Big fun in Brum

So with the songs from last night still being sang around the boat this morning.  It was due to rain later on in the morning and David (Insomniac) simply cannot understand how boater can sit around drinking tea then the moment the rain arrives they set off.  But they do and chortling could be heard.

We donned the wet weather gear (Midlands category) and off we trundled to the Birmingham Art Gallery.  

Now we visited here five years ago and it was absorbing.  A quick visit today.  

Here are some of my favourites;

Forgot to make a ote of the painter but I'm always drawn to farming scenes.

Pre-Raphaelite treasures, see the cabbages?  See the mother's hand holding a hidden infant?

Some very well known artists's work in this wonderful art gallery, this is Camille Pissarro

Maurice Uttrillo.

Edouard Vuillard

Nasty reflections but this is a bronze by Degas

Not everyones taste but here is work by Picasso The Young Man 1958.

Walking back to the Rep Theatre we were going to see the stage production of Captain Corelli's Mandolin.  I have to say it was the most touching and moving play and I have read the book and seen the film.  David enjoyed it too.

Afterwards we consulted Googlemaps and found (About 4 minutes from the boat) to this pub The Craven, so David had just read Bumbles' book "Around the World in 80 Pints"  if you don't know who Bumble is scroll down to next paragraph.

Bumble says this is his favourite pub and when he's at Edgebaston he pays a call.

A very lovely place, as I sat down with my plum G&T the lady next to me said "Hello how are you?" 

This is not an alarming sentence, we are merely in the north.

So we chatted on with this thoroughly friendly couple.  This is their local, they've never met Bumble, they both are avid cricket fans (Its the world cup on just now Amanda), she used to play football and so did he professionally so they did hurry off home to watch what turned out to be the most watched Ladies England Football Match to date, don't ask me who won, I'm not a fan.

The Craven Arms, a nugget left behind by the Luftwaffe and 1060's planners.

The lighting was strange tonight.

Birmingham Library, my mums favourite, I sent her a post card of it.

The Cube (I think)

So the lovely couple recommended The Red Pepper, seconds away from the boat and we both had a great supper and there were plenty of opportunity for people watching, Hen Do'd and Stag Do's, some truly shocking sights too.


The next morning after a fairly noisy night, well what do you expect in the centre of town on a Saturday night.... but it was noisy.  So we trundled off to have a wee snoop at The Round House, no photos I'm sorry to say but the main thing to report is that it's covered in scaffolding so we'll see what happens next.  The Sherbourne Wharf have indeed developed the service point right outside the Round House and the pub right there.  We were incredulous five years ago when we were told this, can you imagine eating a meal and there's a pump out happening YUK!!  But the pump outs are not available during pub opening hours, seems a good idea.

But we met a CART chappie inviting people to join CART to help support the canals.  Frightfully good idea I thought, to support this work below, the planting of fruit trees all along the tow paths and also insect loving plants in borders.  After watching SpringWatch and learning how dramatically insect numbers have plummeted this is vital work.

Flower boarder and fruit tree planting.

Canal Central.

Looking over towards Gas Street Basin

Look with your magnifying glass and see WaL's bow in the distance.

WaL in the distance, the last boat.

My favourite gin bar in the wall.  Plum gin is delicious.

It started to rain so we went into the newly opened 

The Canal House.  I meant to have gone back through my photos to see pre-opening photos.  We had coffee first and then lunch and it was great, then a musician played and everything was happy.  We strolled to John Lewis in the Bull Ring and Reader I'll have you know I brought nothing, it was David carrying the bag on the way home.

The next morning early we crept away, reversing around the corner and off we went.  

Later in the morning we popped WaL into her B&B home and off we went home to see my mother.

Be back later.

Reversing to leave.

We had been moored right on this end or first mooring.

The water point and the way out.

What a lovely surprise.

Now we had to get a wiggle on today, I fell foul of the timings as there was the last of three swing bridges had to be opened.  At 05:45 we set off, I had to get dressed rather earlier than preferred.

The canal from Lapworth was pretty going through open fields and as we got closer to Kingswood the prettiness gave way to more scrappy bushy and a slight build up of plastic in the canal, plus wood, some zonking great logs of wood floating about.  Some look like dead bodies.

So after morning tea on the hoof,  after about forty minutes we arrived at this last of three swing bridges.  

The other two were windlass winding ones but this one was electric.  

First problem was where the heck is the control box?

Ok ok I found it after looking down both sides of the road, but I could hear the passing drivers laughing at me as they SPED by on their way to work.  I waited for the road to clear, then I pressed the button and as the lights started to flash a white small van shot through moments before the barriers came down.  Phew and then as the bridge was actually open a car, driven by a single male, turned onto this side road, saw the bridge open and did a James Bond handbrake turn and shot off to another route.  

