Lapworth Locks

Below Birmingham, we joined the Stratford on Avon Canal, a stretch we’ve travelled before. But what neither of us had never heard before was a cuckoo, there was one very close to a lift bridge. We were surprised at how slowly it did it’s cuck……...oo!! We didn’t actually see it, so looked it up in our bird book, to find it is rather similar to a pigeon.

We stopped at the top of Lapworth flight of 18 locks, as there was a boat ahead of us. These are narrow locks that can only accommodate one narrowboat. The boaters ahead told us there was a problem, the lock wouldn’t fill, and they had informed Canal & River Trust who were sending someone. It turns out the paddle had dropped off its workings. They tied the mechanism up and drained the pound below to allow access into the lock & reconnect the paddle.

It was mid morning when we arrived at top lock and didn’t get going again until after 2pm, by which time there were 3 more boats behind us. I took the opportunity to sit out and do some spinning. Luckily the 4^th boat in the queue had a crew of 5, so they helped everyone down in pretty good time.

As we moored on the Grand Union Canal in the rather late evening the heavens opened.

Luckily, we managed to pair up with another narrowboat to descend Hatton flight of 21 double locks. It was a hot day.

I think this is definitely a mural and not graffiti on a wall in Leamington Spa.

We moored near Flecknoe on the shared Oxford/Grand Union stretch. It’s a very popular route. We do love a boat tally, and 89 boats went past us on a Saturday!! The last time we moored there was December 2022 when we were iced in for 2 weeks and didn’t see another boat at all.

These cygnets had a very polite father, usually the males are quite aggressive towards any other ducks or geese.

 

 

The amazing scent of the elderflowers is everywhere. So at Cosgrove, we picked enough for 2 litres of cordial and 20 litres of wine, which is in our fermenting room aka the shower, the airlocks are bubbling away like made mad.

 

 

Bumble Hole

 We really enjoyed our new route through the Black Country, and we had some glorious weather to travel in, even though we had a stormy sunny sky one evening.

 

There were 16 locks o the flight in Stourbridge. A local chap prepared just about all the locks for us. He wasn’t an official VLK and was ahead of us, so we didn’t actually meet him until we were entering the second to last lock & we spotted him walking by. I always make cake for lock flights, just in case there are volunteers. He was very pleased with his bag of goodies & a can of pop.

Dadford's Wharf is one of the oldest working boatyards and the bonded warehouse towered above us.

 

A group of children with learning difficulties from a local school were thrilled to see us and followed us up a few locks. Plus, we spied some other youngsters too.

The 8 Delph locks on the Dudley No1 canal had big waterfall type bi-weirs. However, the water level was too low for them to be flowing. I thought the green weed peeling off of the side of the lock wall looked like velvet!

 

There was a tremendous view as we neared the top of the flight and passed the old stable building.

 

 

The Dudley No1 canal leads into a very low unventilated tunnel section which we’re not able to use with our diesel engine. So, a sharp turn took us onto the Dudley no2 Canal, which for most parts appears very rural, but the map showed lots of industry and houses behind the leafy banks. We passed the huge Merry Hill shopping centre and entertainment complex. I expect it’s pretty noisy mooring on a warm summer evening when the bars are busy.

 

Heather has us on an online tracker so she knows where we are. She jokingly messaged us and asked if we were going to ‘Bumble Hole’, which just so happened to be as we cruised past the sign post. Lots of boaters have told us how lovely Bumble Hole is, and they definitely weren’t wrong.

 

Bumble Hole is now a nature reserve, with a couple of lakes, and is managed by a conservation trust. One just cannot imagine how different it was at the height of the industrial revolution with the mines and steel works.

You can go into the remains of the Cobb's engine house, that removed water from the coal mines.

The Dudley no2 canal was straightened, the old loop is now a dead-end with permanent moorings. There are quite quirky buildings long the Bumble Hole Arm.

Our canal guide book recommended a pub in Netherton, The Old Swan. A large pub with an original range and lots of lovely old features. And, the most amazing thing, they didn’t serve any lager, the barmaid told those ordering it that they have bottles of cider or cask ale. Sadly, we didn’t take any photos there!

Netherton Tunnel was built when the new straight bit of canal was constructed. The tunnel is wide enough for two narrow boats to pass and has a towpath on each side, which makes a huge high ceiling. We usually like to walk over tunnels to follow where the horses would have been taken, but no path over was required. We had considered walking the almost 2 miles through it, but have read reviews that it’s very uneven & puddley. I walked a short way into it. When we cruised through, the reviews were definitely correct.

 

Unlike most tunnels, Netherton is completely straight and we could see the light at the end as soon as we entered it.

Once out the other side of the tunnel we turned onto the Birmingham Level Mainline Canal. We really knew we were approaching Birmingham. Factory units lined the route and graffiti on all the walls, although some could be called murals I guess.

We went right under the M5.

In the centre of Birmingham, we turned right onto the Worcester & Birmingham Canal. This part of our journey was familiar as we had passed this way previously. Past Lego Land.

Gas Street Basin was as vibrant as usual.

There is lots of mooring by the ‘mailbox’, but like Merry Hill, I’m sure it’s hectic into the wee hours.