What Goes Up ,,,

The entire canal system and its locks work on gravity and the lifting capability of water, with the exception of places like the Anderton Boat Lift and the Falkirk Wheel. So if you go up to visit Birmingham, you go down to leave Birmingham.

Leaving via the Birmingham and Fazely canal you encounter two flights of locks. The 13 Farmer’s Bridge Locks, which lower you 81 feet, and the 10 Aston Locks that lower you an additional 71 feet. 

Here is the first lock of the Farmer’s Bridge flight. Services for filling the water tank and emptying rubbish and other waste is to the left. We took advantage of the services before we started down.

After the first lock or two you are not only surrounded by buildings, but it appears they are also blocking the way. Note volunteer “lockie” in safety vest – very important help in this case.

The solution is to take the canal under the buildings!

As the boat crossed into the lock shown above a side wind pushed the boat towards the wall. We recovered by tossing the center line of the boat to the volunteer “lockie” who was helping us. He pulled the boat back into position.

At the next lock we didn’t take the chance, the winds were so strong this day that the “lockie”  held the boat in position while we moved forward into the next lock.

Some of the locks are very heavy to work with, so after the volunteer left us I work some of the locks.

This flight of locks goes through remnants of the industrialized part of the city and is not very scenic

Here we are at the top lock of the Ashton flight. The top lock is the highest (water level) in a flight, or group, of locks and the lowest is the bottom lock.

Charlene walks across the top gate …

… to make sure there is no boat ready to come into the empty lock before we fill it to go down – saves water, if there is a boat coming up the lock.

Another lock on the Ashton flight, we are now out of the city.

Looking down the flight from the previous picture

Just before the junction with the Tame Valley Canal is Cuckoo Wharf. I couldn’t resist using this picture for the name.

After turning onto the next section of the Birmingham and Fazley at the junction, we parallel a major motorway. No congestion on the canal – sign must be for the poor folks on the motorway.