AUTUMNAL BREAK IN BIRMINGHAM
With the second lockdown looming Sarah Spencer enjoys a relaxing autumn weekend break with her family.
ONE of my fondest memories of living at home before heading off to university is the regular family holidays we would have on the canals. My parents became such enthusiasts that by the time I had become a teenager they had bought shares in a narrowboat and I would join their trips perhaps a couple of times a year.
In those days my dad was the captain and I can’t pretend I was overly interested in the geography of the canals, but he still displays the colourful oval brass plaques we collected on our journeys, so I gather from these that our adventures included Stratford Canal, the River Nene, the Hatton Flight ‘21 locks’, Oxford Canal, Foxton Locks, Braunston Tunnel, the Grand Union Canal and the Four Counties Ring ‘110 miles, 84 locks’ – wow!
I remember becoming a tourist attraction going through Camden Lock, and a night moored up in Limehouse before cruising through central London down the Thames as if we owned the place! I remember wonderful days out in Stratford -upon-Avon and at Warwick Castle, as well as a tour around the Wedgwood factory.
But actually it was the journeys themselves rather than the destinations that were the highlight. I recall summers spent sunbathing on the roof of Scimitar with my sister, walking along the towpaths with our dog, jumping off the boat and racing ahead to the locks to get them ready for my dad to sail straight in, chatting with the friendliest of people at the locks, doing lots of winding, and, feeling like an ‘expert’, stepping in to help others – windlass in hand – at the slightest opportunity. It sounds idyllic and it really was.
But it was perhaps the cold-weather excursions that I enjoyed the best – spending long days outside in the fresh air, stopping mid-morning for one of my mum’s cooked breakfasts, then mooring up in the evening – hopefully next to a cosy canalside pub – and enjoying a hot meal before struggling to stay awake for a board game. Then, so tired from the day’s exercise and excitement, snuggling up in bed with the wood-burning stove still keeping us warm.
And it was this experience I hoped to replicate for my own two daughters when we booked an October long-weekend trip with ABC Boat Hire, choosing Alvechurch as our starting point.
Perfect choice
ABC has 16 bases covering more than 1500 miles of waterways, from Falkirk in Scotland and Reedley in the heart of Pennine Lancashire, down to the most southerly location, Hilperton on the western end of the Kennet & Avon Canal – often considered one of the best for natural beauty and wildlife.
Alvechurch Marina is situated in the Midlands and wanting to give my family a glimpse of everything the canals have to offer was for me a perfect choice – our route taking us through picturepostcard countryside to Birmingham city centre, once the beating heart of the network. I had promised my younger daughter’s teacher that the holiday would be educational and this journey was a living history lesson on Britain’s industrial heritage.
Perhaps the only thing our route didn’t offer was locks. ABC recommends two routes from Alvechurch for a three or four-night cruise. Lapworth and return requires around 14 hours of sailing and if you stop at the top of the Lapworth flight, this journey also entails no locks. But choose to travel down the locks to Kingswood junction, and perhaps further to Knowle, Hatton Flight or Wootton Wawen, and it involves 36!
So it was a case of all or nothing really as far as locks were concerned. But since it was probably 25 years-plus since I had been on a narrowboat, and it was the first time out for my partner John and our girls, we went for the ‘relaxing’route through the countryside, to the hustle and bustle of Birmingham and back (22 miles, route time 10 hours). And I would thoroughly recommend this to novices or the more nervous.
ABC offers 28 classes of boats across its network. At one end size-wise is the 42ft 2+2-berth Viking Nene Class, while at the other is the 70ft Alvechurch Swan that can sleep up to 12 people. There are more than 19 boats at Alvechurch marina across 12 classes, all hand-crafted by expert boat builders on-site. Ours was the 58ft Golden Plover that featured one double and two single berths (or you can opt for two doubles).
It had TVs in the saloon and one of the bedrooms, a home-from-home bathroom with shower, free Wi-Fi, bedding and towels provided, a welcome pack with essentials such as washing-up-liquid, tea towels, toilet roll and a sponge. The kitchen had everything any modern kitchen would boast, including gas hob and oven, a toaster and a microwave.
Suffice to say we weren’t going back to basics, and everything appeared as new.
We arrived at the pretty village of Alvechurch Friday afternoon and excitingly got a first glimpse of our weekend accommodation. But before we could be on our way, we were invited to watch two DVDs covering all the essential cruising rules – when you meet another boat keep to the right and “aim to miss the approaching craft by a couple of yards” – as well as maintenance, safety, speed limits, fuel, pump-outs, mooring and much more. We were also given a demonstration of locks and their use (in case we changed our minds about the route) and a Covidsafe guided tour of the boat.
After untying the ropes, we gave a wave, turned left on the Worcester & Birmingham Canal to head northwards past the village’s back gardens – and were off!
