Dimmingsdale Lock to Calf Heath

Dimmingsdale Lock to Calf Heath

Monday 25th May 2009

9 Miles

3 Locks

4 Hours

Dimmingsdale Lock is one of my favourite moorings, away from the towpath and accessible only across the lock. Whilst we shared the mooring with Eliza Rose, she was up and away very early and we barely noticed her passing and slumbered on till gone 10.00am.

Hovever, it was a veritable paddys market going up the cut. There had been a boating meeting at Bratch over the weekend and we were teated to a parade of craft, incliding a steam powered launch, a Stewart and Allen tug and a working pair, Aquarius and Ilford. This latter pair were partially loaded with wood for next winter, sourced from the Shugborough Estate. It was really good to see classic working boats loaded down, with Ilford being towed on a long line as far as the inlet above Dimmingdale Lock. Aquarius is a genuine 1935 working boat and the pair were making for their home berth at Stone.

No sooner had they passed than a fishermen came jogging down the towpath clutching a six pound carp. This was clearly "our" fish - the one which got away last night! He had caught it between the pair and was hugely relieved to have got it to the towpath side before Ilford could cut the line.

Jeff, usually so sure footed, slipped on the roof of the boat in Compton Lock and so nearly fell between the boat and the lock side. He crashed on the the roof but manged to cling onto the handrail without loosing the windlass, or breaking the ipod in his pocket. He returned to the stern with nothing damaged, save his ego.

Belle has an occasional interest in identifying wild flowers in the hedgerows, and we have a book on board to help this process. Todays plant was, we think, Common Comfrey. It certainly looked like the illustration and it was rampant in the wet ground alongside the lock, which is its favoured habitat.
A great mini break with all four of us on board, a first for many months. Lets hope that this marks a watershed from which we can progress.

Calf Heath to Dimmingsdale Lock

Calf Heath to Dimmingsdale Lock

24th May 2009

9 Miles

5 Locks

4 Hours

Nine times out of ten a bank holiday means rain. In stark contrast to last weekend's wintry weather, this bank holiday weekend offered the prospect of wall to wall sunshine on Saturday and Sunday, with a possibility of showers on Monday.

We had no particular plans to go boating, but as our commitments evaporated, we thought why not? So, after church on Sunday morning we chucked all our stuff onto the car and set out for a family boating trip down the Staff and Worcester.

The sun shone from a clear blue sky, turning us red and causing us to reach for the sunscreen for the first time this year. We were not alone, as the fishermen, cyclists and walkers were out in force, enjoying the weather. Whilst there were a lot of boats out from the marina, most seemed to have reached their various destinations and were tied up and just idling in the late afternoon warmth. We passed Dave and Pam, moored up in their favourite spot above Compton Lock, and then passed nb Eliza Rose near Wightwick lock, probably visiting Wightwick Manor, a National Trust property near the canal.

It was great to see such pleasure being taken from the canal, and possibly the most surreal was a couple sharing a champagne picnic, complete with mood music and a wicker basket, on the spit of land which extents into the lock pool above Wightwick Mill Lock. I don't know what they were celebrating, but it certainly looked memorable.

This stretch of the Staffs and Worsceser is very pretty, skirting Wombourne and Tettenall and features some unusual round weirs.

Our target was the offside mooring just above Dimmingsdale Lock. The absence of a winding hole meant a descent of the lock was necessary, turning where one of the Dimmingsdale Reservoirs feeds into the canal and then back up the lock.

We whiled away the dying rays of the day with a spot of fishing, but in spite of a couple of big bites, failed to catch anything. I took a stroll across to the reservoirs, over the gate marked Sankey Angling Club, No Trespassers (I am sure they don't mean me!) and had a look at the lower of the two lakes. It is clearly a well stocked fishery and the scene looked idyllic. There has been a lot of work done on the dam and its associated water spillway.

As we settled in to watch Memphis Belle (fitting given today's clear blue skies) when Eliza Rose puttered up and slipped into the mooring between us and the lock.

