We knew today would be a longish day (by our standards) with about 9 miles to cruise and 21 locks to work through, so we started quite a bit earlier than we have been doing and were under way out to the main line at 7.30.

We had a very quiet but pleasant cruise on a lovely spring morning with blue sky and sunshine in intensely urban but not unpleasant surroundings.

Rejoining the main line and turning left at the top of Factory Locks we headed for Coseley, passing en route not just several entrances to railway interchange basins, but also the now blocked off entrance to the Wednesbury Oak Loop, one of Brindley’s long looping bypasses of difficult ground – in this case Coseley Hill. The newer and straighter section through the hill via the double width tunnel was the only route improvement made beyond Tipton, the remainder of the route follows the contours in a gently winding journey.

The towpath beyond the tunnel is used by schoolchildren to access a local school and, passing a number trudging their unwilling way to lessons, we realised that we were quite a bit earlier than usual!

At Hills Bridge, we were surprised to see that The Boat Inn had been razed to the ground since our last journey along here a couple or so years ago – needless to say nothing has been built on the site.

Just after the arm that used to house Alfred Matty’s old yard the other end of the Wednesbury Oak Loop rejoins the Coseley route. The first couple of miles or so are still navigable to the C&RT depot at the end at Bradley that manufactures lock ironwork and gates.

Passing the site of the former Spring Vale Ironworks at Bilston (still working into the 1970’s) it was hard to believe this was the place of work for thousands of men with blast furnaces working 24 hours a day and is now covered by …… houses. A sort of elongated childrens’ playground roundabout and built, presumably, of steel is no doubt a sculpture of note, recalling the heyday of the works. Other less charitable people like me call it a nonsensical and meaningless waste of money.

Whilst the surroundings have been predominately industrial – albeit much of it now demolished and abandoned, there are occasional green areas and housing. But the canal outskirts of Wolverhampton were always heavily industrialised, and quite a bit of metal bashing still goes on.

At Chillington Wharf a roving bridge rises over the arm into a former railway interchange basin, still in water and with its overhead gantry and crane in situ. It is now Grade II listed, but leads a precarious existence as rust eats away at the structure.

Former Chubbs Locks Building in Wolverhampton

Factories now line the canal on both sides as we enter Wolverhampton proper. Horseley Fields Junction (no horses and no fields now) heralds the junction with the Wyrley & Essington Canal as it starts its long lock free journey to The Sneyd, Birchills, Catshills and Anglesey Basin.

Under a cavernous bridge euphemistically called Wolverhampton Tunnel, the canal passes an old arm (the former canal route before railway expansion forced a change) and old warehouse, a couple of grassed over wharves before arriving at the top of the long flight of locks that will take us back out to the country and the Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal.

Wolverhampton Top Lock

Our hearts immediately sank as we could see a boat descending the top lock just in front of us. That meant that all the locks would be against us and would need refilling before we could enter. Worse still it turned out to be a single handed boater which meant progress would be even slower. Not that we have anything against single handers. On the contrary, we admire then for the hard work they put in. It’s just that you don’t really want them in front of you in a long flight of locks.

Underneath the arches - tall LNWR & lower GWR viaducts

We met one boat around the fifth or sixth lock which enabled him to get a bit in front of us and he kindly raised a top paddle for us, and then tied up above lock 8 to “put the kettle on” and helped us through that lock. Better progress was made after that, especially after we passed another boat under the soaring arches of the first of two high railway viaducts.

Aldersley Junction, BCN ahead, Staffs & Worcs right to left

At lock 16, Elaine nipped to the shop opposite to get a newspaper and when through the second of the high blue brick viaducts we re-entered countryside with woods on one side and Wolverhampton Racecourse on the other. The last five or six locks are spread out a little more, and by the time we reach the bottom, immediately before Aldersley Junction, we are in verdant woodland.

At the junction we turned sharp right to join the Staffs & Worcs Canal which has climbed up from Stourport and Kidderminster to the left, heading in our direction for Autherley Junction where the Shropshire Union Canal leaves it to the left.

And it is at Autherley Junction that today’s epic (again, by our standards) journey ends and we head indoors for a welcome sandwich. We tied up between the gaggle of boats at Oxley Marine and the distinctive roving bridge that marks the junction. Tomorrow we head straight on for Penkridge, Great Haywood & the Trent & Mersey Canal.

Mooring at Autherley Junction. Junction signpost on right pointing to Chester via Shroppie. Staffs & Worcs straight ahead