Sunday 9th April 2006
Lapworth Wharf - Oozells Street (18¾ miles, 13 locks)
The Lapworth flight of locks is one of my favourite places, and the sun always seems to be shining when we pass through. We all got up early and had breakfast before setting off. There were no other boats around and most of the locks were in our favour, probably because of the leaky bottom gates.
The plan was to get to the water-point at Warstock and have lunch while filling up. There was a slight hitch at Shirley Drawbridge when something fouled the propeller as we went under the electric lift-bridge. We held up the traffic for longer than normal as we bow-hauled the boat through. There was so much rubbish in the canal. I didn't mind delaying the traffic - it might teach the locals the consequence of using the canal as a rubbish tip....
The cutting at Warstock provided more entertainment, as the local kids lined-up in the trees at the top of the cutting and rained stones down on us. They were around eight years old and were utterly useless shots. If this is the next generation of English cricket heroes, then God help us. Only one stone glanced off the side of the boat and none of them hit me as I raced through at 3mph, pretending not to notice that anything was amiss. This cunning piece of psychology had absolutely no effect whatsoever - I guess such tactics rely on a degree of intelligence at the receiving end. The finale was a large object that splashed into the canal after we had passed under the bridge at the end of the cutting.
Ten minutes later, we arrived at the water-point, to find that all three of them had been closed by British Waterways, although it was not obvious why - possibly due to vandalism. We still stopped there for lunch and decided our best bet for water was just before Gas Street Basin in the centre of Birmingham.
The rest of the North Stratford Canal was without incident and we turned right at King's Norton onto the Worcester and Birmingham Canal. The wind got stronger, the air temperature plummeted and the rain started, turning to sleet and then hailstones. Then the inevitable happened and I had to clear an obstruction from the prop-shaft, this time a mixture of plastic bags and vegetation, all neatly tied together with a couple of yards of electric flex.
The photograph above also shows my Pearson's Guide which contains canal maps, historical information and the location of locks, bridges, pubs and shops. After several years of using a waterproof map holder that was more successful at keeping water in rather that out, I have laminated the individual pages of my set of books, so they can stay out in all weather, just like me...
When the BBC interview people in their Birmingham studios, they use a view of a canal as the background, and Jen and I had tried to work out where it was. We now know that the BBC are in part of the Mailbox Centre and they have a camera on the roof pointing back along the Worcester and Birmingham Canal.
We moored just inside the Oozells Street Loop outside the Sealife Centre, across from the National Indoor Arena. This area feels very safe, with CCTV cameras and security staff on patrol. We ate out at The Big Wok where they sang Happy Birthday to Robert.