Not a long day, but bettered by few.

Ice Breaking on Staffs and Worcester

Ice Breaking at Four Ashes
10th Jan 2009

It's always good to get the first run of the season under ones belt.

I have plans to try and document the waterways journeys I took with the Captain Snr, Matilda and sometimes my brother during the late 1960's and 1970's. These plans moved one step closer this weekend with an overnight stay on Wand'ring Bark with my brother, who was part of the crew on the earlier trips. Our plan was to take the boat to Penkridge, have a pub meal and then spend the evening sorting through the many boating transparency slides taken between 1967 and 1979.

The weekend had been scheduled in the diary for months, so a little bit of frost wasn't about to put us off. We arrived at Calf Heath to find WB covered in rhyme and the marina covered in a thick layer of solid looking ice. However, an inspection of the cut at the junction with the Hatherton Canal gave some hope, it was ice free.

We got the stove going and, after a bit of effort, eased WB out of the marina. Our initial optimism was dashed when we turned the first corner and were confronted by a solid sheet of ice which stretched from bank to bank. Never mind, "I'm sure it will clear up soon" I said as we crunched into the ice floes. Predictably, things didn't clear up and is was soon apparent that we wern't going anywhere near Penkridge, not even Gailey for that matter! We quickly revised our ambitions and decided to make for the winding hole at Calf Heath bridge, alongside the Four Ashes chemical works. Even this turned out to be a challenging target, but by the time we had moved a mile we didn't fancy stern hauling the boat all the way back!

The ice got thicker and thicker, with the boat grinding its way along and chunks of ice skittering away from our bow. We finally made it to the winding hole and thankfully, the water under the bridge was ice free, which gave us some room to rope the boat round for the return trip. Rather than face the ignominy of a quick return (we had acquired quite an audience on our departure) we stopped for lunch, warming our numb fingers and watching the local model aeroplane club test a model jet. I had never seen a remote controlled jet before and the high minimum speed made for a very interesting landing. After a lazy lunch and much catching up we made easy passage back through the path we had cut, returning to our berth as the sun faded at 3.30pm. Don't even think about the blacking on the bows..... what blacking?

Our plans for a pub meal evolved into drive to the Fox and Anchor at Coven, where we secured a prime fireside spot and whiled away a couple of hours, only to return to the car and discover that thieves had smashed the side window, trying to steal a non existent Sat Nav and ipod in the glove compartment. Great.

After a chilly trip back we attacked the old photos, sorting them into chronological order on a light box my brother had purloined from a hospital. The slides were rarely labelled and at best they had a cryptic caption like "leaving a lock near Birmingham" - thanks Captain Snr!. However, we applied ourselves to the task sorting them initially by boat and then, by looking at the backdrops and searching our combined memories, we managed to piece together the likely routes we had followed. Finally, we tried to put them into a timeline based on the ever maturing face of yours truly (I was seven when we started). In the end it was rather like a jigsaw of our past - thoroughly enjoyable for us but totally boring to anyone else.

Neither of us have been very good and recording our pasts ,and this exercise proved the benefits photographic records. They provided memory triggers of things in the past, events which should be remembered. In spite of a clutch of degrees and diplomas between us, we found evidence of trips we had completely forgotten, and photos of friends and families that had joined us, many of whom are either dead or forgotten. The moral of this story is; don't throw out your old slides or prints - stick them in a box because you never know who may want to rake over the past in 40 years time!

The next step is to convert these faded images into a digital format which will then persist in glorious sepia for ever. When this task is complete I will publish the photos in the blog, preserving the past on line in case my hard drive fails.

We settled down for a good nights sleep at 1.00am, with the stove warding off the frost. Interestingly, the on board thermometer indicated that the air temperature inside the boat dropped to minus 8 during the week, testing the integrity of the pipes and anti freeze to the limit.

Family Boxing Day

Friday 26th December 2008
Calf Heath to Coven

6 Miles
2 Hours

What better way to blow away the Christmas cobwebs than a canal trip to the Fox and Anchor. The weather forecasters were right - a clear blue sky but a penetrating cold easterly wind.

