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Grand Union into Birmingham


Col_T

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My reply was probably typed a bit hastily. The point I was trying to make was why not stop at C-de-B then do to the centre of Brum in one go via Ashted.  Really not sure why anyone would want to do Garrison followed by Aston, it really is going back on yourself.

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51 minutes ago, IanM said:

You really won't have any issues at 2' 6". 

 

5 hours ago, frahkn said:

I don't personally go that way because my boat draws 31" and the trip is a pain

 

Strange how perceptions differ .......................

 

So at 30" he won't have any issues, but at 31" some folks don't go that way beacuse its a pain.

 

(Its to be hoped it has been raining and he hasn't got full 'tanks')

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3 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

 

Strange how perceptions differ .......................

 

So at 30" he won't have any issues, but at 31" some folks don't go that way beacuse its a pain.

 

(Its to be hoped it has been raining and he hasn't got full 'tanks')

It’s a summit pound so the level can be down. I think in general, a few inches can make quite a difference. (No tittering at the back!). Dragging the silt vs not dragging the silt.

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If it wasn't for Knowle locks, I prefer heading the GU way. As others have said, not sure I'd choose to go via Star City, but then you could say what's the point of any out and back trip! Personally I find it much more interesting than the Stratford and W&B route. The bit through Catherine de Barnes is definitely much improved following the dredging, certainly no worse than parts of the Stratford.

 

Moorings as mentioned already, plus we've moored on the moorings above Ashted locks a few times with no problems. Easy access from Aston junction as well if it's getting late when you get there and don't fancy farmer's bridge until the morning. If you take the direct route via Ashted locks instead, you could take a short detour to Typhoo Basin. 

 

Definitely advise avoiding mooring between Worcester bar and the mailbox if it's a weekend, but just around the corner is fine. Mainline outside the arena on the same side as the lego giraffe can be noisy and rowdy too, (particularly if there's football being shown on the big screen at The Distillery!) but the opposite side is much quieter, as is the mooring rings out beyond Vincent Street Bridge.

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2 hours ago, IanM said:

My reply was probably typed a bit hastily. The point I was trying to make was why not stop at C-de-B then do to the centre of Brum in one go via Ashted.  Really not sure why anyone would want to do Garrison followed by Aston, it really is going back on yourself.

That is clearly the obvious way to go, but presumably the OP is on a mission to go the full length of the GU or some other reason for going to Salford Junction.  With that in mind CdeB to Star City is reasonable, but don’t expect too much of Star City itself.  The next day I would go the last bit to Salford Junction, and then back up the B&F, up Aston and Farmers Bridge.  When you get to Old Turn Junction bear right on the New Main Line, but check down Oozells St Loop if there is space, in my opinion they are the best moorings, otherwise either side of the Main Line as soon as there is a space (don’t leave a git gap, my pet hate in the centre of Birmingham!).

 

if you want to look round Bournville, the offside moorings there, even if you could get on them, are a bit grim, I would suggest getting a train to Bournville.  You could even stop at the Vale by the university and get a train to Bournville from there, it is probably just one stop, at the moment.  There are alway a good few boats moored at the Vale (just south of the winding hole).

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59 minutes ago, john6767 said:

The next day I would go the last bit to Salford Junction, and then back up the B&F, up Aston and Farmers Bridge.

Or depending how much time the OP has, they could do Perry Barr and Ryders Green...

 

1 hour ago, john6767 said:

(don’t leave a git gap, my pet hate in the centre of Birmingham!).

Same here - some people have an aversion to sharing rings (or bollards!) even in busy places. You should have seen the look we got coming into this gap, they were adamant we wouldn't fit (didn't touch the boat at either end)🤣20220602_134337_copy_3024x2268.jpg.cbd4a953d6aaf929e72fc4a754fd0d01.jpg

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Thanks for all the further comments.
 

