It's Like a Ghost Town

We all enjoyed the approach by canal into Birmingham city centre and thought we would share some more of this journey and its sights with you.

As we passed through these graffiti'd lock gates we were completely ignorant of any message they were supposed to convey, but at least this paint spraying hadn't done any harm to the vital working parts of the lock.


As we crept nearer to the centre we took the Digbeth canal branch line. We did this for the sake of variety, as we'd been the main Grand Union route before.


It was incredibly quiet along this branch line. It wasn't quiet in terms of noise, as we could still hear the background roar of traffic, but it was quiet, in as much as we didn't see a soul, and there was hardly a building that wasn't derelict. It was sad to think of our great industrial heritage, now almost completely gone.

Our route took us past former warehouses of the famous, and probably biggest, canal carriers, Fellows, Morton & Clayton.


We would have loved to have observed all the activity of loading and unloading canal boats but we don't suppose this is something that will ever make a comeback ... unless those fuel prices keep rising! Don't forget canal boats were pulled by horses for many years. That would certainly result in great fuel savings.

Lots of love, Eddie, Ungi, Fred, Jimmy and fellow crew xxx

Bright Lights Approaching.

Our last post, ending with the picture of debris clearing, may have given you a hint that we were leaving behind the beautiful Warwickshire countryside and entering a far more urban environment, in this case that of the city of Birmingham.

First though we had needed to turn off the Stratford Canal and join the Grand Union.


Ungi took up position at the front of the boat so as to be the first to spot the turn off. As you can see it isn't that obvious, although if you're sharp eyed you can spot the finger posts ...


I have to admit that Polar and I were looking in completely the wrong direction and missed them (you'll no doubt have spotted what was behind us!)

We had no regrets at leaving the countryside behind, as we like the contrasts that canal travel provides: one minute we can be watching lambs gambolling in the fields, and the next, we can turn a corner and see city suburbs approaching and within a few miles, be travelling right through the city centre, watching people at work in offices, scurrying around or stuck in traffic jams (rarely experienced on canals!)


This is a typical scene as we approached the centre of Birmingham. I particularly liked seeing the dome of a mosque appearing behind an industrial unit, but I was too slow to get a photograph.

Lots of love Eddie and crew xxx

Canals Need Friends Too

We like some of the improvements made to Blogger very much, especially the ability to write posts in advance and schedule them to publish at a date and time of our choosing. It means that when we go off on one of our adventures there isn't a big gap in the posts while we are out of internet contact, as we often are on our action adventures.

So, no doubt, as the posts kept coming, most of our readers have been blissfully unaware that we were away last week doing more research for the Friendly Planet Guide. As a result we have another set of pictures to share with you and some intrepid tales, but first we must finish the pictures from our Avon Ring trip.

Not long after seeing that dilapidated boat I told you about last time, I noticed the canal needed a bit of T.L.C. too.


Sadly sights such as this one of crumbling brickwork at the entrance to a lock or on a bridge support are all too common. Most of the damage could be avoided if boaters would just slow down a bit as they approach narrow passages. Being in a hurry on a canal is, to me, a cardinal sin, as it goes against everything a canal holiday should be about.

If we didn't live in Norfolk and out of reach of the canal network, I think many of us would spend a lot of our weekends helping as volunteers with friends of the canals groups. It would be great to be able to play a part in restoring canals which have fallen out of use and repairing those which are in use but need some T.L.C. to stay in fine fettle.

In our next picture you see some friends of ours doing their bit to keep the canals flowing smoothly.


All this debris had to be removed before we I could drive Muscovy into the lock, so I was very grateful for this willingly given assistance.

Lots of love Eddie & friends xxx

Some T.L.C. Required

By this stage in the holiday, I was completely relaxed and totally at one with my boat and the canal. I was enjoying myself so much that I couldn't imagine the holiday ending - it wasn't going to for a while, anyway.


Ungi took this photo of me as he said it captured the essence of a contented bear. It was a lovely morning and I had the satisfaction of getting my lock ready before Muscovy arrived, so there was time to sit on the lock and reflect on how good life is when you're boating.

A little further along this stretch of the canal I saw a sight which wiped the contented smile off my face.


This boat was certainly the worse for wear and it must have been a long time since she was displaying her finery to the world. However, while a boat still floats, there is still hope. I took a closer look and was pleased to see there was little that couldn't be sorted with a bit of tender loving care.

I decided to leave a note for the owners offering the help and expertise of Bears Unlimited in boat restoration, in case our services would be required.