As this was a "whole family" trip I went to the boat first with Tilly, after making an obligatory trip to Game to sort out a malfunctioning Christmas present. The idea was lunch on the boat followed by a drink at the Fox and Anchor. We got all the covers off Wand'ring Bark, lit the fire, turned on the water and the electrics and finally loaded on the food and drink. No sooner had we completed all the tasks than Jeff bounces in, ready for the off.

These Christmas trips are great if the weather is kind. No ice this year but I don't think the blacking could take too much of last years punishment. We set off into blinding sunshine and soon came across more of BW's tree thinning efforts. The logs we had seen two weeks previously had all been hoovered up by heat hungry boaters, but the latest works has resulted in a huge pile of logs, all 12" long and just ready for drying and splitting. We half filled the front well deck on the return journey, enough to keep our home fire burning right through to the spring. Cheers BW!

We were not alone in our plan to visit the Fox and Anchor, two other boats were out from Calf Heath, Phoenix (resplendent in a new red and green paint job) and a short tug. The pub was rammed with punters, but a table was found near the fire and a drink imbibed courtesy of my father in law.

On the return journey Belle and her mother decided on a towpath stroll, getting back on at Laches Bridge. Unfortunately, as I reversed to recover them I picked up a travel rug on the prop, virtually bringing the boat to a standstill. A boaters nightmare - air temperature 2 degrees, water temperature little better and a fouled prop. There was nothing for it but to take a trip down the weed hatch.

Luckily the blanket was well rotted and it tore free leaving just the border hooked under the shaft. The water was so cold my hands were in agony within one minute - its a good job it was a quick fix or we would have found ourselves bow hauling WB back to the marina!

We returned (weighed down with a huge stack of logs) just as the sun was setting. What the trip lacked in length is made up for in quality of company and incident.

BW and the Boat Boys

Calf Heath to Coven
Staffs and Worcester Canal
13th December 2008

6 Miles
2 Hours

You have to grab boating opportunities when you can at this time of year. In spite of a diabolical forecast and a long list on unbought Christmas presents, the return of Chris, one of my best friends from the distant north (Morpeth) inspired us to have a day on the boat "come what may". Our wives deemed us mad to venture out in the face of such rain, but we both heeded the Outward Bound saying - "its never the wrong sort of weather, just the wrong sort of clothes!" and donned our most water resistant wet weather gear. A detailed inspection of the local weather map suggested that the worst of the rain would pass by 11.00 so we set off, hoping for the best.

With all the rain, the water levels in the Gailey summit pound were very high and some kind soul had loosened the ropes on WB. They are a good bunch at Calf Heath.

We had been thinking of making a descent to Penkridge but given the adverse weather and limited light we opted for a more leisurely trundle along the Staffs and Worcester to the Fox and Anchor at Coven. Imagine our delight when we discovered that BW had been thinning the offside trees and had left logs everywhere. We stopped off three times on the outward journey and noted some additional likely locations for the return trip.



I usually only hear about these free wood bonanzas after the event, by which time all my friends have stripped the smaller logs clean leaving only the huge ones which are too big to handle, let alone saw up. Not this time, today I was the first on the scene and enjoyed the rich pickings which were available. BW had been so thoughtful that they even left one supply neatly stacked up on a dredging barge.

The Fox and Anchor offered their excellent Scottish beefburgers all washed down with a pint of John Smiths and topped off with a festive Bread and Butter Pudding.


The return journey saw more timber collections eventually covering the rear deck and weighing in at about 1.5 tons! The added load caused the boat to settle several inches, such that we became firmly grounded and it took us a good 15 mins to break free.


After returning home and relieving the groaning car springs of their excess load, there was just time for a wash and brush up before the Capt and Belle departed for a Christmas meal with old friends (all poshed up in our DJ's). This group gather at the start of each Christmas and the male contingent form the core of the Boat Boys, the group that used to relay Honey up and down to London.

