Bostin in Brownhills

Bostin in Brownhills

June 2016

I spent last weekend on the waterfront in Brownhills, taking nearly three hours to get there along the shallow and narrow Daw End Branch of the Wyrley and Essington canal on Saturday. I arrived in time to set the butty up ready for the Brownhills Canalside Festival and to go and chat the a couple of the other boaters for an hour or so, putting the issues of the EU to rights in the process.

Brownhills Canalside Festival 2016

This event is really a canal side fete put on by the local residents (The Brownhills Peoples Association to be accurate) and whilst a smattering of boats was needed to bring the water to life, it is not a boating festival by any stretch of the imagination. There was the Ikon art boat, the BCNS workboat Phoenix offering trips, two local boats in for the day, two permanent moorers who simply sat it out and then there was me, the first trading boat to appear at the event and a novel addition which went down well with the attendees.

The Jam Butty in action

The organisation is a bit hit and miss with limited direction and supervision, but there is a team spirit about the while thing and everyone just seems to muck in an it all comes together. There was no booking system for boats and no harbour master, so we all discussed the options and then made it happen. The limited number of boats should not come as a surprise when you remember that  Brownhills is at least a full days cruising on remaindered canals from any main waterways.

Lots of canoeing

There is something rather special about these small local events, organised by local community activists for the local community. From a trading perspective I never have high expectations but am so often pleasantly surprised, and Brownhills was no exception. I was trading solo with Helen staying at home with a friend so I scaled back the operations a bit, dropping the cordials and offering a more limited range which I can manage on my own.

Local musical acts

I woke to the sound of rain hammering down in the night but it had moved on my the morning and instead we had an unseasonal northerly breeze with a forecast of rail for late afternoon. These conditions called for the gazebo plus a couple of sides but come 10.00 am I was set up and by 10.10 I had covered my stall fee - not a bad start! The day continued in a steady fashion, never overrun but rarely quiet. I had some company over the lunch period but in the main I served alone and it surprised my just how many people I know, both locals and visitors. And so the day passed in a very sociable manner and by the time the rail arrived at 3.30 the table was looking a bit light on stock. In the end we have a good day with takings which would not have disgraced a big event like Droitwich.

But, as we have seen before, a late rain shower is the final curtain for outside events and the crowds just melted away and the stallholders trying to set gazebo dismantling records. I plodded on steadily and just after 5.00pm all was packed away and the Jam Butty was both weatherproof and ready to move.

And then a dilemma - do I stay or do I go? Well, I was already more than a bit damp so I pulled on my waterproofs and made a start on the return journey. The temperature plummeted and as I passed through Walsall Wood my breath was coming out as steam - great for the end of June! My destination was to stop at the offside mooring next to Aldridge Marina, only half a mile from home but a full two hours cruising from or mooring so with no plans for Monday morning I stopped for the night and was rewarded with a bright and dry end to my short trip out.

Brownhills Becons

Brownhills Canal Festival

June 2016

Brownhills, or Brownshill as one of my dear friends calls it, plays host to an annual canal festival but as you can imagine, its not high on most boaters itineraries. As a result its a one day event which is more to celebrate the Wyrley and Essington Canal which runs through it than about the boats.

There will be some boats in attendance, including a historic and the BCNS workboat Phoenix to offer boat trips, plus the IKON boat for an artistic dimension, as well a full compliment of land based stalls (the pitched sold out weeks ago) plus canoe displays and live music near the canoe club. All in all a nice little community event.

I passed through the Brownhills waterfront today and the area was alive with bunting and a big banner had been erected on the roundabout. However, the advertising alteration squad is active in the area, subtly changing the message which has triggered masses of interest on social media - a bit of a bummer!

If all had gone according to plan we would have been somewhere around Tamworth and making for the Grand Union when the festival is on. Given our limitations of movement at present and the fact that Brownhills is just 2.5 hours cruising away, it seemed too good an opportunity to miss. I contacted the organisers and asked for a trade boat slot, but we seem to be the first trade boat to make such an approach and we therefore made up policy on the fly. I guess I could have just arrived and set up the Jam Butty, but that seems wrong so we decided that paying the standard stallholder rate would be fair and I was delegated trade boat harbour master duty (for myself).

