BCN Cruising Map

We've just released the next map in our Cruising Maps series. As will all the others, it is available in two formats, both for download. The Acrobat (pdf) format for viewing and printing as individual pages, and the Memory Map (qct) format for seamless mapping on your computer, Andorid, iPhone or PDA. The new release is >Birmingham Canal Navigations (BCN) Map If you are fed up of turning from one page to another in canal guide books to trace your way around the BCN then the seamless Memory Map format is just what you have been waiting for.

These go well with our Birmingham Canal Navigations (BCN) DVDs which show a tour around the whole of the BCN. If you are not how sure what these maps are like then take a look at our Free Droitwich Canals Map to see just how good these are.

Posted on Saturday, 14 May 2011 at 16:39        Comments (2) 
Category(s): BCN

BCN Coots

We continued our cruise through the remoter parts of the BCN and reached Bradley Workshops at the end of the Wednesbury Oak Loop. The loop (which is now a dead end and no longer a loop) was surprisingly clear of weed and progress was reasonably easy. What did surprise us was the number of coots sitting on nests. One coot had five eggs and stood aside for us to photograph them as we went past. It's nice when they aren't bothered by humans and don't feel the need to be over protective of their eggs.
Next we were treated to the rare sight of newly hatched babies. So new they were still damp from being in the egg and their heads were flopping from side to side. It looked like another was trying to fight its way out of its shell, with still more eggs to hatch.
One nest was just drifting in the middle of the canal and we passed it slowly and carefully. The adult was sitting on the nest as we approached and stood aside for us to see two more newly hatched youngsters with even more eggs to hatch.

Posted on Wednesday, 27 April 2011 at 20:35        Comments (0) 
Category(s): BCN

Birmingham Canal Navigations

We're making the most of the lovely Easter weather with a short cruise around the Birmingham Canal Navigations (BCN). We're double checking the bridge names for our forthcoming BCN cruising map as many of the bridges have recently had new name plates fitted by BW and the names are different to those previously used. With a little use of our folding bike we'll soon have covered all of the BCN to make sure all the information is completely up to date.

Our journey is taking us out to Anglesey Basin and we've just passed the refurbished lock keepers house at Longwood Junction. Between Catshill Junction and Ogley Junction we saw this swan which was carefully turning the eggs in the nest as we passed by. It's difficult to count but there seem to be 8 or 9 eggs which will soon turn into hungry mouths demanding food. It's the Cannock Extension Canal tomorrow, which is completely straight from end to end, and on towards Sneyd Junction.

Posted on Saturday, 23 April 2011 at 21:48        Comments (0) 
Category(s): BCN

Matilda Rose comes to Birmingham

I’ve been exchanging emails with Jill and Graham on Matilda Rose as they headed towards Birmingham. With careful timing I was able to spend the night on board our own boat at Sherborne Wharf after helping Gypsy Rover and Uccello climb the Hatton flight the previous day. Christine came up from Bristol on the train and we headed for Aston Station and the bottom lock of the Aston Flight.
It was great to meet Jill and Graham and help them work their way into Birmingham and they had hot soup and fresh bread waiting for us when we moored at the top after completing 27 lock miles in 3 hours. We managed to gossip about all sorts as we made our way along.
After lunch we gave Jill and Graham a trip on our boat to enjoy the silence of electric cruising around the Icknield Port Loop. Jill is smiling as she discovers how much easier it is to steer a boat when you can see the front – and that’s not just because it’s a few feet shorter. We used our journey to ferry four bags of coal from Sherborne Wharf to their boat at the same time. Hopefully they will enjoy Birmingham and have time to sample at least some of the delights of the Birmingham Canal Navigations (BCN) and to see the rest on our BCN DVDs.

