Team Rebellion Virtual BCN Challenge 2020 Cruise Log

[Richard T]

You were spotted at Hawne Basin so our paths must have crossed so heres the giraffe

 

Good luck from Team Whisky Galore

Edited May 6, 2020 by Richard T

[HuggableHamster]

Just now, Richard T said:

You were spotted at Hawne Basin so our paths must have crossed so heres the giraffe

Yay! Hello Giraffe

[HuggableHamster]

Log time: 15:30, Wednesday 5th May 2020

Location: Sneyd Junction

 

I’m glad to report that during our 5 and a half hour excursion into the past the Automat behaved flawlessly - the suppliers must be complimented on their design.  We were glad though to be able to pop back to the present when we finally made it back down the locks to Sneyd Junction.

 

We thought we’d stop for a short time and explore the current state of the locks we’d just come through 200 years ago.

 

Sadly, there was scant left to see of locks 2-4 - they are now beneath the Vernon Way

 

We were hoping to pop into the Sneyd Inn for a pint, having just passed it at lock 4, but sadly it too is now derelict and there are plans to replace it with flats.

 

Happily, we were able to see some evidence of the top lock

 

We returned to William, resolved that we would have to tap another barrel of the Rebellion beer to make up for this missing pub pint - I think it’ll be an IPA this time!

[cheshire~rose]

3 hours ago, HuggableHamster said:

Yay! Hello Giraffe

Don't forget to pass it on to the next Challenge boat you cross paths with

[HuggableHamster]

Passing our morning start point we have an updated GPS signal...

https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=14DTZ6L-V-Dc2k2KlIsBdrtdTW5R36awN&ll=52.63018435371582%2C-2.0291614165611236&z=13

And a giraffe!

[HuggableHamster]

Log time: 18:00, Wednesday 5th May 2020

Location: Wednesfield Junction

 

Time to tie our lines for the day - I think we might time travel back to before lockdown and head into town this evening.

 

We moored up here:

I think that we may have a couple of yards head start on tomorrow’s journey!

 

(picture from Canal plan).

[HuggableHamster]

 

 

Log time:  18:30, After mooring up, 6 May 2019

 

After a good day’s boating, some w*rk, and with the GPS uploaded ...

https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=14DTZ6L-V-Dc2k2KlIsBdrtdTW5R36awN&ll=52.597300344177235%2C-2.0898543943071672&z=17

 

...we decided to try to bag some geocaches after mooring up so we’ve gone back (or is it forwards?) to 2019 for a bit of a wander.  There are a few caches near here, but none particularly related to the canal.  We’d love it if there had been geocaches at the junction of all these abandoned arms we’re exploring.  If only we could travel in space as well as time in order to set some up and maintain them.  Any local explorers up for the challenge?

 

We did manage to find some great little sculptures outside the library:

From https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/5144649

 

A lovely queue of Little Folk, presumably waiting for their little bus.  A bit further back towards the junction, near the supermarket where we stocked up on more essentials (where is all that beer going?!), we found some friends of these Little Folk going shopping.

[HuggableHamster]

Today’s challenge “Uh-oh! Forward propulsion has ceased! Time to go down the weed hatch! Using only items you have available in your home, shed, garage and garden create a spectacular “bladeful” We need you to share the “recipe” of what went into creating that bladeful and share a photo of it and the "recipe" with us on your Virtual BCN cruising log.”

 

Ah the weed hatch, what “delights” have we found down there... a duvet at 5am on the BCNS Marathon was a definite highlight... miles of fishing line, washing line, saris and well, when the prop fouls you get to play...

Edited May 6, 2020 by HuggableHamster

[Scholar Gypsy]

1 minute ago, HuggableHamster said:

Today’s challenge “Uh-oh! Forward propulsion has ceased! Time to go down the weed hatch! Using only items you have available in your home, shed, garage and garden create a spectacular “bladeful” We need you to share the “recipe” of what went into creating that bladeful and share a photo of it and the "recipe" with us on your Virtual BCN cruising log.”

 

Ah the weed hatch, what “delights” have we found down there... a duvet at 5am on the BCNS Marathon was a definite highlight... miles of fishing line, washing line, saris and well, when the prop fouls you get to play...

This looked much better when you posted it on Indigo Dream's log by mistake ...

[smudgepuss]

Minion's Log (supplemental)

 

Yesterday's attempt at getting the rest of crew onside with tasty baked goods must have worked, because today they said they'd got an extra special job for me to do.  Yay!

 

It turned out that this excting special job was rummaging in the weed hatch.  I'm less sure the baked oatmeal worked now.

 

It's always impressive how well things manage to get tied in knots by the prop.  You never know what you'll find when you go clearing it out; I got quite a shock when I got this out:

 

I thought it was half a person to start with!  I didn't scream though, I'm a Brave Minion.

 

One I'd untangled everything, it turned out just to be:

Two pillows

A coat

Some insulation

Some tinsel

Some rope

And a tiny crocodile, who slipped away back into the canal.

