Let there be light

Woke up in time to catch the sunrise. 

Made our way along to Fazeley Junction passing what was possibly a mill now being converted into accommodation.

The bridges are quite low, so, down comes the chimney. 

And there's the junction where we are turning right.

There have always been pictures of birds on this wall but I think that the ones on the right are new. 

Bits of the junction have been smartened up. 

And round we go. 

There's even a signpost to confirm where we're going. 

And another bridge on our way out. 

Approaching the aqueduct and another boat coming through ahead of us. 

Now our turn. And we are crossing over the River Tame.

Just a little bit further on and we pass Alvecote Marina where they have a number of old working barges.

This is such a nice canal with some lovely places to moor in the sunshine. 

We've now arrived at Polesworth and we are stopping here so that we can visit the butchers and the greengrocers. One boat we passed said that there were only small shops in Polesworth - just what we like. Why do folk always want the big supermarkets and chain stores. Anyway, there's a Spar and a Co-op and a very good hardware shop. Plus loads of hair and beauty salons. Oh, the board above sets out the industrial heritage of Polesworth (if you can read it). 

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And here's the captain taking full advantage of the sunshine with a nice cuppa. I, in the meantime, am checking out the wiring for the tunnel light. Glad to say that it is now working and probably better than when it was installed. Can't wait for the next tunnel to try it out.

And this is a picture of the mooring for tonight. (This picture was taken earlier 'cos it's dark now and doesn't look the same.) 

7 miles, 11 locks

Doesn't seem much, does it? Only 7 miles and 11 locks in one day but in narrowboat terms that adds up to 4 1/2 hours travelling time. As a guess, the boat travels at 4mph and a lock takes 15 mins - you should be able to work out the maths yourself.

First lock and the captain is working well. 

Second lock, must be time for a tea break. To be fair, there are 3 boats ahead of us and we are waiting for a boat to come up through the lock before we can go down. 

It also slows things up when one of the paddles is out of commission. 

Good old work building by one of the locks. 

Most of the Cudworth locks have flowers and it gives the impression that they are being looked after. In the old days there would have been a resident lock keeper who would have taken great pride in the locks under his care. 

Oh dear! Looks like I nudged the lock gates too hard. We have a points system - 1 for an open drawer, 2 for cupboard doors flying open, etc., but I don't think that we've had toppling fire extinguishers before. Will have to put them on the list. 

We always slow down past anglers. Some are cheerful and others just plain grumpy. These ones were OK. 

And here we are at the last lock for today which also has a (disused) swing bridge.

And talking about bridges, how about this one? It's described as a marvellous folly. You almost want to cross it just for the fun of it. Just about 50yds the other side of the bridge we stopped and have now moored up. We could have pushed on a bit further but we are coming up to Fazeley and didn't want to stop too near the town. We prefer being in the countryside. 

How many locks?

A lovely sunny start today. Topped up with water, emptied the loo and cast off.

Past Gas Street Basin, but on the water this time. 

It's always handy to know which canal you're on. 

Just entering Broad Street Tunnel. Not a long one but a tunnel all the same. 

At the Junction did a nifty right turn before starting on the Farmers Bridge locks. 13 locks in all and I'm on lock duty today.

This flight of locks takes us through the back end of Birmingham. 

A mix of old and new. 

Refurbishments. 

And old factories. 

A bit tight in places. 

Just look at that staircase. 

Scruffy in parts. 

Well looked after in others.

Some of the lockies are dashed handsome. Oh, sorry, that's me. 

Oh, I should have said that after the 13 locks we turned left at Aston Junction to face a flight another 11 locks. And, they were all against us. So, I would let the captain into the lock, open the paddles to empty the water out and while that was going on, walk to the next lock, fill it up, open the gate. Then walk back to the first lock, let the captain through, close the gate and go to the second lock, shut the captain in, and repeat 11 times. And that's after the 13 times before. Oh, and some of them have anti-vandal locks that lock the paddles in the closed position to save water. The trouble is that if you don't have a key on you at the time and the boat's in the middle of the canal... 

So, the captain says to me 'look, there's Spaghetti Junction ahead, I'll do all the locks from now on. Why don't you steer the boat and I'll make a nice cup of tea.

That's where we've come from. 

That's a different way back to Birmingham. 

That way'll take you to West Bromwich. 

And this is the way we're going. 

An odd tunnel this one. The canal passes under a building but one side of the tunnel is open. 

Anyway, the captain only did 3 locks and she had help. 

Moored for the night near Minworth. Four miles from Spaghetti Junction and this is the first place where you can moor a boat. Mind you, it is near to a pub. 

Another lovely sunset. Roast chicken tonight. Yummy. 

Off to Birmingham

A clear sky for us today and we are travelling through the residential outskirts of Birmingham.

They look nice don't they. 

Oh, but before I forget, take a look at the sunset from last night.

And the moon as well. 

Our guide book notes a small but very heavy swing bridge. Luckily for us, that's now been removed and we sailed straight through. 

We are now entering Brandwood Tunnel. Fortunately only 352yds long since the tunnel light has stopped working. Have to look at that later. 

Just before King's Norton Junction is the guillotine stop lock. 

This is no longer in use but when the canals were privately owned there was a difference of 1" and the stop lock made sure that each company had its own water. 

At the junction the toll house is being done up. 

And round we go. 

Now that's a familiar name. Bournville, the home of chocolate. We could have stopped for a tour of the factory - but not today. 

The canal is more industrialised now and university buildings are beginning to appear.

A good view of the Campanile Tower built in 1900. 

And more new buildings on the other side of the canal. 

The railway is our constant companion but there are not too many trains at the moment. 

And here we are moored right in the centre of Birmingham. 

You can still see the tracks in the pavement for the trucks used to offload the boats. 

Popped into Halfords to see if they had a headlamp bulb. The guy behind the counter looked at it, scratched his head, went out back and came back with just the thing. He then said 'take it mate, these are old stock, been sitting on the shelf for years. Cars don't use that type of bulb anymore.' Wow, a free replacement bulb. Good old Halfords. 

Then walked down to the Bullring. 

Then across town. 

Past a depiction of the diversity of the community. 

And back to the boat via Gas Street Basin.

Still not sure what is wrong with the headlight. I replaced the bulb and it still didn't work. Checked the circuit and all OK at 12v. Got a 6v torch battery and got the bulb to glow, even the original bulb glowed. So, nothing wrong with the bulbs after all. Checked the circuit again, still 12v but still it won't work. What's wrong with it? Grrr. 

Came over to Noel's for supper. 

Sea Bass for the captain. 

Seafood linguini for me. 

And that's what I call a wineglass! Sweet dreams.