We're on another new canal now, after having moored in Birmingham, Gas Street Station on Monday and Tuesday nights. Tuesday, Pete went to Oxford and Elizabeth stayed home (!) and worked at Bella's office and watched the snow. Wonderfully our colleague and friend, Al, happened to be in Brum the same day, so popped by for strategic chats. Today, we set out at 8:50 and moored up at 3:30. In that time, we moved from the Worcester and Birmingham Canal to the Birmingham and Fasely canal, covered 8 miles and 23 locks (which dropped us nearly 100 feet from the centre of Brum)- a total of 31 clicks in just over 6 1/2 hours. Our best record yet!
On the journey, we saw the fascinating mix of industrial architecture through over 250 years, some of the old buildings still in original use. We travelled under new buildings and under old ones, saw the openings (now closed) to old industrial locations and saw Spaghetti junction from an entirely new vista! Under Spaghetti junction was a junction of canals - parallel sections of the Birmingham and Fasely, the Teme Valley Canal and the Grand Union; all of these with various aquaducts over the rivers Teme and Rea. We were in a lock which was also a tunnel and we had a complete mix of lock styles, gates and paddles. One hardly opened without a mighty push and though one boating family told us of being stuck in it, we just squeezed through. One bridge, near Tyburn House, we recognised as having driven on only just this past September as we drove to Sutton Coldfield. A hugely ecclectic canal day! Absolutely terrific.
And finally, a delightful KIngfisher flitted our welcome to Minworth, where we are moored now. The good news is that we have broken the back of the journey to take us to Atherstone before the 10th of November, when those locks will close for repair and could hinder our way back to Hilmorton. But now we are only 40+ clicks away and have over a week to make it. With today's 31 clicks in one day, we feel we can relax a little on the rest of the Warwickshire Ring!
