Canal Tour '98 The "Grey Wagtail Experience"

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The Last Full Day

Farmer's Bridge Junction to Hopwood

Fri 28th

Our last day (not counting returning the boat) - boo-hiss!

The early birds amongst the crew were up by about 7am so we were away shortly afterwards to try some of the loops which were part of Brindley's original Main Line.

First on the itinerary was Oozells Street Loop. Fortunately at this time of the morning we didn't have to keep dodging the waterbuses that operate from the loop's Sherbourne Wharf - they were all still being prepared for the day's trips. There has been a dramatic change in the character of this area since we were last here in 1991. Then we hired from Brummagem Boats who were, at the time, part of the Alvechurch fleet and the area was still very much one of "old industry" whereas now the loop is bustling (later in the day!) with waterbuses and is hemmed in by new office and residential developments.

Managing not to hit any of the moored boats on the loop we emerged once more onto the Main Line and pootled along, soon turning left in to Icknield Port Loop. Now this was "old industry" with a mix of working and semi-derelict canalside factories all sadly having turned their backs to the canal long ago. Rounding the bend at the base of the loop we happened upon a small boat building concern and BW's Icknield Port yard - neither of which are mentioned in any of the guides we had. I think Icknield Port is a real gem - extremely shabby but still looking and feeling like a working wharf. It still has its crane and the old stable block and offices have very fine gothic(?) style windows. The whole site is overwhelmed by the dam of the Rotton Park Reservoir which feeds the BCN via the loop. I sincerely hope that when the Port's time comes it will be restored sympathetically and not "prettified" and sanitised or, even worse, demolished. (This was written before news of the proposed "Rosie and Jim Centre" became public)

During this early morning cruise Jim and Lesley were awoken from their slumbers by the smell of burning. Terri (!) had left a teatowel over a hob and, not surprisingly, it had caught fire. The site of Jim waving a burning teatowel out of the side hatch wearing only (just) a towel was apparently something to behold. Unfortunately those of us at the back missed all the action.

A few minutes later we were back at the Main Line again. But not for long: crossing it on the level we started on the Soho Loop. Skirting Winson Green Hospital on our left we meandered our way to Hockley Port. Along to the end of the arm and then winded very carefully (lots of moored residential boats) before tying up by the water point. We also needed to get rid of our rubbish - a task we finally achieved after spending several minutes looking for the disposal point. The official site didn't have any bins and certainly didn't look like somewhere to leave our rubbish so eventually we found one presumably meant for the permanent moorings.

Back down the arm and a very sharp right turn into the loop to continue on past the prison on our right, under the railway and back onto the Main Line to head back to Farmer's Bridge Junction, stopping very briefly to get off and examine the old Toll Island before Rotton Park Junction. Whilst a student at Southampton in the 70s I regularly used to travel back home to Manchester on the train through Birmingham. Back then I was always fascinated by the canals here and remember being particularly interested in the little toll offices that stood on their islands. I wonder whose stupid idea it was to demolish every single one of them?

We moored up again near Farmer's Bridge Junction at about 11am and, whilst Brian and I stayed on the boat to laze around for a while, the more refined members of the crew went off to look at pre-Raphaelite paintings in Birmingham Art Gallery - apparently it's well worth seeing. We locked the boat at about 1pm and went to meet everyone else for lunch in the Flapper and Firkin by Cambrian Wharf.

Replete, we set off at 2.20pm, dodging the traffic around the turn and then down past Gas Street Basin and to Holiday Wharf. Thereafter the run to King's Norton Junction was easy and pleasant, with the weather being fairly kind to us. Accompanied by the railway we particularly noted the University with its fine buildings and, of course, the Cadbury's chocolate factory at Bourneville. We didn't stop but one day we'll come back again to do the tour. Once at King's Norton Junction we glanced up the Stratford Canal to our left to see the old stop lock with its now disused Guillotine Gate. Heading on, a few minutes later we entered the gloom of Wast Hills Tunnel. The trip through the tunnel was fairly uneventful although we did see some creative steering from a couple of the boats we passed. (By the way, why is it that it's possible to cruise for mile after mile after mile on the canals without passing a single other boat but, get into a tunnel, and there's loads of them - I think there must be a conspiracy of some sort but I haven't worked out what it is yet!)

By the time we left the tunnel the sun was out as if it was meant to be so, now that we were back in the countryside again - a lovely evening. A little further on at Hopwood we moored outside the Hopwood House Inn and had a back deck cocktail party to finish of the remains of the boat's stock of booze. During cocktails we had an awards ceremony - each of us being presented with an appropriate badge such as Deck Scrubber (Pam), Cabin Boy (Jim), etc., etc. Jim decided it was about time for him to learn the secrets of the weed hatch so I was happy to oblige - of course, now that someone else was doing it the prop was completely clear - typical! A quick wash and brush up and it was into the pub for a jolly good evening meal before sadly settling into bed for the last night on the boat.

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