Windmill End

Today's Canals - Stourbridge Extension, Fens Branch, Stourbridge, Dudley No1 and No2

We thought that we had found a church near enough to walk to but then discovered that it only holds a service on the first and third Sundays each month.

Overnight mooring

The day was, as forecast, rather warmer than the past few days, but thw sky remained generally overcast with high clouds rather than rain showers.

We reversed out of the Stourbridge Extension canal where we moored overnight, back onto the Fens Branch where we were able to turn and face back down the way we came last evening.

The canal follows the contour around Brierley Hill - not sure what sort of work they manage at Delph Marine - until it arrives at the bottom of the Delph Locks flight.

Jusr before the locks there are a couple of towpath bridges which once allowed boats to access wharves at mines or factories served by the canal. The former industrial history is now often buried beneath housing estates.

Nine Locks Bridge

The bridge at the bottom of the flight marks the change from the Stourbridge Canal to Dudley No 1. The Delph Locks are known as the Nine Locks - the bridge at the top lock still proclaims this name. However, the observant will notice that there are only eight locks!

The original flight did indeed have nine locks but re-building of seven locks in mid nineteenth century converted them to six. The design of the replacement locks is very impressive. Wide overflow weirs stand out and large ponds alongside the locks helps to maintain levels in the very short pounds in between.

A heron stood guard in one of the short pounds.

As Mike came to climb up the ladder in Lock 2 he spotted an unusual occupant of the steps. It seemed rather unsure where it was - perhaps it had become stuck when the water level was dropped in the lock but it eventually found a way of hopping up one rung at a time until it escaped onto the lock side!

Just after starting the flight we were joined by a local lady out for a Sunday morning walk - not sure what to do - so spent the next hour helping us through the flight. As a result we came up the flight in just about 70 minutes.

A short while later we passed the Merry Hill Shopping Centre well below the level of the canal. Until 1980's this was the site of the Round Oak Steelworks which closed, creating real economic problems locally. The retail and entertainment area houses over 250 units. The Waterfront is the name given to the development alongside the canal. Sadly several of the shop units seemed empty at the moment.

Two of the first companies to occupy units at Merry Hill were MFI and Harris Queensway carpets - anyone remember them? We certainly do as our first bedroom furniture in 1967 came from MFI in its very early days!

The route we now had to follow up to Park Head Junction runs very close to the next section of the canal, at times only a couple of hundred metres apart. At one time there was a short cut know as the Two Lock line but subsidence caused its closure and so we now have to take the long way around, passing through the deepest lock on the BCN, Blowers Green. This was originally built as two locks but, again, subsidence caused one of them to collapse and they were re-built as one.

At the junction is a full set of facilities so, as well as the usual disposals, we took on water. Whilst the tank was filling we had our lunch. Mike then took a walk up the three Park Head Locks which raise the canal up to the Dudley Tunnel level. He persuaded a somewhat reluctant Christine that we should add yet another new canal to our list by going up three and immediately down three!

Parkhead Basin and Dudley Tunnel South Portal

Above the locks it opens out into a large grassy area, once a busy interchange. Two arms connected from here to various mines and factories.

The Dudley Tunnel is open but can only be navigated by very low boats with the permission of the Dudley Canal Trust. Sadly we are too high to fit.

A stop gate guards the entrance to the canal although the level was equal either side of it.

After returning back down the locks to the junction we then had two and a half miles meandering along the contour towards Windmill End, just before the start of the Netherton Tunnel. However, there was now not enough time to continue through to the centre of Birmingham and there are not really many places to moor along the Main Line. However, the area around Windmill End is very pleasant and there is a good stretch of visitor moorings.

Whilst a little earlier we had looked down on the Merry Hill Centre, as we approached Windmill End houses reared up on the side of the hill through which Netherton Tunnel was driven.

This hill had proved quite an obstacle to canal builders. Before Netherton, both the Dudley and Lappal tunnels had been constructed, both of which suffered from subsidence and small bore. Netherton, altogether much more substantial and lit by gas lamps, was very much the motorway of its time!

Cobbs Engine House

Christine managed to locate a local shop for a few immediate items and then went to take a look at the huge Cobbs Engine House and chimney that stands close to the tunnel entrance. It was built to drain the local mines.

7.4 miles - 15 locks