BCNS Explorer Cruise part 2 May 19th to 23rd

Sunday morning, and a bunch of Club members tipped out of bed to work the flight of 9 locks for us. Much appreciated as it was squaring up to be a hot day and we had 11 miles to go. The first few were fine, albeit increasingly built-up. 

Then we turned onto the Walsall Canal. It's shallow, weedy and full of rubbish.

The weed got worse, so you couldn't spot any rubbish coming, so we went the whole way on tickover.  We were so lucky that that this little lot got stuck on the front instead of the propellor! Others were much unluckier.

Still plenty of wildlife making a living

And at long last, into Walsall Basin,

An oasis of lovely moorings, bars, restaurants and shopping all in easy reach. On a sunny Sunday afternoon,  a lovely vibe of folk having a good time, and fascinated by the stream of boats arriving. We moored against the railings of the below  establishment,  which effectively  dictated dinner.

Monday, and the original plan had been to continue up the Walsall Canal and its flight of locks. However, the very top lock was closed for repairs

and while it was due to reopen later that day, CRT were not keen on 15 boats passing through while the mortar was barely dry.

So back down the southern part we went. We started quite slowly, being the 2nd last out of the Basin. Soon however we realised there was a problem:

One boat had a double duvet around its prop, which immobilised it entirely: another took them in tow.

But then they got the duvet cover round their prop: and another boat took over.

as they continued pulling handfuls of duvet stuffing out from under their boat.

Once that little blockage was sorted, we made good time along the Tame Valley canal, back towards the built-up centre and to the by now very familiar John the Lock moorings at Tipton.

Tuesday,  and rain. The cruise was off to another Silver Propellor location, the Bradley Arm. We had been there last year and had had a shocking time trying to manoeuvre through the weed at the Basin end, and it was in fact a fairly short walk by land. So we stayed moored and took in a different view of Tipton.

A victim of subsidence here but still going strong as a pub. There must be some odd optical illusions inside!

We soon arrived to find our fellow Cruisers all moored up

And went on the tour of the CRT workshop that builds lock gates. This is for Audlem, just around the corner from our home mooring!

And then another yomp to find lunch.. we'd neglected to pack sarnies and of course our home was quite far away.. Followed by a walk along the track of a disused canal which is under restoration.

Finally, back up the hill where the flight of locks used to be, back to Tipton, and the welcome of the Fountain Inn.

That first pint did not last long!

Wednesday and off to the Black Country Living Museum: heavy rain. We decided again to stay put and walk, reducing the inevitable congestion at the Museum.

There were some new exhibits and others that we hadn't got to last year, including the motor Museum.

And this:

It has such a huge beam at the top, rocking the pistons, that it protrudes beyond the building.

That evening, a welcome return to Mad O'Rourke's Pie Factory.

The food is tasty and helpings are ginormous. Recommended!

And here comes Friday, the last day of the cruise for us. For another member, too, whose bodged alternator fix had resulted in:

Engineers tell me this is a very horrible sight, with everything that should be straight, wonky, and needing replaced. So immobilised awaiting a proper repair.

We were off to Central Birmingham, via a museum at a disused water pumping station set between the Old and New Lines into Birmingham. Running more or less parallel, the Old line hugs contours and up and down locks, whereas the New charges straight through in its own custom dug valley, 50 feet lower and lock free, ensuring quicker journey times.

At this point the two canals are barely 10 metres apart, from a birds eye view.

The Museum is entirely run by volunteers and therefore only open by appointment.  The custodian is a fountain of knowledge and stories about the Birmingham canals and the characters who lived and worked on them.

While the cruise was to sail on to Withymoor Island the next day, Andrew and I both had places to be that needed train stations, so we said fond farewells. Friends of ours on the cruise, Dave and Ros, joined us at The Distillery for dinner, later joined by the leaders Paul and Kirsty, and Phil, lockwheeler extraordinaire, along with a boater friendly BBC journalist who was doing a fine job promoting the BCNS 24 hour challenge in particular,  and the Fund Britain's Waterways campaign in general. An excellent way to end the most marvellous few days.