Saturday 30^th March 2019

Canal junctions are fascinating places, be they in rural locations or the heart of a town, quiet or busy. They have much history to tell, of planning, construction, competition and rivalries. Fazeley Junction is no exception and has much to commend it. An imposing junction house, a lovely roving bridge and a huge mill overlooking the whole scene. As with most junctions it is just wide enough, and no more, for a maximum length 72’ boat to turn. Remarkable how they worked this out 250 years ago.

             

                                                                             Fazeley Junction

I visited H & G Gould, the wood yard and timber merchant in Fazeley. We have found the shelf of the world is too narrow to display all our artefacts and have been looking for something wider for a long time. Gould’s is like stepping back in time. An amazing place. In the middle of the yard is a big, electrically driven crane that lifts entire tree trunks onto rollers which guide the trunks thorough a large band saw and then through smaller band saws until the desired size is reached, not a lot of H&S here. It is a long established family company and there was a nice young lad cutting the wood for me who also showed me around the entire process. He spent 20-30 minutes cutting the wood to size for me …… and it cost just £2.20. Paying in the office and there were lots of very intricate, detailed wood carvings, everyone a work of art, and all done by the owner as a hobby cum side-line.

Brenda was intent on cleaning the boat so I cleared off out of the way and walked to the Ventura Retail Park. The camera we had bought required a memory card. The walk to the park was over a mile and along the main road. The traffic was hardly moving at all; it was all queuing to get onto the retail park. Not one of the cars I walked past, passed me. Talk about canal speeds!

Walking back from the park I crossed the main road and followed the path beside the River Tame Nature reserve, a series of lakes formed by the river. The path was actually on top of the flood defence embankment and the scenery across the lakes is pretty spectacular.  

We decided not to move until mid-afternoon so I cut and glued the edgings for the new shelf of the world while Brenda called into the local shop.

We then set off, calling at the water point and turning off at the junction onto the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal proper, en-route at last for Birmingham. Passing Tolson’s and Peel’s Mills we stopped at Fazeley Mill Marina to dump rubbish and empty the loo. There used to be a sanitary station at Fazeley Junction but, like so many, it has been removed with the marina taking on the responsibility. Just for how long it remains a free service is to be seen.

Beyond the marina the canal passes under the A4091 at Coleshill Road Bridge and undergoes a dramatic transformation into a very rural setting. The change was so sudden; it almost took your breath away. With Drayton Manor Leisure Park and Zoo hidden in trees to our right, we came to the Drayton Manor Swing Bridge and Footbridge. This iconic footbridge is unique on the canal system. It has twin, Gothic style, castellated towers with enclosed spiral staircases that support the walkway between them.

After the footbridge, the canal has a number of long straights, each in excess of a mile long. There is rolling farmland on one side and the lakes of the Kingsbury Water Park on the other.

We moored just after Fishers Mill Bridge, just over 2 miles from Fazeley Junction in one of the best settings we have yet been in. It is a stunning location.

Almost every day we have to pinch ourselves at how lucky we consider ourselves with this life we have chosen, seeing Britain the way we are at the speed we are. Stopping in some of the locations we have been in, and meeting loads of interesting people.

Once moored, we put out the bird feeders and sat in the front cratch watching dozens of birds feasting. Blue, Great and Long-Tailed Tits, Robins, Goldfinch, Reed Warblers and Reed Buntings. With the sun going down, it was pretty idyllic.   

Weather: a lovely warm day.  

Day Total: 0 locks; 3 miles; 0 Tunnels; 0 Swing Bridges; 0 Boat Lift; engine running hours 1.4

Overall Total: 352 locks; 779 miles; 32 tunnels; 11 Swing Bridges; 2 Boat Lifts; engine running hours 501.3