Few people, much rain and some paint

Day two at Tipton Canal Festival has been pretty much a washout. There was very heavy rain at 0500 - yes, it woke me up - and people stayed away. So when we went to St. Matthew's Church five hours later the site was almost deserted.

A two-piece band played throughout the weekend. The Master Butchers Band comprised accordion and drums and they sounded really good. They played mostly old classics, segueing between them for what seemed like hours on end.

Today, though, they were largely playing to themselves.

Those traders who had bothered to return today packed up early. It didn't actually rain much during the day and the sun even peeped out occasionally, but the punters didn't come back. Boats drifted off too, among them Darley steered by Blossom.

Shortly before 6pm we moved round the corner to the BCLM facilities and moorings and will head to Birmingham tomorrow. Oh yes, last night I primed the well deck, finishing at 2230. An hour later there was a light rain shower but I don't think it caused any harm. By the time the heavy rain came it had dried sufficiently; it now looks much better than it did.

Oh no! What's happened to forward gear?

We left Windmill End for the final time this morning, after walking down to Lidl for some supplies.

Having passed through Netherton Tunnel we stopped just after Tividale Aqueduct for lunch.

At Dudley Port Junction we turned left onto the New Main Line and after a while came to the former Watery Lane Junction.

The plaque reads: The Tipton Green and Toll End Communication formerly crossed the Birmingham Level at this point 1809 - 1960.

It was good to feel the windlass in my hand again for Factory Locks after more than a week on the Birmingham Level. But at Lock 2 … Houston, we have a problem.

Jan, at the helm at the bottom of the lock, reported that it would go no faster than tickover in forward. I filled the lock and had a feel of the Morse control. It seemed to be physically obstructed in forward. I would have to take a proper look, but decided to do this on the lock landing above the top lock. Jan steered into Lock 1 on tickover, ascended the lock and stopped on the landing. With the deck boards up I could see the cable moving as it should. The Morse lever seemed to be hitting something much nearer to the control itself. Opening the door on which it is mounted I immediately saw the cause of the problem. (And here I should have taken a photo. Perhaps tomorrow.) A woodscrew holding a metal clip thing in position had come loose; the metal clip had rotated such that it was stopping the lever travelling much beyond the vertical. It was a matter of seconds to tighten the screw with the clip in what I hope is the right place - and we were up and running again.

At Factory Junction, a few yards from where we'd stopped, we turned left to head to the facilities by the Black Country Living Museum. On the way we passed the site of the Tipton Canal Festival.

At least, this is where some boats had congregated. A bit further on we came across Andy and Helen on Wand'ring Bark and The Jam Butty. We tied up in front of them after the services and joined them for a cup of tea. Later in the evening Chris and Sally of Kairos came for drinks.

Tomorrow we don't have to go anywhere or do anything (much)! Oh, apart from joining a group of people going to Mad O'Rourke's Pie Factory. Will I have another cow pie?

Boat launching ramps on the Dudley No. 2 Canal

This morning we had a leisurely breakfast, but then returned across the grass to help with the final phase of clearing the site after the festival. There was still the kitchen marquee to take down and load into a trailer and a container. We got away (at last) just after midday, when we boated down to Hawne Basin to get diesel and gas. The diesel was got, but the gas wasn't as they'd sold the last cylinder this morning.

On the way down I spotted something I don't remember seeing before: wooden ramps leading from the bank into the canal.

I was told these are ramps used to launch boats made in the boatyard there. There is little other evidence of the boatyard remaining; the area has returned to woodland.

The sort of boats constructed were, I am told, Joeys (or dayboats), an example of which is tied up by the former Stewarts and Lloyds Tube Works.

It was about 4pm when we got back to Windmill End Junction. As we were in no particular hurry to get anywhere we decided to return to our festival mooring for the night. Many of the BCBF team were still hanging around; we found ourselves invited to an impromptu al fresco meal of faggot, baked potato and veg. It was most pleasant sitting in the evening sunshine enjoying a glass or two and a chat.

I don't know why everybody looks so glum in my photo!

After that Tim and Tracey of Sola Gratia came over for drinks. We have more or less decided to go to the Tipton boat festival this weekend so we'll probably head there tomorrow.

Perfect conditions bring out the crowds at the BCBF

What a day! Day one of the weekend Black Country Boating Festival and it's been perfect. Warm and sunny, but not hot and with little breeze. The punters flocked in, some of them playing the "boat race" game on the Boaters' Christian Fellowship stand outside our boat.

We had valuable help from BCF members Stephen and Gwyneth who brought the game, Tony, and Malcolm and Steph.

This gives some idea of the popularity of the festival - the crowds are mainly locals who love the event.

