Hanbury Wharf, Droitwich
- Barton Turns Marina
20th - 25th October 2003
6 Days, 51 Miles, 87 Locks
Day |
Miles |
Locks |
|
|
1 |
4.19 |
12 |
Hanbury Wharf, Droitwich |
Stoke Pound Bridge (48) |
2 |
|
30
|
Stoke Pound Bridge (48) |
Withybed Green (Bridge 61) |
3
|
10.61
|
0
|
Withybed Green (Bridge 61) |
Gas Street Basin, Birmingham |
4
|
6.65
|
25
|
Gas Street Basin, Birmingham |
Minworth - Cincinnati Bridge |
5
|
15.39
|
13
|
Minworth - Cincinnati Bridge |
Huddlesford - Plough Bridge |
6
|
8.41
|
7
|
Huddlesford - Plough Bridge |
Barton Turns Marina |
| |
|
|
|
|
Monday 20th October 2003
A 6 a.m. start from Chelmsford saw us arriving at
Barton Turns Marina around 9 a.m., to drop off our car there and
to meet Nicholas. The plan was for Nicholas to drive us to Hanbury
Wharf, near Droitwich, and then to accompany us on the first 2 days
of the boat trip.
We unloaded the contents of the car on to the boat, picked up
the final paperwork from Hanbury Wharf, bought diesel and a few
essentials from the chandlery, and then were ready for off at 12-30
p.m. The first problem was to get our bearings and to make sure
that we were going in the right direction along the Worcester and
Birmingham Canal! This may sound simple, but the Nicholson map is
a bit confusing at this point and we were thrown by the sign pointing
to “Droitwich”, which is along the yet-unrestored Droitwich
Canal.
Setting
Off from Hanbury Wharf
But we were soon off heading in the right direction and pointing
the boat towards the first set of locks, the 6 Astwood Locks.
These were followed by the 6 Stoke Locks, and by 4-30 p.m. we
were at Bridge 48, just before the 30-lock Tardebigge flight. This
seemed a good place to stop for the night, especially as The Queens
Head pub is located right alongside the canal at Bridge 48. We had
intended to have dinner in the pub, but a quick phone call revealed
that it had just been totally refurbished and they were not doing
meals. So, it was up to Sue to rustle up food on the boat before
we went across to the pub for a drink. The “Queens Head”,
presumably once an old fashioned canal side pub, is now the trendy
“Queens” bar done out in a variety of conflicting styles.
The Queens Head
We settled down for our first night on the boat, with Nicholas
sleeping on quilts and a Thermarest in the front section. Unfortunately
it was the coldest night of the year so far, and we actually had
frost and ice on the inside of the windows!
Tuesday 21st October 2003
Early
morning on the canal
Within a short time we entered the first of the 30 Tardebigge
flight of locks. These locks are the longest flight in Europe and
carry the canal up 217 feet in height. A baptism by fire on our
second day on the boat, but at least we had Nicholas with us to
share in the lock work.
Sue and Nick
The
Tardebigge Flight 
We made a late start at 10-30 a.m. and reached lock 29 by 2-50 p.m. in the afternoon. Nicholas took his leave and cycled back
to Hanbury Wharf to pick up his car, and we carried on to do the
final lock, Tardebigge Top Lock.
This was followed in succession by the 580-yard Tardebigge Tunnel,
and the 613-yard Shortwood Tunnel. We arrived at Bridge 61 near
Alvechurch at 5 p.m. and moored up for the night. The Crown pub
at Withybed Green, next to Bridge 61, looked most inviting and we
stopped there for dinner and a drink.
Wednesday 22nd October 2003
The schedule for the day looked lighter than the previous 2 days,
as there were no locks to contend with and just over 10 miles of
cruising in to the centre of Birmingham. We set off at 9-30 a.m.
and after a couple of miles arrived at the entrance of the 2,726
yard long Wast Hills Tunnel. This is a fairly wide and high tunnel
allowing for boats to travel in opposite directions at the same
time, but it was cold and dank and took 40 minutes to pass through.
We arrived at Kings Norton at 11-30 a.m., Sue going off to do some
shopping whilst I fettled the boat, getting rid of rubbish and taking
on water. We kept to the left at Kings Norton Junction on the Birmingham
and Worcestershire Canal (the Stratford-upon-Avon Canal goes off
to the right) , passing through Bournville, Selly Oak and Edgbaston
on our way to Gas Street Basin in the centre of Birmingham. The
terminus of the Worcester and Birmingham Canal is the stop lock
at Gas Street Basin known as the "Worcester Bar". This
was a physical barrier between the Worcester and Birmingham Canal
and the older Birmingham Canal. The Birmingham Canal refused to
allow a junction and for many years goods had to be transhipped
across the "bar", but this was finally resolved in 1815
by an Act of Parliament which allowed for the stop lock joining
the canals for the first time.