Posted on Sunday, 7 February 2010 at 15:19        Comments (1) 
Category(s): BCN , Birmingham & Fazeley , Bloggers , Blogging

Ice Breaker

With the snow and ice melting almost everywhere these scenes will soon be a thing of the past. With many of the canals completely frozen, and some of them several inches thick there haven’t been many places with boats moving anywhere. The centre of Birmingham has been no different, with just one exception. One of the trip boats has been making daily excursions from its base on the Oozells Street Loop to Gas Street Basin and back. But why?

George, the Floating Coffee Shop, is run by Sherborne Wharf and it need to be supplied with water from time to time, and to visit Sherborne Wharf occasionally for diesel and pump out. The only way to be sure of access is to break the ice daily with a return journey by the trip boat. If they missed any day it would soon freeze too thick to get through when you needed to. The trip boats are being lifted out for blacking in the next few days so ice damage to them isn’t a worry.

Posted on Thursday, 14 January 2010 at 19:24        Comments (2) 
Category(s): BCN

Let sleeping geese lie

With the canal frozen, what can the Canada Geese do? With most of the canal through Birmingham (and much of the country) frozen over there’s not much you can do if you’re a Canada Goose. Around here it’s 2 inches (5 cm) thick and there are a few silly humans who have tried walking on it but the Canada Geese just slide around like we do and don’t seem to enjoy it.

So, this morning the geese were unusually quiet, with their heads tucked under their wings and just sitting on the ice. They must have a good layer of insulation in their feathers. I don’t think I’d like to sleep like that for very long. There are a few thin bits where the ice has been kept thin by one of the Sherborne Wharf trip boats moving each day to ensure they can still reach George, the floating coffee shop, with supplies.

Posted on Friday, 8 January 2010 at 16:06        Comments (0) 
Category(s): BCN

Small Bridge Signs

For some time the bridges around the centre of Birmingham have had temporary signs stuck on them. Mostly encapsulated paper ones but large enough to read and adequate for a sign that wasn’t to last long. It’s important that bridges and other landmarks are clearly identified so that boaters can easily report problems and they are logged with the emergency services so they can quickly identify the scene of an incident.

On my last trip to Birmingham I was pleased to see the temporary signs had been replaced by permanent ones, but very disappointed at how small they were. They are far too small to be read by a boater needing to report a problem, and impossible to see there’s a sign there from the opposite towpath. Just look at the lower picture, it’s not the sign on the bridge (which is the makers plate) nor the white sign at each end for walkers but set back on the right hand pillar.

Posted on Tuesday, 17 November 2009 at 12:41        Comments (0) 
Category(s): BCN

Past and Present

Andrew Denny, in his Granny Buttons Blog entitled Jumping Joe Darby, and who’ll be the new Baron De Coubertin of the waterways? mentions an archive video from 1972 and asks where it was taken - hoping a blog reader can identify where. It took a little detective work and careful watching of our BCN Bowcam DVD to identify the location but there are several clues in the video and I've visited the site today to confirm where it is.
The pictures show four extracts from the video paired with four pictures from today. Some things have changed since 1972, while other are unchanged for hundreds of years. The video is shot somewhere in the Black Country. It shows a straight, wide canal with towpaths on both sides which narrows it down a little. It shows a lattice sided footbridge with an almost flat base and not arched at all which narrows it down further, probably to the Tame Valley Canal.
I thought it was about 3/4 mile from Tame Valley Junction on the North bank between Jones Bridge and the former Railway Bridge. The pairs of shots seem to match pretty well. 1. Shows the commentator - the bridge and building are still there but the trees have grown a bit over the years. 2. The building is still in the background, although it's had new cladding on the end in a different colour.
3. Look at the reflection of the pylon and the corner of the building, matched in the two shots. 4. The former railway bridge in the background is now painted pink and used by the trams and it has a footbridge added immediately in front, but it's the same bridge. Well, Andrew, have we identified the location well enough for you? If you would like to stage a re-enactment then I'll offer to come and film you getting wet.

