Birmingham & Fazeley Canal Maps are released

We've just released the next map in our Cruising Maps series. As with 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 & Fazeley Canal Map If you are fed up of turning from one page to another in canal guide books to trace your way along the Birmingham & Fazeley Canal 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 part of the canal. 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. The Birmingham Mini Ring and Black Country Rings will be available soon.

Posted on Saturday, 10 December 2011 at 08:30        Comments (0) 
Category(s): Birmingham & Fazeley , Maps

Cruising past the Minworth Breach

We were please to find that the recent breach at Minworth, mention in our two previous blog posts, had been fixed in just a few days and we were able to leave Birmingham along the Birmingham & Fazeley Canal as planned.

Approaching Farmers Bridge top lock we spotted Jim Shead walking near the top lock and he was soon winding the paddles to help us down.  We had first met him just a few weeks ago when he helped us up Farmers Bridge locks.

He worked a few locks but we soon had him steering and the thirteen locks were accomplished rather quicker than expected with his help.  Thank you Jim – I hope you weren’t late home for lunch.

Further on we passed the site of the Minworth Breach where vandals had opened the paddles on Lock 1 and allowed the pound towards lock 2 to overflow.  The water actually flowed down the towpath past lock 2 and onto the road below.

You can just see the new fencing in the distance in the first photo, just above the person’s head, and the closer show shows the embankment rebuilt after the original one was washed into the road below.

We’re moored near Alrewas on the Trent & Mersey Canal as we are filming the East Midlands or Leicester Ring, clockwise. Which should we call it?  We might pass through Burton upon Trent tomorrow if the weather holds, or stop short if the forecast rain arrives.

Posted on Saturday, 10 July 2010 at 22:27        Comments (2) 
Category(s): Birmingham & Fazeley

Update on the Breach at Minworth

We were please to find that the recent breach at Minworth, mention in our two previous blog posts, had been fixed in just a few days and we were able to leave Birmingham along the Birmingham & Fazeley Canal as planned. Approaching Farmers Bridge top lock we spotted Jim Shead walking near the top lock and he was soon winding the paddles to help us down. We had first met him just a few weeks ago when he helped us up Farmers Bridge locks.
He worked a few locks but we soon had him steering and the thirteen locks were accomplished rather quicker than expected with his help. Thank you Jim - I hope you weren’t late home for lunch.
Further on we passed the site of the Minworth Breach where vandals had opened the paddles on Lock 1 and allowed the pound towards lock 2 to overflow. The water actually flowed down the towpath past lock 2 and onto the road below. You can just see the new fencing in the distance in the first photo, just above the person’s head, and the closer show shows the embankment rebuilt after the original one was washed into the road below.
We’re moored near Alrewas on the Trent & Mersey Canal as we are filming the East Midlands or Leicester Ring, clockwise. Which should we call it? We might pass through Burton upon Trent tomorrow if the weather holds, or stop short if the forecast rain arrives.

Posted on Friday, 2 July 2010 at 14:57        Comments (0) 
Category(s): Birmingham & Fazeley

Breach on the Birmingham & Fazeley Canal

I’ve just received an email from British Waterways alerting boaters to a breach on the Birmingham & Fazeley Canal between Minworth Locks 1 and 2. Due to vandalism the Birmingham & Fazeley Canal has been breached between locks 1 and 2 on the Minworth lock flight and the canal is closed between Curdworth bottom lock and Aston Top Lock (& Perry Barr top lock). Engineers are currently assessing the situation and further information will be provided on timescales for repair once the situation has been fully investigated.
These pictures show the length of canal in question, looking towards Fazeley Junction as if cruised out of Birmingham from Minworth Lock 1 to Lock 2. No doubt there will be more reports during the next few days about what the vandals have done and how long it will take to repair. We plan to cruise along there next Friday, just a week today, so I hope it is very minor damage. With long lengths of canal drained it will take a long time to refill, even after the breach is fixed.

Posted on Friday, 2 July 2010 at 10:39        Comments (1) 
Category(s): Birmingham & Fazeley

Jim Shead steers Waterway Routes

In our last blog I mentioned we would be ascending Garrison, Ashted and Farmers Bridge Locks on Tuesday morning in case anybody wished to help. Our daughter, Susan, who had been with us for the main part of our cruise came back to help and we made our way slowly up through the locks in the morning. Part way up Farmers Bridge locks a gentleman appeared with a windlass tucked into his belt.

I was a little intrigued as there were no boats either side of us. He explained he had just helped another boat down the Farmers Bridge and Aston flights and was walking back up. The he introduced himself as Jim Shead, waterways writer and photographer who I knew held the number 1 spot on Tony Blew’s UK Waterways Ranking Site. He jumped at the chance to steer his first electric narrow boat and we made even faster progress than expected. Thank you, Jim, it was great to meet you at last.

Posted on Friday, 25 June 2010 at 20:07        Comments (0) 
Category(s): Birmingham & Fazeley

Curdworth

We completed the Birmingham & Fazeley Canal today, with three locks at Minworth and eleven locks at Curdworth. Mostly it was quiet, with the occasional busy spell when we met several boats at once. We’re moving quickly as we head to Braunston where we’ll turn around to start filming as we head northwards as far as Fazeley Junction, assuming the sun keeps shining.
We’ve made good progress and were now moored between Tamworth and Polesworth adjacent to a quiet wooded area. We might make it to Hawkesbury Junction tomorrow where we’ll turn onto the Northern Oxford Canal, passing Rugby some time on Monday. Please say hello if you see us passing.

