It was very blustery last night, with the gaps in the buildings and the cut itself acting like a funnel. I had wrapped the moorings lines around the bollard so they couldn't be lifted off and they creaked every time the weight came on.
I had always wondered why a winding hole was put in here but it was the entrance to a basin that served the Excelsior Coal Wharf. Where I am standing was another entrance to a basin that served a malt house, glass works and a brass foundry. The area is now all down to exercise the brain muscle rather than any others.
It was windy as we approached Ashted Locks. Helen decided she would work the locks for now. We normally split it I drive the boat on lock flight up, and Helen on the way down. The over bridge just before the lock was for access to another wharf. That Ashted Tunnel is a bugger. I have never been able to pass through without catching and scratching the roof edges. The tunnel is very narrow and the profile just doesn't take into account the height of modern cabin tops.
Just like at Aston University there is a load of building going on either side of the Ashted Locks on the Birmingham City Campus. Then at the foot of the locks there is also loads of work going on for the Birmingham Terminus of the HS2 railway at Curzon Street. Unlike Ashted Tunnel Curzon Tunnel is very wide, but is full of wind blown rubbish at either end.
We turned into Warwick Bar, deciding that time and wind would prevent us from taking a peek down the Typhoo Branch to see what had changed down there. The stop lock is on the left. The banana warehouse?! on the right and the boat shaped massive warehouse that was for the Fellows, Morton and Clayton, and beyond that is the Bond, some more old warehouses.
There is then an aqueduct over the River Rea that has sort of disappeared from Birmingham's ken as it has been culveted, built over and kept out of site. There are plans at Digbeth to resurrect it and incorporate it into housing schemes. I wonder if it will spread down this end? I have just noticed on the bridge abutment the GUCC and 1935 so was part of the improvement scheme that widened the Grand Union, but not here!
Just past the aqueduct were this series of artworks, not just graffiti, as they seemed to be to raise awareness of male mental health and suicide.
At Bordesley Junction It is straight on to continue on the Warwick and Birmingham Canal that became the Grand Union. To the left is the Birmingham and Warwick Junction Canal. Originally just the other side of the over bridge was a basin either side of the canal. They have both been built over now, but under the bridge you can see the entrance.
This was the old Phoenix Wharf and the Providence Tin Plate Works. The building above the cut was the Colmore Bedstead Factory around the turn of the 1900's. Before that St. Andrews boys and girls school was on the site.
Despite the very unedifying filth that lined the off side we did see our first bluebells today.
I'm not sure if this is a pumping system returning water to the top of the flight, but on the old maps there are several pump houses indicated along the length of the locks. Until just before WWII the land on the left of the picture were brickfields and factories making the raw material for the expansion of Birmingham.
As we passed the site of the old Saltley Gas Works that would have provided plenty of work for the canal we came to some new bridges linking all the new industrial units. This is the packaging company Smurfit Kappa Co. Ltd, but I only added it to give you some idea of the strength of the wind. Fortunately it was largely from astern. If it had been into our faces it would have been bitter, especially when the frequent light rain sowers fell.
This is the River Rea where it crosses over from the towpath side under an Aqueduct to the other side. Behind us (to the right) there used to be a a canal side reservoir, and to the left on the towpath side was a large mill pond that was filled in by the First World War and a recreation ground built on top.
The canal runs along the right hand side of this map extract. I can't seem to find anything about the curious whirl in the middle of the newly formed recreation ground from the 1913 map. Is it a circular maze?
As we passed the pontoon at Star City we wondered what the signs would be. It seems that the pontoon was reserved on 20th March for an event. I think that C&RT need to get wise to using plastic wallets with printed paper and plastic wire ties to tie them on. It is obvious that some have already gone. They have campaigns to pick up litter and avoid plastic. The very least would have been that they take them off after the event so that they didn't end up in the cut. We tied up to make our fourth of fifth visit to the weed hatch!
As we neared Salford Junction we passed over the River Tame that flows under the motorway M6 above. The River Rea joins a little further down the Tame.
There are massive developments taking place north of the canal towards Sutton Coldfield. There are to be 6000 house built and industry to provide the jobs. There is to be a fully integrated settlement with swift transport around the place. A third of the total of the land will be left green or by recreation grounds, sports pitches etc. It is right in the middle of all the road and rail transport networks too. Such a huge area of green field. I originally thought it was the HS2 that had got lost?
We finished for the day just before Curdworth top lock. We seem to have done our bit for litter picking as the bow is full of stuff we have picked out of the locks or surroundings. Last time we came this way we were quite impressed as it was loads better than previously. However it is going down hill once again.
No comments:
Post a Comment