Quite something.

After we'd passed through and the bridge was in place again the traffic went bananas again.

Looking back at the swing bridge (FYI the control box is by the barrier on the left, right where you'd expect it to be!)

Very pretty cottage that looks like it had a restoration too.

Quite a grand tunnel facade.

The last landmark on this Stratford canal is this old Guillotine Lock Gate.  Sadly a bit of graffiti spoiling the look of it now.

One gate at each end a lock in effect to mark the end of the Stratford canal.

So we had made good time and at the junction we were met by the sad sight of the canal house that has recently been a victim of fire damage.  I think I read that CART are intending to refurbish the property.  If CART decides to sell,  I'll submit a bid.

I'd love this.

We turned north and David put his foot on the gas as heavy rain was coming.  It's a dull deadly dull stretch up to the city centre.  Just as the rain started properly we had moored up, on the very first spot available.  The heavens opened.

Later during a lull in the rain we put on our wet weather coats and headed for the Bull Ring, so for my Reader form Brazil, its a shopping centre where we finally arrived soaked from the coat downwards but after receiving a text from EE offering a deal for a sim only 100G deal.  We wanted to secure this deal before the deadline passed.

While we were in the EE Shop, I received a text with this photo.  It's WaL if you can't quite see.  So it turned out my Godson Max, son of Boat Sharers was literally passing by and noticed the boat.  He joined us later in my favourite Gin Bar just along the canal.  A lovely surprise to have him drop by.

WaL snapped by my godson Max.

Walking back through the atrium of the Festival Hall to WaL we saw that a concert was on tonight,  we quickly brought tickets and so very much enjoyed Songs from the Sixties, with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.  

It was a wonderful evening and although I was in my cot for the part of the 60's (unlike David who is so much older than me)  I benefitted from having older siblings  who endlessly play music so it turned out I knew virtually all the words to all the songs.

I brought the CD for my mum.

Secrets and Lies

We got an early getaway in the morning about 8am to do the rest of the locks up to the junction with the Grand Union canal at Kingswood Junction.

But I almost forgot, I took this shot of Queen of the Meadow from the boat last evening, the sun had come through the clouds late on and turned the bank of them golden.

Probably the last photo of these yellow flag irises this year as they are going over already.  Fabulous aren't they?

The stamp of the brick maker.  I should have wetted it to read it better.  It was West Bromwich though.

So we were making good progress and sharing the driving and heaving, these locks are not a piece of cake.  Oddly though we had chatted to a cruiser owner, he had had his boat 20 years and said that this was one of their first trips in the boat all those years ago.  He told me that back then the  locks were shocking and in comparison they are wonderful now....!  I was shocked.

When we arrived at this cute barrel roofed cottage, (There are only a handful left) there was a character waiting.  This Muscovy Duck, had a well rehearsed act, he/she waits a boat and stands right next to where the helm is positioned and although does not quack (Muscovy ducks are silent) she stared very pointedly until food is produced.  Now we all know don't we that bread is bad for ducks so never feed it to them, we didn't have anything that wasn't poisonous to her so kindly we didn't give it anything but she turned her back in a mini strop and walked along eating grass, as she should.

Presumably home of the duck, not sure about the colour of the paintwork.

Ducky-McDuckface.

But nicely unspoiled cottage

The old and the M42 new.

The last cottage I saw today, this one with a zonking great extension whacked on.

My first Foxgloves this year so I'm sharing them with you.

Now Reader, there was a bit of a bun fight here and I want your opinion if I was bad or if I was correct.

So we arrived at the junction, it has the Stratford Lock imagine, going in a straight-ish line with the cutting The Arm from the Grand Union joining it at right angles, so it's a bit like a triangle on a road.

As David brought WaL up the Stratford canal to start the Lapworth Flight, I went ahead to prep the first lock of the flight, I then ran along to the second lock and checking first of course that no other boat was approaching I raised one paddle, then repeated this with the third lock.  No other boats in sight coming down.  Then I ran back to the first lock to find it had emptied and I opened the gates.  WaL was almost ready to have the gates opened on the lock below then I saw another crew approaching this same lock, their boat had come along The Arm (The other side of the triangle so to speak possibly from the Hatton Flight)  She said oh this lock is ours, our boat is here first.....

Now Reader as you may not have met me, you won't know that I am a most easy going and compliant person, however not on this occasion.  I said a bit forcefully that this was my lock as I had prepped it and that I had also ran ahead and prepped the next two as well.

The lady replied saying but their boat was ready, (David now 15 seconds away from gate opening), 

Well she said I don't know where he'll wait... 

Anywhere except in this lock says I.