 

 

[TheBiscuits]

53 minutes ago, Scholar Gypsy said:

This looked much better when you posted it on Indigo Dream's log by mistake ...

 

I thought the muppets were supposed to be on that other team!

[HuggableHamster]

Log time: 10:00, Thursday January 24th, 1918

Location: Wednesfield Junction, Bentley Canal

 

Dialing ourselves back a little over 100 years we headed down the canal and met this boat coming the other way, how handy they’ve left the lock set for us!  Though as Neachell Hall Colliery is still open, no doubt we will meet plenty of other traffic.

 

(Credit http://blackcountryhistory.org/collections/getrecord/GB149_P_7323/)

 

They were grateful for the baked oatmeal we offered them as thanks, it was a cold morning and the war was still dragging on.  They mentioned the news that had been the talk of the pub the previous evening, not that they could read it, but the Birmingham Daily Gazette (https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000669/19180123/067/0003) had published an article about the roll out of a joint rationing scheme, which sadly would be needed again a little over 20 years later.

 

[HuggableHamster]

Log time: 11:00, Wednesday 11th May 1892

Location: Nechall Hall Colliery Basin

 

Opened in 1845, closed in 1953 we visited the end of this canal half way through its existence (though the colliery shut in 1919).  Boats everywhere were filled with coal for the industries, and we had to be careful not to block anyone’s  path.  Handily everyone seemed in a good mood, the talk was of the new clock and drinking fountain unveiled in the centre of Willenhall yesterday.  I’m not sure they were particularly excited about the clock itself but about Dr Joseph Tonks, who’s tragically short life it commemorated.  He was a local man who became known as “the poor man’s doctor”, due to his efforts to help and treat deprived locals.

The clock itself...

 

http://www.historywebsite.co.uk/articles/Willenhall/20thcentury.htm

And today's GPS

https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=14DTZ6L-V-Dc2k2KlIsBdrtdTW5R36awN&ll=52.59592856378425%2C-2.08653918396476&z=15

[HuggableHamster]

Log time: 12:35, Tuesday August 21st 1923

Location: Anson Canal, Junction with Bentley Canal

 

The Anson branch, completed in 1830 provided a link to Lord Litchfield’s coal mines and limestone quarry.  This industry was in decline by the 1890s as the resources depleted, but this canal got a reprieve when Birchills Power station was built.  Officially opened the year before we cruised past it, the power station’s pumphouse could be heard pumping away as every day its two pumps took up to 10.6 million gallons of water to be used for cooling.  Sadly we didn’t have time to cool ourselves in the much cleaner water of the swimming pool in nearby Reedswood Park, so we stopped to enjoy the summer sunshine and a gin and tonic before lunch!

[Keeping Up]

3 hours ago, HuggableHamster said:

... the Birmingham Daily Gazette (https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000669/19180123/067/0003) had published an article about the roll out of a joint rationing scheme, which sadly would be needed again a little over 20 years later.

 

What did they smoke instead?

[smudgepuss]

24 minutes ago, Keeping Up said:

What did they smoke instead?

Not sure - Team Rebellion are mostly Girl Guides, so our smoke of choice is woodfire...

[HuggableHamster]

Log time: 13:50, Saturday 20th April 1957

Location: Anson Junction

 

We set off again in 1957, only four years before the Anson would be abandoned.  As we left the Anson and moved on to more familiar waters, we snapped this shot

(Credit: https://collections.canalrivertrust.org.uk/bw200.1.10.34)

 

https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=14DTZ6L-V-Dc2k2KlIsBdrtdTW5R36awN&ll=52.584178576935145%2C-2.0210224530025016&z=15

[HuggableHamster]

Log time: 14:40, Thursday 7th May 2020

Location: Moorcroft Junction, Walsall Canal

 

The last time Rebellion came down this canal, during the 2019 marathon, we had an incident where we met what we now refer to as “The Walsall Whale”.

 

We have cruised the Tidal Thames, the Tidal Trent, The Severn out of Sharpness and down to Bristol, but of all our adventures this was definitely the scariest.  In the gloomy evening as we sat with our cocoa (ask @smudgepuss for her divine recipe) all of a sudden we tilted to a terrifying angle, cocoa went *everywhere*, wine glasses smashed and we feared for our lives...

 

This was the picture from the camera fixed to the front of Rebellion when we hit the Walsall Whale:

The horizon is meant to be rather more horizontal than that!

 

For some reason, despite this experience (and despite a yoof throwing a stone through our window when we were on the same stretch in 2017!) we were still planning to cruise the Walsall Canal again in the challenge this year.  We’re all mad.

