A very wet day! It was barely damp at first when Mike set off for a paper. As suspected, the shop where Christine went last night did not stock the Guardian but suggested a shop in Netherton Town about 10 minutes walk. After passing an odd assortment of businesses, including Black Country Tours (decrepit), tattoos, line dancing outfits and a large sign saying Welcome to Netherton with a cutout shape of a canal boat with passengers that looked as if on a coach trip, a newsagent hove into sight. Alas, no Guardian but the chap agreed that this was not the area to stock it!
By the time Mike was back at the boat and we were ready to depart, a fine misty rain had descended. However, after five minutes we were into the Netherton Tunnel. It has to be said that the next forty minutes were the best weather all day!
The tunnel is large bore and absolutely straight. (The photo after leaving the tunnel shows how it is possible to see the other end) We could see that a boat had just started from the opposite end and we passed juts before we reached the mid point. Once the view was clear we could the bridge just beyond the tunnel. Interestingly, although it was not possible at this distance to make out much detail, it seemed as if there was a white light in the middle. When we emerged it turned out to be the mooring bollard on the end of the gauging island!
Most of the junctions on the Main Line have toll islands or gauging stops which would have been used to collect the tolls that were the commercial reason for building the canal.
By the time we were out onto the Main Line - which is dead straight for most of the way into central Birmingham - the rain steadily increased from a simple drizzle to much heavier rain drops. Christine wisely stayed inside, drumming up support via the internet for her sponsored abseil in aid of Christian Aid in September. (Any willing donors go to JustGiving to hand over your hard earned cash!)
http://www.justgiving.com/owner-email/pleasesponsor/Christine-Todd2
Numerous towpath bridges are often all the remains to show how the canal was once the driver for so much economic industrial activity in the past.
We passed about four boats all morning, all looking as bedraggled as Mike! All trying to remember that today is August Bank Holiday! Why do we need bank holidays anymore? One might have thought that with the desire to do away with the 'nanny state', we no longer need to be told when to take our holidays? That way we would only have ourselves to blame if our chosen date included rain rather than baking sunshine. How about a national Abolish Bank Holidays campaign - we can never remember when they are anyway and it is always a bind when you suddenly discover that places are not open!
The drizzle, even more than rain, quickly meant that photos were all but off the agenda - with rain drops on the lens!
Some of the bridges that cross the canal have interesting names but surprisingly some are just redundant. This one joins a derelict warehouse on the one side to the other side of the canal where it is immediately blocked by the railway line. The next bridge is likewise. Perhaps it is not worth anyone demolishing them until they become dangerous.
For something different we opted to take the Icknield Port Loop - every other time we have been this way we have not had time and were uncertain about its navigability. We should not have worried: as soon as we turned into the loop, a trip boat coming the other way followed behind us.
At the far end there is an extensive waterways depot and workshop. Mike thought that this loop was to be re-developed but, apart from some demolition of former buildings, nothing much is happening at the moment but it could easily become quite a smart area. The grass bank behind the workshops is the edge of a large reservoir.
A pagoda overlooks the canal - it would be incongruous if it were not an important and significant place for the many adherents living in this part of the city.
Back on the Main Line we were now very close to Brindley Place. At this time of day there was a good choice of moorings although the spaces gradually filled up during the afternoon.
After lunch, and a chance for Mike to change, dry out and warm up, we walked to the nearby Sainsbury local to top up supplies and, hopefully, largely keep us going for the next three days.
With no sign to the end of the rain we decided to stay put until tomorrow - but this does mean we will have quite a timetable to keep if we are to have plenty of time to pack up the boat in readiness for its repaint in September.
9.6 miles - 0 locks
No comments:
Post a Comment