In truth, there is an element of wanting to do the whole of the GU from bottom to top, and whilst there is some discussion about where is the top of the GU, Nicholsons labels the Camp Hill to Star City section GU, so I’m happy to take that and know that some folk will disagree!

 

As for almost doubling back on ourselves by doing Camp Hill => Star City and the Aston and Farmers Bridge flights next day, we have been known to do Caen Hill marina to Devizes Wharf on Saturday and then return to Caen Hill marina on Sunday. Slightly eccentric isn’t always bad!!!

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7 minutes ago, Col_T said:

Nicholsons labels the Camp Hill to Star City section GU

The Warwick and Birmingham Canal section of the GU ends at Warwick Bar (which you won't pass), but the Birmingham and Warwick Junction Canal from Bordesley Junction (bottom of Camp Hill flight) to Salford Bridge Junction on the Birmingham and Fazeley is also part of the GU.

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22 hours ago, IanM said:

We moored in central Birmingham twice in the last month.

 

The first time was between the Mailbox and Gas Street Basin.  This was on the Thursday Jubilee Bank Holiday and fairly busy with people all the time but didn't have any problems worth noting.  Quite a few beggars around but they were fairly chatty and generally not a problem.  A bit of noise around 2-3am when the bars shut but otherwise ok.

 

The second time we got in the Sheepcote Street moorings and again had no issues aside the trip boats passing quite fast.  Obviously with a brick paved towpath and bollards at set intervals it can be difficult to get your mooring lines ideally positioned.

 

It obviously depends on your expectations.  With the beggars we didn't give any money, only the odd cigarette and they were more than happy just to chat.  We did have a few girls ask for a photo on our "barge" which wasn't an issue and let them stand on the stern holding the tiller.  Whether or not you'd be comfortable with that is obviously down to you but I took the approach that if I kept them happy then they'd be more inclined to respect any moored boats in the future.

 

There are, I think, 14 day moorings the other side of St Vincent Street Bridge which looked ok if there was no other space.

I nearly always need at least one spring when mooring in central B

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14 hours ago, john6767 said:

 

 

if you want to look round Bournville, the offside moorings there, even if you could get on them, are a bit grim, I would suggest getting a train to Bournville.  You could even stop at the Vale by the university and get a train to Bournville from there, it is probably just one stop, at the moment.  There are alway a good few boats moored at the Vale (just south of the winding hole).

 

 

The moorings by Cadburys give a false impression of Bournville, and it's more Selly Oak/Stirchley. Bournville is very nice, especially the village green, the church, a few shops and school with it's bell tower and carillon just the other side of Cadbury's, but apart from that there's little else except some nice parks. Possibly worth the short train journey from those nice moorings by the university though.

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26 minutes ago, Grassman said:

 

 

The moorings by Cadburys give a false impression of Bournville, and it's more Selly Oak/Stirchley. Bournville is very nice, especially the village green, the church, a few shops and school with it's bell tower and carillon just the other side of Cadbury's, but apart from that there's little else except some nice parks. Possibly worth the short train journey from those nice moorings by the university though.

That reminds me of something else in the area. If canal history is of interest then the walk along the former route of the Dudley No.2 is worthwhile. You have to come off the W&B near Sainsbury’s and walk to Selly Oak park but it’s obvious from the edge of the park through to Weoley Castle where the tunnel portal used to be.

 

Personally I would go from central Birmingham to Alvechurch and stop for a bit at the points of interest along the way - an easy day as there are no locks.

 

Alec

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Update as promised.

 

Lapworth Junction to Knowle Locks - no problems. The weather gods had clearly been tipped off by Alan de Enfield as it was not rain, but a good, solid, persistent drizzle all the way up the locks. In its own way, this was ‘a good thing’, as it meant that the volunteers were grateful to have a boat to help through! We only had to wait for the very first to be set for us, then all the others were empty and gates open, waiting. That said, Nick Norman’s warning about the currents in the side ponds was absolutely correct so, whilst I may have been dreaming of gliding gently into the locks under the admiring gaze of the volunteers, it was much more a ‘crash, boom, bang’ affair!