One of the trading boats had a proper pizza oven in the cratch. The pizzas were reportedly very good.

Business at the festival was so good that some stands sold out. Opposite us the cup cake stand shut up shop with a sign reading "Sold out. Back tomorrow."

Next to it the hog roast had also run out of roasted hog.

Tomorrow's forecast is for slightly cloudier and cooler conditions, so perhaps it won't be quite so busy.

BCBF: one day to go

I've managed to find a moment to take a photo at last. This is where we are at Windmill End for the Black Country Boating Festival, where today I have worked for hours on the main trading marquee. Photo of that tomorrow, perhaps.

The bar, and hence the festival, opened to boaterand campers this evening; the public will come in their hordes tomorrow. Busy, busy, busy.

A tunnel that wasn't, and one that was (although currently unnavigable)

It was good to see the toll house at King's Norton Junction being renovated after the fire a year or so ago.

On the Worcester and Birmingham Canal and heading into Birmingham there was a new building awaiting us. It looked as though it was built right over the canal with a tunnel for boats...

… but when we got there we found the building - part of the University of Birmingham and seemingly called Unite Students - was just to the west of the canal.

The only tunnel was that built to accommodate the proposed restoration (and re-routing) of the Dudley No. 2 Canal. This used to run from very near here at Selly Oak to Hawne Basin via the (now collapsed) Lapal Tunnel. If the restoration succeeds it is likely that the new canal will be known as the Lapal Canal.

The (short) tunnel is directly behind the slender tree in the photo above.

We stopped just round the corner from Holliday Wharf and walked to the Apple store. Here my phone was looked at but they couldn't do anything to make it work again. Grr. I discovered there that none of my contacts has been backed up in something called iCloud. Double grr. I am therefore now having to use my old Nokia PAYG, with no e-mail or WhatsApp. Even text messages cost money.

After lunch we continued our journey to Windmill End for the Black Country Boating Festival this weekend. At the toll island on the Birmingham Canal New Main Line, just before the Engine Arm Aqueduct, we found that it has been taken over by a nascent beech forest. It gave the side of the boat a good rubbing.

A little later, on a bridge high over the canal, a heron perched.

Who can identify the bridge for me?

We turned left at Dudley Port Junction and took about 35 minutes to get through Netherton Tunnel. The sign at the entrance suggests that passage should take approximately 56 minutes (sic). Really? Perhaps I misread the sign. We are now at the site of the BCBF and will get stuck in - helping with the setup - tomorrow.

A passage through Dudley Tunnel

Ever since fellow BCFer Tim organised a trip through Dudley Tunnel I had been looking forward to it.

51 members of the Boaters' Christian Fellowship and guests - and one guide dog - boarded the Dudley Canal and Tunnel Trust's boat Richard ...

... donning hard hats as instructed.

We had gathered at the Trust's new visitor centre opposite the Black Country Living Museum and been transported by coach to the Parkhead end of the tunnel. After some brief health&safety instructions we were off, heading for the southern portal. It was this profile gauge which prevented us from entering on Jubilee a couple of years ago, but now here we were going in to the last major canal tunnel on my "list".

The trip boat had excellent lighting: a powerful forward-facing tunnel light and strips of LEDs along the central top plank steel beam.

I was surprised and pleased to see that I was able to take reasonable photos using just the trip boat's light (we were asked not to use flash, not that I would have done).

Most of the tunnel is brick lined, but there are some sections which were blasted through solid rock and some which have been relined in precast concrete segments. Our guide and steerer kept up an interesting running commentary the whole way through, despite the PA system being rather temperamental.

Towards the Tipton end of the tunnel there were interesting-looking side tunnels and caverns, some of which we were to return to.

The extra tunnels and caverns got quite confusing as there are so many of them, some with video and light shows.

We emerged into Castle Mills Basin where we encountered another trip boat before winding.

At least four tunnels radiate from this basin; this is the unnavigable Wren's Nest Tunnel.

I believe the tunnel on the right here is the tunnel we came out of after the long passage from Parkhead; we were to enter the one on the left ...

... which took us to what I believe is the Singing Cavern. This has been lit for effect, but I would have preferred to see it au naturel.

Some of the time we were now reversing out of dead-end caverns/tunnels, adding to my confusion. This hole above us was not a construction or ventilation shaft. I think our guide told us it was where digging out the limestone broke through to the surface.

Did we go through here? I can't remember.

Some of our party got the opportunity to have a go at legging.

I would normally have leapt at the chance, but I had done it on a previous short trip into this tunnel some years ago so I let others do it.

Then we were in Shirts Mill Basin, the other large opening. Neither this nor Castle Mill Basin is accessible from the outside world.

