Polesworth

Canals Today : Coventry (Detached), Birmingham and Fazeley, Coventry

A brilliant cruising day - sunny with a light cooling breeze, just right. But first, just an explanation of the headline above. Originally the Coventry Canal ran from the city up to Fradley Junction with the Trent and Mersey. However, financial matters forced them to sell off a section from Fazeley to Whittington Brook to the newcomer, the Birmingham and Fazeley canal Company. Why they did not want the detached portion further north we are not sure especially as the changeover point was not even a junction.

Before leaving, Mike went in search of a paper. He had identified two possibilities both much the same distance away, around 8 minutes walking time. He opted for a new Co-Op supermarket in the newer part of Fradley. However, they had no Guardians and so he returned the way he came and then on into the old village where the small Post Office seemed to offer a slim chance. Lo and behold, they had just two copies left! (Sadly, Mike forgot to take a photo of the Post Office only the Co-Op!)

Talking to the lady running the shop she remarked that the other place was more 'Sun' territory and this was 'Telegraph and Guardian' - she went on to explain the history. Across the other side of the canal was a former war time airfield. When it ceased to be used by the RAF, the houses were sold off - the better Officers' Quarters privately and the others to the local authority as council houses. Gradually, the land is being developed with a substantial industrial park but also extensive housing. Some of the new houses looked quite large. The opening of new shops in this area has returned the division that the canal previously represented.

The much-delayed new marina at Kings Orchard is now open although it looks far from complete. They seem to have attracted a few boats, perhaps as many as a couple of dozen but no more than that.

With only two locks today and few other interruptions, it was a day to enjoy the scenery as we gently chugged along. Plenty of boats on the move although almost all that we saw were going the other way (think about it!) Christine snapped this harvested field just beyond the marina. There were also lots of moored boats both in-line permanent moorings as well as those just temporarily visiting (one or two did look as though they were testing the limits of the continuous cruising rules!)

At Huddlesford a short arm - now used as a cruising club mooring - is all that is left of the section of the Wyrley and Essington Canal which once ran to here from Ogley Junction. There are those who live in hope of restoring the link but the map suggests that it will be quite a task.

We spotted, having missed it on previous trips this way, the stone that marks the boundary between the two canals.

After a good lunch break - sadly all the special bread has now gone but we have had at least five good days - we continued. Next stop was a brief call at Peel's Wharf just before Fazeley Junction to dispose of rubbish and empty the elsan.

Left turn at the junction and we were back on the main part of the Coventry Canal with a short run then to the two locks at Glascote. These are not especially deep locks, a reminder of the surveying skills of the original canal builders that could trace a level route over such long distances.

First we crossed over the Tame Aqueduct - Mike was allowed to climb down to the river level to take photos.

The Glascote locks proved comparatively easy to work and were soon behind us, with another long stretch, this 4time until Atherstone. The first part skirts around the housing estates of Tamworth. Pleasant but with even more moored boats!

The only large house we noticed today was Pooley Hall and it was generally hidden from the canal by trees.

No time for the Atherstone flight today so we moored just a little bit short, away from the main line railway and not overshadowed by trees. Alas, having started on this blog we then discover that there is no mobile signal at the moment! (There had been not long before we stopped!)

16.1 miles - 2 locks

Fradley

Today's Canals : Trent and Mersey, Coventry

The forecast was for a rather warm day and indeed it was. However, the hoped for sunshine did not arrive until around 4 pm as we arrived at thew top of the two locks above Fradley Junction. nevertheless, a very pleasant day for cruising.

We were just a little later than usual in setting off, partly as Mike had still to prepare something to say on Sunday morning!

Only four locks today, the first came quite soon at Colwich. This and the next two have an unusual feature: the balance beams were designed to be much shorter than elsewhere. Here the consequent loss of leverage and balance (the weight of the beams counteracts that of the gate itself) is compensated by attaching weights but these cannot have been original. At the next two the beams are cranked.

All this is hard to explain as the adjacent bridges seem to be original (they have the ironwork on top of the coping stones where top ropes have worn grooves) so why were they built too close to the locks for full length balance beams? A mystery which hopefully someone out there will answer!

We speculated as to whether this barn close to the church in the village of Colwich might once have been a Tithe barn.

Any questions about whether the power station at Rugeley had gone the same way as that at Meaford were soon answered when the characteristic plumes of water vapour from the huge cooling towers could be seen long before any sign of the structures themselves.

