Days 15, 16 and 17 - Great Union Canal - Kingswood Junction to Braunston

The next segment of our trip (from Kingswood Junction) takes us onto the Grand Union Canal. The canal meanders briefly through the Warwickshire parish of Shrewley before the descending rapidly through twenty one 14 foot wide locks of the Hatton flight to the Avon River valley and Warwick, the county town of Warwickshire. Then whilst still in Warwickshire we began climbing towards Napton - up a marvellous series of canal locks and lock flights - namely Bascote (includes a pair of staircase locks), Calcutt and the 15m high Stockton Lock flight of eight locks.

Stockton Top Lock

This section was originally built by two separate companies, the Warwick & Napton Canal and the Warwick & Birmingham Canal.  Both were designed for narrow boats and were completed in 1800. These two canals ultimately formed part of the amalgamated and renamed Grand Union Canal, comprising the Leicester Line the Regent’s Canal and the Grand Junction Canal.

Sunset at Calcutt Marina near Napton Junction

From Napton Junction, the Grand Union Canal now briefly shares it's London bound passage with the older Oxford Canal until Braunston Turn. There are no canal locks along this shared stretch of water but there are quite a few canal bridges. These bridges show the Oxford Canal's numbering and naming system however they are also allocated bridge numbers in the Grand Union Canal's sequence although these are not displayed on the bridges themselves. To minimise confusion, the Canal and River Trust refers to this section as part of the Grand Union Canal.

Grand Union Canal - Kingswood Junction to Braunston Junction

The new Grand Union Canal company embarked on a large-scale modernisation programme, largely financed by government loans, with the aim of enabling broad-beamed (14 ft wide) boats to work between London and Birmingham.  Long lengths were dredged and strengthened with concrete bank protection. Bridges were widened or replaced, and the narrow locks between Braunston and Birmingham were replaced with broad locks (the remains of most of the old locks could still be seen alongside their larger replacements).

Shrewley Canal Tunnel and separate Towpath Tunnel (Northwest portal)

When the new state of the art locks at Hatton (known as the "stairway to heaven") were completed bands played and crowds gathered to watch Prince George, Duke of Kent arrive by boat and cut the ribbon. Today Hatton Locks is a lovely peaceful location to watch the colourful narrowboats as they move through the flight.

Hatton Locks (upper portion of flight)

Steve, Anne, Cherice assisted the Skipper with lock duty down this flight while Angus took the tiller. We were very fortunate to meet a volunteer lock keeper part way down and he worked alongside us for the remainder of the flight. These were our first set of wide locks and we very happy to share the space and the operating of gates and sluices with fellow narrowboaters travelling in our direction. To add to the good fortune, every Hatton lock was set in our favour.

Hatton Top Lock

Lockie Helen and the Skipper emptying a Hatton flight lock

Slipping into a Hatton flight lock with a fellow narrowboater

At the bottom of the Hatton flight are the conjoined towns of Warwick and Leamington Spa.
Warwick lies on the banks of the River Avon and has been the site of constant habitation since the 6th century. Warwick Castle was established here in 1068 as part of the Norman conquest of England.

Warwick Castle's Guy's Tower, Gate House, Dry Moat and external walls

The castle developed into a stone fortress and then a country house and is today a popular tourist attraction.

Warwick Castle Mill and Avon River

Nearby Royal Leamington Spa, commonly known as Leamington Spa is a spa town formerly known as Leamington Priors. Its expansion began the medicinal qualities of its water were discovered in 1784. During the 19th century, the town experienced one of the most rapid expansions in England. It's named after the River Leam which flows through the town.

Leamington Spa Royal Pump Rooms and Baths

The spa waters had been known in Roman times and were rediscovered in 1784. With the spread of the town's popularity, and the granting of a 'Royal' prefix in 1838 by Queen Victoria, 'Leamington Priors' was renamed 'Royal Leamington Spa'. Queen Victoria had visited the town as a Princess in 1830 and as Queen in 1858.

Avon River from Warwick Castle Great Hall windows

We visited Warwick Castle just prior to farewelling Anne and Steve. This medieval castle is a very well restored and maintained theme park and museum plus it is available for use as a private or corporate function centre. It's origins date back to an original wooden motte-and-bailey castle built by William the Conqueror in 1068.

Warwick Castle Courtyard

The castle was extensively damaged by a fire in 1871 that started to the east of the Great Hall. Although the Great Hall was gutted, the overall structure was unharmed.

