Birmingham (Aston Science Park)

Here I am Rune

Distance 4.1 miles

Total 2390 Locks  108 Tunnels

Running total mileage 3380.1 miles 

As planned, we have reached Aston Science park which is effectively at the rear of Aston University. It seem that it is (hopefully) a reasonable mooring in the area, since there doesn’t seem to be much else! One potential ‘mooring’ is given in the reference books in Typhoo Basin but, as the photos below demonstrate, I think I’d need to be pretty desperate to want to spend a night there. 

Typhoo Wharf.....

.....supposedly a 'mooring'......

......but not for us thanks!

I suppose that the only point of historical interest it that it obviously used to be the Typhoo Tea factory in Birmingham. The only other points of interest during the day’s trip were the two tunnels that we passed through, Ashted tunnel almost costing us our chimney! 

The mooring we have found is interesting to get to from the neighbourhood since there is no access to the towpath from most of the bridges, this will mean either it will not have many people passing during the night, or it will be where the local ‘yoof’ come knowing they will be uninterrupted by passers-by whilst smoking their joints, we’ll see which one it turns out to be. We have, sadly, already had one ‘encounter’ with local ‘yoof’ (well, 18 – 20 year olds) whose entertainment for the day apparently seems to be spitting off bridges onto boats passing underneath, a rather sad bunch if that constitutes ‘entertainment’.

Tomorrow we will be going back up Farmer’s flight and into the City Centre again for the weekend. We have at the moment booked a passage through Dudley Tunnel for 16^th March, provided that our boat is low enough to pass the gauging that they carry out before you are given permission to be towed through.