Lots of love, Eddie and Muscovy crew xxx

Fish Eye View

With a new day came another aqueduct, this time the Yarningdale aqueduct. It wasn't as high as the Edstone, but it did have a rather special feature in common with it. This was a sunken towpath which, as my guide book descriptively put it, offers walkers a 'strange fish-eye lens view of passing boaters'.

I was rather intrigued by this, so I did get off the boat to walk the towpath along the aqueduct. Hopefully my next picture will show you what I mean by the sunken footpath.


As I'm never quite sure how deep canals are, this aqueduct was quite interesting as it does reveal the depth of water in the canal. I'm hanging over the edge comparing the difference between boat level and towpath level. It really wasn't very deep at all, not that it mattered. There was enough depth for me to cruise along effortlessly, so I couldn't have been happier.

Lots of love Eddie & friends xxx

A Lock Named After Us

While the Edstone aqueduct was much enjoyed by us, what came just after it was even better. It was a lock with the best name we have come across in several years of canal travel ...


With a name like that, we simply had to pause and group for a crew photo. I think this is probably the first time you'll have seen my crew all together.

Our canal guide said that Bearley Lock is also known as Odd Lock. I sincerely hope the 'odd' refers to the lock number (39) and has nothing to do with bears!

A mile or so on we reached Wootton Wawen and moored up for the night. As we moored up, we found it hard to believe, and you might too, that this was the same day that had started with us still being flood bound on our River Avon island. It's amazing what you can achieve in a day on a canal boat.

We had all had a great day and it ended well with an excellent meal and a few well- earned beers in the canalside, Navigation pub.

Lots of love Eddie & Avon Ring crew xxx

High Rise Canal

As you've probably gathered by now, we were quite taken with the Stratford canal. But there was more to it than barrel-roofed cottages, cantilever bridges and charming countryside. There were also a couple of rather fine aqueducts which are always of great interest to a boating enthusiast like me. I'd like to tell you about the first one today.


This was the Edstone Aqueduct which we are approaching in our picture. You can see me studying the canal guide to find out all the facts. The reason I particularly like aqueducts is that I love of the feeling of the canal taking off into space as the ground drops away on both sides. Perhaps you'll get a better impression of the canal being in space, when you see my next picture, taken looking backwards from the rear of the boat (sadly there wasn't enough wind for the bear flag to fly).


We timed our crossing over the Edstone Aqueduct rather well as a train came along just as we were crossing. We waved and even got a toot from the friendly driver. It was quite a strange feeling, being suspended in mid air in an iron trough, with a train travelling under us.


Canal travel might be slow paced, but there's always plenty of excitement. It's a good job I've got a good head for heights as only the towpath side of the aqueduct gives any protection between the boat and a big drop!

Lots of love, Eddie & friends xxx

A 'Des Res'

I promised I'd tell you about the other unique feature of the Stratford canal, and I am a bear of my word, so here goes.

The second unique feature is a series of barrel-roofed cottages. I think I need to show you what I mean ...


... aren't they simply great, and can you see my reflection in the window? There are quite a few of these cottages and they lend a particular charm to what is already a rather lovely stretch of canal.

Some of the cottages have been incorporated into modern extensions, which I thought was a bit of a shame as it diluted the wonderful character of these homes. You'll probably not be surprised, therefore, when I tell you that this one was one of my favourites ...


As you can see it stands now, as originally built, and is in great condition. I looked, rather optimistically I admit, for a 'for sale' board, but can't say I was surprised when there was none. It would be a simply great place to live, and having a lock outside the front door would be seventh heaven for me as there would be all sorts of fellow boaters pausing there, for me to talk boating talk to.

Believe it or not, a bit further along the canal we did come across a cottage for sale and took a picture, so we'd have a record of the estate agent's details.


However, my heart had been captured by the earlier example and this extended cottage did not bear comparison. In any event I couldn't face the thought of moving away from Norfolk and leaving all my friends and my seals behind, so I never even got as far as looking up this property on the web.

I'm sure someone else will fall in love with it.

Lots of love Eddie & Muscovy boaters xxx

Crash Helmets Needed in Stratford

We stopped only very briefly in Stratford as we were keen to eat up some canal miles and we had a rendezvous to make that evening. Our priority on this occasion wasn't the tourist sights, but Marks & Spencer's Simply Food department. As you can imagine, after 2 days on emergency rations we were eager to indulge in a few treats and who better to supply them than good old M & S.


