Monday 8th May
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| Approaching Wast Hills Tunnel |
We are on the move today after a couple of days in
Weston-Super-Mare visiting family and friends and going to the hospital to see
the consultant which I am pleased to say was good news and I am all clear for
another year so that is good. We left
the boat in Alvechurch marina while we were away and when we came back on
Saturday we moved out onto the towpath.
On Sunday we got the train to Redditch to get some food shopping and it
is only a 7 minute train journey so really good.
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| There is light at the end of the tunnel! |
The sun was shining as we set off along the canal but very
chilly. We chugged back past Lower
Bittell Reservoir and stopped at Hopwood to fill up with water. Then on we went
again and soon we were at the entrance to Wast Hills Tunnel.
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| Passing Bourneville Station |
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| Edgebaston Tunnel |
Wast Hills Tunnel used to be called King’s Norton Tunnel. It is 2,726yds long and there are plenty of
drips from the roof as Kev found out while steering through! There is no towpath and therefore a
steam-powered – and later a diesel-powered tunnel tug service used to operate
in the day of horse-drawn boats.
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| That's better than a drive-thru! |
We could just see the end as we entered the tunnel and we
chugged into the darkness and on we went until after about 30 minutes we were
back out into the daylight. A boat was coming
the other way and we met him just as we were coming out, but the tunnel is wide
enough for two boats to pass.
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| Passing the Mailbox |
We chugged on and now we were on the outskirts of
Birmingham, we went past Bournville where the train station is right on the canal
and under a few bridges and through Edgbaston tunnel which is only 105yds long and
eventually we were going past the Mailbox and we were in Central Birmingham.
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| Going through the Worcester Bar |
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| The Barclaycard Arean |
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| Roundabout on the canal |
We chugged on through and into Gas Street Basin. The terminus of the Worcester &
Birmingham canal is here and is the former stop lock, it is known as the
Worcester Bar, originally there was a physical barrier here between the
Worcester & Birmingham canal and the much older Birmingham canal. The latter refused to allow a junction and
for several years goods had to be transhipped at this point from one canal to
the other. This absurd situation was remedied by an Act of Parliament in 1815,
by which a stop lock was allowed to be inserted
to connect the two canals.
Nowadays the stop gates are kept open and one can pass straight through
onto the Birmingham canal.
We chugged on and then the Barclaycard Arena was in front of
us with a roundabout in the middle of the canal. We moored in the visitor moorings just along
from there.
We are staying here for a couple of days now.
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| Moored in Birmingham |
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