Well I'll have to tell him then, she walked back to her boat past David and told him "Your wife has refused to give us this lock", he was oblivious at first but had realised what I had done with the next locks.

I got to David and told him to get his finger out as we are going to have to get a wiggle on now....

So that was it Reader, not open warfare, no bad language, but what would you have done?  I did run back and wound up a paddle to assist her with the first lock,  but I was turning each lock as well as her.

Well we worked together with D climbing off to shut gates and both working hard, then we swapped over and David got the bike out, and we got an easy rhythm going and soon we were ahead, then, the six clear locks ahead and when we finally moored up over looking Lapworth Cricket club they came past 45 minutes later.  

The Lapworth Flight

David preparing to do the "Vic from NB No Problem Trick" of kicking open the gates, he's testing it here...

Then it came back on him and he was nearly in the water, he'll deny it of course, pity it would have made a good photo.

Almost at the top, a most attractive cottage here.

The village of Lapworth just over a buttercup filled meadow that I walked through later.

The other day when we were at Packwood House, the Room Guides were telling us that this property, Coughton Court Near Alcester had a connection to The Gunpowder Plot.  We had visited Ashby St Ledgers last year and read that the Plotters had plotted in the Gate house of that property   HERE   I was very keen to find out more.  So David fetched the car from Lapworth village and off we went.  Alcester is a lovely lovely town close to the River Avon, in fact we popped up there from Bidford-on-Avon weeks ago, but we were glad we had left this visit as the gardens were wonderful today much of it in bloom which it would't have been all those weeks ago.

So there was a family connection between here and Ashby St Ledgers cousins had married and a wife was a Catesby, when the plot had been discovered they all fled London and came here to this house for succour amongst other house and eventually had a shoot out and it all came to a sticky end.

Its a complicated story, we went on the guided tour for the Gunpowder Plot History and had the speaker all to ourselves, he was most knowledgable and said that there is no evidence that any plotting went on in these houses, it was done in London.  He also went on to tell that the plotters numbered about a dozen taking part, but the figure is much higher of those that helped with some historians putting the number at over a hundred.  I can't help thinking that if a hundred were recruited then they may very well have met locally in secret and secrets often leave no evidence.

Coughton Court all the action happened about 1605, The Throckmorton Family have lived here since 1409 and are still here today.

Orange and red border 

Right opposite the purple and blue border.

Nice lime green planting to match the colour of the pool.... a bit yuk

Perfect timing for Irises.

Golden Hop

Magical Foxgloves.

All in all a fabulous day.  Coughton Court was well worth a visit and the gardens are terrific.

We left the car in Lapworth village and walked back to WaL over meadows of golden buttercups.  The cricket team were playing and David stayed to watch whilst I made supper, 
Cauliflower cheese with mushrooms, tomatoes and olives.

It's rainy so we might as well go out!

Did I ever tell you Reader that David brought a book?  He brought it in Waitrose several years ago and it's a good food guide for the UK.  It was a bit of a bargain at the time being 1p, yes not the £15 as priced, nor £1 but 1p and do you now how stupid we were, it was in not buying several copies.  

So here and there when we going around the canals he gets out said book and off we go for treats.  He's found some fab places and today we were off to another to The Bluebell in Henley-in-Arden.

HERE

We were going to have biked there, an easy 20 minute bike ride, but it was early with all promise of the rain returning later.
We drove, I am bad tempered biking in the rain.

So David drove and this corner of either Warwickshire or Worcestershire (I'm not sure which) appears to be like my experience of Norfolk, where the tourists stick to the main roads and the locals drive like bats out of hell around the thin lanes, taking no prisioners and frightening the bejesus out of me. Phew.

Henley-in-Arden is very beautiful with many and varied period homes.  The original village appears to have been a linear village and today the new builds have filled in the gaps behind the widely spaced High St.

Lunch was supremely good, I would recommend other Boaters taking a cab from anywhere along the canal near to it.
I had scallops with apple slices and black pudding (which I picked mostly off and gave to David), followed by the most divine pink cooked lamb.  Both of us had wanted the lamb but only one (Huge) serving left of that so David fell on his sword and had a steak, when it arrived I was envious.  

We didn't have dessert, but later having previously seen a café on the way along to The Bluebell, we went there for excellent coffee and cake.

Risking life and limb, we carefully drove back to Lowsonford, a delivery Ford Transit came face to face with us, David obviously stopped and started to reverse, the van came up to our front bumper putting on his hazard warning lights, we were still reversing when he pushed past going up the verge, no "thank you's" and as we carried on there was a passing place much closer to where he had been.   This was compounded by several female drivers of Range Rovers and similar going at high speeds around corners.

Getting back to the boat the heavens opened and there we stayed snuggled.

Supper wasn't anything at all.