Sunday April 8th, Hopwas to Fradley Junction

A pleasant day yesterday doing not very much, and watching everybody else go by in the morning and getting wet, but were pleasantly surprised to see a bit of blue sky and feel a bit of warmth as we set off. Can the weather have got it wrong, we asked ourselves? After all, it is Easter Sunday!

The section through Hopwas Woods was most pleasant with the River Tame chuckling away below the towpath. More pill boxes appeared, one by Hopwas Wood Bridge and another out in the open fields. The Civil Defence boys for this area in WW2 certainly took their responsibilities seriously. Mind you, would the Germans really have attacked a load of woods and fields across the River Tame?

By the time we got to the farm bridges around Tamhorn, we realised the weather was just fooling us as a huge black cloud was building up to the north west, and, sure enough, the wet stuff soon started falling from the sky.

It wasn’t the heavy rain that the black cloud seemed to indicate, but that annoying mizzly stuff that doesn’t seem much but soon soaks everything in sight. I do wish spectacle makers would invent a lightweight device to fit to glasses like windscreen wipers on a car. Perhaps with intermittent speeds and a built in glasses-screen wash!

The open fields by Tamhorn House and beyond are dominated by acres of crops under big plastic hoops. The first lot seemed to be protecting ridged-up early potatoes, but the longer section opposite Fisherwick had their closed end to the canal.

As we came out of Whittington and the long line of moorings, we passed Brenda and Brian on ‘Colehurst’. Brenda popped her head out to see how we were and where we were heading for.

Huddlesford Junction

At Huddlesford, we passed the junction with the Wyrley & Essington Canal where it completes its 30 lock fall from Ogley. The joint restoration of this canal and the Hatherton Branch between Pelsall and the Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal by The Lichfield and Hatherton Canal Restoration Society is one of the schemes we support. A bit further on, the ex-working boat ‘Hawkesbury’ was tied up right beneath the main line railway bridge. Just as well we didn’t meet another boat there!

Yet another new marina is under construction between Huddlesford and Streethay Wharf. At least it has its priorities right, not like the still uncompleted one at Barby; they have their facilities building built already. Is there the need for yet another marina in this area? Aren’t the empty spaces at Mercia, Barton Turns and King’s Bromley enough? It’s getting as bad as the Braunston area!

At Streethay Wharf we re-passed Geoff & Pat on ‘Shannen’ who were having a pump out done. They had come past us at Hopwas yesterday afternoon.

The next couple of miles are blighted by the A38 dual carriageway, its straight course belying its origins in the Roman Ryknield Street. The noise is deafening as the canal always busy road at Bridge 89, Bell Bridge. This is a very low bridge causing the steerer to crouch Quasimodo style under the wide semi-flat and semi-arched deck.

On the last lap now and we were soon past the modern housing that has built up on the outskirts of Fradley village and on the site of the old airfield. Woods then cloak the canal as it approaches Fradley Junction. We were fortunate to find a space today just long enough for us to fit in. Judging by the number of boats already tied up or passing and the number of day-trippers walking around the junction and locks area, the Easter weekend is perhaps not the right time to get here. We have been very lucky to get a space.
      
At least we could empty the loo! I walked round to the sanitary station between the middle and second lock in the Alrewas direction to empty it. On the way back I timed it just right to open the swing bridge for Geoff & Pat who had by now caught us up! They were going on a bit further today. No doubt we will meet them again.