To Audlem

It was a 9am departure this morning as we waited for the rain to stop.  A brief stop at the Market Drayton water point to top up the tank and dispose of the rubbish.  Then it was a steady cruise north with frequent bursts of reverse to clear the prop of leaves.  At this time of year they get attracted to the blades and build up to the point where the boat struggles to make headway.  A burst of reverse flicks them off.  The problem is particularly prevalent at the entrance and exit to locks.

Before continuing on the subject of locks I must mention that car.

Two readers think it might be a Daimler whilst one thinks it might be an Austin.  Garry thought there might be a ‘D’ on the hubcap.  I zoomed in on the original photo.

I can’t see a ‘D’.  Then I zoomed in on the figure on top of the radiator

Very blurred photo because it was taken with the small camera.

I’m no wiser?

I also need to mention the cookie banner.  Two Jan’s (mine and Jan from nb Qisma) still see the banner on their iPads.  Peter has left a comment correctly pointing out that if you accept the cookie (GOT IT option) then you won’t see the banner again, provided you don’t erase the cookies off your machine!  I regularly erase the cookies on the laptop and don’t see the banner.  It’s a mystery.  Of course I could change our IP Address to a non EU location and the banner wouldn’t appear on any machine looking at the blog.

Back to boating.  We reached Adderley Locks (5) to find the farm stall empty.  The CCTV sign says it all.  Obviously some dishonest people have been helping themselves to the stock without paying and it appears the stall holder has given up. 

A similar situation appears to exist at the top of the Audlem Flight.

Jan was working Waiouru down the top lock when I noticed a boater at the second lock.  A familiar walk, pink top and coffee mug in hand.  It had to be Judith from nb Serena. 

John was out of sight down in the lock.  Eventually he appeared and we had one of those fleeting conversations as we passed in the pound.

 

 

Meanwhile Judith and Jan managed to catch up on events since our last meeting at the beginning of summer.

John and Judith are travelling south towards their winter mooring whilst we are heading for the Llangollen Canal.

We passed three more boats coming up the flight arriving at Audlem around 2pm.  In the early evening I went for a local walk.  I only took the phone so the photos are not that good. Not that I’m claiming I ever take good photos.

The former lock keepers cottage at Lock 13 is getting a makeover.

The ‘Shroppie Fly’ is again open for business

Got to go this way tomorrow morning to visit the local butcher.

Cookie Banner and the Mifi

After some correspondence with our youngest son he has advised us he no longer sees the cookie banner at the top of our blog.  If you are in Europe you have almost certainly seen this banner.

I hate it!  The damned thing clogs up the top of the blog and I’ve been working on the blog html code to remove it.  Our son informs us it has now gone, so hopefully no one else can see it? I’m probably breaking EU law by removing it; but by next year EU law may not be applicable in the UK.

The second solved problem is the T-Mobile mifi dongle purchased from eBay.  The seller didn’t advertise it as being locked to the T-Mobile network and I’ve been working out how to unlock it so it will work with our ID (Carphone Warehouse) SIM card.  I must mention the comment from blog reader Dave who kindly did some research and sent me three separate links on how to unlock the mifi.  One of these options produced the required file which was supposed to include the unlock code number.  Unfortunately the number wasn’t present.  Still, I’m grateful to Dave for going to the effort. 

After much gnashing and grinding of my teeth along with pulling out clumps of fast disappearing hair I begrudgingly paid eBay 99p for the code.  It arrived by email within a hour of placing the order.  The seller actually provided three unlock codes.  The first was invalid <onset of panic at the thought of wasting 99p> however to my immense relief the second number successfully unlocked the device.  I then had to work on changing the device access pin and name.  Once that was resolved the mifi was connected to the external aerial.

Maximum signal strength and on the 3UK network.  We’re actually getting a stronger signal than the previous Zoom wifi router and usb dongle.  The latter is now the backup system.  Total cost for the new system was £10.99.

