Tag: embankment

February 28th – Another grey, dull day, with a worsening wind. I had stuff to do in Walsall Wood and headed up the canal to get there. Between Cathshill Junction and Walsall Wood Bridge, work has been ongoing since summer on the eastern embankment. First, it was strengthened with sectional piling at the Black Cock Bridge, and the level raised; now soil has been added to some thickness along much of the stretch, presumably to provide better security agains overtopping and to counteract weather erosion. 

I note that on the bend that was piled, staves have been driven into the bank, and reed beds planted behind, presumably to create a natural buffer against erosion in a particularly vulnerable spot.

Wonder if they’ll get round to fixing the brickwork and voids on the pedestrian side of the canal anytime soon?

November 22nd –  I had to nip to Aldridge in the afternoon, and on autopilot, rode up the canal, to find it still blocked off for works between Northywood Bridge at the back of Brickyard Road and the Wharf Bridge in Aldridge, between Stubbers Green and the town centre.

I had, of course, had warning of this previously from TheMadOldBaggage and Stymaster, and forgot; still, the diversion wasn’t too bad.

The closure looks set to continue for a while as they rebuild embankments. Look out for it if you’re up that way. If you remember…

November 12th – The fungi are still going well, particularly the fly agaric which are particularly prolific on the canal embankment right in the heart of urban Pleck – some gorgeous specimens from young to old and weathered. 

Knowing Pleck I’m surprised they haven’t been either consumed or squished…

October 27th – Ah, Mr. Calico… we meet again. This male cat (he is male, and unneutered by the looks) was hunting mallard on the canal in Pleck as I spun through on my way to work. I’ve seen him a few times, always in exactly the same spot. He talks to me and curses me for disturbing his sport (although the ducks were honking at him and causing a drama long before I got close).

He always moves high up on the embankment from where he can look down on me in safety, then meows long wailing cries, always seeming like curses.

Somebody loves that lad. He’s in fine fettle. And good voice.

October 21st – I was lamenting a couple of days ago that the fungus had been poor this year – it hasn’t up on the canal bank near Wharf Lane; I never noticed before, but in a short space, tucked in with the heather and gorse are lots of toadstools.

Mostly, fly agaric, I passed these spotty red wonders a couple of days ago and never noticed.

I’d love to know what the shiny brown one is…

August 27th – Just on the canal bank between the Black Cock Bridge and Walsall Wood Bridge, a crab apple tree with lots of good fruit.

This is the first tree along here I’ve seen with fruit this year. Normally there are three or four.

A sad reflection on the season, which seems to have been a bit strange. But never mind, this will make a lovely jelly for someone.

April 16th – Spinning up to Screwfix in Walsall Wood, I noticed that the bank  restoration works near the Black Cock Bridge were still ongoing. It seems that after the sectional piling was installed, earth has  been spread to the level of it and dropped in front.

This work has primarily been to stabilise the bank and counter erosion, and is not to do with subsidence, as some have asserted. It is interesting to note at this point, that the fall from the embankment on that side is very steep, and the consequences of a breach on that side could be severe.

I do hope they get around to stabilising the brickwork on the other side, though, it’s falling away and is still hazardous to users.

July 27th – After a day of unexpected but nice things – a meal out, some good family time, a bit of productive bike spannering – I slid out on a finely-tuned steed to enjoy the cooler air that had come in during the day. At the canal in Walsall Wood, near the Black Cock Bridge, the embankment strengthening I recorded last week has come on apace. The sectional piling now seems to be working it’s way up to the bridge itself, and is fascinating to see. 

I heard last week from a comment on Facebook that residents here had been waiting for this work for years. It looks like a decent job, and I hope it solves their problems.

July 20th – Last week, I noted a quantity of sectional piling had been delivered to Ogley Junction maintenance yard ready for a job locally. I wondered where the site was – and now I know.

My attention was drawn by a couple of readers to a work cabin appearing at the Black Cock Bridge, and it seems the work is being done on the embankment at the rear of houses in Bans Close, Walsall Wood, fifty metres or so from the bridge itself.. 

The interlocking piling is driven into the bank to strengthen it, and minimise the effects of erosion. Here the canal runs above ground level, and the embankment is built up to it, and the top level of the bank is only a couple of inches above the waterline.

Surveyors were here in the spring, and left their telltale spray paint and post datums, and this must be the result – fixing up the canal and securing it in a weak spot for another few decades.

Let’s hope they attend to the erosion on the towpath side, too.

June 17th – Thanks are due to reader Julie P., who I think was the last one to report the canal bank falling away on the bend between Catshill Junction and Pier Street, Brownhills. There are signs that six months after being initially (and repeatedly since) reported, the Canal & River Trust (C&RT) have finally sent someone out to survey the problem.

Not sure on the longevity or effectiveness of those post flags and polythene tape, though – but it’s a start, and at least they’ve acted.

Dealing with the C&RT is like trying to nail blancmange to a tree…