BCNS cruise to Bradley Workshops

Saturday 25th September 2021

After a surprisingly peaceful night alongside a road in Tipton, we were up and at-em for the official cruise start time of 9:30am. 

 

The tug boat Joanna took two butties into tow and led the procession down onto the main line, through Coseley tunnel and right onto the Wednesbury loop arm to Bradley workshops.

 

A combination of being led by a tug towing two butties and various boats having to remove all sorts of rubbish from their propellers meant that we had a slow and frustrating journey as ‘tail end charlie’ of this trip.

 

After a very slow crawl, with frequent stops, along the arm we arrived at the workshops at the end where approximately twenty boats moored up for lunch. Some in a side basin but as the last arrival we ended up with our stern in a tree at the muddy end of the arm.

 

Lunch over and we set off back to the BCNS HQ at Oldbury Pumphouse. This time we were mid cruise albeit following a very slow boat.  Many people – walkers, cyclist and house holders etc stopped to watch the procession. It was clear that few boats come down this arm. Most expressed their delight at seeing the boats.

 

Luckily the slow boat pulled over to allow two of us to pass him. Onto the mainline again and we found we were in a procession following the tug boat Caggy towing a butty.

Back through Tipton and we found ourselves alone as all of the boats in front of us had pulled over for various reasons including one boat that went down Factory locks onto the new mainline. We continued through Dudley Port and Brades to Oldbury junction where we turned right and ascended the six locks to the pumphouse. We were helped up the flight by members of BCNS and after mooring up on the rings adjacent to the pumphouse we returned and assisted others up through the top lock.

 

It was Graham’s first experience of manually working a butty up a lock flight. We also loved this bench in the BCNS HQ garden – excellent bit of metalwork. All bar one cruise boat accounted for, we returned to Jannock as it became dark for a late meal and an early night.

G&B