Discovering Brindley's Grand Cross

Three weeks in a Long Narrowboat

A blog of our adventures exploring the English Midlands aboard NB Eleanor. Our three week cruise commences from Clifton Wharf near Rugby. The planned route takes us north west past Coventry, Tamworth and Lichfield to Stafford then south to Worcester passing Wolverhampton and Kidderminster. The return voyage heads north east up the famous Tardebigge Flight of locks towards the outskirts of Birmingham before turning east down the Hatton Flight through Warwickshire passing Warwick and Royal Leamington Spa then returning to Rugby via Braunston - heart of the English canal system.

Thursday, 19 May 2016

James Brindley - 300th Anniversary

2016 marks a special year in canal history: the 300th anniversary of the birth of the pioneering canal engineer, James Brindley.

Brindley was one of history’s great engineers, responsible for eight waterways including the first of the industrial age – the Bridgewater Canal. Despite his legacy, his name doesn’t have the same recognition as Brunel or Telford.

Brindley was part of what the English Heritage Book of Canals calls the ‘pioneering’ phase of canal construction. He cut his teeth working with watermills in Derbyshire and had a practical and empirical approach to his work.

He worked on the building of the Bridgewater Canal, which was regarded as the first modern British canal, and which triggered an explosion of canal-building. In a sense, Brindley created a template for the narrow canal system when he chose to build narrow locks on the Trent & Mersey Canal.

Brindley pioneered many of the engineering features that became common on Britain’s canals. Some of his prototype bridge designs, in brick and stone, have a homely charm about them. Others reflect the Georgian craftsman’s love of silhouettes and flowing lines.

Brindley Place in Birmingham, at the heart of the canal network, is named after James Brindley. There is also a statue of him at Coventry Canal Basin.

It's just 3 months until we depart for the UK via a short stopover in Spain.

More soon,
The Skipper.

The Route

From Clifton Wharf we'll travel northwest on the Oxford Canal to Hawkesbury Junction, then travel northwest on the Coventry Canal to Fazeley Junction, then northwest on the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal to Fradley Junction, then northwest on the Trent and Mersey Canal to Great Haywood Junction.

From Great Haywood Junction we'll travel southwest on the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal to Autherley Junction, then south to Aldersley Junction, then south to Stourton Junction, then south to Stourport (the entry to the River Severn).

We'll then head south on the River Severn to Worcester, then travelling northeast on the Worcester and Birmingham Canal to King's Norton Junction.

The Round Birmingham Ring then heads southeast on the Stratford Canal to Kingswood Junction.

Our cruise then follows the Grand Union Canal to Napton Junction before heading northeast to Braunston Turn.

Finally we travel north on the Oxford Canal back to Clifton Wharf.

Narrowboat Basics

Narrowboats are 6 feet 10 inches wide and modern vessels are all made entirely of steel. The maximum length is about 72 feet (22 m), which matches the length of the shortest locks on the majority of the system. Modern narrowboats tend to be shorter, to permit cruising anywhere on the connected network.

Modern narrowboats are generally defined by two design features, the type of stern and the location of the galley/saloon.

Type of Stern

There are three main types of stern on narrowboats, traditional, cruiser and semi-traditional.

The Traditional Stern is the smallest stern area offering the least external space, and stems from traditional working boats. Ideal for live aboard, as it gives more room inside for living.

The Cruiser Stern style of stern offer a large expanse of external space, ideal for recreational cruising. An ideal holiday boat has a back deck of between 4-8 Feet in length, providing ample space on the back for several people to stand or sit and take in the scenery together.

A Semi-Traditional Stern produces a compromise between traditional and cruiser; these boats have the looks of a traditional stern craft but with the space of a cruiser stern.

Location of the Galley/Saloon

The vast majority of narrowboats until a few years ago were designed with the kitchen/living area at the front, bathroom in the centre and the bedrooms at the stern. One possible explanation why boats generally have the bedroom/s at the rear and saloons at the front is simply because that layout is a evolution of the original working boats.

There are a number of practical reasons for having this traditional configuration including the protrusion of the swim in traditional stern vessels and the location of the gas tanks in the bow gas locker area, but in recent times the "Reverse Configuration" has become popular. Many hirers and owners prefer to have the kitchen closer to the tiller.

Three weeks in a Long Narrowboat

Thursday, 19 May 2016

James Brindley - 300th Anniversary

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