Good Weather

What a great day to be boating without a breeze, some long periods of autumn sunshine and fantastic scenery.

Departing Gosnall Heath just after 9am we headed north towards Norbury Junction.  It was going to be a longer cruise than yesterday because we didn’t want a planned stop at Norbury.  It’s not that the people there are unfriendly but rather the 3 mobile coverage is very poor.

Norbury Wharf

High Bridge is the next bridge after Norbury Junction and the almost unique double arch and telegraph pole frequently gets photographed by passing boaters.  We were not the exception!

Slightly further on is a small collection of boats moored on the offside. There’s nothing particularly unusual about the boats, however the vehicles are a different matter.  Jan thinks this next car looks like a similiar model as that driven by James Herriot in the television series “All Creatures Great and Small”.

Whilst I thought the other vehicle under the lean-to shed might have a winged lady on the radiator?

Probably not!

There is a small wharf in a winding hole just after Bridge 44.  Initially I thought it was a boatyard but then realised the sign on one of the boats was advertising cratch covers.

Around the bend and halfway down the straight is the old wharf where chocolate crumble was loaded for shipping to Cadbury’s Bourneville on the other side of Birmingham.

Looking in the opposite direct it was possible to see the major feature which tends to follow the boater along this part of the Shroppie.

It’s the Wrekin (Ree-Kin).  The hill rises some 400 metres above the Shropshire plain and can be see for miles in all directions.  I could see it when walking along the top of Kinver Edge.

We were following a distant boat which appeared to be hovering at a bridge hole.  Then we realised a boat was coming from the opposite direction.  Upon closing up with the boat ahead we discovered there were two boats coming from the opposite direction and they were actually exiting  Woodseaves Cutting.  Woodseaves is over a mile long and more than 70ft deep through very solid rock.  Because the rock was so hard the canal builders made the cutting rather narrow. 

Waiting for the 2nd boat

We followed behind the lead boat only to discover a further three boats coming towards us.  We’d been cruising for four hours and scarcely seen a boat, yet when we reached the narrows we meet five!

Boat Four

Shortly thereafter we reached Tyrley Locks (5) where we met a boat coming up at each lock.  Jan managed to take a photo of some of our favourite tree people in the pound immediately below the bottom lock.

After seeing so many boats close to Market Drayton we were starting to wonder if there would be a vacant mooring.  Fortunately our fears were unfounded.  The weather forecast for tomorrow is rain and if that occurs it will be a rest day.

Cross-eyed fish

There were cross-eyed fish swimming upside down and in circles beside the side hatch last night.  Two weeks ago we sampled the cherry gin we’d made and it tasted like vinegar.  Sugar was added to sweeten it but upon a second sampling yesterday evening it had acquired the flavour of cough medicine.  Out the side hatch it went!

This morning I walked back the way we had come and took a photo of Wheaton Ashton Lock and the scene north.

We are finding there are plenty of vacant moorings now that the fair weather boaters have headed to Spain for the winter.  It was only a short move to Turner’s Garage where we took on 331 litres of diesel at 54.9ppl + tax.  The attendant was very chatty and wanted to discuss the rugby.  He had no concerns about England being knocked out telling us they simply weren’t good enough.  He had more sympathy for Wales and Scotland.

It was a still and mild autumn morning which made the cruise through the countryside at 1000rpm all the more pleasant.  We’re not in a hurry and plan to cruise an average of 3 hours daily.

Upon rounding a bend we found our first boat of the day coming towards us. It was  Pam & Terry on nb The Roosters Rest.  It was one of those brief passing conversations.  Pam inquired about Jaq (nb Valerie) and then they were on their way.

For some reason my memory of this stretch of canal in 2003 was of long straights with open countryside.  Now there are shrubs and trees.  Perhaps my mind is playing tricks on me.

Jan is very taken with this house and would make them an offer they couldn’t refuse.  But only if she wins lotto.