The Trent gradually increases in size - the proximity to so many power stations is testament to how much water flows down it - and now requires more significant bridges. This is Wolseley Bridge.

Through trees we could just see Bishton Hall, according to Nicholsons now a school. According to Google it is also an upmarket wedding venue as well as home to a prep school.

Just before Brindley Bank, the canal crosses over the Trent on a squat aqueduct.

An information board nearby references a story to be followed up . . .

We knew that Bridge 66 was the best place for shops in Rugeley - we have never been to the town before. There are plenty of visitor moorings although the first spot we tried was too shallow!

The town centre was only a few minutes walk from the canal - a new Tesco store is about to open on the opposite side of the bridge. There was a small outdoor market as well as an indoor one. Both they and the shops were a bit lack lustre and, alas, we made most of purchases at Morrisons.

The power station looms over the town but a line of out-of-scale conifers hides the site from the canal. As far as we could make out, quite a lot of the land once used by the power station has now been re-developed as a light industrial estate.

Spode House, together with an adjoining priory, was once home to the eponymous pottery family. It now seems to be open to the public as well as also being a wedding and conference venue.

Armitage Tunnel was long ago opened out and just leaves a long narrow section - boats need to take care than no-one is already in the narrows before entering it. A more recent bridge carries the A513 overhead and, for a short distance, it almost feels as if the tunnel has returned!

Most of the run from here to Fradley is very pretty and trees crowd in on both sides. The disadvantage is that they have been long neglected and the overhanging branches - especially the weeping willows - can make navigation much more difficult and, at times, hazardous.

Guess what this factory at Armitage makes!

Here, at Wood End Lock, is another of the cranked (and cramped) set of bottom gate balance beams.

As we neared Fradley the sun came out and there were bright blue patches in the sky. This sign reveals an interesting feature of the canal that we would otherwise have completely missed. It says, "The Trent and Mersey Canal Company dug this open channel to carry water from above Middle Lock to Fradley Pool. this stopped 'their' water from going into the Coventry Canal"  Water has always been a precious commodity and we should not lose sight of that and take it for granted.

At the junction we planned to take on water. Despite it being given in Nicholsons, a water point by the pub is not for public use but luckily there was a 'proper' one just around the corner at the start of the Coventry Canal. The main service block is one lock down along the Trent and Mersey at the former Maintenance Yard so it was a bit of a carry for elsan and rubbish disposal.

We did not want to moor on the immediate visitor moorings (not a lot of space, crowded and not possibility of a satellite signal) so we carried on but it took a little while, through the village of Fradley itself, before we found a satisfactory mooring spot where there was enough depth of water beside the bank.

13.1 miles - 4 locks

Great Haywood

Today's Canal : Trent and Mersey

The weather forecast was for a much warmer day and from mid morning onwards it was really hot - almost time for sun screen! There was plenty of cloud around and by late afternoon this dominated the sky.

There were two locks and a short distance to the centre of Stone. We stopped at the sani station for disposals and then at the adjacent Stone Boat Building chandlery shop. Mike was looking for a small piece of rope to make strings for fenders. He was hoping for ready-made ones (we found some a while back but only one now remains) but had to settle for plain rope and a a recollection of how to eye splice on a You Tube video a few weeks ago!

The bridge before the boatyard has a separate horse tunnel to take the towpath under the bridge. We assume this means that the road bridge was enlarged whilst horses were still in use - after all, the canals were built because at the time there were few good roads.

At Lock 28 opposite the Canal Cruising wharf, Christine left Mike and walked the short distance into town for a paper and some bread. When she returned via the bridge at the next lock she had found what she was looking for including an excellent bakery.

Lock 28 is a little bit special as it is the first lock we ever did when we hired a boat from Canal Cruising - standards for boats are a bit different today!

At The Star pub alongside the next lock we were amused by two signs - hopefully no-one will fall in when the pub is closed!

Most of today, after leaving Stone, was plain sailing - that is few locks or movable bridges to interrupt the smooth flow along the canal. The sun gradually came out.

It was very warm sitting at the front of the boat eating lunch - we eventually set off once more with a steady stream of boats coming the other way.

Most of the bridges are much the same but this one at Salt is rather ornate. (Salt has a small church which we went to on the first morning of our honeymoon. How we found it is a bit of a mystery as the intervening hedgerow at the side of the towpath has now grown much more substantial and blocks all but the briefest of glimpses of the church. Furthermore, there we no inkling of anything like A Church Near You web site! Even the maps would have been one inch ones)

A little later we could see Weston Hall in the distance.

