Farmer's Bridge not closed!

Tuesday 20 March

Yet another eight o'clock start - this is beginning to be a habit. The mooring had indeed proved to be fine and quiet (remarkably so, considering that you're in the very middle of Brum) but I'd still not slept all that well. At least two people had said, when told of our plans, "But isn't the Farmer's Bridge [lock] flight still stopped?" and although I'd checked the Waterscape site and been told no stoppages, it was still a relief to get to the top of the flight and find everything as normal, including a BW guy in the lockie's little house.

Set off down the flight in fine form - it was with us and so we made good time. I took over locking at number five, and found that nine and ten were empty, with a lot of building work going on in the Brindley Tower which covers those two. Presumably this is where the stoppage had been, while they set up scaffolding and dealt with some asbestos problem.

Got to the bottom without incident, and found Spring Dew, an OwnerShips boat, tied at Aston Junction. They'd stayed there because they'd been told Farmer's Bridge was shut. Off we went down the Aston flight, which was also with us, courtesy of Spring Dew having come up. Half way down we met a Canaltime coming up, which took one look at us and tried to turn in the short but wide pound between the locks.

"Did you mean to do that?" I asked as Sanity slid across behind him (he was now broadside on across the cut, with the bow well wedged on the offside bank)

"Not really, no" said the steerer. Sheila meanwhile had been told by the crew on the shore that a) there were another three Canaltimes behind and b) they thought they had to turn round because "Farmer's Bridge is shut, isn't it?" They also warned us that the pound below the next lock was very low, which indeed it was for some reason. Now, it is true that a stoppage on the flight had been extended by a week, but that was scheduled to end last Friday, and indeed had done so. Amazing, the power of rumour, when one phone call to the BW office would have made all clear.

After reaching the bottom of the flight, it's only a short trip to Salford Junction, the four way canal junction which is directly below Gravelly Hill Interchange (Spaghetti Junction). We turned half right and carried on along the Birmingham and Fazeley. This is not the most visually exciting bit of cut in the country, but eventually you come to Minworth locks and the beginning of the end of the urban canal. On a previous trip we'd tied just near the The Kingsley by Wigginshall Bridge, but a fellow Braidbar had an attempted break in near there one night last year. They came back from a meal in the pub to find the glass in one of the front doors damaged, but the boat had survived the attempt. Anyway, we went on to Curdworth, mooring in the cutting between the bridge and the tunnel mouth.

I walked into the village, found the PO and shop, but couldn't get an Independent. We had a quiet evening and an early night, having done 27 locks in the day.

Wednesday 21 March

We'd decided to have a lazy start this morning, so I set the central heating to come on at 7.30, rather than 7. Needless to say, we woke before 7 anyway, but at least could loaf in bed while the heating came on. This was particularly welcome as it had been a very cold night - in fact I later found ice on the inside of the lining of the Houdini hatch over the bed.

Finally set off at all of 8.30, in bright sun, but still a cold wind. Curdworth locks are one of the nicest flights in the country, all the more so because the B&F is such a utilitarian canal in other respects. I was locking first, and feeling too slow and stiff to bother getting the bike out, but after we changed over at lock five, Sheila got on it, and made short work of the next five locks, although the towpath was rather muddy in places. Our little folder with GP road tyres does struggle with unsurfaced towpath at times.

It was a glorious morning, sunny and with little wind, but still very cold. We made very good time and by 11.30 were heading for the superb double bridge at Drayton Manor, a swivel bridge which was standing open, with just before and above it the footbridge between two crenelated towers. One of the joys of the canal system is the preservation of these Victorian embellishments of functional structures, like the way in which many of the northern mills are decorated in a Gothic or Romantic way.

We got to Fazeley Junction just after 12, and stopped on the visitor moorings just before it to eat lunch. Then on round the corner onto the water point, before finishing the day's boating with a run round to the unofficial but well patronised mooring by Sutton Road Bridge. The point of this mooring is that there is a rough but well used footpath into a huge retail park which includes Sainsbury's, Asda, Boots and all the other usual suspects.

We made an initial foray to Boots for a birthday present for Elanor - her birthday was actually yesterday, but we're seeing her and Stuart, her boyfriend, tomorrow, so she can have her pressie then, and to Sainsbury's to stock up on groceries. Bought some nice fresh fish - Cajun fish stew tonight, I think.