Up the hill towards Birmingham

 At our last posting we were heading south on the Staffs and Worcs Canal heading for Autherley and Aldersley Junctions. So this update takes us forward from there.

On Friday we first had to navigate the Pendeford Rockin'. This is a very narrow stretch of canal cut through solid rock where there is not enough room to pass another boat. There are 4 passing places but fortunately we didn't need to use them as we met no boat in the narrows.

At Autherley Junction the Shropshire Union Canal branches off to the right - in the direction of Chester. We went straight on towards Stourport.

Only half a mile further and we came to Aldersley Junction where a turn left takes boats up 21 locks to Wolverhampton and on into Birmingham. In the picture you can see the first of the 21 locks. This is the short route to Birmingham but we didn't go that way either. We stuck with the Staffs and Worcs for the time being.

Both those junctions are on the summit level of the Staffs and Worcs but at Compton Lock we started going down towards the River Severn at Stourport. Quite a few of the locks on this southern section of the canal have these intriguing circular weirs. The water from the canal above the lock goes down the hole in the middle and comes out below the lock.

Here at Wightwick Mill Lock you can see another fine example of a narrow bridge below the lock. The gouges in the brick arch were caused by tow ropes in the days of horse drawn narrowboats.

Some of the locks have vicious bywashes below, like this one at Wightwick Lock. These push the boat strongly to one side so you have to power through and hope!

On Friday afternoon we had a visit to Wightwick (pronounced 'Wittick') Manor. This was built by a Mr Mander in the late 1890s. He made his money from making paint and varnish. He was friendly with William Morris and the Pre-Raphaelites and this is a real Arts and Craft house.

On Saturday we came down a few more ordinary locks and then came to the Bratch. This has three locks together dropping the canal by 30 feet. They are not quite staircase locks, having a short pound of just a few feet between the bottom gates of one lock and the top gates of the next. So how does this work? Here are the instructions, but in essence the short gap between the locks is joined by tunnel to a side pond to provide the water to fill the lock below you.

Here is a photo looking down on a boat in the middle lock. Note the blue paddles and go back to the instructions - "Blue before Red is what the man said." There was a lock keeper so we were not likely to make a mistake.

Here is a view looking back from the middle lock to the top lock. You can see the bottom gates of the top lock just the other side of the far footbridge. The little octagonal toll office next to the bridge is a feature of the Bratch Locks.

And here is the view from the bottom of the Bratch Locks with a boat waiting to go up.

The hawthorn blossom this year has been spectacular. This is looking back from Leo above Rocky Lock.

Rocky Lock is well named being cut into the solid sandstone. Sandstone cliffs feature a lot on this part of the canal.

On Sunday after Gothersley Lock the canal crosses the River Stour (as in Stourport and Stourbridge) on an aqueduct and we reached Stourton Junction where the Stourbridge Canal sets off up 4 locks towards Stourbridge and Birmingham. So on this signpost, an attractive one with fingers, we had come from Wolverhampton and turned off towards Stourbridge and Birmingham, leaving Stourport on the River Severn for another day.

Here Leo is coming into Stourton Bottom Lock. We were lucky as another boat was just coming out of the lock when we arrived. They are turning left towards Stourport.

Some of the little footbridges at the locks here are like those on the Stratford Canal in that they have a gap in the middle allowing ropes to pass through in the days of horse drawn boats.

Having come down 4 locks on the Staffs and Worcs and up 4 on the Stourbridge Canal we decided on Sunday to enjoy the sun and dry the washing, so we stopped soon above the Stourton Locks.

When we'd done a few jobs (a boater's work is never done) we went for a delightful walk along the Stour valley and crossed this meadow covered in buttercups.

On Monday we went up the 16 Stourbridge Locks. 16 is the most locks we've done in a day so far this year. Here you can see Leo coming into Stourbridge Bottom Lock.

The water foams easily here so it looked as if Leo was having a bubble bath.

Once we'd come up 4 locks of the16 we found the mooring free outside the Red Cone and stopped there to explore. This is one of only four remaining glass cones left in the UK and one of the best preserved in Europe. A furnace at the centre of the cone melts glass in 'pots' and the glassmakers who are also inside the cone but around the central furnace can make glass objects by blowing or moulding the molten glass. Neither of us knew much about the glass making process and found it very informative. There are also several small craft workshops with some lovely crafty sewing, jewellery and glass work (appropriately) going on. Coffee was followed by shopping and a return to the cafe for lunch.

After lunch we finished off the remaining 12 locks taking us 145 feet higher in total. Locks 9 and 10 share the peculiarity of the Bratch Locks with a short gap between the top gate of one and the bottom gate of the next.

Once again the mystery is that a tunnel connects the small intervening space with a side pond shown here next to the lockside cottage.

This is looking back down the flight from Lock 9 (they are numbered from 1 at the top to 16 at the bottom) and you can see the Red Cone clearly in the distance.

One reason for coming this way into Birmingham is that we aim to get a number of Silver Propeller points. I've probably explained this scheme before but I'll do it again here. The IWA (Inland Waterways Association) has a scheme to encourage boats to visit little frequented parts of the waterways. If you take photos of your boat at each one of the listed locations you visit and go to 20 of them then you get an award. Our tally stands at 16 or 17 so we aim to complete the job this year. Above the Stourbridge Locks a branch leads north to one of the Silver Propeller locations - the Fens Branch. So the picture shows us heading up the Fens Branch. The aim is to turn the boat by the two bridges and reverse under the bridge to the left and moor there.

So here we are having reversed down the branch off a branch and strictly this is the Stourbridge Extension Canal rather than Fens Branch. On Monday evening we explored the nature reserves around the two branches and found some lovely large lakes that form a series of reservoirs for the canals.

In the next few days we'll climb the 8 Delph Locks to reach Merry Hill (aka Merry Hell) and then seek more silver propeller points in the less frequented arms of the waterways, so do come back and view the next update in a few days time.