A picture to show that when there is some decent sunshine we can take much better photos - the church in the distance is in the village of Weston.

At one point we were passed by Briar Rose - only spotted who it was after they had almost gone by. Pity we did not meet at a lock as it would have been good to chat with a fellow blogger.

Turning into a wonderful late summer's afternoon, just right for plain cruising.

The little one had just been giving his mate a tough time!

We continued straight ahead at Great Haywood Junction where the Staffs and Worcester turns right. This next section we have not covered for some years - the rest of the Trent and Mersey has seen numerous visits but, somehow, we have always joined or left at Haywood and Fradley.

For some time now, especially on the Macclesfield and down from the Trent and Mersey summit at Etruria, we have had comparatively deep locks. So it was rather a surprise to come across a shallower one - the boat roof when the lock is empty hardly reaches down to the top of the lock.

Shortly after the lock we caught a glimpse of Shugborough Hall, with the River Trent in between. The river is now more like a river than the insignificant ditch that we crossed in Stoke!

Just before the next lock we spotted a good mooring - since the junction there were no gaps in the trees for the satellite TV signal so when we found one, with a nice piling edge, we pulled in.

11.1 miles - 9 locks

Meaford

Today's Canal: Trent and Mersey

Part of the reason that we moored just above Etruria Junction last night was because we had identified a church within reasonable walking distance: St Mark's, Shelton which had a service at 9:30. With the help of Google images we found a surprisingly quick route (better than that suggested by Google Directions!) and it took just 15 minutes.

St Mark's, Shelton

The church is very large and stands on a prominent site. Inside there have been some adaptations to make separate spaces within what was the main nave area but the 25 congregation still failed to go very far in filling it! We were warmly welcomed to what was a conventional Common Worship communion service with a well-prepared sermon. Afterwards we stayed a short while for coffee and a chat - the priest had to dash off to another church in the Hanley group.

We returned to the boat by the same route and, rather sooner than we had anticipated, set off down the Stoke locks.

Between the first and second lock stands the Etruscan Bone and Flint Mill - Erected 1857, now part of Etruria Industrial Museum.

There was a steady stream of boats coming up although few reports of any going down ahead of us. This meant that we made good progress. Amusingly, almost every boat we spoke to, plus two that arrived at the junction as we set off, were heading for the Caldon Canal. Some mentioned that they expected it to be quiet!

Just down the road from Bridge 115 stands this imposing former industrial building - not found out what it was but now seems to be incorporated into a residential development.

Just a little further and these two former bottle kilns have been saved and are sandwiched between two modern apartment blocks. We have probably included these in a blog in a previous year but they bear repeating!

You cannot get a canal lock and a railway train much closer than this!

The last of the Stoke locks was rebuilt during the ring road developments (see http://www.thepotteries.org/photo_wk/184.htm for interesting photos) and is extremely slow both to fill and to empty. The lady from the next boat waiting to come up happily told both of us, separately, her story! One of the delights of canal boating is that people you have never met before but share in a common activity are so often happy to chat in a way that otherwise just would not happen.

The next stretch is immediately alongside the main road - it was good to see that some of the famous names are still worth signposting!

We think we have not noticed before when passing over the River Trent Aqueduct! Perhaps not surprising as the river at this point is pretty insignificant - just remember what such humble beginnings in life can turn out to become later in life!

The large incinerator at Sideway stand on part of the site that was once the huge Hem Heath (later Trentham) colliery. This, together with the associated power station a little further on at Meaford, closed in the huge changes in power generation that took place in the early 1990's, partly driven by political forces as well as (short term) economics. A small reminder is all that can be seen now from the canal.

Once we were clear of the city we pulled in to moor for a good lunch break - some of yesterday's fantastic bread from Congleton was left over and we enjoyed it just as much second time around!

After passing through the rather isolated Trentham Lock we had almost three miles level cruising before the Meaford flight.

This former railway bridge is about the only indication we could see of the site of the one time Meaford power station that once dominated the landscape.

The turnover bridges on this canal are not as strikingly elegant as the snake bridges on the Macclesfield but were still more efficient than those on others where the tow rope would have had to be detached to pass by.

After completing the four locks in the flight we moored immediately below otherwise we would soon be in Stone and mooring spots might be harder to find.

10.3 miles - 10 locks