It was rather unusual for us to move on a Sunday. The guillotine lock at the end of the Stratford on Avon Canal proved to be a challenge. We picked up something very large on the prop as we entered the lock and Waiouru struggled to make headway. Eventually we cleared the lock and I was able to give a short but hard burst of reverse which threw off the offending object.
The guillotine lock was refurbished in 2012 however it didn’t take long for the local vandals to graffiti it again.
The gates are set about 10 degrees off vertical. They actually lean back towards to the Stratford on Avon Canal where the water level used to be one inch lower than the Worcester & Birmingham.
To Jan’s surprise there was only one boat moored on the long line of mooring rings at Kings Norton Junction.
The Toll House on the junction was built in 1802 and is Grade 2 listed. It’s larger than most lock keepers cottages. From the canal side it looks to be two stories high but there is a third storey almost below ground. The cottage doesn’t appear to have vehicle access and looked more dilapidated than when we last passed this way. Actually I thought it was abandoned until I noticed a light on in one window.
Just a failed attempt a being clever!
Behind the old toll house is a large area of open playing fields with St Nicholas Church on the skyline.
We turned right and headed into Birmingham. Any thoughts of a lack of vacant moorings vanished as a steady stream of boats passed going in the opposite direction. Finding a mooring proved to be relatively easy, although they filled up later on in the day. A very familiar boat was moored around the corner from us.
We wandered across to say hello to James & Doug. Last time we saw them was during our fit out at Aldermaston on the Kennet & Avon. They were both looking well and even got dressed for us! Apparently we missed Adam & Adrian (nb Briar Rose) who had departed that morning.
I noticed this following photo on Farcebook and had a good chuckle.
Please ignore the watermark. I couldn’t remove it!
A slightly shaky start to the All Blacks 2015 World Cup. I was slightly tense during the first half.
6 comments :
Make sure you visit the Library in Birmingham, we were told by many to do this, strange thing to visit but definitely worth it.
Thankfully the ABs came through in the end, we can breath again till the next time.
The library is very interesting. We had a look during our first cruise through Birmingham.
Hi you two.
Walked past the boat this morning as we gave the dog a gentle walk. She has damaged a claw and its a bit sore. Spotted Chance moored on Ouzell Street as well. Looks like the traders are starting to arrive early for next weekend.
We are in Cambrian Wharf on the 14 day moorings for a few more days. Daughter lives and works in Birmingham so we are spending a bit of time with her.
Enjoy Birmingham.
Mick, Mags and Poppy the pooch.
Sorry we missed you. We would have been making that fruitless walk in the rain to Tesco only to find they have closed the supermarket! :-(
We did the same walk to Tesco yesterday.
Take care.
MM&P
I can't believe you didn't blog about it and wecould have avoided the disappointment! 😁
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