 

Knowle itself is a lovely little place. Good range of shops, mainly independents, with some nice old architecture waiting to be admired. Jones the butcher recommended, especially their pies!

 

Knowle to Catherine de Barnes - no problems, except that we moored in a good, solid, downpour. Fine if you like that kind of thing; I don’t.

 

Catherine to Bordesley Junction. The dredging has clearly made a difference, for the better. There was one occasion when the bow of the boat skipped off line, and a swirl of debris was seen at the stern, otherwise there was little discernible evidence of the bottom being too close to the top. Certainly this section was much, much better than the top half of the North Stratford where we could hear the silt peppering the bottom of the boat at barely 2 mph. Maybe the previous days rain helped! The infrastructure on the Camp Hill flight looks as though it would benefit from more use, but then it would probably break. There were a couple of locks where the rack on the paddle gear did not engage with the pinion, and a couple where the wooden post that the winding gear was mounted was just rocking in the breeze - quite literally! I didn’t dare put a windlass on those! CRT have been notified.

 

Bordesley to Star City - no problems. Clearly very lightly used. There were a couple of locks where the mooring bollards were lost in a sea of wild plants! Star City mooring is fine. We moored just after Lock 1 (the guillotine) on the North Stratford, and Star City is much, much more pleasant, and feels much safer - to us, at least. A nice quiet night and, considering the proximity to the Star City car park, not even that light!

 

The Aston and Farmers Flights were no problems, though we did have a CRT litter picker who emptied at least half of the Farmers locks for us, which made our lives very much easier. Neither of the ‘underground’ sections showed any obvious signs of dubious goings on (syringes, needles, that kind of thing) though there was a lot of scaffolding up which may well have cramped their style. Cambrian Wharf was packed with what looked like live-aboards, with only 2 spaces not occupied, so we just motored on by. Mooring at the end of that was a little trixical - no spaces down Oozells, though plenty of ‘gaps’, not much evidence of shared rings or bollards, and a very tight turn at the exit. I’ve discovered that a 57’ can turn onto the mainline there and head off toward the Lego giraffe, but it needs crew off both ends pulling the boat sideways towards the apex. Still, we eventually found a gap near the giraffe, so alls well that ends well. We went for a wander after mooring up - the back to backs were closed, so no looking at those, and pretty much everything else was an eating / drinking place. Neither my lady-wife nor I are city folk so, while we’ve done Birmingham and discovered there is nothing to fear, it’s unlikely that we’ll be rushing back.

 

We left on the Worcester and Birmingham with the idea that we’d stop off at Bourneville, not for Cadbury’s World ( I already have more than my fair share of fillings) but to visit the Factory Garden and the village. Didn’t bother in the end as, while the actual off-side mooring area looked okay, the whole area beyond was way overdue a mow, and how to actually exit the area, perhaps to visit Bourneville, was a puzzle I didn’t fancy trying to solve.

 

Thanks to all who commented, and we totally understand why most people said the W & B route is the nicer into Brum and we’d agree! 

 

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Thanks for coming back with the update, it is always good to hear what people did and what they think after asking for advice.

 

You we’re lucky with your timings as Camp Hill locks have just closed, due I think to paddle gear failure on one of the locks.

 

Some comments that may help someone looking at this thread in the future!

 

Some/most of the moorings are Cambrian Wharf are actually long term there are a couple of pontoons for visitor mooring, plus 2 boats by the top lock.

 

I am surprised you got a 57 foot boat out of Oozells St Loop and back towards Old Turn, if you need to do this it is only about a 1/4 of a mile on the New Main Line and you can use the entrance to Monument Road Basin to wind to get back to Old Turn.  That to me is the easier option.  When you are at Old Turn you should be able to check for space on Oozells St Loop before actually committing to take the boat down there!

