Tag: basin

September 26th – I nipped over to Burntwood to get some shopping in after work. On the way, I passed through Chasewater.

Near the top of the dam I saw an older chap with a bicycle trailer, containing a handsome, elderly brown and white collie dog. When your old mate cant walk so far, but still loves the fresh air and a change of scene, you do what you can. 

In this case it was saddle up the bike, get a trailer, put some old carpet in it for comfort, and use it as a chariot.

A lovely sight; two old friends out for a constitutional – not unlike the two boater dogs I spotted on my return at Anglesey Basin. I think they’d had a falling out as they seemed to be studiously ignoring each other…

June 21st – An abortive ride terminated early due to a silly mechanical problem I hadn’t got the tool on me to fix, but I still got 20 miles in. Over at Anglesey Basin, the swan family were contentedly preening together on the canal bank between the towpath and the water, and weren’t troubled by my presence at all.

Still seven cygnets, all growing well. Lovely to see.

May 18th – I’m hoping a linesman or electrical engineer can help me with this one, I’ve never noticed it before.

Approaching Anglesey Basin on the canal at Chasewater, electricity is supplied to the dam cottages by single phase overhead lines. one of the last poles in the run has an anchor cable staked to the ground to stop the change in cable angle pulling it over. The anchor cable, bolted to the top of the pole, isn’t electrically connected to any part of the system, yet has a two to three foot long insulating piece fitted, with a pair of lightning bypass probes to create a safety arc gap. 

Why would they do that? Is is a current limiter to stop lightning melting the anchor or what? Never seen an arrangement like this before.

April 22nd – When I got to Chasewater, it was raining heavily. I didn’t care, but it made photography difficult, even with the Gorillapod. I took a few halfhearted shots – the lake looked brilliant, but any attempt to point the camera in that direction resulted in a wet lens. Water level seemed up a bit, too. I cycled back via the parade. At the M6 Toll bridge, I passed two paramedics, parked up awaiting their next call. They looked at me as though I was mad. Perhaps I am, lads, perhaps I am…

April 1st – Didn’t get time to go far today. I did get to Chasewater during the dog-end of a gorgeous afternoon, however. There was a stiff breeze, but it was still relatively warm. I noticed along the canal that the hawthorn leaves were coming out, and the gradual greening of fields and woods has started in earnest. I noticed at Ogley Basin in Brownhills that the dredging equipment and silt screens from Anglesey basin were now finished with, and the stricken dredger was still in dry dock. Little dredging actually seems to have been done, so I’ve no idea what actually happened there. At Chasewater itself, access has now been opened up again to foot and bicycle traffic from the canal, and access now seems possible to the park once more. During an enjoyable hour talking to a very knowledgable old hand by the new nine-foot, I learned that the contractors will be offsite by next weekend. I also discovered that the marsh in the spillway isn’t the Sphagnum Lawn, but a different bit of preserved wetland from the old nine-foot. Whoops… must correct that on the main blog. 
The works are looking pretty decent, and all that’s left to do now is a little rain dance and hope the water level rises as quickly as possible.