The Canals of Britain: A Comprehensive Guide by Fisher Stuart

Author:Fisher, Stuart [Fisher, Stuart]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781472903075
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 2013-09-21T16:00:00+00:00

An interesting bridge design near Aldersley Junction.

Bilston waterworks beyond Bratch toll office.

Compton Lock brings the end of the summit pound. This is where Brindley began building his canal and, until recently rebuilt, the lock was reputed to have been the oldest lock in the West Midlands.

Compton Wharf Lock is the first of 31 dropping the canal 81m down to the River Severn. Between Wightwick Mill Lock and Wightwick Lock there are school playing fields on the left while trees and bushes on the right make a valiant effort to screen the housing. At the latter lock the cottage is boarded up but a house by the next road bridge provides contrast with a beautifully kept garden and a cheerful display of daffodils in the spring.

It looks across to the 29ha of Victorian/Edwardian gardens with topiary, yew hedges, terraces, ponds and woods that surround Wightwick Manor. Ornately timbered in Jacobean style, the house dates from 1887–93, was furnished in Arts & Crafts style and contains Kempe stained glass, original William Morris wallpaper, tapestries and fabrics, paintings, de Morgan ware and other pre-Raphaelite works of art and there are also stables, pottery, studio workshop and antiquarian bookshop.

Wolverhampton is suddenly left behind as the canal returns to Staffordshire, a predominantly rural situation which is to prevail for most of the rest of the canal’s route, ridges of higher ground to the east providing views of open countryside while hiding the second largest conurbation in Britain. Gorse grows on the banks and there is reedmace, frequently chopped up by narrowboats. Herons quietly fish and Canada geese move onto the towpath from reservoirs hidden behind the hedge after the derelict Pool Hall.

Powerlines converge on an electrical substation which follows Dimmingsdale and Elstree locks. Many of the lock weirs on this canal are of an unusual design: a circular weir protected by a circular brick wall and a birdcage arrangement in the centre to keep out people and debris. The example at Awbridge Lock is typical of a number of these weirs.

Approach to the Bratch is past a cricket pitch with a notice warning about low flying cricket balls. Perhaps it is just a ploy to prevent boats from mooring here as there is little that passing boats can do to avoid the problem.

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