OUT OF BIRMINGHAM

Leaving Gas St. Basin we take the Birmingham Level Main Line intending to branch off through the 3 lock flight at Smethwick onto the Wolverhampton Level. As we approached this jct. a large sign hung above "canal closed". This route would have run parralell but 20` above the Birm. Main Line and we would have turned sharp left and crossed over the Main Line through Oldbury Jct. and on towards Tipton. As the canal system around Brum is so vast we were able to take an alternative route.
As we cruise we pass many bridges, some bricked up, that were once entrances to unloading docks for the many industrys of the past that are now empty sites or have been built on.


We stopped off overnight at the Black Country museum as this is fenced off from the canal system and only accesable by boat or gates that our BW key will open. I covered Black Country Museum on my blog of Oct 3rd 2006.
On the way Andy/Tina managed to get a very large chain & hook wrapped around their propeller that came with 4` of rope at no extra charge. Not long before this they also had a Sari around the prop. On the blog Jan 27th 06 are pics of Andys last propeller catch, a sleeping bag.
Exiting the bottom lock brought us down on the Staffordshire & Worcestershire canal and and in just under a mile we passed through Autherly stop lock onto the Shropshire Union a drop of just 6". The lock like so many of such small differences in level came about to prevent one canal company taking water from another where their canals met.
Up the Shroppie we went looking for a night stop and saw this little narrowboat, maybe it might
have been owned by one of Snow Whites 7 dwarfs.