More Urban Navigations

Just had another week on the Narrowboat, this time in mid March, only myself and my father on board this time round. Dad wanted to see the urban canals but firstly we headed out to the top of Tardibigge locks via 2 short tunnels and spent a night moored in the country.


Moored at Tardebigge





Entering Tardebigge Tunnel.


 



Shortwood Tunnel

 

Inside Shortwood Tunnel, 900 yards long.



We again headed into Birmingham on the Worcester and Birmingham Canal. We spent a night in the centre of Birmingham, taking time for a meal out at a restuarant in Brindley Place. Then headed up the New main line, then up the 3 "Spon Lane" locks to "Old Main Line" and to moor at Dudley Canal Museum. We missed out on a tour of the underground limestone mines here last time round, so we took a morning trip into the mines, the Limestone was cut out from the inside of the hill in huge caverns and then loaded into narrow boats which used a network of canals inside the hill. One of these eventually became a tunnel right through Dudley Hill to exit at Park Head 1.8 miles away. Modern narrowboats cannot fit through this single tunnel now due to subsidence, but occasionally lower older boats make it through, however they have to be ballasted down with weight.



The start of Dudley Hill mines through the tunnel portal, this opens out
after 100 yards into the collapsed cavern in the hill as shown below.



This is where a Cavern collapsed, this leads into 2 of the tunnels heading
into Dudley Hill, the RH one eventually
 leads to Park Head Junction over 1 mile away.



Various tunnels from Limestone caverns led into the collapsed section,
boats where loaded from here.

Within the mine are scenarios of how the Limestone was gathered, and explanations of the various tunnels, shafts and caverns.
After the mine trip we set of again on the boat heading down the 3 "Factory locks" then turned off the "New main line" towards Netherton Tunnel, this was built to replace Dudley tunnel, the tunnel is 1 .7 miles long, built to allow boats to pass, with a double towpath and takes around 40 minutes to pass through.

Leaving Netherton Tunnel, the tunnel has towpaths either side, but
take a good torch if you want to walk it. The portal at the
far end is only a pinprick.

The far side of Netherton Tunnel is known as Windmill end, there used to be many pits and factories here, but it is now a lovely bit of wild country, a haven for wildfowl, it is a far cry from scenes of the past when factories and mines where pushing out smoke making this the "Black Country".

Windmill End canal junctions, on the right leds to Hawne basin,
Netherton tunnel ahead, and colliery loading basins to the left.

Leaving the junction the canal skirts Netherton Hill and heads for Park Head, an area where there used to be many founderies and chain making factories has now all been landcaped and makes a fairly picturesque scene as it winds its way along.

Passing the area where foundries used to be, interpretive boards on the
towpath tell the story of the "Black Country" Anchors and chain for Titanic
where made near here.



Site of old overgrown canal near Blowers Green.




View back to Netherton Hill.




















Another canal junction at Blowers Green. Canal to the right leads to
Stourbridge.





To the left Locks climbing up to Dudley Tunnel.




















Turning round, we re-traced our course back to Windmill End to moor in sight of Cobbs Engine House, where a steam pump used to pump water from mines in the area into the canal.


Mooring at Windmill End, Cobbs Engine House in
the background.




Cobbs Engine House, used to house a beam engine to pump water from
mines into the canal.




















We spent the next couple of days wending our way back to the boatyard, final night moored at Hopwood back out in the countryside.

Final mooring at Hopwood.

For those interested in facts:

We did 55 miles in total, with 5 tunnels, all passed in both directions I reckon we spent about 4 hours underground, we only had to do 6 locks and used 41 litres of diesel.

Oh and Dad fell in once, comedy moment, pushing the boat out from the bank, he clung on to the side for too long and could not get back onto land, nearly horizontal, hands on the boat and feet on the towpath he went in with a splash. Worryingly he could not climb back in the front so I had to rush down the side gunwhale and drag him in to the front cockpit by his coat collar. Luckily only a few bruises.

Urban Navigation - Part 1

Just spent time on the narrowboat, something a bit different this time, taking a tour of some of the 100 miles of Birmingham and the Black Country canals. More canals then Venice. I have always wanted to cruise this area as it is the birthplace of British Industry, in which the canals had a big part to play, bringing in raw materials and carrying finished products to market, they where the motorways of that era.
We cruised into Birmingham from our base at Alvehurch, near Redditch, this is surprisingly picturesque, a green corridor into the heart of Birmingham passing the Cadburys factory at Bournville, through Selly Oak and past Birmingham University. We moored overnight in the centre of Birmingham, on a loop of the main canal near the Sealife centre and National Indoor Arena. It was surprisingly quiet and secluded, overlooked by regeneration of wharehouses into homes and apartments.

Nearing central Birmingham, waiting for oncoming
boat to pass through Edgebaston Tunnel.



Entering central Birmingham near the Mailbox.



Moorings on Oozell Street Loop.



Looking down the Farmers Bridge flight of locks, this canal heading for Aston,
past the Villa football ground and then under spaghetti junction.

The next day we left Birmingham for the Black Country, heading up the "BCN new main line" towards Wolverhampton, there are many old branches and loops which used to serve foundries, railway interchange basins, and factories. We did not explore all these due to time.