A mere stone's throw after turning onto the Stratford Canal, it was really clear to all of us that we'd left the river behind. Just look at this bridge, which took a major road into town over the canal - talk about low and narrow. It took some clever steering to get through and we all had to mind our heads. You simply wouldn't find a passageway like this on a river - it's definitely a quirk of the canal system. There was so little headroom that the bear flag suffered a bit. Actually, the flag was o.k. It was the the fishing rod from which it was flying, which scraped along the roof, causing sparks to fly.

It wasn't long before we'd left the bustle of Stratford behind and were once again enjoying the peace and quiet of the countryside - and a rest as there were 15 locks between Stratford and Wilmcote (location of Mary Arden's house).


We always say that every canal is different and the Stratford Canal was no exception. It had two unique features: one we'll tell you about next time, and the other, was the wonderful bridges which you see in my picture.

Our guide referred to them as delicate split cantilever bridges, which is what they were, although I don't think I'd have come up with those words on my own. I liked them so much that I got off the boat for a closer look. Can you see me peering through?


I nimbly leapt back on board as the stern passed under the bridge. It's a good job bears are agile and sure-pawed.

Lots of love Eddie & fellow boating bears xxx

Cruising Into Stratford

After being stationary for 2 whole days, it was really good to be reminded of how many interesting sights there are, as you travel the inland waterways by boat.

I haven't managed to find out who Colin P Witter was, but he must have been pretty important to have a structure such as this one named after him; I've never seen a lock like it ...


The other boat in the lock with Muscovy is Enigma. We'd been though so much together that we weren't ready to be parted just yet.

Just out of this lock we came upon Stratford on Avon's famous Holy Trinity Church, the burial place of William Shakespeare.


It's been in the news recently, as there is a need to move the grave, but no-one wants to do the job as it's supposed to bring on a curse. I think that's one job that Bears Unlimited won't be tendering for. Doesn't the river look serene and friendly in our picture? Who'd have thought that less than a couple of hours had passed since we were floodbound.

A couple of minutes further on and we were seeing more famous Stratford sights. One looked a bit different to usual ...


Yes, this is the famous Royal Shakespeare Theatre, or what's left of it. As you can see it's being pulled down and rebuilt. Had we not been floodbound for 2 days we'd planned to overnight in Stratford and see if we could take in a show. Maybe next time ...

I've saved my favourite picture til last, to finish off the flooding chapter of our holiday.


Here I am with my friends from Enigma, saying goodbye and thanks for the support and great company. Enigma's home base is near Kidderminster, one of my favourite parts of the canal system, so hopefully our paths will cross again.

Next time, we leave the Avon and return to the familiar territory of the canal system.

Lots of love, Eddie and crew xxx

Part 4: We Taste Freedom

Our second day of enforced leisure on our small island passed pleasantly enough. It was a sunny, dry day and bears are very good at amusing themselves. We also had some very good company. After enjoying our night out on board Enigma, we returned the compliment and invited our new friends on board Muscovy for the coming evening.

At the end of the day, the water level had started to go down. By the time we went to bed it appeared to be dropping by almost an inch an hour. We were therefore very hopeful that we would be on our way again the next morning.

The next morning it was fairly good news, but not the best we could have hoped for. The flood warning was still showing 6 inches of flood (back to where we started), but there is a big difference between a rising 6 inches and a falling 6 inches.

After consultation with Engima's Captain and a phone call to our hire company, we decided to leave together and see how we got on getting to the next lock, where there would at least be another chance to moor, this time on land with a public foothpath!


And so, here we are, bidding, not exactly a fond farewell, to our island mooring which had been home for the last 48 hours. It had, however, provided a safe anchorage and for that we were grateful.

As the current was still strong, the going upstream was slow. There were a few occasions when, even with the engine at full revs, we were only achieving a speed of a 1.5 m.p.h. We kept going forwards though and made it through the navigation hazard of the arched bridge at Binton Bridges successfully: here we are lining up to go through ...


... we all relaxed when this current concentrating hazard was behind us.

All around was evidence that other boats and structures had not fared as well in the flood as us. Being a true boat lover, I even felt distressed for the fate of this plastic pig ...


Mind you, had it been a narrow boat, I'd have been inconsolable.