In the centre is Lord Ward's Tunnel; the two bricked up portions either side were loading bays.

Another intriguing tunnel entrance - I don't know which.

We entered Lord Ward's Tunnel ...

... and emerged back at the Dudley Canal and Tunnel Trust's visitor centre.

As part of the trip we enjoyed a buffet laid on for us in the visitor centre.

I acknowledge there is a lot I haven't said, and I apologise for any errors, but the Trust has lots of information on its website. Possibly the most useful page is here.

A very good trip, well worth doing. Thanks again, Tim.

Black Country Boating Festival 2017

We didn't get to Windmill End as early as we had intended this year for the Black Country Boating Festival. Our delay was on account of all the work we were doing at the Birmingham house, mostly painting. We left Cambrian Wharf in time to arrive at the BCBF at 1100; we immediately got stuck in to helping.

At one point we were asked to move the boat from its original mooring at the junction to just a little further on, opposite the main festival site. There we are, with the bunting up (such as it is).

Galileo was looking very good.

On the Sunday (10th Sep) Jan led a short BCF service in the beer tent. This year, for some reason, the local churches didn't get involved and the congregation was consequently small.

We had a good time at the festival despite the showery conditions, and resolved to do it all again next year. When the rain really fell down on Sunday afternoon that was the signal for the crowds to melt away - if that's the right phrase, dissolve might be more appropriate - and for the traders to pack up.

Here are David and Mary leaving on Kew.

Now I must go on the BCBF website and book 2018 ...

CRT apologises for dozens of duplicate e-mails

A couple of days ago we were having our sandwiches in a break from painting when my phone pinged to indicate the arrival of an e-mail. Nothing unusual there. It was a standard notice alert from CRT. Again, nothing to merit comment. But my phone pinged a few seconds later with the same message, which I immediately deleted, as I had the first one. The phone then pinged again and again … and again and again and again with barely a pause. Something was clearly going wrong and there was little I could do about it. When my phone eventually stopped pinging I counted 120 duplicate e-mails (I might have missed some). Later a fresh e-mail from CRT apologised for the disruption caused to some people by a bug in the system. Let's hope it doesn't happen again.

We are now at the Black Country Boating Festival at Windmill End Junction - we could hardly be closer to the actual junction. We made an early start from Cambrian Wharf and got here at about 1000. I then spent a considerable amount of time scrubbing (notionally) white plastic tables, setting them out in the main marquee and putting chairs round them.

This evening we enjoyed an archive compilation film on boating in the midlands in the company of (among others) Andy Tidy, Barry and Sandra of the Homebrew boat, Brian and Diana of Harnser, David and Mary of Kew and Peter of Solar Kingfisher.

I expect tomorrow will see us with litter pickers in hand helping to keep the site clean.

Overcharged

The computer's battery died without warning last night so here are two days' worth of blog posts in one. Yesterday morning started with sunshine (we had a small amount of rain later); here is Nansen II preparing to tow Leo from the Black Country Boating Festival.

The butty looks huge compared with the tug.

The combination will steer better with a tiller; it took a moment or two for the steerer to realise that the rudder was still tied back to the stern.

This is what I have been doing a lot of over the four and a half days we've been here at Windmill End: litter picking.

Jan has done a lot too, as well as helping in the office, table clearing and cleaning, marquee dismantling etc. Yesterday was a rubbish day. I shifted vast amounts of the stuff into skips.

In the evening we went for a meal at Ma Pardoe's, aka The Old Swan, in Netherton. I had an excellent lasagne which came with a load of delicious molten cheese on top. Barry and Sandra from the Homebrew boat Areandare joined us for drinks later.

And so to today. We went down to Hawne Basin for diesel and gas. Poor Jenny, who was manning the shop, was struggling with the computerised system and managed to overcharge me by mistake for the fuel - to the tune of £23. I realised only after we had returned through Gosty Hill Tunnel. We stopped and I phoned her; she apologised and implied I wasn't the only victim of the computer problems. I'll have to phone again tomorrow to give them my contact details and sort out how I can be refunded.

As we approached Gosty Hill Tunnel we observed two people acting strangely by the portal. At first we thought they were graffiti vandals; when we got closer it seemed as if they were inspecting the brickwork. When I asked them what they were doing they told me they were geocaching.

Jan steered through Netherton Tunnel; on the other side and all the way to Birmingham I saw quite a few herons. Most were on the bank; this one was high in a tree.

A minute or two before we arrived at the services at Cambrian Wharf we found ourselves under a sudden thunderstorm. The lightning and thunder were accompanied by heavy rain. We tied up on a pontoon at the wharf; shortly afterwards the rain stopped.