At Little Onn a CRT License Checker was walking south along the towpath.  We had our number taken (good) and he gave us a wave before continuing on.

All too soon we were at Cowley Tunnel.  The southern portal gives the impression it is lined, but once inside you realise it has been cut through solid rock.  Pick marks can bee seen on the surface.

We could have carried on to Norbury Junction but know from experience the internet coverage there is ‘patchy’.  Consequentially we stopped and moored at Gosnall Heath.  There was only one boat on the 48 hour moorings when we arrived and they left within an hour.  We have all the moorings to ourselves.  What a contrast with our previous visit during the height of summer in 2014.  The only negative is the number of boaters who don’t slow when passing.

“They will talk to me!”

Jan was determined that each fisherman would make eye contact and exchange a few words.  Even if it means taking their attention away from the competition.  And she succeeded!

It was a noisy night moored at the top of the Wolverhampton 21.  Most of the noise was brake squeal from the passing rolling stock.  After that any thought of staying longer had disappeared by morning.  It took us 4½ hours to descend the 21 locks.  We passed one boat coming up  and most of the locks were in our favour.

At Lock 5 we were reminded of the subterranean access pointed out by Paul Balmer (nb Waterway Routes) during our ascent last year.

The four black posts with the white tops in the centre/left of the above photo form a three sided guard rail around a set of steps down to the canal by the bottom gates of the lock.  This next photo shows the exit beside the gates.

 

The majority of the flight is a linear park.

Halfway down the flight we came upon three youths (1 male, 2 female) under a brick arched bridge huddled under an open umbrella.  One female stuck her head out from under the umbrella to say “Sorry Darling” as I attempted to squeeze past.  She had ginger hair, blotched complexion, a throaty voice and was a scrawny as an Indonesian village chicken.  Small plastic bags were being exchanged and they were smoking something that wasn’t tobacco.

As one ascends or descends a flight of locks you can wistfully look at the railway and ask yourself “Oh, wouldn’t it have been nice if the canal company had the money to build an aqueduct.

At the bottom lock we decided to remove the various urban jellyfish from the propeller.  They have been there for the last two days and I hate the feel of the tiller when it’s fouled.  I managed to cut the remains of five thick plastic bags away using the bread knife.  The serrated edge makes short work of them.  Another benefit is the tang it subsequently gives to the bread. 

Waiouru then positively bounded along to the stop lock at Autherley Junction.

According to the History Website the Canal House is very typical of those found on the Shroppie.

Whilst researching the Canal House I discovered that at one point the Birmingham and Liverpool Canal Company (ie, the Shroppie) and the BCN considered building a aqueduct directly from one canal to the other eliminating the need to use the Staffs & Worcs Canal.  They did this because the Staffs & Worcs Co lost much of their revenue from Addersley Junction at the base of the Wolverhampton 21 to Great Haywood as boats were going to turn off at Autherley Junction.  In anticipation of the lost revenue the Staffs & Worcs Co then raised their rates astronomically. So the BCN and B&L companies considered cutting them out.  Once the Staffs & Worcs realised the other two companies were serious they lowered their rates and accepted the loss of revenue.

I never cease to find Avenue Bridge attractive.  However there was not time to stop for another walk of the area.

Obviously the summer cruising season is over.  Usually vacant moorings at Brewood are as scarce as rocking horse droppings.  Today there was only one boat!

We then passed Richard on nb Pendle Warter moored opposite Countrywide Cruisers hire base.  No sign of Sadie (his dog).  Probably sensibly inside in the warm!  We first met Richard at the Black Country Museum in June last year.

Shortly thereafter we crossed Stretton Aqueduct where you can watch everyone below doing more than 4 miles per hour.

We pushed on finally reaching Wheaton Ashton at 4.30pm where we topped up the water tank and found ourselves a good mooring with both the ‘dot’ and DTV signals.  Dinner was light because we were both rather bushed!  However I did manage to splice a snapped fender line and check the weed hatch.

