Always up for a challenge

BCN Marathon Challenge 2012

February 2012

If all the excitement of the C&RT election isn't enough, the ballot papers were followed up with some forms of a very different, but no less exciting kind.

The papers for this years Marathon Challenge have arrived complete with the arcane scoring guide and that sealed envelope which contains the cruising log and those crucial "treasure hunt" questions - all sealed with the strict instruction:

 "DO NOT OPEN BEFORE 8am ON THE SATURDAY MORNING OF THE CRUISE". 

Oh the suspense. The event takes place on the first weekend in June (2nd and 3rd), the four day bank holiday to celebrate the Queen's Jubilee. But that's four long months away, and by that time the weather will be warm and all this snow and ice will be long forgotten.

The one sad note on this topic is the absence of Graham Whorton, the late Chairman of BCNS, whose cheery face greeted all the boaters as they arrived in Walsall basin. Graham will be missed.

The Challenge papers

So now its time for some crucial route planning, that must be good for two or three nights down at the pub with my crew! Of course, the whole event will be the subject of lengthy debate of the Canal World Discussion Forum with rivalries rekindled and predictions made.

Those complicated scores

The BCNS Marathon Challenge is staged round the backwaters of the Black Country Canals, the little used Remainder canals which wind their way through what was the industrial powerhouse of the nation. Its a unique event in the world of canal boating, and one which should be experience at least once. 

So, if you have yet to finalise your cruising plans for the year and have the urge to do something a little out of the ordinary in the company of some passionate boaters why not enter? With 100 miles of canal to play with there is sure to be space for a few more boats....

See you in Walsall basin.

Donnington Wood Canal Granville Park and Lodge Arm (Pt 3)

Donnington Wood Canal Pt3

Granville Country Park and the Lodge Arm

February 2012

This is the second post in a series of ten covering the Donnington Wood Canal, but in reality it is the first post from the second day of our field research. From here on the maps tell us that the route is at time indistinct and at other times it is utterly lost, so our exploration dotted back and forth all the way to Lilleshall Quarries and Pave Lane. 

To make the account easier to read the posts will follow the course of the canal in sequence from west to east, starting at the Donnington Wood Road where it borders the Granville Country Park.

Lodge Basin 2012

This marks the boundary of the modern urban Telford with the countryside beyond, and it is important to get the entry point right. It is tempting to assume that place where the footpath runs under the road is the course of the old canal, but in fact you need to go a couple of hundred yards to the south and enter the colliery site through the gate marked private. Why are all the most interesting places private?

The path at the entrance of Granville Country Park

The line of the canal describes a wide arc bending steadily round to the left before turning nearly north under the lee of a long escarpment covered in trees. The modern track dosn't actually run on the line of the canal, but rather alongside it to the left,  and about 30 feet higher up! On this stretch it isn't the line that is the problem, its working out the levels in an area almost devoid of clues. We initially dismissed the adjacent trench as being far too deep for an early canal cutting but its true, the canal ran way below the modern ground level, either that or the ground has sunk a lot. 

Course of the canal at the bottom of the escarpment

Now here is the thing, this wasn't always a country park. Far from it, it was home to the huge Granville Mine and the Iron Smelting Furnaces it supported. This development was started by Granville Leveson, the 2nd Earl of Gower and, having made his pile of dosh, his successors became the Dukes of Sutherland. It is said that this family raised merry hell in the area, racing their souped up steam powered Dodge Challenger pursued by Sheriff Rosco P Coltraine and Boss Hogg - thus starting a tradition for illegal motor sports which persists to this day. ;-) 

This was ground zero of the the early industrial revolution and what with mining subsidence, slag heap re profiling and the creation of many tramways the topography of the area has been altered hugely.

Lodge Basin from the entrance bridge

The line of the Lodge Arm from the top of a 50ft slag heap

In the middle of the park you come to a crossroads, home of several burnt out vehicles (its that sort of park) and knowing that the Lodge Arm was off to the south it was tempting to think that the canal must have followed the graceful curve marked my the big green posts. The posts certainly take you to the right place but it wasn't the line of the Lodge Arm. At first glance we laughed when we saw the Lodge Arm Basin, all prettied up and nestling in the trees complete with its wharf and mooring bollards. It was far too low down. Gradually the penny dropped - that 50ft high hill behind us is man made, thrown up by the tailings from the Granville Colliery which reached out for several miles wreaking havoc with subsidence all around. 

