« Thank You

Snow on the canals »

During the summer I produced the maps for Canal Voyagers Hotel Boats to include in their brochure, showing each individual cruise. For printing these were limited to just two shades (plus the white background).

I knew it would be helpful to produce a version showing all their routes for 2010 on one map, but this would need careful work - and the use of colour.

Just before Christmas I used a couple of long train journeys to produce this map, which shows all their cruises. It works well on the website, with hyperlinks to individual pages giving details of each cruise.

Click to see the full sized version.

We can produce custom maps for your brochures or websites and we can tailor maps to suit your needs and to match your house style and colours. Just ask us.

We passed Canal Voyagers boats, Snipe and Taurus, on the River Severn last summer as we headed upstream. They were breasted up and heading downstream towards Tewkesbury.

They provide a great, friendly, service on their boats where you can help work the boats through the locks, or just sit back and watch the countryside pass by in style. Email or call them (+44 (0) 7921 214 414) for further information.

« Epiphany goes up in the world

Canal Voyagers Hotel Boats 2010 Map »

Thank you to all our customers, friends and family for your support throughout the year.

We've had lots of fun producing DVDs and posting them out before Christmas. I do hope they've all arrived - nobody has said they haven't.

We've enjoyed meeting you all too, while we were out cruising and filming, at exhibitions, or elsewhere.

« Christmas Presents (and holiday planning)

Thank You »

I'd arranged to help John and Fi on Epiphany climb the locks towards Birmingham and the BCN last week.

I stayed on our own boat at Sherborne Wharf the night before and caught the train to Stourbridge Town to meet then moored near the end of the Stourbridge Town Arm.
John was just opening the rear doors as I was approaching with the camera.

Unfortunately Fi wasn't too well and was unable to help but John and I made good progress up the Stourbridge Sixteen and the Delph locks.

Twenty four locks in around five hours with two crew and help part way from Stephen it was exceptionally good going - some would say motorway mode. Every lock was empty and I didn't need to raise any of the bottom paddles so that saved a lot of time.

Unfortunately Fi didn't see much of the journey but you can read more on their own blog.

« Selly Oak Aqueduct

Epiphany goes up in the world »

Christmas is not far away and if your stuck for a idea for a present then look no further than our great selection of DVDs.

There's still time to order them for UK delivery and we post them first class so you get them quickly.

They are good for holiday planning too, ready for next summer's cruise.
So, whether you are considering a gift for someone else, a treat for yourself, or planning next year's holiday then look at our full range of DVDs.

« Stopgates

Christmas Presents (and holiday planning) »

One reason the stop gates were being maintained in the last blog was probably because of the new work at Selly Oak, just a few hundred meters away.

A new bypass is being constructed and will pass under the canal and railway, requiring a new bridge for the railway and a new aqueduct for the canal.

The canal will be temporarily slued onto a new cut closer to the railway (where the diggers are) while the aqueduct is being constructed.

When it's finished it will be put back onto its original alignment passing over the new aqueduct.
With the pound stretching to Tardebigge and Lapworth in one direction, and to Tipton and Parkhead in the other there's an awful lot of water to flood Selly Oak with if something should go wrong so it's a good idea to check the stop gates.

I'm puzzled by the carefully prepared towpath diversion around nothing - yet ! I wonder what's going to be there.

« Finding our DVDs

Selly Oak Aqueduct »

There are stopgates positioned under bridge 82 on the Worcester and Birmingham Canal, between Edgbaston and Selly Oak. Most of the time they are folded back, out of the way an nobody notices them as they steer through the bridge.

Most of the time they serve no purpose - they are there just in case. In the event of a breach in the canal they can be closed very quickly to stop the flow of water and minimise the length of canal which is drained.

They work rather like lock gates, and look rather like them and, just like lock gates they need maintenance and occasional replacement.

Here, stop planks have been used to form a dam each side of the bridge and the water has been pumped out to allow full access to the gates. Normally all we see, even if we are looking, is just the very top sticking out of the water.

These new gates have been made to measure as each set are unique to their location.

Unfortunately, drawings of what was built hundreds of years ago don't always match what you find then you drain the water out and there's a little head scratching going on here. I'm sure it will all be fitting well before too long, but, unless there is a breach, nobody will even know they've been here in a few weeks time.

This is one of the longest pounds in the country, permitting one of the longest lock free cruises so there would be a lot of water to drain if it wasn't controlled somehow.

The winter stoppage season is a good time to do these works and there's a particular reason for working on these gates now and making sure they work - but you'll have to wait until the next blog post for that.

Just alongside were the workboats used to bring the materials to site and to take away any scrap material and spoil afterwards.

By putting the stop planks close to the gates the digger can reach over to help when required.