Looks like the rugby semi-finals will be a southern hemisphere affair.  Although I do feel sorry for Scotland who might have some justification in feeling they were cheated of a place.  The All Blacks got carried away playing France and displayed their real potential.

The soup and the map

Blog reader KevinToo left a comment on our last post pointing out New Street Station has NOT been renamed.  Grand Central is actually the name of the new shopping plaza built above the station.  Thanks Kevin!

Jaq (nb Valerie) very kindly gave us some of her homemade soup before we left Cambrian Wharf.  We had it for dinner tonight and found it delicious, although a touch of lemon & pepper would have made it outstanding (Jaq will understand).  Jan thinks Jaq made a second portion for her (Jaq) and Les.  I noticed mine was full of chicken, so I guess Le got the feathers for tonight’s dinner!  He’s been away at one of the local health clubs in a attempt to shed a few kilos.  OK, Les has actually been pretty damned crook.  He was due to return to Jaq after we departed and we hope he is now well on the way to recovery.

The water pressure from the tap at Cambrian Wharf is very poor so we decided to fill the tank at Sherborne Wharf whilst simultaneously having a pump out.  The water pressure at Sherbourne Wharf is excellent but it still took 45 minutes to top up the half full tank.  We had an excellent pump out (£17).

Before we departed our mooring I walked down to the Bull Ring Markets where I enquired at all the small phone outlets about unlocking the EE mifi.  None of them could do it, although one told me he might be able to unlock it but it would take two days.  I guessed he would take it to someone more knowledgeable and then add a commission.  Unlocking it isn’t urgent so I wandered away.  I’ve found a number of websites providing information on how to unlock the mifi.  It requires two small software programs.  I managed to download one but finding a source for the second (revskills.zip) is proving more difficult.  I’m reluctant to use websites that want my email address or want to place some type of download management software on the laptop.

We headed north out of Birmingham down the New Main Line.  It’s all very familiar as far as Dudley Port Junction, after that it’s new territory to us as far as Wolverhampton.  It was at Dudley Junction where we discovered I’d made a mess of uploading the canal map onto the Mio PDA.  I’d double loaded the section from Birmingham to the junction and as a consequence the second half of the cruise was done using our old Pearsons Canal Companion.  We have become so used to the ease of using the Waterway Routes electronic maps and gps that we actually struggled with the paper guide book.

The surfaces of the chambers in Factory Locks (3) were full plastic bottles and floating grass.  Several bursts of reverse were required to clear the prop before exiting each chamber.  The middle lock was full with the top and bottom locks empty?  I raised both lower paddles on the middle lock and then realised it was only slowly emptying.  That’s when I noticed the top paddles had been left up!

Factory Locks

For some reason I had expected the scenery either side of the canal to be light industry and old abandoned brick factories.  It was totally the reverse; a linear park north out of Birmingham.  I must admit to preferring the Old Main Line.  The New Main Line is too straight and therefore boring (IMHO).

At 329 metres Coseley Tunnel isn’t very long.  It’s also high, wide and leaks!

Jan was fascinated by the homes built on top of the exit portal.

At one stage we were thinking of cruising down the Wednesbury Oak Loop Arm to the CRT Bradley Workshops.  We have seen so many lock gates bearing an oval plaque stating they were made at Bradley Workshops that a visit was considered.  However it won’t happen this year.

Deepfields Junction and the entrance to the Wednesbury Oak Loop

Belt & Braces and the Peace Gardens

Reader if you’ve been following this blog for some time you will know we are a ‘belt & braces’ couple.  Waiouru has two alternators; diesel engine & petrol generator; pump out toilet & emergency porta potti; two water tanks; central heating and diesel stove, three fuel tanks. 