And so The Jam Butty will attend its very first Canal Festival this coming Sunday managed by just yours truly and any other friends who show up. 

If you are in the area its opposite the Brownhills Tesco's front door, and will run from 10.00am till 4.00pm on Sunday 26th June.

See you there!

Passport to Pelsall

Passport to Pelsall

June 2016

Right now the stars seem to be in alignment. Its the day after the summer solstice, the sun is out and most crucially, Helen is feeling well - so we seized the day and grabbed a night afloat.

The Fingerpost on Pelsall Common

There is an ill founded misconception that its all a bit grim on the northern BCN but nothing could be further from the truth. Tucked out in the far reaches of the remaindered section lies the village of Pelsall and with it a rather wonderful canal side common. This semi rural location has to be one of the gems of the BCN which, if it was anywhere else, would be rammed with boats moored bumper to bumper (think Tixall Wide).

Cannock Extension Canal

But because its in one of the remotest sections of the BCN - a full days cruising from the Main Line - it attracts few visitors. And so here we sit, moored next to the rather good Fingerpost pub in glorious isolation having had the ten miles of cruising without meeting a single moving boat.

Not that it has always been this way. The common used to be home to a enormous ironworks with blast furnaces blazing away 24 hours a day, fed by dozens of Joey or Day Boats bringing coal, ironstone and limestone and taking finished product out. But those days of industry are long gone and the sounds of birdsong seem to have eradicated even the echoes.

Of course, others do know of this spot and periodically the common is the venue for canal festivals. BCNS tend to hold biannual events here but this year its the turn of the IWA's big festival which will attract over 150 boats over the August bank holiday weekend. Given our change of plan this summer it seemed daft not to take advantage of the IWA gathering so Wand'ring Bark and The Jam Butty will be attending and offering as fine a selection of preserves as you are likely to find.

As this spot is three hours cruising from Longwood (not towing the butty) it is a regular destination and one which photographs well through the season. I attach a selection of tonight's images to let you see what you are missing. 

Chasewater Dam

Chasewater Dam 

May 2016

Regular blog readers may have noticed a very active non waterway blog in my blogroll, in the shape of Brownhills Bob. 

Chasewater top valve house

This is a hyper active local community site run for the people on Brownhills and surrounding area covering a whole gamut of stuff which periodically includes historical material about the area's canals.

Inside the valve house

My eye was caught by a repost of an advert for a guided walk in the Chasewater Dam area called "Where the water goes". Now Chasewater was built in 1797 by the Wyrley and Essington Canal Co to serve as a supply feeder and after enlargements it is now the countries largest canal reservoir. It includes a huge earth dam and from the outset it has been plagued by leaks, a problem which continues to the present.

Boating beneath the dam

Within two years if its completion it failed and the resulting tidal wave washed down the Crane Valley and submerged Shenstone. The dam was rebuilt but the main ramparts are made of mine waste and it remains precarious and sits close to the top of the dam inspectors worry list.

The end of the feeder arm canal

These days the site and the land are owned by the council, but unusually the water is owned by CRT. CRT are therefore able, if so desired, to extract all the water to supply the BCN leaving all the water sports based on Chasewater high and dry. 

This walking tour was led by one of the park rangers and when I arrived I learned that only two people were booked in - but 11 showed up! 

The tour started by a look inside the valve room on the top of the dam. This small room contains two hand operated valves which are the primary control for releasing water into the canal. At present just one works, the other is awaiting repair doe to distortion on the rod which drops down through 11 metres of water.

The recently repaired section

We then moved on to look at the area which consumed much of the repair budget when the lake was drained. This northern end is particularly leakey and the porous nature of the dam the aim was to install drains to take the leaks away from the foot of the dam rather than stop them altogether. This work included the construction of berms or terraces with drains to strengthen the base of the dam and reduce the risk of the saturated mass sliding away. The outlet pipes are constantly running with water, suggesting the work was a success - but visible leaks serve as a reminder not to become too complacent.