Posted on Wednesday, 11 November 2009 at 22:44        Comments (2) 
Category(s): BCN

Moved to a Secure Location

We’ve competed the missing sections of filming during the recent few days of summer and returned to our home mooring at Sherborne Wharf.

As I was walking to the station I spotted this notice attached to one of the bollards near Old Turn Junction in the centre of Birmingham.

This is what happens to boats if you don’t pay your licence fee and keep ignoring repeated reminders and requests to pay – eventually your boat is removed to a secure location.

If the owners finally decide to pay the overdue licence fee, and the late payment charge their boat will be returned.  If it is still not paid then BW will eventually sell the boat, take their fees from the proceeds and pass any money left over to the owners.

Posted on Tuesday, 11 August 2009 at 10:51        Comments (0) 
Category(s): BCN

Smethwick Toll House

After helping Sue and Vic climb the Wolverhampton 21 locks on Monday I left them to enjoy a day at the Black Country Living Museum and Dudley Tunnel on Tuesday.

On Wednesday I joined them again for their trip into Birmingham.  Like many other people, Sue and Vic had been nervous about tackling the Birmingham Canal Navigations (BCN) because of the awful state the canals used to be in and the reputation they had for problems.

After helping proof watch our BCN DVDs, Sue and Vic realised the Birmingham Canals aren’t as bad as they used to be and decided to see them first hand.  It was great to accompany them on their way through and show how nice they are.

Like any big city there’s always a risk of vandalism, although probably less in Birmingham than in some other places.

At Smethwick Top Lock there’s a toll house in the typical octagonal BCN style.

On previous visits it had a matching roof but this time it was missing.  Vandals had broken in and had fires inside and  removed the roof.

The third picture, from Granny Buttons in 2007 shows how it should look, with a story about how it wasn’t being vandalised.

I wouldn’t be surprised if it was restored to its former glory before too long with a roof where balls could get stuck behind the chimney again.

Posted on Friday, 19 June 2009 at 21:11        Comments (0) 
Category(s): BCN , Granny Buttons , No Problem

Downhill all day

With Birmingham being built on top of a large hill we’ve been going downhill all day today to escape.

Perry Barr 13, Minworth 3, and 10 of the Curdworth Locks.  That’s 26 locks and 17 miles today, with just 2 crew those 43 lock-miles were hard work.

We were filming for the Warwickshire Ring DVD once we had passed Salford Junction so we made the most of the sunshine.

The three Minworth Locks were easy today, then on to the eleven at Curdworth, saving just one of those for tomorrow.

Some of the Curdworth Locks were sporting new red paint on the ground paddles.  This clearly shows how far the paddle is up – and when it has been wound fully down.

We’re moored above Curdworth Bottom Lock, hoping to be through Atherstone and near Hartshill tomorrow evening.

Posted on Monday, 1 June 2009 at 21:43        Comments (0) 
Category(s): BCN , Birmingham & Fazeley , Warwickshire Ring

BCN Challenge 2009

The BCN challenge has took place again this year, after an absence of several years.  Boaters had to travel for a maximum of 24 hours between 09:00 Saturday and 15:00 Sunday and finishing with a gathering of boats and boaters in Walsall Basin.

Points are awarded for the locks and miles travelled with bonus marks for travelling over little used sections of the BCN.

The weather was great with a festival atmosphere in Walsall.

It was organised by Graham Whorton, Chairman of the Birmingham Canal Navigations Society (BCNS), seen here talking to one of the challengers on his phone.

About 37 boats were entered with many of them successfully reaching Walsall Basin, in a succession of boats arriving and departing during the day.

We’re moored at Tame Valley Junction and heading to Salford Junction and beyond to film the Warwickshire Ring (clockwise) over the next week.

Posted on Sunday, 31 May 2009 at 22:29        Comments (2) 
Category(s): BCN

Stourport Ring

We have just released the Stourport Ring DVDs.

