Bridge 'oles, trolleys and chocolate on the way to Birmingham

Thursday, 19 January 2012 16:59

What joy - we have moved! We are moored on another canal - its all change, countryside for city. On our way we encountered these aforesaid "bridge 'oles", counted trolleys, saw two kingfishers, traversed a new bit of the Worcester and Birmingham Canal and saw Brindley's accountants.

Kings Norton Junction ahead

Now how did we fit all that in? .....

My first photo of our cruise today was taken at 8.00 - not by me, I hasten to add! John was up and on the tiller at first light (sunrise was about 8.00) as he wanted to get where we were going before lunch. He had a trip to Oxford for a meeting with BW on behalf of NABO.

Our first Bridge 'ole, Junction Bridge

Once again we were on a section of the system that suffers from a lack of dredging and we were dragging the bottom. The water was pretty clear and we could see the junk down there too. However we only counted two supermarket trolleys - not bad!

We are always cautious at Birmingham bridges - there is often "something down there" in the 'ole or hole beneath, chucked by a thoughtless, ignorant or plain stupid person. But our first real obstacle was this tree more than half way across the cut.

It made a grand perch for our first Kingfisher

Sadly he/she flew back along the canal as he saw my camera appear! A little further on we saw our second one, but he too was camera shy.

The railway accompanies the canal into Birmingham and all the bridges span both means of transport. Some are new, some looking as if they need a bit of TLC but this one is pretty sturdy. 

Pershore Road Bridge 75

We had had thoughts of mooring at Bournville if there had been ice still on the canal, but apart from a very few small "floes" it had all gone, thank goodness. 

The station is right by the moorings, but there is a notice warning overnight moorers to moor on the gated mooring on the offside.

Bournville Station and moorings

Safer offside moorings

Passing Cadbury and Bournville we mourned the loss of the iconic companies - now owned by Kraft, lock, stock and barrel! However they did turn on the smell of chocolate for us and I used my imagination to see the old Cadbury crumb cargo narrowboats at the now non-existent wharf.

Read about Chocolate Charlie (Atkins) and his crumb boat "Mendip" on Songs of the Inland Waterways. He plied Mendip between Bournville and Knighton carrying 25 tons of chocolate crumb until 1962. The restored boat (in Anderton Fleet livery) recently returned to Bournville. Restoration photos from the Boat Museum Society now the National Waterways Museum at Ellesmere Port

Mendip and Regulas at Ellesmere Port

Cadbury Wharf, Knighton (Charlie's destination form Bourneville)

At least the trade names are still there.

Cadbury

Bournville

After this the bridge 'oles came thick and fast - rail. road and foot. Our new bit of canal was not far away either. Brindley's accountants? .... You will just have to wait and see ......