We awoke to a bright sunny morning and it remained this way all day. By lunch time it was pleasantly warm, only becoming chilly again later in the afternoon.
Our main aim to today was to fulfil a meet with Joanna and Adrian so they could drop off Alice and Jess whilst the parents take a short break in the Peak District.
Andrew and Mike set off in good time. On the opposite bank they saw this huge retaining wall being constructed - at first it looked like a competitor for the Berlin Wall. Later investigation suggested that an area of wasteland is being prepared for new developments.
They quickly arrived at the three Brades Locks. The unusual feature here is that the upper two are formed as a staircase.
Alongside the locks stands the Hindu Temple Shri Venkateswara (Balaji) which is the largest of its kind in Europe.
Immediately above the staircase is the junction with the Birmingham Old Main Line (Wolverhampton Level). Here we turned left towards Birmingham. The Valencia Wharf Coffee Shop is a little unusual as it comes with its own mooring pontoons! At least the cafe seemed busier than the moorings.
The Chemical Arm is all that is left of a longer branch that gained its name late in life when it connected to several works processing noxious chemicals, especially during the last war. Much of it was built over when the motorway was created but the after effects of the pollution continue.
In a fairly short distance we arrived at the junction with the Titford Canal. This junction cannot be seen on the OS Map or on Google Sat View as it is hidden underneath yet another elevated motorway section.
The once-derelict flight of six locks was restored in the 1970's and are very easy to work. Mike and Andrew reached the top 35 minutes after starting at the bottom.
Alongside the top lock is the restored former pumphouse which now houses the offices of the BCNS.
A little further on is the former Langley Maltings which supplied a local brewery for many years. However it closed in 2007 and has been proposed for conversion into apartments since then. Now, its current condition is rather poor with many of the roofs having fallen in.
We continued on, passing under the motorway once again, as it strides across the Titford Pools reservoir.
The further Pool is the other side of the bridge and is surprisingly wide, with plenty of depth to turn and well kept.
We tracked back a short distance to where we had arranged to meet. By then we were informed that they expected to arrive by 11.45 and it was now just after 11 so we felt that there was not really enough time to go shopping first. They did indeed arrive bang on schedule.
After a mug of coffee and a little chat, Joanna and Adrian left for their holiday hideaway. Andrew also set off to catch the train from the nearby station to pick up his car from Berkhampsted. After lunch Mike walked back to Asda for the few items we needed - alas he failed to find a newspaper as they did not stock the right one. He explored the street close to where we had moored and found Langley Village, a collection of small shops where - although it was half-day closing (did not realise anywhere still kept that!) - he did track down the paper.
Time then to set off with the girls to go down the locks. Alice promptly buried herself as usual in her book but Jess was very effective at opening and closing lock gates.
This time we could see rather more clearly the state of the Maltings. Apparently it suffered an extensive fire in 2009, just after we first came this way
Alas this diesel supplier was not close enough for boats to take advantage - regardless of price! But one wonders which members of the public around here can legitimately fill up with red diesel?
We were doing quite well at first until Christine looked as if she was doing a trip boat excursion around the wide pound. In fact she had lost all forward power as a result of something caught around the prop. From where she ended up, Mike could not get aboard so we had to take a line ashore, not as easy as it might have been because of a protected gas pipeline with spiky guards sticking up. Eventually we managed to pull the boat into the lock where Mike and Jess tackled the weed hatch. This time it was principally an industrial bag of thick material but it came off reasonably readily along with the usual assortment of plastic and weeds as well as fishing line.
We were then able to complete the flight and turned back onto the Old Main Line. It was a pleasant warm late afternoon as cruised along, looking for somewhere to moor and be convenient for Andrew to park his car to load up.
We eventually settled on some moorings listed in the guidebook close to a housing development complete with its own small marina, sadly not used for boats.
We then awaited news of Andrew's return. Jess assisted Mike in preparing the evening meal.
7.0 Miles - 15 Locks
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