Just as for the Birmingham Mini Ring, the Four Counties Ring and the Llangollen Canal there are two DVDs – in Popular and Bowcam format.

The Popular format is a cross between a holiday programme and a documentary with a touch of history – all presented to entertain.

The Bowcam is filmed from a forward facing camera and is edited to provide a continuous high speed view covering all the ring.

Both travel clockwise around the ring from King’s Norton Junction.  Birmingham brings the famous Gas Street Basin and Worcester Bar.  Farmers Bridge are the first locks – the broad Knowle locks following later.  The attractive Kingswood and Lapworth Junctions are followed by the Lapworth locks and three lifting bridges.

There are short extracts onto YouTube so you can see how they look yourself – but please be aware these are low resolution and quality compared to the originals.

Both versions are available Combined in one box.

Posted on Thursday, 21 May 2009 at 13:31        Comments (0) 
Category(s): BCN , Droitwich , Dudley No 1 , River Severn , Staffs & Worcester , Stourbridge , Stourport Ring , Worcester & Birmingham

The longest lock free journeys

While editing the BCN DVD recently I was trying to work out how long the Birmingham and Wolverhampton levels of the BCN were. I wondered how these compared to other long pounds and counting mileposts in the Nicholson’s guides revealed the following. I think these are the longest distances (in miles) you can navigate without passing through a working (stop) lock and without retracing part of your route. 42.8 - Bridgewater Runcorn Basin via Waters Meeting and L&L Leigh Branch to Wigan bottom lock 41.2 - Lancaster Canal Preston to Tewitfield 31.9 - BCN Engine Arm Terminus via Horseley Fields Junction to Longwood Junction 31.4 - Union Canal Edinburgh to top of Falkirk Staircase locks 29.2 - Ashby Canal Limit of Navigation to Top of Atherstone Locks 28.8 - Ashby Canal Limit of Navigation to Coventry Basin 28.0 - Top of Tardebigge Locks via BCN Loops and Netherton Tunnel to Hawne Basin Some of these distances are pretty close and we might need to have a recount for the first two places if we measure them again more carefully. You can get a much longer journey on the tidal River Trent and the Yorkshire Rivers but they aren’t canals. Have I missed any? Or does someone have different measurements for the distances?

Posted on Monday, 11 May 2009 at 16:45        Comments (6) 
Category(s): Ashby , BCN , Bridgewater , Coventry , Forth & Clyde , Lancaster , Leeds and Liverpool

Cruising with Sherborne Wharf DVD is released

We have now released our Cruising with Sherborne Wharf DVD.

This is just one week after releasing the Birmingham Canal Navigations (BCN) DVDs.

Sherborne Wharf are the "premier boat operator in the heart of Birmingham" and based on the Oozells Street Loop of the BCN.

They operate trip boats and other canal based facilities including:

• City Heritage Cruises (from outside the International Convention Centre (ICC) every weekend and daily during the summer and school holidays.
• Rural Heritage Cruises (charters to Edgbaston or Selly Oak)
• Waterbus service (Arial, the distinctive pink waterbus shuttles around the centre of Birmingham
• George, the Floating Coffee Company, moored in Brindley Place for a drink or light snack
• Search for Santa, the December cruises for children of all ages

Our DVD follows these activities, shadowing the cruise boats on their trips, even following a search for Santa to see if it was successful.  We include views from the front of the boats during the trips using our unique Bowcam system.

This is an unusual style of DVD for us, working with Sherborne Wharf, who will be selling these DVDs at their base and on their trip boats.

They will make great souvenirs to show Mum, Uncle Harry, or whoever, just where you’ve been

We enjoyed working with Sherborne Wharf to produce this DVD and we would be very happy to work with other operators to deliver a similar product for them.  Whether you operate trip boats, hotel boats, hire bases, or any other canal based activity then I’m sure we can work with you to produce a DVD to show off your business at its best.