Leaving central Birmingham.




Canal crossroads, there is a loop to the left and a loop to the right, these
where part of the original James Brindley contour following canal, now
called the BCN "old main line" The canal ahead, the BCN "new main line
was cut later by Thomas Telford to relieve congestion.



Telfords "new main line" straight ahead, James Brindleys "old main line"
to the right following land contours.





One of many "Toll" Islands, boats where checked here and tolls paid
based on cargo carried. Typical Telford canal, straight and
wide using the cut and cover method (cuttings and embankments)

This area, once surrounded by Foundries and mines has reverted
back to nature quite nicely. This is the Galton cutting at Smethwick
with a short tunnel ahead.



Telfords Cast Iron Galton Bridge.

At Oldbury the M5 crosses with the legs in the centre of the canal and
just visible behond the Aquaduct carriying the "old main line" accross
the new.

Bromford Junction, a connection from the "old main line"comes back into
the "new main line" via 3 locks downhill.



Branch off the "new main line" leading to Netherton Tunnel and linking to
Dudley, Stourbridge and the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal.



Tipton locks, 3 locks climbing up to the Wolverhampton level.



Moored at the entrance to Dudley Tunnel just outside the Black Country
Museum.




Dudley tunnel entrance. This was always quite low but has subsided over
the years, boats, have to check to see if they fit through the curved
height gauge on the right. no chane of ours fitting through.





















Part 2 to follow.

Bank Holiday - Day Three

Monday we returned to Southwold for the first time since the HCR. We spent some time in the time in the town, browsing the shops, we looked in the local museum then had a walk along the pier before driving down to the Harbour to look in the small Lifeboat museum containing one of the first Southwold sailing lifeboats.

Southwold Pier

Only other classic we saw in Southwold.

Southwold Lighthouse

Looking towards Sizewell B Nuclear Power station

Bank Hol - Day Two

The second Day we visited Flixton Air Museum near Bungay, Suffolk, spending a few hours looking at the static plane exhibits and the various WW2 bomber displays, both British and American. I never realised that places such as Norwich, Yarmouth, Lowestoft and Ipswich had been heavily bombed in the war, the so called Baedecker raids in retaliation for the British raids on Dresden. The hangars had been removed from Norwich and Ipswich airfields and re-erected as the museum.

There was interesting information on Framlingham/Parham airfield, home of B17's in the war, the company I work for owns a old Hangar there which was pictured in 1944 used for maintenance of American B17's. The American and British displays showed the tremendous losses of Aircrew in bomber raids over Germany. Inside the museum where a Lightning and a Harrier Jump jet, along with helicopters, and other small aircraft.

Jet Fighter

Captured Pukara from the Falklands War

Bloodhound Missile

The Air museum is well worth a visit, especially with free entry.

We then drove to the Mid Suffolk Light Railway at Brockford Street, near Stowmarket, the railway was built under a light railway order from Haughley Junction on the Ipswich/Norwich main line to Laxfield, Suffolk, original intention was to reach Halesworth, however they ran out of money. The line is being restored at Brockford street with about half mile of track, and original buildings moved from other stations, it is very quaint, with one steam engine, a couple of coaches, and restored goods wagons.

Industrial steam engine at Brockford Street.

Short train at Mid Suffolk Light Railway

There was a real ale festival on along with a barbeque, so we sampled some local ales in the sun, before a ride on the train.

Grand Union Canal

Last week we spent time on our narrowboat on the Grand Union Canal. As both cars are now daily drivers and having the daughter and her boyfriend along we had to take the 2 TR7s to the Marina, so we just had to pose with the cars and the boat outside the Marina.

We cruised up the Grand Union Canal from Gayton, Northants, up to Marsworth in Hertfordshire, passing through the 2 mile long Blisworth Tunnel, it takes around half an hour to get through the tunnel through to Stoke Bruerne, when first entering you cannot see the far end due to the length and the haze from the boat exhasuts. We then cruised through Northants, passed through Milton Keynes and Leighton Buzzard, before climbing the series of locks into the Chilterns in Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire, an area we visited on the HCR this year.

Typical Northants Scenery .

Mooring at Cosgrove.

Locking up the Chilterns in the rain.

View from the canal of the Chalk Lion at Whipsnade.

Working boats carrying coal and diesel, we filled with diesel from these at a mere 65p per litre.

Approaching Marsworth.

Another pair of old working boats.

Approaching a large dutch barge.

End of the long tunnel.

The tunnel entrance, so long you cannot see the light at the far end.

Approaching a heacy thunderstorm at the end of the voyage.

Back on the Marina Berth.

Was an enjoyable week, shared most of the locks with other nice boats and crews, which takes the hard work out of locking, we went through 50 locks, and twice through the 2 mile tunnel. Total milage was around 80 miles. Most of the rain was thankfully at night, and we had some good sunny spells, and had a couple of canalside barbeques. When we hit the thunderstorm on the last day we moored in a hurry, and James, the daughters boyfriend got wetter than he intended, he slipped and went in head first into the canal.

Only down point was some b-----t nicked my stainless steel, Triumph badged tyre caps, this in a CCTV secure car park at the Marina.