Friday 12^th April 2019

Often at night on the boat you hear ducks pecking at the weed growing on the hull side below the waterline, it can be annoying. However, last night there was a different noise coming from the bottom of the boat, dull thuds, and there was a low barking kind of noise from outside. Apparently there is a colony of otters in this area so it was most likely these we were hearing.

We had a walk around Kingswood Junction before catching the train from nearby Lapworth Station and taking the kids home.

          

Lapworth Junction

        

Scenes around Lapworth Junction

        

Kingswood Junction is an interesting place and a complex junction. It forms the junction between the North and South Stratford Canals and the Grand Union. The Grand Union Canal runs between Birmingham and London and passes within 7 miles of Stratford. Business interests in the town saw the potential in linking up with the canal system and the resulting prosperity. The northern section between Kings Norton and Lapworth was open by 1803 but had taken all the funding for the complete canal. Further work did not restart until 1812 and was not completed until 1815 when the canal reached the River Avon at Stratford.

By 1835 the canal was suffering from competition from the railways, selling out to the railway company, as did many canals, in 1845. Thus the canal was in full, independent operation for less than 40 years. The canal began a steady decline from this point, continuing into the 20^th century, and by the 1950’s only the occasional boat was using the northern section. The southern section became badly silted, some locks became unusable and some of the shorter pounds were dry.

After much rangling throughout the 1950’s, restoration of the whole canal started in 1960 with the canal reopening just four years later. A testament to these early canal restorers and their vision without whom much of our canal system would have been irredeemably lost.  

Originally, boats travelling from Stratford to the Grand Union had to lock up into the top basin and then immediately lock down again onto the short arm.  A link was built that connected the South Stratford to this arm without having to use these two locks. Clever people.

The whole junction is a delight. Well cared for and maintained. There is a junction house similar to the one burnt down at Kings Norton, numerous workshop buildings, now used mainly as offices, a gorgeous looking cottage set in the island formed by the junction, and the first of the iconic barrel-roofed cottages unique to the South Stratford Canal.

Walking down the canal a short distance we saw our first lambs of the year. It would seem we have not been passing through sheep country at all as they are the first we have seen since Braunston.   

We caught the 1250 train into Birmingham Moor Street, a lovely Victorian station, and walked to New Street for the Crewe train. The kids, as always on the return journey, were quiet. The return journey was long. Trains only stop at Lapworth every two hours and I just missed one so it was almost 7pm before I reached the boat. We always feel tired after the kids go home and so had early nights.