Joys of the Northern BCN

16th & 17th April

Secure at Longwood, we had a good night's kip the night before last. In the morning, Tom on Vivid III (he who had helped us up the locks the day before) gave me some advice on tying in Anglesey Basin. It seems there can be a problem with drunks wandering past the end of the basin during the evening; the trick is to come back along the canal a little way, to where some power lines cross overhead. There's a good hard edge and depth, presumably where there was a loading staithe originally.

We reversed back to the water point and topped up the tank, then set off onto the Daw End Branch of the Wyreley and Essington. We'd been warned that it would be shallow, and indeed it was. At times we were struggling to make better than 2 mph, with mud and muck swirling up beneath us.

Sanity slogged on – the GPS proved remarkably useful, as you could see what effect different engine revs had on the speed, rather than trying to guess by watching the bank crawl by. It didn't help that the weather deteriorated severely, becoming cold, wet and gusty.

I'd had the impression from enthusiastic accounts that the northern BCN was remarkably rural, not to say bucolic, but was sadly disappointed. From time to time there were some fields, but mostly the scenery was of unremitting suburbia, mixed with light industry.

At Daw End itself we had a little light relief to see one of the pubs, The Boathouse, advertising its "Riverside Patio."

This rather miserable state of affairs carried on all the way to Aldridge, where we pulled in to do a quick shopping trip. Trying to come into the side, I found a reef of silt just off the end of the side weir beyond Aldridge Wharf Bridge, and struggled to extricate Sanity by reversing off. I finally got in further along, guided by Sheila who had hopped off as we came through the bridge.

The light industry was particularly prominent here, not least because of the auto paint shop alongside the plastics moulding firm, so that the nose was assailed by a variety of long chain organic molecules. What with one thing and another, I was strongly reminded of Robert Falcon Scott's reaction when he finally made it to the South Pole:

"Great God! This is an awful place."

On walking up into the centre (about 10 minutes) Aldridge in fact seemed to be quite unexceptional, a typical bit of suburbia going about its business. I'm sure that the weather, the awful state of the cut and a last assault by my head cold, leading to a nose bleed earlier in the day, had biased me just a bit against the whole place.

Shopping done, we slogged on to Catshill Junction, where we turned right for Anglesey Basin. It's an interesting place, and we found Tom's mooring without trouble – indeed, you'd have difficulty tying anywhere else. The other serious option would be to drop a mud weight in the middle of the pool.

After lunch we found a quick cache, and set off to explore the Chasewater Country Park. We'd only made it as far as the reservoir dam when it started to teem down again. The reservoir looks seriously low for this time of year – it can't be the lack of rain, that's for sure.

Back at the boat we huddled down inside. There was a good internet connection, at least, so various bits and pieces could be done. As it got dark it got quite creepy, frankly. There wasn't much to be seen, but odd voices could be heard in the murk, and the absence of other boats made it all a bit edgy.

It's one of those areas which would be transformed by more traffic, and the presence of even a couple of other boats would have made all the difference. Perhaps once the Lichfield and Hatherton Trust has reconnected Huddlesford with Ogley Junction, this basin will see more visitors and become a good deal more welcoming.

As it was, we decided not to risk another night there, and came on to Norton Canes today. By way of recompense, as we left the basin, we spotted an unusual bird flitting about. Checking the guide afterwards showed that it was a Common Sandpiper, suggesting that Chasewater would repay some birding activity.

The water was much deeper for this bit of the trip, and better weather certainly helped. Ironically, we made our first trip down the weed hatch on the way, when I removed a collection of plastic bags and weed from the prop.

Brownhills provides some really good moorings and a Tesco right by the canalside. We're told by Matt Cooper here at NC that they are a safe overnight mooring into the bargain, as is Pelsall Common, just by the junction of the Cannock Extension with the W & E.

We got here just on lunchtime and tied to a trot of boats by the yard. Matt came across during the afternoon and discussed what we are having done. It seems Sanity will go on the dock on Wednesday, and should be all done by Friday. We are leaving her on Monday to go to the Lakes, returning the following Monday, so the timing should be just right.

I'll do a quick post on Sunday, but then take a week off. I've scheduled a reminder post to go out every other day whilst I'm away, with links to what we were doing this time last year, just so folk don't forget we're here.