Posted on Saturday, 7 February 2009 at 11:01        Comments (0) 
Category(s): BCN

What a difference a day makes

Tony Blews has done a great job producing his Site Ranking table for UK waterways and it’s settling down nicely.

There’s no great surprises and most sites wander slowly up and down the list by a few places as their seven day average varies.

I was getting about 550 hits which was a plausible figure and I was quite happy to be around 19-20 in the list.

Then the unexpected happened.

Last Saturday I added pages to our web site to show the newly released Birmingham Canal Navigations (BCN) DVDs and produced a Blog post about them.  I hoped for a few extra hits.

What I didn’t expect is the level of interest in a BCN DVD taking the hits from around 550 to over 950 and putting us 10th in the table.  That’s nearly 300 extra hits on Saturday alone.

My own ISPs web stats show there was almost twice the level of interest in the BCN DVD compared to our last release of the Four Counties Ring DVD – and I’ve no idea why – although I’m sure the excellent sales pitch from Sue on No Problem has helped a lot.

Please can someone leave me a comment to explain the exceptionally high interest in the BCN.

The Birmingham Canal Navigations are a great place to visit now – and we’ve got the DVDs to prove that.  It may have been best to avoid them years ago, but not now.  Don’t live on past stories, come and see for yourself what they are like now.

Our high level of hits will fall out of the 7-day average this Saturday and I expect to be back around position 20 by the end of the weekend – so all the other entrants can relax and regain their higher ranking – unless I can produce another exciting DVD to release by then.

Posted on Wednesday, 4 February 2009 at 22:05        Comments (0) 
Category(s): BCN

BCN Marathon Challenge

For 10 years, up to 2002, there was an annual Birmingham Canal Navigations (BCN) Marathon Challenge.  Contestants cruised around the BCN collecting points for where they travelled with bonus points for rarely used sections of canal.

This fun event has been resurrected for 2009 by the Birmingham Canal Navigations Society (BCNS) with details on their events page.

There’s more events too.

Including the BCN Explorer Cruise in August from Curdworth to Titford Pools via Anglesey Basin, Pelsall and Wolverhampton.

If you’re thinking about one of these trips then you’ll need to study one of our newly released BCN DVDs to plan your route and know what’s coming or – better still – both of them with the combined price reduction.

Buy the BCN DVDs here.

Posted on Saturday, 31 January 2009 at 22:33        Comments (0) 
Category(s): BCN

Birmingham Canal Navigations DVDs are released

We have just released the Birmingham Canal Navigations (BCN) DVDs.

Just as for the Four Counties Ring and the  Llangollen Canal there are two DVDs – in Popular and Bowcam format.

The Popular format is a cross between a holiday programme and a documentary with a touch of history – all presented to entertain.

The Bowcam is filmed from a forward facing camera and is edited to provide a continuous high speed view covering all of the BCN.

Both travel around all of the Birmingham Canal Navigations (BCN) including the Old and New Main Lines, the Dudley Canals. the Walsall Canal, the Wyrley & Essington Canal, the Rushall Canal, the Tame Valley Canal and parts of the Birmingham & Fazeley Canal and the Grand Union Canal.

There are short extracts onto YouTube so you can see how they look yourself – but please be aware these are low resolution and quality compared to the originals.

Both versions are available Combined in one box.

Posted on Friday, 30 January 2009 at 20:13        Comments (1) 
Category(s): BCN

Blacking our Bottom

We’re at Caggy’s Boatyard on the Birmingham Canal Navigations BCN) near Tipton to black our bottom.

All narrowboats have a black coating on the hull to protect it from rusting away too quickly and from electrolytic action in the water.  This gradually wears away as you use the boat and the hull needs blacking again from time to time.  Opinions vary greatly about how often it needs doing, but typically in the 1 to 5 year range.

Our hull was first blacked and put into the water 2 years ago and after 6 months build it was given one extra coat of blacking 18  months ago, just before we took it over.