Mound and part of Castle Outer Wall

Queen Victoria might be considered the start of tourism in 1858 however for a short time after this, tourists were considered by the Earl of Warwick as a nuisance and he closed the castle to visitors. It soon re-opened again and it's popularity continued to rise due in large part to the collection of armory on display - it is regarded as second only to that of the Tower of London.

Bowman demonstrating archery equipment and skills 

One of the highlights during our visit was a demonstration of one of the world's largest working siege engines. The Warwick Castle trebuchet is 18 metres tall, made from over 300 pieces of oak and weighs 22 tonnes.

Warwick Castle Trebuchet

The trebuchet normally takes eight people half an hour to load and release however a little assistance from modern technology (a tractor) simplifies the loading process.

Having a wonderful time at the Castle

On to our mooring for the evening (and time for Angus and Cherice to depart to catch the train from Rugby back to Leighton Buzzard) in the sleepy village of Braunston. On the way to Braunston we passed under Fosse Way - a Roman road that linked Exeter in South West to Lincoln in Lincolnshire, via Ilchester , Bath, Cirencester and Leicester. Fosse Way is remarkable for its extremely direct route: from Lincoln to Ilchester in Somerset, a distance of 293 km, it is never more than 10 km from a straight line.

Fosse Way near crossing over the Grand Union Canal

Braunston lies at the crossroads of the Grand Union and Oxford canals as well as being at the heart of the entire English canal network.

Towpath Bridge on junction of Oxford and Grand Union Canals, Braunston

The village, on the hill above the canal, thrived for over 150 years on the canal trade - carrying goods from the Midlands to London. Now it is a centre for leisure activities and boasts by far and away the busiest stretch of canal anywhere in the country.

Braunston Marina Towpath Bridge

All Saints' Church Braunston (also known as the Cathedral of the Canals) has overlooked the village and the villagers for over 10 centuries and the canals and the boat people for over 300 years. All Saints has a rich history entwined with that of the canals. Many old boating families settled in Braunston when the use of the canals for haulage finally died in the 1950s and 60’s and many of the members of traditional working narrowboat families are buried in the grounds of the church.

All Saints' Church, Braunston

Braunston hosts the hugely popular annual working narrowboats rally - the UK's largest! Well over 80 historic boats gather and take part in parades of surviving Braunston and Grand Union Canal boats.

Working Narrowboats Rally

That's it for now. I will return with a concluding narrowboat post shortly before sharing some of our Myanmar adventure.

The Skipper.

Days 14 - Stratford-upon-Avon Canal (North Branch)

The Stratford-upon-Avon Canal runs from the leafy Birmingham suburb of Kings Norton to Stratford-upon-Avon was built between 1793 and 1816 and runs for 41 km in total. It consists of two sections. The dividing line is at Kingswood Junction in the village of Lapworth, which gives access to the Grand Union Canal. We will be only navigating along the northern section, the first 21 km which takes us in a more south easterly direction.

Stratford-upon-Avon Canal (North Branch)

The canal winds its way until Hockley Heath following the 138m (above sea level) Birmingham Level, but then descends quite rapidly through the Lapworth flight of 18 locks to reach the Kingswood Junction.

Approaching Lock No. 7 on the Lapworth Flight

During this lock free section we encountered a new navigational novelty - three opening bridges. The first - an electrically operated drawbridge (complete with traffic controls to stop the cars) at Shirley, and then a manually operated lift bridge and another drawbridge (also manual).

Shirley Drawbridge

Farm Lift Bridge No. 26

Farm Draw Bridge No. 28

Steve was delighted to get the opportunity to operate two of these three bridges. We didn't get to wind up No. 28 as the lockie from the passing boat got there ahead of us and insisted on holding it open whilst we also passed under the open span. (The feeling of camaraderie among the visiting and permanent members of the narrowboating community is another of the special aspects of spending time on these fabulous inland waterways.) I offered to reverse back up the canal so we could repeat the process but the other crew members overruled Steve on this occasion.

Lining up to enter a lock in the Lapworth Flight

As the canal meanders towards Lapworth, you could be easily forgiven for thinking that the only reason for the canal's existence is for boating holidays and pleasure boating. But (believe it or not) there were hard commercial reasons for the building of the canal in the first place. The original plan was for the transportation of coal from the River Severn up to Birmingham. By 1890 the value of commodities carried on the canal was less than 25% of that when the canal first opened. By 1950 the canal section at the Lapworth end had badly silted up, and several of the lock gates were leaking and in dire need of repair. There was a move to close the canal altogether, but these proposals were met with loud protests from canal societies and a campaign was mounted to "save the Stratford Canal".