 

At Bournville you can get from the offside moorings via a road which runs under the canal, that takes you right into the Cadbury Park.

 

Glad this worked out for you.

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2 hours ago, john6767 said:

You we’re lucky with your timings as Camp Hill locks have just closed, due I think to paddle gear failure on one of the locks.

I guess that after the OP reported the failing paddles, CRT went out for a look and promptly condemned them!

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On 27/06/2022 at 19:45, Rob-M said:

We've never had any problems mooring in Birmingham, we usually moor either in the Oozells loop or on the main line outside the arena.  We are normally there on a weekend and whilst there can be more people walking around, we haven't had any trouble.

Coming up the GU we usually stop at Catherine de Barnes and then do a long day into Birmingham.

Same here. Oozells loop is where the security guards go for a fag break

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On 27/06/2022 at 19:45, Rob-M said:

We've never had any problems mooring in Birmingham, we usually moor either in the Oozells loop or on the main line outside the arena.  We are normally there on a weekend and whilst there can be more people walking around, we haven't had any trouble.

Coming up the GU we usually stop at Catherine de Barnes and then do a long day into Birmingham.

 

Which way do you go to turn C-de-B to Brum into a long day? 😆

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31 minutes ago, Captain Pegg said:

 

Which way do you go to turn C-de-B to Brum into a long day? 😆

Down to Salford Junction, up Perry Barr, Ryders Green, and Spon Lane, then down Smethwick and into Birmingham via the loops🤣🤣🤣 (and yes we have done that just for fun, and not during the BCN Challenge!)

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On 05/07/2022 at 17:01, Col_T said:

Mooring at the end of that was a little trixical - no spaces down Oozells, though plenty of ‘gaps’, not much evidence of shared rings or bollards, and a very tight turn at the exit. I’ve discovered that a 57’ can turn onto the mainline there and head off toward the Lego giraffe, but it needs crew off both ends pulling the boat sideways towards the apex.

 

I'm a single hander and have never been able to make that turn in my 55'.  Interesting to hear it is possible in a 57' but I'm not surprised you needed people pulling from the bank at both ends.  Monument Road Basin is a few hundred yards to the west and it's easy to turn round there.

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9 hours ago, Captain Pegg said:

 

Which way do you go to turn C-de-B to Brum into a long day? 😆

Not sure why I thought it was a long day, I know we had issues with a top gste last time we went that way to the point I thought I was going to have to call out CRT but got it sorted in the end.

 

2 minutes ago, doratheexplorer said:

I'm a single hander and have never been able to make that turn in my 55'.  Interesting to hear it is possible in a 57' but I'm not surprised you needed people pulling from the bank at both ends.  Monument Road Basin is a few hundred yards to the west and it's easy to turn round there.

Monument Road Basin can sometimes be an issue as I have swung a breasted up full length pair in there to wind only to find it rather full of cruisers.  The owner of the one nearest the bridge had a real look of panic on his face as he dropped his beer can and ran to move his boat.  Anything less than 60' will hardly need to go under the bridge though.

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My preferred route in and out of Brum is via the North Stratford and the W&B - I like stopping at the Blue Bell.

 

But last October one of the locks on the Lapworth Flight was out so I had to take the GU route.

My single handed timings were:

Old Turn: 08:00

Bottom of Farmers Bridge: 09:44

Bottom of Ashtead: 11:07

Top of Camp Hill: 12:43

C de B: 15:14

 

A long day or not?

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I was only pulling @Rob-M‘s leg. It’s a normal length day but if you’re going in to Brum the 25 locks are all toward the end of the day and it does feel like a long slog by the time you get there. They aren’t easy locks for one reason or another.
 

The trip in from Curdworth is similar.

 

I’ve only ever done the GU route in to Brum when starting from Lapworth, which is a long day.

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