Tuesday 11th April 2006
Windmill End - Pinners Bridge (27¾ miles, 4 locks)
I got up early, leaving the others to carry on sleeping - was there a pattern emerging here? The sun was shining as I winded the boat at the Bumblehole Branch and set off back through Netherton Tunnel. At the other side, the sun was still shining, but the bitterly cold wind was stronger and I ended up with more layers of clothing than I needed during the freezing conditions of our February trip. Back on the new main line, there was still no-one about, apart from a heron, surveying the rubbish.
Shortly afterwards, the rain started. This was not namby-pamby southern rain like we get in Southampton, but real hard-as-nails Birmingham rain which the wind was driving into my face, whichever way I turned.
We moored outside the NIA and ate breakfast before setting off for the water-point round the corner from Gas Street Basin. This water-point is desperately slow and the refuse disposal, which is the only one for miles, was still blocked off. On our way into Birmingham two days earlier, we noticed that people had been stacking their rubbish in the chemical toilet disposal room and the smell was overpowering. There was now a big pile of rubbish out on the towpath. BW had a boat collecting rubbish out of the canal, but they turned round in Gas Street Basin, and were probably under orders only to clean up the small area around the centre. Maybe boaters were supposed to dump their rubbish in the canal as well...
The weather was appalling for the next eight hours - didn't take any more photos - too depressed - don't want to talk about it....
Then we reached the lovely Lapworth Locks and the sunshine returned and heavenly choirs sang. Well, perhaps there was only the sunshine, but it restored my will to live. We moored below Bridge 31 where the TV reception was good so we didn't need to find a gap in the trees to point the satellite dish through.