An asset worth saving?

In 1959 the National Trust were successful in leasing the canal, and restoration then commenced in earnest.  Much for the work was done by prison labourers, and volunteers who belonged to the National Trust and other bodies like the Inland Waterways Association Waterways Recovery Group. The formal re-opening ceremony was in 1964, and the canal and River Avon have since proved to be one of the most popular of all the canals among leisure boat owners and users.

Bridges needed to maintain a continuous tow path

Part way along this northern section of the Stratford-upon-Avon Canal we paused briefly to "inspect" the Birmingham Society of Model Engineers site at Illshaw Heath.

Double arched tunnel at Illshaw Heath site

Founded in 1936 the society has grown to have one of the largest model engineering club memberships in the United Kingdom. Their facilities and extensive grounds are quite impressive, with a 1112 ft. dual gauge 5/7.25” gauge ground level track and raised 1041 ft dual gauge 5/3.5” gauge track.

Loco running day at Illshaw Heath

Both tracks are controlled by an extensive signalling system. Footbridges and a brick built, double arched tunnel span the two tracks and stations, paved platforms, signal boxes, steaming bays and an engine shed serve the two circuits. Unfortunately the society were not operating on the day we passed by so we had to be satisfied with a "quick look".

Part view of the Birmingham Society of Model Engineers site

Having satisfied Steve's and my interest in the Illshaw Heath facility we were back on the canal heading for the Lapworth Flight. We found a number of fine examples of cast iron split bridges. in this stretch of canal.

Steve standing on (split) bridge no. 36 at Kingswood Junction)

Before explaining the purpose of the split bridge we should consider the role of the tow horse. In the early days of the Canal Age (from about 1740) boat horses were the prime movers of the Industrial Revolution, and they remained at work until the middle of the 20th century. A horse, towing a boat with a rope from the towpath, could pull fifty times as much cargo as it could pull in a cart or wagon on roads. Many of the surviving buildings and structures were designed with horse power in mind.

Split bridge No. 39

For a variety of reasons, the towpath had to switch from one side of the canal to the other. Turnover or roving bridges allowed the towing horse to cross the canal without the tow line getting caught up in the bridge. Split bridges were used around locks to enable the towing line to pass through the bridge when the towpath did not go under the bridge.

The particularly attractive Kingswood Junction is a favourite for narrowboaters, gongoozlers*, walkers and sightseers and so I shouldn't have been so surprised just how appealing this location looked as we approached Lock 19.

* A gongoozler is a person who enjoys watching activity on the canals of the United Kingdom

Kingswood Junction

As we were leaving the Stratford-upon-Avon Canal and joining the Grand Union we took Eleanor through Lock 20 before swinging left into Lapworth Link

Eleanor approaching Lock 20 with crew mates Anne and Steve waiting patiently on the tow path

Self-indulgent pic of the Skipper at the tiller in the pound above Lock 20

Reflections near village of Dickens Heath

Just as depicted in the shot above of the canal next to houses in Dickens Heath, the canals mostly go around the towns and villages. They meander through half-forgotten places. They take you across viaducts and through long tunnels. They force you to travel slowly, too, so that those fields and meadows fleetingly glimpsed from a train or car are brought beautifully, individually, into focus as you slip by at 4mph. Anyone who does not think this is time well spent has (sadly) never discovered that narrowboating is the surest and the fastest way of slowing down.

Much moor still to come.

The Skipper.

Days 11, 12, and 13 - Worcester and Birmingham Canal - Worcester to Druids Heath

The Worcester and Birmingham (W&B) canal links the two cities, built to connect the River Severn in Worcester to the Birmingham Canal System via a quicker route than the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal, although opposition from other canals prevented completion of the last few feet of canal in Birmingham for twenty years.

Worcester and Birmingham Canal

The W&B travels through some very pleasant countryside, climbing from the Severn through rolling fields and wooded cuttings and slicing through a hilly ridge south of Birmingham.

Stoke Flight of Locks

On this section of our journey we will encounter four tunnels, (Dunhampstead, Tardebigge, Shortwood and Wast Hill Tunnel). The longest of these is Wast Hill Tunnel at 2.49km passing underneath the Birmingham suburb of Hawkesley (near Kings Norton Junction).

