September 23rd – A visit to the sadly biannual rather than annual Canal Heritage Gathering at Huddlesford, near Tamworth.
Despite suffering with a heavy cold, it was a lovely day and I met some truly wonderful people, stuffed my face with tea, cake and other grub, mooned over beautiful boats and cars and had fun.
This is a fantastic event run well and I wish it was annual. You can find out more with a large gallery on my main blog here.
September 23rd – The old boatyard and basin at Ogley Junction have a chequered history, really. Once the home of a commercial boatyard, the truncated stub of the closed Lichfield and Hatherton canal is now being rented out for private narrowboat mooring, and is also in use as a work yard for British Waterways maintenance crews. Hopefully one day, the canal will once again extend from here to Huddlesford, near Whittington, but for now it stops at The Long Pound. Quite what’s going on with the half-car on the trailer is anyone’s guess…
August 4th – Heading back home, having avoided the promised rain all day, I stopped at Moat Bank, on the A461 near Muckley Corner, to look at the old canal bridge. This was one of the three bridges over the now disused Lichfield and Hatherton Canal between Shire Oak and Lichfield. One was at the Boat Inn, near Summerhill, and gave that pub it’s name. This was the second, and the third was a double bridge with the railway at Pipe Hill. This particular canal arm – now subject to a lengthy and sustained campaign for reopening – linked Ogley Junction, at Brownhills, with the mainline at Huddlesford, Near Whittington. It was a tortuous journey with many locks, the remnants of one can be seen here in the undergrowth.
I wish the enthusiasts working to restore the line well. It’s a huge task.
July 16th – A very wet, miserable morning was met by a gorgeous, clear afternoon and evening, replete with the most spectacular golden hour. I cycled out to Lichfield, via the Anglesey Branch and Hammerwich, and paused to reflect at Ogley Junction, on the Lichfield and Hatherton Canal, which used to run from this junction and progress to Huddlesford, near Lichfield, via Wall, and a considerable number of locks. At least the old boat yard seems to be finding use again.
BrownhillsBob's #365daysofbiking 