When 3 altered our phone and data plan we discontinued it and reverted back to our old usb dongle and Zoom wifi.  But that left us with only one data system.  The internet is our communications lifeline and our ‘belt & braces’ strategy required us to have a secondary system.  The steel tube we live in frequently blocks out any signal which is why we have the aerial on the roof.  The need is for a second dongle that has an external aerial port and a wifi adapter to provide a Local Area Network (LAN) inside.  The cheapest option would be to combine the two devices and search for a mifi dongle with an external aerial port.  The current mifi dongles don’t have an external port and why would we want to pay for a new dongle.  After some research I identified the preferred dongle to be a Huawei E583C. 

They have been superseded by 4G dongles but 3G will be sufficient for us.   I found a used one for sale on FleaBay and successfully purchased it for less than the price of three beers.  We used the Poste Restante service to have it delivered however when I went to collect it the lady behind the counter had a quick look and then told me it hadn’t arrived.  Not to be dissuaded I told her it had been delivered 1st Class and I’d already seen the confirmation.  She went away again before returning with a small package before asking my name.  I had an internal smile remembering my name had been on the ID card I’d previously given her. 

Well the device is now back on the boat but I have discovered it is locked to the T-Mobile network.  Something the seller omitted to include in the description.  A late walk to the nearest EE shop revealed that EE have a policy of not unlocking their devices.  I’m now searching for a solution to that problem.  There will be a solution, I just have to find it!

I see Halfie has left a comment on our last post regarding the “renaming” of Birmingham’s New Street Station to  Grand Central Station.   I can confirm it is Grand Central Station and have the photographic evidence.

I agree with Halfie……. The name will probably cause some confusion.  I wonder if Network Rail will change the name on the rail system?

Whilst taking an indirect walk from Morrison’s back to Waiouru I came upon an interesting building.  Initially I thought it might be one of the original city gates but after further exploring realised it is the remains of St Thomas Church completed in 1829.  The majority of the building was destroyed during a bombing raid in 1940.

St Thomas on Bath Row, Birmingham

On the other side of the remains of the church is a small park.  It’s actually Peace Gardens and was laid out in 1955 to commemorate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.

The colonnade was built in 1925 as a WW1 memorial and relocated to the Peace Gardens in 1989.  The gardens contain a memorial to British service personnel who were killed or injured as a result of nuclear weapons testing in the Pacific and Australia.

To the Bull Ring

Not to fight Ferdinand, but rather visit the markets.  The Bull Ring is a major commercial centre in Birmingham.  These days the most notable features of the area are the two shopping arcades and the market place.  The arcades contain the usual shopping complex shops so the covered and open markets were our destination.

Wikipedia states the market started in 1154 when Henry II granted a charter to a local land owner.  Initially the area specialised in textiles and by the 16th Century the street was known as Mercer St.  By the early 18th Century the name had been changed to Spicer Street reflecting the decline of cloth and the rise of grocery and meat.  The Bull Ring developed in the main Birmingham market.  By the 1830’s and 40’s it was also a location where the working classes went to demonstrate and listen to speeches.

I wondered why the area was known as the Bull Ring.  Apparently the area was first known as Corn Cheaping and there was a green (small park) in Corn Cheaping that was used for bull baiting.  The bull would be tied by the nose to an iron ring and then “baited” by setting dogs on it.  The bull had some room to move by usually having about 30ft of rope between the ring and it’s nose.  One form of baiting involved using a special breed of dog to attack the bull by biting and holding onto its nose.  The breed were known as Bulldogs.

In yesterday’s post I mentioned Typhoo Tea was established by John Sumner.  His ancestors had a grocery business in the Bull Ring which he sold to pay off his debts and start Typhoo Tea.

Today half the market is in two large covered building whilst the rest is an open market with canvas awnings.

There are a large number of meat, poultry and fish vendors in the covered market.

The open market sell fresh fruit and vegetables amongst other goods.

We bought some sweet and juicy dark plums before heading to the nearby China Town where these is a Chinese supermarket.  Steamed dumplings and dim sims for dinner.

We returned to the boat via the new Central Railway Station.