Artistic license at the Lodge Furnaces  

The Lodge Arm was built in 1822 to serve two Iron Smelters build by the mighty Lilleshall Company to supplement its works at Donnington Wood. This site was expanded in 1846 and again in 1859 till finally five furnaces were operating on the site, all fed by coal brought in on small tub boats. Of course, the site is on the original level of the canal, but we did have the last laugh. The furnaces were blown out in 1888 but the display board shows a cheerful picture of traditional canal boats "put, put, putting" in and out of the basin. This is wrong on so many levels: It was a tub boat canal so no full length boats could pass through the inclined planes, the locks and bridges were limited to 6ft 7inches which is narrower than normal craft and crucially, the furnaces closed at least 30 years before the first spluttering Bollinders were employed in commercial carrying. But not withstanding all that, its a nice scene and a watery oasis in a sea of industrial decay.

The toxic Lodge Junction

The exit from the Lodge Arm was under a bridge whose southern portal remains and then its line is buried under abut 50 feet of slag. My question was - where does the water from the basin go?. To answer this I clambered down the bank at the far side and into the valley bottom where the main line canal appeared to run. A bit to searching led me to a huge iron pipe which emerges from the ground beneath which it the most lurid orange goo you ever did see. Its like quicksand mixed with fluorescent super glue. We had found the far end of the land drain, the site of the junction with the Donnington Wood Canal and perhaps most importantly, had established the level that the canal used to run at. From there it was a simple task to back track and figure out how far down the canal path used to run.

If you are tempted to explore the melancholic delights of this path, and you do take the time to find the Lodge Junction, steer clear of the toxic goo - I am still trying to get it off my shoes!

Coming to a letterbox near you

C&RT voting papers

February 2012

At last, the stating whistle has blown and the C&RT Council election voting has commenced.

Its not quite the New Hampshire Primaries, nor are there any photo opportunities of the Captain and Belle proudly casting their votes at the ballot box, but the race is on. The early birds have already cast their votes using the on line option and now the paper ballot forms have been arriving through snowbound letterboxes across the nation.

I have to say the the say that the sense of excitement is, how shall we put it.... indiscernible!

With a month to go we are all in for a long wait to hear the outcome.

So, if an imposing envelope from the Electoral Reform Society is sitting on your doorstep its time for action.

My 150 word manifesto 

My particular thanks to my sponsors, 10 of whom are listed above. In the event I was over blessed with sponsors and chose 10 at random, so my apologies to those whose names do not appear - your support is appreciated.

The pack includes a list of all the candidates together with their 150 word manifesto's - mine can be found at the foot of page 16.

It will be really interesting to see what the response rate is like, and I sincerely hope that the boating community will do itself justice and return most of the ballot papers. This is a Single Transferable Vote so you list your preferred candidates in order of preference. Ideally, I would love to see your ballot paper to look like the following example!

 A perfectly completed ballot paper

But don't leave it there. Your vote needs to be cast either by snail mail in the envelope provided or via the internet, which is the quick and easy option.

So, happy voting one and all. As for Belle and myself, we are just off to kiss a few babies and squeeze in another press conference before flying back to out constituency to await the announcement by the returning officer.....

Am I getting this election a bit out of proportion?

Donnington Wood Canal - Wrockwardine Wood (Pt 1)

Donnington Wood Canal Pt 1
Wrockwardine Wood

February 2012


Other posts in this series
1. Wockwardine Wood - this post
2. Granville Country Park and the Lodge Arm
3. Lodge Arm to Muxton
4. Shropshire Golf Club (Muxton) to Lilleshall Abbey
5. Abbey Farm to Lilleshall Inclined Plane
6. Lilleshall Inclined Plane
7. Lilleshall Arm
8. The Pitchcroft Arms
9. Lilleshall Inclined Plane to Lilleshall Hall
10. Pave Lane

Now we are entering the motherlode of the Shropshire Canal network, the original 1768 5.5 mile track created by the Marquis of Stafford to link his coal mines with his blast furnaces at Donnington Wood and Lodge.