Posted on Saturday, 12 June 2010 at 20:28        Comments (0) 
Category(s): Birmingham & Fazeley , Coventry

Close encounters of the geese kind

At long last we are off on the first of our summer cruises, much later than we had hoped for our first trip. Farmers Bridge marks the start of our escape route from Birmingham and we’re now moored outside Star City near Salford Junction. We’re heading to Braunston via Fazeley and Hawkesbury Junctions. We hope to be beyond Glascote Locks tomorrow so look out for us along the way and shout hello as we pass.

Near Salford Junction we passed this poor man on the towpath. He walked quietly and slowly towards the Canada Geese but just as he approached they all lined up and hissed and pecked at him. As he took a step back they resumed grazing. He tried walking slowly, backwards, quietly, loudly and all manner of ways but the geese alternated between eating and attacking with remarkable speed. Eventually he turned around and went another way.

Posted on Friday, 11 June 2010 at 20:48        Comments (0) 
Category(s): Birmingham & Fazeley

Warwickshire Ring DVDs released

Another great pair of canal DVDs are released from Waterway Routes covering the Warwickshire Ring, clockwise from Braunston Turn. A short, lock-free section takes us from Braunston Turn to Napton Junction where we turn right onto the Grand Union Canal. We descend through 23 broad locks to the lowest pound of our journey through Leamington Spa and Warwick before climbing through two more to reach the Saltisford Arm. Our climb continues with the mighty Hatton Flight and the Knowle Locks to reach the highest pound of our journey. We pass around the centre of Birmingham and along the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal to Fazeley Junction with the Coventry Canal which we follow all the way into Coventry.

The Oxford Canal, with the paired locks at Hillmorton, completes our circuit of the Warwickshire Ring. These are 1 hour DVDs retailing at £12.95 for the Popular version (rather like a television programme) and £7.95 for the Bowcam version (a speeded up forward facing camera for a little fun). There’s also a Combined version at £19.90, with both Popular and Bowcam in one box saving £1 on the separate prices (and at least 75p postage). They are in stock now, just waiting for you to order them, or any from our great range of canal DVDs.

Posted on Thursday, 3 June 2010 at 21:09        Comments (0) 
Category(s): Birmingham & Fazeley , Birmingham Section , Coventry , Grand Union , Northern Oxford , Oxford , Saltisford Arm , Warwickshire Ring

Warwickshire Ring DVD

Our Warwickshire Ring DVDs are ready and we’ll have them on sale at Crick. They are available in our usual Popular (£12.95), Bowcam (£7.95) and Combined (£19.90) formats. The DVD follows a cruise clockwise around the ring from Braunston Turn, including visits to the Saltisford Arm and to Coventry. They will be available mail order as soon as I get a quiet moment to add them to our website. In the meantime we look forward to meeting our customers and friends at the Crick Boat show over the Bank Holiday weekend. Come and see us in the Kingfisher Marquee, stand KF127.

Posted on Thursday, 27 May 2010 at 21:48        Comments (0) 
Category(s): Birmingham & Fazeley , Birmingham Section , Coventry , Festivals and Shows , Grand Union , Northern Oxford , Oxford , Saltisford Arm , Warwickshire Ring

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

Boats and Boaters

Were shuffling around a little in our cruising as we fill gaps in our filming when we have been rained off during our last cruise.

Today we passed Whittington and there was Jannock, with no visible crew, so I couldn’t call out to them as last time.

At least I got a picture of the boat this time, perhaps I’ll manage to capture both the boat and the crew next time.

Moored at Fazeley Junction I was looking out of the window and spotted a boat we had seen before.  It was Keith and Mandy on Takin’ our Time, with son and friend (whose names I’ve forgotten already – oh dear).  Just time for them to pull in behind us for a quick exchange of news.

We’re moored at Fazeley Junction, hoping to reach Atherstone and beyond tomorrow to complete another missing chunk of filming.  Then we’ll be returning to Fazeley Junction to see who else we spot.

Posted on Wednesday, 5 August 2009 at 20:18        Comments (3) 
Category(s): Birmingham & Fazeley , Blog Readers , Bloggers , Coventry

Rainy Days

We’re cruising again, heading to Fradley Junction to film some of the bits we missed last time when it rained too much.  It’s still raining too much to get the camera out this time so there’s only one photo.  Note the mischievous alteration of the distances from kilometres to miles.

We’re moored near Huddlesford Junction, aiming for Fradley Junction tomorrow.  We’ll head back to Fazeley Junction filming, probably on Monday.

Posted on Saturday, 1 August 2009 at 21:39        Comments (0) 
Category(s): Birmingham & Fazeley

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

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

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

Curdworth

The Birmingham Canal Navigations left me with a parting gift yesterday.  Approaching Cuckoo Wharf, just half a mile from Salford Junction and the end of the BCN the engine stopped dead.

A second or two of silence, then the beep beep noise from the ignition.  Time to steer for the bank I thought, and find out what’s happened.  Then I found the rudder wouldn’t move and I was coasting towards Cuckoo Wharf.  Fortunately I managed to leap ashore and stop the boat with the centre rope before meeting the moored boats.

It was a carpet; neatly fitted all around the propeller and the rudder. Much cursing and heaving and it was hauled through the weed hatch.  I remembered the BCN as I headed out towards Curdworth.

Three locks at Minworth last night, then the Curdworth flight today.  I was following another boat so all the locks were against me, except when I passed another boat and they left the gates open as they left.

Lock 10 was a bonus as two British Waterways staff were working adjacent to the lock and opened the top gate as I approached then, on realising I was single handed, told me to stay on board and they worked the lock for me.

There were flower beds at every lock along the flight.  Simple, but effective and it brightened things up, including Kingsbury Swivel Bridge.

Moored at Atherstone, heading south.

Posted on Tuesday, 11 September 2007 at 20:54        Comments (0) 
Category(s): Birmingham & Fazeley