Wast Hill Tunnel heading towards Birmingham

Steam tugs were used from the 1870's to haul strings of narrowboats through these four tunnels.

Wast Hill Tunnel - Southern Portal

The W&B is also our most strenuous canal as far as locks is concerned with 58 locks over a distance of just 40km consisting of the Offerton, Astwood, Stoke and Tardebigge flights.

Eleanor in Lock No. 50 looking west down the flight

The most famous of these is the thirty lock flight (over a 3.6 km stretch) at Tardebigge. The locks fill and empty very quickly so we managed to get through them all in an (energetic) afternoon (including assisting a single hander just ahead of us)!

Tardebigge Flight - between Locks 50 and 51

The top lock has a rise of 3.4m, unusually high for a single lock. It was built to replace an experimental vertical boat lift. The canal company was concerned with the expense of the 58 locks needed to take the canal down to the River Severn.

Tardebigge Top Lock and Lock Keeper's Cottage

The Tardebigge vertical lift was invented by John Woodhouse and built between 1806 and 1808, comprising a counterbalanced 72 ft x 8ft cassion which weighed 64 tons when full of water. It was suspended on 8 sets of rods on chains which were looped over 12 ft diameter cast iron wheels connected to a single axle.

Tardebigge Vertical Lift

Access and exit was via four guillotine gates - very similar to those seen on the Anderton Boat Lift.

Anderton Boat Lift Guillotine Gates

This rather unusual structure was short lived but in truth was something of an engineering success. It could be operated by two men with a passage time of just 2.5 minutes. At its peak it moved an impressive 110 boats in a 12 hour period. Whilst technically successful, the canal owners were sceptical and called in Scottish civil engineer John Rennie for an expert opinion. He concluded that there were too many moving parts and high maintenance costs could be expected. In the event nature intervened and the lift was damaged on a cloudburst in 1815 and it was promptly replaced with the current lock.

At our overnight stop at Tardebigge we walked through the adjacent field to the nearby St Bartholomew’s church.

St Bartholomew’s Church, Tardebigge

 The ‘commanding position’ where St Bartholomew’s church now stands may have been a sacred site for a thousand years or more. The evidence for this is no more than circumstantial, but still intriguing. The ancient yew trees (often associated with religious sites) that stand either side of the entrance to the church grounds, are believed to be over a thousand years old. And it’s been suggested that the unusual name ‘Tardebigge’ has origins in the Saxon for ‘big tower’ or ‘tower on a hill’.

English Yew (Taxus baccata) in St Bartholomew’s grounds

What may be more reliable is an eighteenth century account of the history of St Bartholomew’s. It describes the church, as it was then, as having been built around an original structure possibly dating from just after the Norman Conquest in 1066.

Diglis Basin - commencement of the Worcester and Birmingham Canal

From 1841 railway competition took away much of the business from the W&B and in 1868 losses were so severe that a receiver was appointed. The canal was saved by being bought in 1874 by the Sharpness New Docks Company (which by then owned the Gloucester & Sharpness Canal).

London & Birmingham Railway Locomotive No. 32 heading a mixed train circa 1937

Under enterprising management new traffic was sought, and the canal survived until nationalisation in 1948.

Artists impression of narrowboat trade at Cadbury's Bourneville Wharf

The last commercial traffic was coal from Cannock to Worcester and chocolate crumb from Worcester to the Cadbury factory at Bourneville in Birmingham, ceasing in 1960 and 1961 respectively.

Transferring raw materials from narrowboat to train waggons at Bourneville

These English canals are a time-warp with very little changed since they were constructed over two-hundred years ago. I, for one, will never loose sight of the fantastic engineering achievement made principally by the early civil engineers such as Brindley and Telford and the skills in bridge, tunnel and lock building by the early 'Navvies'..... occasionally in the middle of a long dark tunnel for example you realise that the thousands and thousands of bricks lining the wall were placed by human hand risking their lives working in dangerous darkness. Following the ghosts of thousands of working boats through the centuries you are just a nano-second in the timescale of canal history that I hope will exist for ever.

Finally today's lock statistics for the Worcester and Birmingham canal to Kings Norton Junction:

Bilford Flight (2) - Climb 4.3m
Tibberton Flight (6) - Climb 12.8m
Astwood Flight (5) - Climb 12.8m
Stoke Prior Flight (6) - Climb 13.0m
Tadebigge Flight (30) - Climb 66.1m

That's it for today. Moor to come real soon.

The Skipper.