As locks are the only places to moor on the upper Avon, at the next lock we met the first set of boaters we'd seen for days. They were still moored up as they were waiting to go downstream, which would have been a lot trickier, given the speed of the current. We might be making slow progress against the current but it was preferable to being swept downsteam towards a weir, out of control. One of the boaters there told us that a narrow boat had got stuck on the lip of the weir we were about to pass, and it had to be pulled off by 2 Land Rovers. We followed Enigma's lead across the approach to this weir and, with full revs, safely avoided the slip stream.

We were having quite an adventure, but we relished the excitement and our new found fredom. We knew that we would soon be at Stratford and leaving the river to return to the canals, so we were really looking forward to the rest of our holiday.

Lots of love, Eddie and the crew of Muscovy xxx

Part 3: Water, Water Everywhere ...

I returned from my late afternoon inspection of the river level with some good news and some bad news for my crew.

The bad news was that the river level hadn't dropped at all and was still 6 inches into the red danger zone, so we would be spending the night on our island.

The good news was that we'd been invited out for the evening. Rod and the crew of Enigma had invited all over for drinks on their boat. We all smiled at the irony. There we were, stranded on an island, being invited out for the evening, whereas had we not been stranded and reached Stratford on Avon as originally planned, there would have been no invitation out. So it's really true, every cloud does have a silver lining. We had a great evening on board Enigma and made friends with 3 great people.

We were all convinced, as only a few drops of rain had fallen that day, that the river level would have dropped out of the danger zone by the next morning.

And so, I was up very early the next morning, checking the river level at 6.00 a.m. so that we could make an early start and catch up the lost time from the day before. I was not prepared for what I saw ...


It was a good job I had clipped myself on to the lock gate with my safety line, otherwise I might have fallen in with the shock as I peered over at the flood marker. The river had risen by an extra foot and was not far below the 2 foot mark.

Even in the area where we were moored, out of the main flow, we could see that the ring our ropes were tied to, had risen up the mooring pole indicating a higher water level.

To me though, the most dramatic evidence of the overnight rise of the river, was the appearance (or lack of it) of the landing stage, just before the lock. We had temporarily tied up at this landing stage 24 hours earlier, in order to get off the boat to open the lock. This is what I saw when I looked at where it had been ...


The landing stage was completely underwater, even though we had had to step up to it, as we got off the boat the day before. At the back of the picture you can just see the top of the mooring posts, which 24 hours earlier had seemed quite tall!

There was nothing for it but to settle down to more waiting and another day of enforced leisure.

Lots of love Eddie & crew xxx

Part 2: Imprisoned on an Island

You know that old saying, 'two heads are better than one' - well it was with this thought in mind, that I was very pleased when another boat came through the lock and tied up just behind us (you can see the 2 boats one behind the other in my picture below). Great, I thought, another skipper to discuss the flood conditions with and what to do.


We were very lucky, it wasn't just any old skipper I met, but a very friendly and experienced one (he even teaches narrow boat handling skills). My new friend, Rod, was the owner of a very smart boat called Enigma and he was on holiday with 2 good friends, Jim and Colin. Together they were a real life '3 men in a boat'.

Between us we agreed that the only safe thing to do would be to stay put. After all the spot where were both tied up was very sheltered and out of the main current (all the flood water was going over the huge weir which was just down from this barrier you see me looking at).


At this stage both of us captains were still expecting to be delayed for just a few hours. We fully expected to be on our way again by late afternoon.

While our mooring location was very pleasant, it's only drawback was that we were moored on an island, with the weir on one side of the island and the lock on the other. A village was tantalisingly close on the far side of the weir, but we had no means of getting to it, as a weir in flood is definitely not crossable. While we could cross over the lock gates to reach the land on the other side of the river, there was nothing there except farmland.

This wasn't a problem in itself, as we like walking, and the fact that it would have been 5 or 6 miles to reach the village just the other side of the river, would not normally have fased us, except for one thing. As we set off on foot, along a driveable track (so doing no harm to crops), we soon encountered the landowner who was one of the meanest, small minded individuals we have ever met. He had no interest in the fact that we were flood bound and had no other means of reaching the outside world except across his land, and flatly refused us access. As far as he was concerned we were trespassing on private land and we were going nowhere except back to our boat. Bah humbug, by his petty mindedness and lack of humanity he was effectively making us prisoners on our island.


And so there was nothing for it but to spend the afternoon at the boat, looking out at the land we couldn't get to, and keeping an eye on how fast the river was flowing. It was a good job we had filled up our water tank earlier that morning and had some emergency rations on board.

To be continued ...

Lots of love, Eddie & crew xxx