight by tonight. Once past Withymoor Island and the remaining heavy industries of Netherton, in the afternoon sun the Dudley No.2 canal looks almost rural. It could be anywhere in the country - I kid you not. I disappear below decks to prepare a makeshift lunch from odds 'n' sods left over from a previous shopping trip. High Bridge and the remains of Brewin's Tunnel loom large ahead with Lodge Farm Reservoir to our left. The remains of the junction with the former Two Lock Line get less apparent as time goes on and I comment that the Horseley bridge across its entrance could have been lost long ago were it not responsible for carrying the towpath. Constantly in the shadow of St. Andrews Church it's not long before we reach Blowers Green Junction, where a group of anglers compliment Graham on his steering technique, hardly causing a ripple as Pedigree takes the sharp bend around the pumphouse building, now the official headquarters of Dudley Canal Trust. Blowers Green at approx. 12 feet is the deepest single lock on the BCN, being a combination rebuild of two earlier chambers. It's now just a 10 minute run to the Waterfront at Merry Hill where we tie up temporarily for a bit of a tidy up inside the boat. Despite the fact that it's 2:30pm ish the Waterfront bars are relatively quiet and it's difficult to imagine this place was home to the huge Round Oak Steelworks less than 20 years previously. I wander off to take some shots of the basin from the patio of the Copthorne Hotel and generally re-acquaint myself with the place. I'm now almost back on home soil as I'm a native of Quarry "Bonk" just down the road from here. Looking at the state of the traffic that now positively engulfs the Merry Hill Shopping Centre, it was probably a wise decision to move away. Following remonstrations with a pair of snotty security guards (they consider me a security risk, especially after I tell them we were working for the Russians) we continue through the new "sterile" diverted bit of the Dudley No.1 Canal - destination Delph Locks. Most of the flight is set against us and the same fisherman is still sitting in the same pound as he was last week. 2,000 miles of canal and they still sit in a piddling little lock pound - defies all logic as far as I'm concerned. The towpath is alive with shoppers commuting to and from Merry Hill and the sunshine continues to persist. A group of lads and lasses sit on the balance beams of lock 7 enjoying the fine weather and drinks they'd purchased from the oddly-named "Tenth Lock". Odd because although the flight is still known locally as "the Nine Locks" there's only 8 following an 1858 rebuild and the pub is less than 20 years old. The only explanation I've really been able to come up with is that it's sort of like the 19th hole in golf. We decide to take a breather for a while and pull in to the "layby" alongside the bottom lock. Whilst I disappear inside the pub for some amber nectar Graham, ever the waterways ambassador, talks to an interested family and takes them inside Pedigree for a guided tour. I emerge with a pint in each hand (what I call a balanced diet) and we're approached by a guy with a serious looking camera on a tripod. He introduces himself as Paul and tells us he's doing a college course in landscape photography. As far as he's concerned landscape includes canals and I couldn't agree more. I happen to joke that, whilst I spend most of my time photographing other people on boats, no-one's ever photographed me at the helm, so to speak - so he duly obliges. At 5:30pm it's time to move on to a mooring outside the "Samson & Lion" on the Stourbridge flight. As the boat emerges from Delph Bottom I jump aboard and, glancing behind briefly, notice for the first time the letters "BCN" cast into the iron rubbing strake set into the brick towpath edge. Farewell, BCN, until the next time! The short run down the ever-winding Stourbridge Canal is now a mere formality and having negotiated the first three locks of the "Sixteen" we tie up for our final night. The almost ritual-like sampling of the food and fine ales on offer at the Samson is a foregone conclusion. * Ends * If you've managed to stick with my ramblings this far, I hope you've enjoyed the story and possibly will be encouraged one day to sample the BCN backwaters for yourself. Meanwhile, if anyone is sufficiently interested, I might consider putting some of the pictures taken on this trip on to a web site. It won't be for a week or so, though. Please let me know. 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/ ---