It was interesting to come across 3 working boats carrying coal
going in the opposite direction, a reminder that the canals were
built for industrial transport, not pleasure boating. We arrived
at Gas Street Basin at 3 p.m. and decided to stay there for the
night rather than tackle the Farmers Bridge Locks and the Aston
Locks on the descent to Spaghetti Junction.
Gas
Street Basin, Birmingham
The whole canal area of Gas Street Basin has been regenerated,
and a quick call at the local British Waterways office confirmed
that it was safe to moor there for the night. So we moored right
outside Sea World, opposite the National Indoor Arena, and had dinner
at Pizza Express!
Entrance to the Birmingham & Fazeley Canal, next to the National Indoor Arena
Thursday 23rd October 2003
We set off fairly early, and turned right at the National Indoor
Arena on to the Birmingham & Fazeley Canal. Within minutes we
reached the first of the 13 Farmers Bridge Locks, but ran in to
a problem as the lock paddles are fitted with “handcuffs”
as a water conservation measure to stop vandals opening the paddles.
The lock master’s office was closed, so we phoned British
Waterways for help. Before they came back with a solution, the lock
master arrived on his motor bike! He had been involved in an accident
and had been delayed. We were soon able to purchase the necessary
key, and headed off down the 81-foot fall of the Farmers Bridge
Locks.
Approaching Farmers Bridge Locks
Farmers
Bridge Locks
These locks thread their way through a narrow space between high
rise buildings, and the route is not a particularly pleasant one.
At one point you pass under the footings of a high rise building
that straddles the canal itself. There is a lot of building work
going on, and lots of scaffolding by the side of the canal. The
lock master came down part of the way with us to help us with the
locks, and he confessed that the area was not particularly safe
in the late afternoon and evening. Even he would not go down there
after 6 p.m. he confided!
We soon arrived at Aston Junction, and took the left fork towards
the Aston Locks, a flight of 11 locks leading to Salford Junction,
directly under Spaghetti Junction on the M6. Marginally better than
the Farmers Bridge Locks, you would not want to be caught on the
Aston Flight late in the afternoon early evening. Cuckoo Bridge
is probably the only safe place to moor in this area, and even that
is not so desirable. We decided to continue. We carried on through
Gravelly Hill, Erdington, Tyburn until we came to Minworth Top Lock,
next to the Cincinnati Factory. We arrived here at 4 p.m. and decided
to tie up for the night alongside another boat that had just stopped.
Although next to a busy road, this is a pleasant area as the factory
gardens facing the canal have been nicely groomed.
Aston Locks
Cincinnati Bridge
Friday 24th October 2003
The first job of the day, after the regulation cup of tea of course,
was for Sue to open her Birthday cards and presents. After that
we set off through the remaining two Minworth Locks to Curdworth,
passing through the 57 yard long Curdworth Tunnel and on in to open
countryside. We stopped at White Bridge, after the 6th of the Curdworth
Locks, for lunch and then pressed on to Fazeley Junction. Fazeley
Junction was quite busy and we saw a lot more boats, but those moored
at the junction itself made the left hand turn towards Fradley quite
difficult. The Fazeley Junction area is quite built up with attractive
houses and gardens, and made a pleasant change from the industrial
areas around Birmingham, We had been intending to continue to Fradley
Junction on the Trent & Mersey Canal, but by late afternoon
it was getting cold and we had nearly an hour to go. We stopped
at 5-50 p.m. for the night at Plough Bridge, Huddlesford. We had
intended to go to the Plough Inn for dinner, but it was dark and
cold, and we opted for a meal on the boat and an early night!
Saturday 25th October 2003
We were on the home stretch. We cruised up towards Fradley Junction
from Huddlesford, and entered the junction itself through the swing
bridge. The Swan at Fradley, nicknamed the “Mucky Duck”
is supposed to be one of the most photographed pubs in Britain,
but it did not look much as we approached, and in any case the junction
was heaving with boats making manoeuvring quite difficult. The problem
is that the Junction Lock is immediately after the turn leaving
very little room for the approach. After Junction Lock we passed
through the 6 locks en route to Barton Turns Marina, and arrived
there at around 3 p.m. By this time the wind had got up and it was
driving with rain, making manoeuvring in the marina tricky. Our
designated slot on Pontoon 3 had been take by another boat, so we
were relocated to pontoon 5, slot 232. It was a relief to get in
to the pontoon and to get the boat tied up for the night.
Barton Turns
Marina
|
Mooring
pontoons
|
Good security
|
Service
facilities
|
|
