After the
Black Country Living Museum we headed for Birmingham. On the third lock of the
day (there only were three) we encountered four first time boaters with their
first lock. So Charlene helped talk them through the locking process.
And our boat and I sat outside the top gate (under a bridge) and waited. Eventually they
exited the lock and made it past me. You can see the small amount of space that
is available to pass.
----------
There are
two ways into Birmingham from the Black Country. One is the old route, it twists
and turns a lot, and then you drop down three locks. This puts you on the
level to enter Birmingham. The other is the new route, 1838, which is
straighter and more direct. You drop down the three locks at the beginning and
then straight into Birmingham. We used the newer route.
The picture above shows the junction with the old canal. The route to the left takes you up to the old level.
----------
If you stay to the right at the junction, as we did, you can look back at the old line canal (lower bridge) being carried over the new route in an aqueduct. The three locks to drop the old route down to our level come later along the route. The higher bridge is a large motorway.
----------
On the route
we encountered these massive “islands” in the canal. I later found out their
purpose. Since the early canal narrowboats were the equivalent of the freight
hauling business, these “islands" had stop locks installed. This is where the
length of the boat was measured and tolls charged. The black pipe is more
recent and carries piping over the canal. Since the canal was pre-existing
is was difficult to dig under the canal while still in use to put in the pipes.
----------
Under the bridge to the right is an arm of the canal. Arms had no outlet, but were used to service businesses and warehouses along the arm. Some
businesses had dedicated arms, like this one to the left in the picture below.
----------
Under this
bridge we see the skyline of Birmingham England.