If I am absolutely honest I don't know exactly where the later 1788 Wombridge Canal ends and the Donnington Wood starts. Probabably somewhere around what is now Smiths Crescent and was previously the site of theDonnington Wood Furnaces, at the foot of the Wrockwardine Inclined Plane, at the extreme left of the following map:

Click here for the course of the Donnington Wood Canal on a modern OS map.

One thing is certain, the junction is now buried under about 20 ft of spoil and then built over so its all speculation and conjecture. The one definite point is the bridge which leads under the garden of the bungalow at the end of Smiths Crescent so lets start from there - the point we left the trail as we concluded our exploration of the Wombridge Canal.

View Larger Map

Beyond Smiths Crescent the route gets tricky. It enters a huge area of wasteland and at the first attempt we tried to convince ourselves that the canal traversed undulating land which we assumed had been excavated at a later date. In the end we exited the area and walked up St Georges Road and identified the crossing at High Mount on account of the unnatural hump in the road. We tracked the course back on some old maps and concluded that the line followed a hedge to the rear of a sheltered housing complex, running beneath a modern bungalow.

Bridge at the end of Smiths Crescent

Armed with this reference point we went back to the bridge and started over. The saucer shaped depression of the canal is visible leading away from the bridge through the trees but then vanished for 400 yards till it strikes the boundary of the adjacent factories. An undulating path runs round the edge of the site but close inspection reveals a ridge hugging the 100m contour beneath us - the northern bank of the canal. This continues round the site curving north east. As the bed heads towards High Mount it is bordered by a very ancient layered hedge, a boundary set in the woods which pre dates the 1960's buildings which surround it. This is almost certainly the towpath hedge with a three foot deep linear depression beside it. Not a lot to go on but I am 90% certain that this represents the line of the old canal.

Route through the site of the old furness - canal enters from left

The levels work out more or less as the canal lines up under the High Mount St Georges Road (was Park Lane) junction and then it is speculation.

The canal came up this driveway, off High Mount

...and across Park lane / St Georges Road about here.

The old maps show the route curving round 90 degrees in a big arc to the east, probably running beneath a section of Ash Lea Drive finally crossing the Donnington Wood Way and entering the open ground opposite, site of the long abandoned Granville Colliery.

Wrockwardine Junction

That's it for the start of the Donnington Wood Canal, a fragmented fingerprint over a heavily redeveloped area of Telford. Buts that is also probably the hardest bit. From here we head into open country where hunting is easier and remains are more plentiful.

The Amateur Boatwomen - book review

The Amateur Boatwomen

by Eily (Kit) Gayford

February 2012

Following hard on the heels of Idle Women, I read through The Amateur Boatwomen by Eily Gayford. This makes an excellent counterpart to Susan Woolfitt book on the same topic of the little band of female wartime boaters who did their bit for king and country.

In fact, Eily Gayford was the prime mover behind the scheme, serving as head trainer and administrator, referred to in Idle Women as Kit. So how do the books compare?

Well, this book covers more ground, starting in the Birmingham / Worcester area before moving onto the Grand Union. It covers more time starting in 1941 and continues the take of wartime carrying through to the cessation of hostilities in 1945, and it has greater scope in the subject matter addressed so it has to be the better book - right?

Wrong! For all its plusses, this book isn't a patch on Idle Women, its counterpoint with the catchy title. For all its potential I have to conclude that Susan Woolfitt was the better writer and its interesting that her book seems to have stood the test of time whereas this one languishes in relative obscurity.

The Amateur Boatwomen focuses on the canals whereas Idle Women concentrates on the life lived and the experience of entering this closed world of rivalries and support. And when all is said and done, its life's relationships which we remember rather than places visited.

Don't get me wrong, its not a bad book. Its well worth reading and it carried me on my way to Turkey very successfully, but if you were to read just one book on the subject it should be the other one!