Andy, The Capt, Tony, Kev, George and Dave

With Honey off the radar the group have now migrated to Wand'ring Bark and can often be seen chugging around the canals of the West Midlands and the BCN. Give them a wave if you like, but they prefer a bottle of Port!

Pendeford

Saturday 30th August 2008
Day trip through Autherley
Staffs & Worcester and Shropshire Union Canals

14 Miles
2 Locks
6 Hours

Mud, Moorings and Minds


Festivals are funny things. I have attended all sorts of gatherings in all sorts of locations and I am always struck by the transformation when the event is over. How something that seemed so significant can disappear like the morning dew, leaving so few traces behind

On this occasion I am thinking of the IWA National Festival which took place last weekend at Pendeford Park. I had another unexpected day to myself and rather than spend it doing the sensible thing (painting the front of the house), I decided to take a solitary trip through Autherley to the winding point beyond Wolverhampton Boat Club, have lunch and then return.

It was odd to pass the site of the festival and see so little evidence of its passing. It has all seemed to busy, so permanent at the time and all that was left were some muddy patches on the grass and a line of new mooring rings along the newly trimmed offside. It got me thinking (being alone I had plenty of time to ponder). What is the legacy of the festival, or any other gathering of that sort? It has to be more that the muddy footprint in the park, which will fade within a month, and also more than a trimmed bank, which nature will reclaim within a year or so.

No, I guess that the legacy will be in the minds and hearts of the attendees. Relationships which have been built and minds which have been broadened will have a far more profound impact than the insubstantial marks left on the ground. There are little or no physical remains of Jesus, but look at the impact he worked through the minds of his twelve disciples. The jamboree may have come to an end but the work of this group of waterways enthusiasts rolls on, gathering momentum with each passing year.


On a more mundane level, the day was warm and dry but not very sunny. There were very few boats moving and Autherley was back to its normal quiet self. Napton Narrowboats being cleaned ready for new holidaymakers and Viking Afloat crews making a last dash to get back to Gailey on time.

Whilst the legacy of a trimmed bank may be a transient thing, it was lovely to see Pendeford Park reconnected to the canal, with its areas of grass sweeping down to the water. It was also good to see the moorings so recently vacated by festival boats being used by local boaters.


Although it is only the end of August, summer has nearly gone. The leaves on the trees lining the canal are starting to turn and some craft are already being mothballed for the winter. For Wand'ring Bark there is still quite a bit of season left with a couple of weekend fishing trips on the calendar, as well as the end of season solo run, which will probably be a return to market Drayton.

Bangers in Penkridge

23rd Feb 2008
Calf Heath to Penkridge
Staffs and Worcester Canal

14 miles
12 locks
7 Hours

A family day out with a full contingent including the Bag people. Weather was unexpectedly dry but a bit of a raw northerly wind all day.

Only saw one other boat on the move – Helouise from CH marina.

We had a great lunch of sausage sandwiched in Penkridge basin.

Coven Fox and Anchor

24 December 2007
Day Trip to Fox and Anchor
Santa special

What better way to start Christmas than a boat trip with the stove chugging away, mulled wine warming and a thin film of ice on the cut?



This Christmas period was spent with out best friends, the Bat people who have maintained a longstanding desite for a trip on WB.



With the day being clear and bright a snap decision was made to move the boat to the pub for a drink and back on or after dark. Their son is a profesional camerman so I will let his photos tell the story.

Grub Street and back

9th to 11th June 2007
Calf Heath to Grub Street
Shropshire Union

Day one - to Fox and Anchor at Coven

2 Miles

0 Locks

My mother, Matilda, was over for the weekend so a boat trip was in order. The problem was Jeff - he has a youth group trip planned to Waterworld in Stoke, so our departure was much delayed.

In the event Matilda, Tilly and I drove over the Calf Heath after lunch and I set about painting on one side of the cream coach lines. It was a sweltering day so whilst I sweated in the sun, Matilda and Tilly wandered off to find some shade.

