How times change.

We set off back to the Merry Hill Centre to have another look for wedding attire for Helen, unsuccessfully though.

I love this building, probably for the setting, or rather the architect designing it to fit in the setting. I'm not sure what it is, but it would make great apartments. I always take a picture of it. It was built on the site of the Round Oak Steel Works that closed in 1985.

A little further on there is this structure that looks as though it carried something over the cut, bu the corresponding tower on the tow path side has gone. It is from the site of the Brierley Hill Iron Works

 It looks like they had the land on both sides of the cut and the tow path side was used for raw material storage or for slag. Close by there was a cola mine in the 1920's. The tower was maybe for an internal telephone system.

We passed the shortcut cut of the Two Locks Line that cut off the bend to Dudley Tunnel from the Dudley No.2 Canal. Unfortunately the two locks were undermined by subsidence from all the local mining. The roving bridges at both ends are still in place but the line has had an industrial estate built over it. We got to Blower's Green Pump House services. It was built in the 1890's to pump water from the Dudley No.1 and No.2 Canals back up the Park Head Locks through the Dudley Tunnel to the Birmingham level. It seems that C&RT may have it up for sale but I hope they retain the services as they are a bit scattered in this area. We availed ourselves of them as we passed.

This is the Park Head flight of three locks that take you up to the Dudley Tunnel Level and we ventured up there to moor last time we passed. As we were using the services there was a rush on, two to go down the lock and one waiting to come up! Rush hour. Where are all the boats?

Another of the Finger Posts for the collection.

From Blower's Green the Dudley No.1 carried on up the Park head Locks and we are now on the Dudley No.2 Canal. It is definitely shallower than No.1 and the reeds are closing in too. However I must say that since arriving at Aldersley Junction the towpath and canal have been very clean indeed. Even when we left the rural Staffs and Worcesters for the urban Stourbridge and Dudley Canals we have been greatly impressed with the improvement in the litter. Whether this is due to the canals being adopted by community groups, as C&RT promote, the fact that they are also heavily promoting the use of the canals by others than boaters or just that folk are finally realising it is not cool, it is great to see. The fact that plastic bags have been almost banned makes a huge difference, and the sooner they have plastic and tin drinks containers with a deposit the better as they now make up the majority of the rubbish seen.

To the left is the east end of the Two Locks Line. The main canal passes round to the right.

This was formerly a tunnel that had to be cut through a seam of basalt. It was named Brewin's Tunnel after the name of the Chief Engineer. It was opened out in 1858 to reduce the delays due to having to leg their craft through. 

Lodge Farm Reservoir was built between 1835 and 1838 to capture surplus water from the canal in the winter. It would then be released back into the system when required via a sluice. It was sold to Dudley Council in 1966 who then developed it for water sports. However it still supplies water to the Dudley No.2 Canal.

On the right is the entrance to the Primrose basin that seemed to have warehouses on either side, but was not connected to the railway system. On the left is the Lloyds proving house that at one time proof loaded the chains etc that were made in the furnaces of Netherton. at One time 90% of the world's ship anchors and chains were made in the area.

These lovely quiet mooring of the Withymoor Trust were once a goods station there was a shed covering the entirety of the arm with several tracks running into it. Next to it was the In 1914 was the Dudleywood Colliery and on the otherside of the cut was the Saltwells Colliery that had already closed by then. Just alittle further on under Griffin Bridge is a bit of a winding hole with a few boats moored. There is also a boat house that seems to butt up to what may have been a bridge hole giving access to the basin of the Netherton Furnace company. On the towpath side is an accommodation bridge that gave access to the Withymoor Arm that went for some way to a brickworks.

As we pass under the iconic Toll End Works bridges of Windmill end and the entrance to the Bumble Hole Arm we can see that there was nobody moored up. We had hoped to pop over to the cafe for an ice cream but they were just packing up. The Cobb Engine House chimney is on the hill. This area was also a hive of industry.