In the summer of 2006 we hired
a boat from Alvechurch for a week with our friends Lyn and Barry. We fancied cruising a mini ring taking in
Birmingham.
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Our 50 mile and 50 lock
mini ring
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We were very fortunate and
had no rain all week and it was t-shirt weather nearly every day. We set off
north up the Worcester & Birmingham canal to its junction with the North Stratford
canal at Kings Norton where we turned right down the North Stratford towards
Lapworth.
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Barry and me at one of the
top locks at Lapworth making sure we are keeping away from the cill
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Looking at the photo above
you will see the centre line coiled up on the roof. We’ve learnt a lot since then and always have
two centre lines, both running to the stern, one each side. We invariably use a centre line when mooring
and it avoids having to traipse down the gunwales to get hold of the line.
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The pretty lock cottage
near the top of the Lapworth flight
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Some of the locks at Lapworth
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Lyn looking happy as we’re
nearly down the flight – the pipework is eco-friendly and landscape friendly green
nowadays
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Barry and Karen setting a
lock but I can’t remember which one
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Lyn cruising along the
Grand union
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Karen and Lyn discussing
Knowle locks or maybe which pub we would be stopping at that evening
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The weather was
exceedingly calm when we went up the Knowle flight on the Grand Union. Every time we have been up or down since,
there has been a breeze or wind and as the lock flight is so exposed it is easy
to get blown off course between the locks.
The trick is to wait in a lock until the gates of the next one are open
and then make a dash for it. We have
seen boats spun round by the wind whilst waiting in the open pounds between the
locks waiting for gates to open. Many
people avoid Knowle locks if they can; however, they are well worth a visit on foot as
they are quite remarkable.
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Diesel, our previous dog,
enjoying the holiday
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The locks through
Birmingham were pretty dingy compared to today.
A lot of tidying up and renovation has been carried out over the last
ten years making most canals in Birmingham a pleasant place to visit. As we got close to Birinhgham we joined the
Birmigham and Fazeley canal and followed it all the way into the centre.
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Karen setting one of the
Farmer’s flight locks in Birmingham
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Another one of the Farmer’s
flight locks
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In the centre we joined
the start of the Worcester and Birmingham canal and headed south back to our
start point at Alvechurch. Karen and I
had work the next day so we set off home and left Barry and Lyn on the boat
whilst they had a couple more days cruising on their own.