In late afternoon I returned to Sutton to pick up Jeff and returned to Wand'ring Bark with just enough time to trundle down to the Fox and Anchor and a drink in the cool of the evening.

Day 2 - Coven to Grub Street and back to Gnosall

26 Miles

2 Locks

We made the very familiar run to Gnosall on a glorious summer day, mooring at the Navigation Inn at Gnosall, where we met up with Belle and shared a pub meal in the garden to the rear. With Tilly and Jeff whisked off back to school, and lots of light left in the sky, Matilda took little encouragement to cast off and take a trip through Norbury into Grub Street cutting. Time was short so we winded in the hole mid way down the final stretch of cutting and returned to Gnosall for the night.

Day 3 - Gnosall to Calf Heath

18 Miles

2 Locks

A routine return trip to Calf Heath, filling up with diesel at Wheaton Aston as we passed by.

Brewood and back

10th and 11th March 2007
Calf Heath to Brewood
Staffs & Worcester and Shropshire Union Canals

18 Miles
2 Locks
2 Days

Another weekend on our own!

With the children again with friends we decided to go a little further for this, the first trip of the 2007 season.

We cruised out to Brewood under a clear blue sky with the aim of mooring at the Brewood Visitor Moorings. Unfortunately, all the moorings were taken by long term boaters, who had clearly been there for the winter. We therefore turned at Countrywide Cruisers and and moored just north of bridge 14. We had planned a trip to the Bridge Inn but the towpath was terribly muddy so we gave up, cracking open a couple of cans of Boddingtons and settling down to an evening of DVD's.

It blew a gale overnight, but we were OK, protected by the cutting. The weather then settled in and we made a our way back in driving wind, rain and snow - yuk!

Jeff's Birthday Bash - and back again

15th October 2006
Tixall to Calf Heath
Staffs and Worcester Canal

14 Miles
12 Locks
6 Hours

After all the toxic waste excitement of yesterday you would expect a quieter return journey wouldn't you? Well, fact can be stranger than fantasy so here is the remainder of this comic episode:

After a 9.00 am start we soon passed the site of yesterday's emergency bailout, finding the autumnal air fortified with a very distinctive bouquet, not entirely pleasant I have to admit. It's a good job the spot was very remote and away from any moorings!

On our return to Penkridge who should be wandering around the lock? None other than yesterday's drunk - who had clearly invested his time and money topping up his inebriation in the local pub. Drunks seem to fall into two camps, they are either dangerously aggressive or they greet you as a long lost best friend. This chap was of the latter persuasion and he enthusiastically peered down into the lock chamber and asked how our trip had gone.

Given yesterday's final comment, I had to reply: "You know you were dead right, s**t does happen," and proceeded to tell the tale. I knew that engaging in this sort of banter carried risks but I didn't see the next one coming. "Can I ask you a favour please? - I need to get my boat up to Gailey and I was wondering if you could give me a tow?". In that moment I couldn't think of a good reason to say no, so I said yes and tied him onto the stern dollies. His little plastic cruiser was, of course, entirely without a licence, a mooring permit or valid BSC - but there, no one is perfect!

I kept well to the front on the locks to avoid crushing my companion, and all went well till we approached Shutt Hill. My "passenger" decided to jump off his boat as we approached the bank, but he failed to allow for the reaction of his craft, which skidded back away from him, leaving him suspended in mid air, rather like Wylie Cyotie when he realises he has run off the edge of a cliff. As if in slow motion, I watched him plunge beneath the murky waters and then start vainly scrabbling at the steel piled bank, trying to get out. The water was deep and cold, he was heavily dressed and drunk and the bank was sheer and high - all of which made an unassisted exit nigh on impossible. I genuinely feared the chap would drown himself so I abandoned the boat (again) and dashed back, hauling him out by his belt. He was too shocked to say much but from his moans of dispair it appeared that he had been wearing his best trousers, which were now soaked and ingrained with silt.