 The leaks at the foot of the dam

We walked around the old mining area and over to the canal where the coal from the drift mines was loaded into boats, the last being shipped in 1961.

 The old coal chutes and spillway

We also had a look at the old overflow spillway ramp which was never used before returning to the dam and inspecting the large control wheel in the base of the dam which is weak and is now left open with the pressure being taken by the upper valves.

Lower valve house

Then it was back to the southern end of the dam to have a look at the modern emergency valve which can be raised by the rangers at will and discharge surplus water into the Crane Brook.

Modern emergency valves

All in all it was a fascinating tour letting us see some of the hydraulics of the site which are usually kept behind lock and key. 

I've got that sinking feeling.....

Subsidence in Walsall Wood
July 2015

Before you leap to the wrong conclusions - neither of our boats is in imminent danger of sinking.... I hope! True, I have replaced the packing in the stuffing box today so a tragedy could follow but overheating from over tightening is a more likely outcome.

No, today's post is about subsidence of the Daw End Canal as it passes through Walsall Wood, less than a mile from our home.

The Daw End Branch canal ran over a very good coal measure so naturally enough them mined the stuff out and in time the surrounding land settles several feet as the workings collapsed. The mines were last worked over 100 years ago and the general view is that if subsidence is to occur it will stop after 40 years.

The canal neat our house therefore suffered severe subsidence and had to have its banks built up repeatedly and even today the channel, with its silt, is over 6 feet deep. Raising the banks is ok, but it bridges are a problem. In areas prone to subsidence the old hump backed bridges were replaced with flat topped ones, which could be jacked up as an when necessary.

There is one bridge which particularly catches my eye every time I pass under it - Black Cock Bridge.

This venerable old iron span has been lifted on at least one occasion and its walls have built in jacking points to cater for any future movement. If you look closely al the walls lower down you can see a row of old jacking holes which have been bricked up and who knows if there and now underground / under water.

The other tell tale evidence of subsidence are the rope rollers which should go from ground level to the bridge span. Instead they are half buried which indicated that the last lifting was after horse drawn traffic switched to diesel in the 1930's.

Finally, if looked at from a distance you can see the pipe which accompanies the road has been cranked up to give headroom and shows just how much lifting was needed.

A long and winding road

A trip down the Curley Wyrley

July 2015

Our trip to Kings Norton festival hit a snag even before we had started. 

There are three alternative routes :

1. The direct route down to Salford Junction and back up the farmers bridge. Very short but with the better part of 40 locks - about 12 hours.

2. The less direct route via Ryders Green which is longer but has 17 locks - about 9 hours

3. The long way using the Wyrley and Essington via v Wolverhampton - only 3 locks but 17 hours.

Pelsall Common at dawn

No guessing which route we wanted - but Ryders Green top lock was closed with a split balance beam. As I was to be single handed for the day the Salford Junction option was impossible. Nothing for it but to hit the W&E and settle in for a long haul, literally.

Watch out in Harden!

I teed myself up on Wednesday evening by moving the boats to Walsall Wood and then it was up and away at 5.00am - so I was cruising into Sneyd before 10.00am. The sun shone and the boats gluided over gin clear water, fish flitting in and out of the weeds beneath me. During the 10 hours I was on the W&E I passed just one other moving boat, and then was right at the end. That's not to say there are no boats, only last week I found myself behind Atlas and Malus as they made their slow way home from Longwood Festival.

The W&E is a canal of many parts and most of them surprisingly pleasant, especially the section from Longwood to Bloxwich.

Pidgeon at Sneyd

But my trip didn't end at Wolverhampton. I pressed on to Tipton where I picked up Helen and then we moved on the Central Birmingham, rolling in at about 8.30pm - after 15.5 hours at the tiller. A great day but perhaps a trip which is better split into two!