 

And our GPS is still going strong

https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=14DTZ6L-V-Dc2k2KlIsBdrtdTW5R36awN&ll=52.57130843455097%2C-2.046714354624555&z=14

[cheshire~rose]

I couldn't get the swan video to play. I don't know if anyone else did? It's a shame because I am enjoying your little animations

[HuggableHamster]

GPS:

https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=14DTZ6L-V-Dc2k2KlIsBdrtdTW5R36awN&ll=52.53835562018169%2C-2.0350447113606833&z=15

 

Log time: 15:10, Monday 18th June, 1792

Location: Toll End Junction - currently the junction between the Broadwaters Canal and what will be the Toll End Branch - except work had halted in 1784.

 

We hopped back in time to see how the canal looked when it was only half finished... possibly better than it does today... but I digress.  We, with a little luck, chose this date to bump into William Herschel (Caroline’s older brother).  He and his friend Komarzewski had left his sister, wife and months old son in Slough to take a meandering journey through the industrial revolution ending with an honorary degree from Glasgow!  The pair were on their way between ironworks, Herschel making detailed and intricate drawings of all the machinery.  But nothing could compare to their visit to the Soho Works - Boulton and Watt’s magnificent manufacturing masterpiece.  It was all the pair could talk about, and we were fascinated!  Perhaps it was not such a shame that Caroline Herschel, not wishing to sing under any conductor but her brother, had turned down her opportunity to sing Messiah in Birmingham.  For as they went from music to science the pair made great astronomical discoveries, and Caroline became the first woman ever to be paid to be a scientist.  Our Herschel was asleep, but we will be sure to tell him about our meeting this evening over his peanuts.

 

As we needed a finished canal to cruise up we dialled up a 1969 on the Automat Sehnsucht and continued our journey.

 

This was the view looking back after we’d been under the first bridge

(Credit http://blackcountryhistory.org/collections/getrecord/GB146_PHS_3979/)

 

Books about the Herschel's

https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=PmQxDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT148&lpg=PT148&dq=did+caroline+herschel+ever+visit+birmingham&source=bl&ots=HXLCwiUuTW&sig=ACfU3U2TV3X6bxcdcCLsLn7ZXyo0szD4SA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwixxc2vkZbpAhVilFwKHbUFBJwQ6AEwDXoECAUQAQ#v=onepage&q=did%20caroline%20herschel%20ever%20visit%20birmingham&f=false

https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=nrdgDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA149&lpg=PA149&dq=william+herschel+visit+to+soho+works+birmingham&source=bl&ots=jiSsWQ9Dkk&sig=ACfU3U2t0Q95OOHKJtuoNvoas0n7Q8M5tA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwie-IG9jZrpAhXtThUIHYegAssQ6AEwAnoECAYQAQ#v=onepage&q=william%20herschel%20visit%20to%20soho%20works%20birmingham&f=false

[HuggableHamster]

25 minutes ago, cheshire~rose said:

I couldn't get the swan video to play. I don't know if anyone else did? It's a shame because I am enjoying your little animations

Oh dear... I haev sent you an email with the video, ill try and work out what happened this evening!

[HuggableHamster]

GPS update: https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=14DTZ6L-V-Dc2k2KlIsBdrtdTW5R36awN&ll=52.5307874847195%2C-2.0553482863450654&z=15

 

Log time: 15:55, Wednesday 13th June 1821

Location: Horseley Ironworks

 

What a sight, we were lucky enough to see parts of the Aaron Manby (the ship) being packed up to be taken to Rotherhithe to be constructed.  Overseeing this was of course Aaron Manby (the man) who was keen to make sure everything went smoothly for this, the first iron steamship to put to sea.  It was a hive of activity, but everything was run with precision, and it is easy to see why even in the current time many bridges across the canal bear the Horseley Ironworks name, and indeed even after its move in 1865 from this site it stayed in business until the 1990s.

[HuggableHamster]

GPS - https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=14DTZ6L-V-Dc2k2KlIsBdrtdTW5R36awN&ll=52.5388516599824%2C-2.0585687887175936&z=14

 

Log time: 16:15, Saturday September 9th 1899

Location: Top Lock, Toll End Communication Canal

 

We got to the top lock to find there was no water in the main line!

 

The keeper informed us there had been a massive breach at Dudley Port and all traffic would be stopped, probably for months!

(Image from https://oldnblist.wordpress.com/author/canalorak/page/3/)

 

We waited until the keep’s back was turned and swiftly returned to 1809 to continue our passage up the Tipton Green locks - unimpeded by the yet to be constructed New Main Line. 

Research side note: We’re not quite sure what the archivist was thinking when they wrote “Unfortunately, no-one was killed.”: http://blackcountryhistory.org/collections/getrecord/GB145_p_118/

[HuggableHamster]

Log time: 17:20, Saturday 26th May 2018

Location: Tividale Quays

We snapped a photo of ourselves at Tividale Quays while taking part in the 2018 challenge - we don’t think we noticed it was us passing by...

[HuggableHamster]

GPS: https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=14DTZ6L-V-Dc2k2KlIsBdrtdTW5R36awN&ll=52.617515884149135%2C-2.232917956164897&z=10

We've come so far!