Leaving Alvechurch behind, the canal turns sharply under the noisy M42 before it escapes across the valley on a high embankment past Lower Bittell Reservoir. One of the engineers at the boatyard had told us that the beauty of
the area could bring tears to his eyes and it was simply stunning. I was thoroughly jealous of the owners of the boats on the charming residential mooring overlooking the reservoir waking up to such a view every morning.
Through a wooded cutting you arrive at Hopwood. The pub Hopwood House had come highly recommended and we moored up nearby. Unfortunately we didn’t get to sample the beer as it was fully booked, but decided to stop for the night.
The next morning we continued on through the lush Worcestershire countryside as the immense Wast Hills Tunnel (at 2726yd/2493m one of the longest in the country) loomed. After half an hour wildly zig-zagging from one side of the canal to the other the previous evening, John seemed to have mastered the steering. But he admitted he was nervous.
The four of us excitedly wrapped up as we entered the cold, dark and leaky tunnel. It was hard to believe that if another boat came from the opposite direction there would be room for both of us (luckily one didn’t). John needn’t have worried, he steered us through perfectly. Passing underneath a skylight and seeing how deep under ground we were was thrilling.
Time seemed to stand still, but I think it must have been about an hour before we were through the other side. If like an episode of Doctor Who we had emerged into gaslight I wouldn’t have been surprised.
It was just a short distance before King’s
Norton Junction, where the Stratford Canal heads off eastwards to Stratfordupon-Avon, and also not long before there was a slight whiff of chocolate in the air. Mr Cadbury built his factory and Bournville village for his workers on the canalside more than 200 years ago. The unique view of the huge site from the waterway was a bit like getting a glimpse into the world of Willy Wonka.
It was hard to resist stopping off in chocolate heaven, but thankfully we had booked tickets to visit Cadbury World after we had left the canal on the Monday so sailed on by.
The Worcester & Birmingham continues north beside the railway line. Just beyond Selly Oak (a place I was pleased to see for myself after reading so many articles about in Towpath
Talk thanks to the Lapal Canal Trust), you pass the campus of Birmingham University on your right then, shortly after, the expanse of Queen Elizabeth Hospital. It was a cold but dry and bright day and fantastic to see the towpath practically buzzing with walkers, cyclists and runners – and even more so on Sunday morning’s return journey.
We travelled through the pretty area of Edgbaston, before heading into the short Edgbaston Tunnel (105yd/96m long) – child’s play!
The last mile into Birmingham is a fascinating mix of old and new and we had let our 15-year-old daughter Rose take ‘the wheel’. She manoeuvred the sharp left turn at the Mailbox (the former Royal Mail sorting office, now a mix of designer shopping, bars, TV and radio studios) like an expert, enjoying the admiring looks from diners at the overhanging restaurants.
We joined the Birmingham Canal Navigations (BCN) at the ‘Worcester Bar’.
Cargoes of coal, glass, porcelain, chocolate crumb and the heavy trade of the Black Country were once carried along the spaghetti of canals to and from Birmingham, and Gas Street Basin is certainly a meeting point of old and new. We had cruised in through a back door and arrived at the beating heart.
We moored up by St Vincent Street Bridge, marvelling at this regenerated waterside hub. Symphony Hall, ICC, Barclaycard Arena and Brindleyplace were all on our doorstep, as well as Birmingham’s famous markets, art galleries, museums, theatres and tempting shops – we had the best seat in the house!
After a couple of hours exploring the city centre – not to be missed – we enjoyed a meal at an Indian restaurant above Black Sabbath Bridge and took a slow walk back ‘home’.
Sunday morning brought the only drama of the whole trip when we panicked there was nowhere to turn round and we might end up in Wolverhampton or elsewhere! But it was not far before we came across the entrance to a small basin and John expertly managed a ‘three point turn’ – it was the highlight of his holiday!
Retracing the tranquil route south back to Alvechurch Marina was a lovely and relaxed day – we knew what we were doing and could focus on soaking up the experience. With Golden Plover due back on Monday morning we moored for the night at the boatyard and took advantage of the hospitality at the award-winning on-site Weighbridge Pub.
It was a perfect end to a perfect weekend – and I am in love with the canals all over again.
Dreaming of another time, Alvechurch Marina offers a variety of seven-night routes, such as the Stourport Ring, Stratford-Upon-Avon and return, or the Black Country Ring, as well as the Avon Ring and the strenuous but gorgeous Warwickshire Ring, which can both take a fortnight. They all sound appealing for next year, but so do all the ABC Canal Boat Holidays destinations.
It’s also now on my bucket list to do the historic Anderton Boat Lift – one of the ‘seven wonders of the waterways’ – as well as the incredible Falkirk Wheel and into Glasgow or Edinburgh. I will enjoy studying the brochure this winter.