North Stratford

[Gardner]

Has anyone recent cruising knowledge of the North Stratford between Lapworth & Birmingham. I understand that it may have been recently dredged. My boat is quite deep draughted, & the last time I did it I found this stretch to be very shallow with constant prop fouling. Any info for this year's planned cruises would be helpful.

[john6767]

It has been dredged in places a few time over that last few years, and huge numbers of bikes and other stuff removed from bridge holes!  Whilst we don't have a deep draughted boat it is relatively slow going, although I don't think I have every had a prop foul between Lapworth and all the way to Birmingham.  So as long as you are not trying to rush you should be fine.

[p6rob]

I came from Bimingham to Shirley yesterday and thought it felt a lot better than previous trips. There was one spot where the boat rode up and over something. Can't remember where, somewhere after Lyons boat yard though, but it wasn't near a bridge hole.

 

Rob

[BEngo]

We took 2'6" static draft all the way from Kings Norton to Stratford last year.  No major problems, but deep it is not.  The entrance to Brandwood tunnel S bound  was sticky and the stop lock very slow but otherwise no more than the usual amount of rock and roll.

 

N

[Victor Vectis]

We go that way quite a lot.

No real problems apart from the lift bridge just before Lapworth Top Lock, yes that one! It's a real PIA to operate, both up and  down.

The Blue Bell at Warings Green has good beer and the food there ain't bad either.

And remember, if you can catch a car on the deck of Shirley Drawbridge as it goes up you get double points!

 

[john6767]

58 minutes ago, Victor Vectis said:

We go that way quite a lot.

No real problems apart from the lift bridge just before Lapworth Top Lock, yes that one! It's a real PIA to operate, both up and  down.

The Blue Bell at Warings Green has good beer and the food there ain't bad either.

And remember, if you can catch a car on the deck of Shirley Drawbridge as it goes up you get double points!

 

Do you know if the recent works to change the controls on the lift bridge make it easier of harder to catch one 

[Keeping Up]

6 minutes ago, john6767 said:

Do you know if the recent works to change the controls on the lift bridge make it easier of harder to catch one 

Back when it was wound by hand I heard a car come up behind me but I didn't stop to look at it, so I didn't know it had come too far forward until I put the bridge counterweight through its roof!

[john6767]

7 minutes ago, Keeping Up said:

Back when it was wound by hand I heard a car come up behind me but I didn't stop to look at it, so I didn't know it had come too far forward until I put the bridge counterweight through its roof!

That would certainly still be possible now I would say.  We had one the stopped right on the bridge deck having run the lights and got under the barrier their side (the side with the counter weight) but was not able to make it under the barrier at the other side.  She said she could not see the lights because of the sun, yea right.

The bridge was closed for a couple of months before Christmas and all the control gear was replaced.

[archie57]

I brought my deep-draughted  (3ft)  boat  along the N. Stratford in October last, and it was awful (as was the W and B). The level was only a couple of inches down, but the leaf fall made the going difficult, and I stopped at various places - the stop gate before Shirley drawbridge, that bridge itself, opposite Earlswood clubhouse, by the drawbridge nearest Hockley Heath - and more besides. Yes, it has been dredged Kings Norton to Yardley Wood, but the rest is no better than it was 45 years ago. By contrast, I brought another deepish  boat round there after Christmas, the canal was running weir, and I had no problems, 6hours Gas St - Top Lapworth

[alan_fincher]

We had significant problems last April, also with a boat of working boat draught, (i.e. approaching 3 feet).

The worst was the Shirley lift bridge, where we grounded absolutely solidly for some time, and where because you have to follow the route through the chicane between the poles, you have no choice of avoiding the shoals by taking a different route.

The Norton Junction stop lock is also ridiculously shallow, and always takes us ages to get one of our ex-working boats through the silt.  There at least though it is silt, what we grounded on at Shirley was rock solid.

The relevant blog post is here.

[Victor Vectis]

1 hour ago, john6767 said:

Do you know if the recent works to change the controls on the lift bridge make it easier of harder to catch one 

Libby did the key and button stuff when we came through over Christmas.

She reckoned that, if anything, the bridge operated more slowly than before.

IIRC the reason CaRT gave for the closure was something to do with moving the control panel to give a better view of the road but it struck me it was more or less in the same place as before.

[john6767]

24 minutes ago, Victor Vectis said:

Libby did the key and button stuff when we came through over Christmas.

She reckoned that, if anything, the bridge operated more slowly than before.

IIRC the reason CaRT gave for the closure was something to do with moving the control panel to give a better view of the road but it struck me it was more or less in the same place as before.

I did look as I drove past the end of the road, and it looked a bit closer, but not much and nothing that would seem to make any real difference.  I wondered it the barriers/lights were improved.

[PeterG]

At the end of last summer there was some dredging going on at the University area on the way out from Birmingham.  Someone on the University moorings decided to punt his boats across the canal forcing us hard aground trying to get his mooring dredged for free.  Not sure the extent of the dredging being planned but the contractor was not happy with the messing around.

On the same trip we ran over a number of very solid articles near the line of factories close to Norton Junction, the water was very low at the time which did not help.

 

[matty40s]

3 hours ago, PeterG said:

At the end of last summer there was some dredging going on at the University area on the way out from Birmingham.  Someone on the University moorings decided to punt his boats across the canal forcing us hard aground trying to get his mooring dredged for free.  Not sure the extent of the dredging being planned but the contractor was not happy with the messing around.

On the same trip we ran over a number of very solid articles near the line of factories close to Norton Junction, the water was very low at the time which did not help.

 

Kings Norton junction?

[PeterG]

Yes that right Kings Norton Junction.  There is a road parallel to the cut with factories beyond.

[p6rob]

On 05/02/2018 at 18:01, john6767 said:

I did look as I drove past the end of the road, and it looked a bit closer, but not much and nothing that would seem to make any real difference.  I wondered it the barriers/lights were improved.

I've been moored there for the last few days. I must admit, I've been a bit pre-occupied (plus, it's generally dark when I've gone past), so hadn't noticed the bridge control position had changed.

However, this morning, while I was rushing to work, there was a C&RT contractor doing something with a junction box which is mounted on the railing facing the road. Unfortunately I was very late, so didn't stop for a chat but it looks like the control position is, or will be significantly different. It'll mean you're facing the pub side traffic, whether traffic the other side will be easier or more difficult to see, I don't know.

 

Rob