We spent yesterday in Tamworth, as Elizabeth needed to take a train to London for a meeting. Pete did much domestic stuff and this morning, we set off just before 8:30 to a bright clear cool day. Two quick locks in Tamworth took us south to cross the river Tame. You can see it from the aqueduct piccy.
We then travelled a few miles to Fazely Junction, the junction of the Coventry Canal, which we left, and the Birmingham and Fazely Canal which we joined. You can just see the junction and the sign posts in on of the pics. At the junction, there is a factory which makes cloth tapes which has been in continuous operation since the 1850s. The very fuzzy photograph is a shot through the window where you can just make out the machines.
After then, we passed Drayton Manor and the very very odd bridge with towers at each end. Why, no one seems to know! Just after, we entered the Curdworth flight of 11 locks, taking us uphill going south towards Birmingham. We do like uphill locks! The gates go in our direction - into the lock on the way in and into the canal on the way out. And the rise is wonderfully gentle on single locks, unlike the rush of water in double locks. And Elizabeth loves watching the world come gently in to view. One of the pics is Bella rising up lock 8; you can see Blossom waiting to take Pete up to the next lock. This was a lock-wheeling day, helping us to race through the flight. Just after the flight was Curdworth tunnel, short but fun. There is a picture of us leaving it, and a pic of Pete just after it.
A few miles later, we made the flight of 3 locks in the Minworth flight, stopping in the top lock to clear the weed hatch. Closer in to Birmingham and the canal is more and more full of rubbish... Oh well. After that, we made our way under the M6, just a moment east of Spaghetti junction in Brum. We did this last year and there is a post in October about it. But here's another pic! Then we moved into another new canal, the Birmingham and Warwick Junction Canal. This is parallel and to the east of the Birmingham and Fazely Canal's move into the centre of Brum. That is the route we took last year on the clockwise journey round the Warwickshire ring. We're doing the counter clockwise route this time and decided to take the canal with fewer locks. One of the pictures shows the Birmingham and Warwick Junction's acqueduct over the Tame again and under the M6.
We came to a stop, 14 miles and 16 locks from Tamworth, at Star City Mooring. It is a pontoon near an amusement area with a Casino. We can see us going there.... Anyway, the sun was too nice not to put out the bench on the pontoon. What fun!