Now, after two summer’s use, seemed a good time to apply more blacking.  We had intended to do it a little earlier but this was the first gap in the bookings for the dry dock, which is now booked through to next June.  I was eager to see just what state the hull was below the water line which is impossible to see normally.

I cruised to Caggy’s on Tuesday and went into the dry dock as soon as another boat was let out on Wednesday morning.  The gate was sealed behind and the water pumped out.  Three hours later we were sitting on the blocks on the bottom.

What would it look like?

Surprisingly good was the answer.  The third photo shows the worst part of he hull where the rust was starting, and there was lots of green along the waterline.

The first job is the pressure wash where I made sure I stood well behind when I held the camera.  Water and bits of all sort of stuff came of the hull and went everywhere.

I’d made sure all the doors and windows were closed but, as I watched, I wondered if I should have put the plugs in the sinks and washbasins as I watched water go up the outlet pipes.  Fortunately it was OK as nothing came too far up the pipes.

Then a look at the same worst area of the hull after pressure washing and it looked almost the same as the rest of the hull.  For some reason, the exposed metal hull around here, for about 6 feet of the length of the hull was bright shiny polished looking.

All the rest of the hull looked similar with the same amount of metal hull exposed but looking dull colour.  I wonder if anyone can explain this – is it a hint of electrolytic problems?

Finally, after letting everything dry overnight, it was time to start the blacking.  I got to do all the fiddly bits at the stern, like under the swim and inside the weed hatch, and all along the top edge where it meets the blue while Christine did the rest.

It was easy to see where we had blacked today as we worked along but tomorrow may be difficult seeing where we are as we paint black over black.

Posted on Thursday, 27 November 2008 at 20:47        Comments (0) 
Category(s): BCN , Build our Boat

Bloggers & Blog Readers

I was walking down Farmers Bridge locks on Monday afternoon, windlass in hand, and caught up with a familiar boat.  Don scores a hat trick as he appears in three consecutive blog postings.

He and Joy were escaping from Birmingham – Matt having returned to London, leaving them to the delights of Farmers Bridge Locks on their own.

I helped with a few gates and paddles as I passed on my way down the flight.

This story really begins back on 18th April when I helped Sue & Vic down the Rothersthorpe flight of locks.  I just appeared, windlass in hand, along the towpath.  In the comments Adam (from Narrowboat Debdale) asked if this service would extend to him when he was passing through Farmers Bridge Locks.

Well that’s a challenge to be addressed.  A careful watch was kept on Adam’s Blog and Sunday’s post indicated that he’d be climbing Farmers Bridge locks on Monday.

So, off I go to London, to cram in a morning’s work, then onto a train to Birmingham.  A quick dash to pick up a windlass from our boat – I’m sure Adam would have lent me one but it would have spoiled the effect to not have one in hand when I arrived.

Then off I go down Farmers Bridge helping Don & Joy a little on the way.  A few locks later I spotted a boat coming up with boater on the towpath.  "Are you Paul?" he asked, quicker than I could ask if he was Adam.

Adam quickly introduced me to Adrian and Adrian’s Mum and up we went, passing Don & Joy in one of the short pounds.

A chance to chat as we worked the locks, before mooring on the Main Line.

It’s almost 12 months since our boat appeared in the October 2007 issue of Canal Boat magazine and we were first spotted by Adam.

Now Adam writes the boat reviews for Canal Boat magazine and I offered him a turn on our boat to see just how quiet our electric power is.  A quick figure of eight around the the Icknield Port and Oozells Street Loops before Adam headed off back to Debdale and I headed off back to Bristol.

Posted on Wednesday, 17 September 2008 at 20:35        Comments (2) 
Category(s): BCN , Birmingham & Fazeley , Blog Readers , Bloggers

Back Home

Our boat is back home at Sherborne Wharf, and has been for a few days, but I’ve been a little to busy to blog.  Our cruise around the Birmingham Mini-Ring was completed slowly as we hopped from station to station so we could take it in turns to visit our daughter, Susan, in hospital.

