Date: Mon, 02 Jul 2001 22:45:49 +0100 From: nbrumpus@lineone.net Reply-To: Canals To: Canals Newsgroups: uk.rec.waterways Subject: Trip Report - Rumpus Goes to Brum - Part the Fifth Tuesday June 17th After last night's session we didn't wake up until the disgustingly late time of 0900! Set the first three locks of the flight and reported a missing balance beam end (neatly chain-sawn off) before setting off - weather grey and drizzly. The pounds near the bottom of the flight were quite weedy but we made steady progress, reaching the top at 1230 where we encountered the BCN version of the vandal lock - a much more superior affair than the wind-like-buggery screw affairs we get locally. There was also a new (old) bridge going in across the bottom of the top lock - better tell Kevin Maslin! There were masses of weed around Hopley's Bridge, requiring numerous WHM's and complicated by the fact that we'd now not got a decent, quick-acting reverse. Aldridge Marina (!) wasn't where it said on the map and was closed anyway - there were two newish boats in primer there but no sheds and no signs of boatbuilding activity. We came to Brownhills with the High Street a couple of hundred yards away, a market - packing up - but more interesting was a canalside Tesco's which enabled us to do some stocking up! There's a new housing estate going up at Pelsall Junction with plots backing onto the canal - buy yours NOW! We made steady progress through Bloxwich and got stoned by the locals at Hildick's Bridge - I was warned that this was to be expected. There are a fair number of pigeon fanciers in Bloxwich, with massive lofts built out of flooring ply - how do they get planning permission? (Or do they??) Why do they have the little "fences" on top of the roofs? There were also many near-derelict houses - a symptom of the problems of the area. We eventually fetched up at Walsall Top Lock at about 2015 and had a session in the New Navigation (ask about the clock if you're in there) with Kevin Maslin. Brian L Dominic NB Rumpus Web Sites: NB Rumpus: http://www.nb-rumpus.com Golden Valley Light Railway: http://website.lineone.net/~gvlr/index.htm Coming to GIG2001?? Go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/GiG-2001 to subscribe to the mailing list! ---