Our passenger disappeared back into his boat to change and didn't reappear till we cleared Gailey Top Lock, emerging as we refilled our water tank to replace the water used in yesterdays debacle. I figured that this trip couldn't have any more incident but no, there was one final twist in the tale. Jeff's best friend, Matt, is a lively lad and never walks when he can run. I had reminded him at regular intervals to slow down but what do I know? In the process of filling the water tank I has sluiced down the side beneath the chimney, rinsing off the sticky tar which oozes out. The result was a slippery patch which Matt hit at full speed and, for the second time in an hour, I watched an episode of Wylie Cyotie. This time the unpowered flight attempt ended with a small blond head bobbing down the side of the boat, spectacles still on his nose all glistening wet with water. Another emergency stop, followed by a rapid strip down and shower to quell the shivering. By this time I had had enough of the passenger (I didn't catch his name but I suspect it was Jonah) so I dropped him off on the visitor moorings and legged it back to Calf Heath as fast as I could.

As you can imagine, the three lads found the events surrounding the "toxic waste" weekend hilarious, with the component parts growing in dramatic content with each retelling!.

Jeffs birthday bash - to Tixall Wide

14th October 2006

Calf Heath to Tixall Wide
Staffs and Worcester Canal

14 Miles
12 Locks
6 Hours

To celebrate Jeff's 13th birthday we decided on a sleepover with a twist. This year the celebration would be afloat, taking in a boat trip with plenty of locks, a spot of fishing, pizza and monopoly, mooring overnight on Tixall Wide, just before Haywood Junction.

After an early collection of two friends we set sail at 10.00am, making our way first to Gailey and then down to Penkridge. Whilst descending Penkridge lock I unwisely engaged in conversation with a very drunk Water Gypsy who proceeded to tell me his life story in the time it took the water to empty. He told me of how his girlfriend had deserted him, leaving him in favour of her supplier of illicit substances and also taking his boat with them, thus leaving him with an unpowered fibreglass vessel as home. Having told his sorry take he ended with a shrug and observer that "s**t happens". Oh how true he was.

During the next hour or so I had occasional complaints from the lads that it was smelly in the boat, but put that down to over sensitive city boys not being able to cope with the slightly fragrant holding tank system. But no, one of my passengers had managed to turn the flush mechanism of the loo on, and not turned it off after completing his ablutions. Needless to say, the fresh water supply is considerably greater than the capacity of the holding tank and I was suddenly faced with three ashen faced lads telling me that the toilet was overflowing! I dived below and sure enough, a steady stream of water was welling up from the toilet basin - like something from a second rate horror movie. With me frantically bailing out the cascading toilet, Jeff and his friends took command of the boat and brought us into land just short of the aqueduct over the river Sow. The boys laughter was stifled when I pointed out that we had to reduce the level in the tank to below the inspection hatch and proceeded to implement a chain of buckets, discharging a large quantity of "toxic waste" into the hedgerow. Not a nice job. Whilst we emptied about a third of the tank, many gallons found their way into the bilge, necessitating the cutting of an access hatch the next weekend and much unpleasant mopping out. Not a task I wish to repeat!

After the enforced delay we finally made it to Tixall just before sunset, and dropped out rods into the water. Result - one small perch. Not much but better than nothing.

Apart from a rather soggy floor and damp atmosphere the remainder of the day passed uneventfully.

Chillington and back

16th and 17th Sept 2006
Overnight to Chillington
Staffs & Worcs and Shropshire Union

14 Miles
2 Locks
5 Hours

A weekend away for just the two of us, Capt ad Belle. With Tilly and Jeff safely looked after by friends we grabbed the opportunity for some rare time to ourselves, and where better than on our boat. We wern't fussed about a pub so we stocked up on an Asda curry plus wine and a nice pudding. We chugged down to Autherley Junction and then up the Shroppie to a good spot just beyond the M54 bridge.


The location is by bridge 7, just before Chillington Wharf, sheltered by a stand of trees and just far enough away from the motorway to lose the drone of tyre noise. A cracking spot we have used regularly and one which is quite popular with local boaters.

Times away without the kids are very precious and need to be grasped wherever possible.