Birmingham

 

Here I am Rune

Distance 8.9 miles 

Total 5346 Locks  436 Tunnels

Running total mileage 8044.8 miles

 

So, once again, back to Birmingham City Centre where we intend to stay until Thursday with a few things we need to do whilst here. The forecasted rain didn’t turn up and it was generally an uneventful trip into Birmingham. Couple of observations in that they could do with tidying up a few of their ‘toll islands’, not so much the vegetation growing on them, but more the vegetation at the approaches. At the Engine Arm ‘toll island’ since nothing was coming the other way I went through on the ‘wrong’ side since the approach to the correct side was badly overhung with vegetation that I would have had to plough through, both going in and coming out the other side. I don’t look forward to going through Bromford Stop either since on the correct side there is a lot of vegetation added to which when you come out you then run aground, again I’m minded to go through on the ‘wrong’ side. The other place that could do with tidying up is around the exit from Galton Tunnel where a tree went down months ago. A passage through has been cleared but you have to go close to the towpath, and when you do the boat grounds.

Black Country Museum, Dudley.

 

Here I am Rune

Distance 5.9 miles 

Total 5343 Locks  435 Tunnels

Running total mileage 8035.9 miles

 

Well this was a ‘welcome back to the BCN' sort of day. Having travelled over 100 miles around the 4 Counties ring with just a single visit to the weed hatch, I’ve done under 6 miles of the BCN and been down there twice, once to ‘recover’ a shirt and a pair of trousers that had brought the boat to a complete stop. The other problem is that there is now so much weed growth that you cannot simply pull to the side to clear the prop, so find yourself having to do it in the middle of the canal. Fortunately, once again, there haven’t been that many boats on the move so by doing so I didn’t inconvenience anyone.

It is the delay caused by weed and crap around the prop that amended our journey details and we have now stopped for the night at the Black Country Museum, we’ll press on into Birmingham tomorrow, although the weather forecast isn’t so good.

Wolverhampton

 

Here I am Rune

Distance 2.4 miles 

Total 5343 Locks  433 Tunnels

Running total mileage 8030 miles

 

Bit of a grind coming up the Wolverhampton 21 flight today. The pound between locks 17 and 18 was empty so we had to wait for CRT to run some water down. The above lock 5 to the top all of the pounds were down so we were contantly getting stuck on the cill, either going into the lock or getting out of one. All in all it took us getting on for 5 hours to get through the flight. Curiously we only met one boat coming down which given that the weather was excellent and it is a week-end was a bit unexpected. Even since we’ve been moored here in Wolverhampton only two boats have come past, one a private boat, one a hire boat, where is everyone?

Took the opportunity of a shaded mooring to put the 2^nd coat on the stern area of the boat, so that is one job completed, all I need to do is put the fenders back on in the morning before we set off. The aim tomorrow will be to get into Birmingham, although we are a day ahead of schedule if we do.