Susan has improved greatly over the last few days and is expected to come out of Hospital tomorrow, although it will be a week or two before she has enough strength for work.

Posted on Tuesday, 2 September 2008 at 22:14        Comments (0) 
Category(s): BCN , Birmingham Mini Ring

Bollards reach Farmers Bridge

We set off for a short cruise today, hopping between places with transport links to visit our daughter, Susan, in hospital.

We’re only about 3 miles from where we started, but that includes the 13 locks of the Farmers Bridge locks where new bollards were being installed.

They were all being set into the lock side with great care.  I wondered if one was being set up as an art exhibition with the spade and pile of bricks.

At least they weren’t wasting money placing new ones where there were serviceable old ones already there.

As we went down in the lock I wondered how you were supposed to pay out the rope if you had passed it round one of the new square bollards, as you could with the old round ones.  Perhaps the new ones will be just as round in 100 years time.

We’re moored on the visitor moorings at Aston Science Park tonight.

We will be heading towards Knowle tomorrow, although I need to study the timetables to see whether it will be better to stop before or after there.

Posted on Tuesday, 26 August 2008 at 21:20        Comments (0) 
Category(s): BCN , Birmingham & Fazeley

Netherton Tunnel 150

Netherton Tunnel was opened 150 years ago today.

It was opened to relieve the bottleneck of Dudley Tunnel which is a long, narrow tunnel which boats had to be legged through.

Netherton Tunnel must have been a wonderful improvement.  It’s not just a wide tunnel, allowing boats to pass in the tunnel, but has towpaths on both sides of the tunnel.  

In today’s re-enactment of the opening ceremony a convoy of boats travelled southwards through the tunnel.  One of the dignitaries on the leading boat had the honour of cutting the tape at the tunnel mouth – which I managed to catch on video, but not with a still picture.

Then the convoy of boats continued to emerge from the tunnel.  One of them was towing a butty which was detached at the tunnel mouth and Prince, the horse which had been patiently waiting for its moment of fame. pulled it to the junction.

One of the boats was a battery powered boat from Dudley Tunnel, enjoying a moment of freedom.

The bridge at Windmill End Junction provided an ideal vantage point for the opening ceremony where the leaders of the councils from each end of the tunnel shook hands to mark their new through route.

The West Midlands Fire Service band provided the fanfares and colour on the bridge.

Posted on Wednesday, 20 August 2008 at 22:39        Comments (0) 
Category(s): BCN

Visitor on board

Paul’s Mum (Muriel Balmer) is visiting for a few days.

Despite being a live-aboard earlier in life this is her first visit the Birmingham Canal Navigations.

A gentle cruise yesterday took us around the loops of the old main line, then along the new main line to moor near Albion Junction.

This morning we visited Caggy’s boatyard to make a booking for blacking the bottom.

The back via Tipton Locks, the Old Main Line and Smethwick Locks.

A quick refresher and Paul’s Mum was soon back into the swing of things, and keen to work the locks.

And, of course, a chance to relax and read the leaflets about all the nice things around the BCN.  There are some great stretches and it is not as bad as some people make out.

Posted on Friday, 15 August 2008 at 16:53        Comments (0) 
Category(s): BCN

Waterway Routes appears on ITV News (just)

While cruising through central Birmingham today I was watching several film crews on the bank taking shots of passing boats.  I was always keen to observe their techniques and see if I could learn anything new.

One cameraman was lying down with the camera resting on the towpath edging stones and I wondered what he was doing.

Later I discovered they were filming for ITV news so a quick search of the Internet and Christine found this (which appears to have been taken by a cameraman lying down !).  You can watch the whole clip (which starts with adverts) and I appear about 3/4 of the way through – but don’t blink or you’ll miss me.

Posted on Thursday, 24 July 2008 at 22:37        Comments (0) 
Category(s): BCN , News