After a very quiet night (once the jogging club had returned from wherever they jogged to) we had another early start and were soon chugging past the final Wolverhampton suburbs. Council houses line the nearby road with long gardens running down to the canal edge. Many of them have turned them over to vegetable gardens and such is their size, it is almost like a field of allotments.

Pendeford Rockin'

A long line of sentinel-like poplars screen a large school’s playing fields before a final run of council houses lead us into one of the more unusual canal features – Pendeford Rockin’.

When the canal was built, the navvies encountered a short distance of hard rock which they found difficult to cut through. The result is a long narrow section where a couple of passing places have been provided as it is very much a case of one way traffic. The name Pendeford Rockin’ was given to it by the boatpeople – Pendeford is the local area and Rockin’ was their name for a narrows.

Pendeford Rockin'

50 or so years later the builders of the Birmingham & Liverpool Junction Canal (now the Shroppie) had the same difficulty a mile or so up from Autherley Junction.

Once through the narrow section a nondescript and rather down at heel length follows as the canal passes through Wolverhampton’s final industrial fling before being crossed by a massive concrete viaduct carrying the M54 motorway to Telford.

Open country finally arrives after the motorway, if spoilt a little by several electricity pylons carrying high voltage lines. These dog the canal for some way. We passed an Alvechurch hireboat from Anderton festooned with loads of orange balloons. Greeting the occupants they advised us it was their coronation day. We were a bit bemused to start with before realising they were Dutch and celebrating the coronation of their new King.

In many ways I prefer the northern section of the Staffs & Worcs Canal from Aldersley/Autherley to Great Haywood over its far more fêted southern section down to Stourport. The countryside is just gentle and fairly flat pastureland, but well wooded in places. Occasional longer views open up from time to time to the prominent chimneys of the chemical plant at Four Ashes – more of which later, and the TV mast atop Cannock Chase that is such a feature of the Coventry, Trent & Mersey and Staffs & Worcs Canals that skirt the Chase.

It is also evident that we are on one of the first narrow canals built in the early phase of canal construction as it winds its way around the contours as much as possible with narrow brick built bridges usually sited on a bend.



Approaching Hatherton Junction

Hatherton Junction

The type of landscape is evidenced by some of the small settlement names – Coven Heath (is that where the witches meet?), Slade Heath and Calf Heath. A two mile meander as we box the compass avoids a small ridge which the later railway cuts off in its direct route from Wolverhampton to Stafford. At the apex of the meander, the Hatherton Branch bears off to the right. It once climbed up a series of locks to make a junction with the BCN’s Cannock Extension Canal. Closed long ago, only the first few yards and the first lock are still extant, the latter in use as a marina’s dry-dock. The route (more or less) now forms the western part of one of the restoration schemes we support – the Litchfield and Hatherton.

A few more bends of the canal as it unravels itself from the meander brings us to Four Ashes and the aforesaid chemical plant. The chimneys are visible for a long way around and appear in all directions as the canal winds itself round the contour. Also clearly visible is a huge new complex under construction looking more like a futuristic sports arena. It is in fact a new waste to power plant.

The actual chemical plant was originally a tar distillery and despite being in such a rural location has been adapted and enlarged and looks to be a thriving concern now in the ownership of the wonderfully named American owned Schenectady Chemical Company. It apparently manufactures resins, vinyl pyridines, xylenols and isobutyl benzene and if you know what they do or make, you’re a better man than I!

The works’ own bridge is now named after the company and is soon followed by a series of pipe bridges. Former buildings associated with the works on the off side have been demolished, but a patch of grass supports a flourishing colony of daffodils amid the heaps of rubble and debris.

Approaching Gailey Lock

The canal, after disentangling itself from the environs of the works, now makes for Gailey. Gailey Lock marks the end of the canal’s summit level and also where the Roman Watling Street (as amended by Telford) crosses the canal. Permanent and visitor moorings, a boatbuilder, a hire base, and the lock and sanitary station all add up to a jumble of boats that need to be negotiated. We were fortunate in our timing as a boat was just exiting the lock as we approached enabling us to go straight in. Similarly, another boat arrived below so saving Elaine much hard work!

Gailey Roundhouse

Gailey possesses a notable canal feature in its roundhouse. This was built as a toll house and is built in the style of a small battlemented lighthouse. As far as I know, it is unique; one other example on the southern section of the canal at Gothersley having been demolished years ago. It is always in immaculate condition, the ground floor housing a canal shop with the owner’s living accommodation in the floors above.

A flurry of locks start the descent down to the River Trent – Brick Kiln, Bogg’s, Rodbaston and Otherton following on from Gailey in swift succession. The rural peacefulness of the first two is a misnomer as the C21st century makes its noisy and uncouth presence felt with the M6 roaring alongside in a flurry of HGV’s.

On the approach to Rodbaston Lock we passed Alan Cazaly’s boat “Pengalanty”. Alan & I belong to the same canal forum on Facebook.

Site of Rodbaston Lock Cottage - motorway on the left

Rodbaston Lock Cottage was rebuilt with the coming of the motorway, even being provided with its own access bridge over the motorway. However, the lock keeper only lasted in the new cottage a short while before he fled for a house in Penkridge as the noise was too great. If it was loud when the motorway opened, you can guess what it’s like now. Anyway, Elaine was happy as she saw a number of Eddie Stobart lorries.

18th century lock & bridge, 20th century motorway

At Otherton Marina we passed Alison Tuck’s floating art studio “Da Vinci” – another friend from Facebook. We greeted Alison as we passed.

'Pisser' in Filance Lock

Immediately after, we encountered our first fishing match of the cruise. A long line of poles stretched out before us past The Cross Keys pub and right over the designated 48 hour visitor moorings where we had intended to tie up. We had to go down the next lock – Filance Lock (complete with its own pisser – that’s a water leak in the wall’s brickwork to non-boat people) and use the next set down opposite the primary school.

Mooring at Penkridge