Aboard the Captains Ship

On Sunday we were treated to a day out on a narrowboat!  Not just any old narrowboat though - Captain Ahab's Wand'ring Bark.  We moved just a couple of miles up the Staffordshire and Worcestershire canal to Calf's Heath Marina, where they plucked us off Northern Pride.

Picturesque bridges and lock cottages at Moat House bridge on the way

Wand'ring Bark and crew pull up to gather their day visitors

We journeyed through six locks to Penkridge, with the two captains chattering away about canals and photography at the stern and Belle and I gossiping and giggling about midwifery and women's 'stuff' at the bow (that's the flat end and the pointy end Belle!!).  Poor Jeff had to try and amuse himself between the two sets of jabbering, bless him.

Gailey Lock with 'Viking Afloat' hire boats - the peak of the Staffs and Worcs canal at 100 metres above sea level

There's a very quaint 'roundhouse' at Gailey lock, which was once the toll keeper's house, built around the 1800's, the last inhabitable 'roundhouse' on the canal ...

The round house has a fabulous book shop on the first floor - containing the largest collection of canal related literature, for all ages and tastes, I've seen to date.  There's also a gift shop on the ground floor, all 'manned' by an elderly lady who apparently has lived on or around the canals all of her life - we'll try and get some more information on our next visit.  We made two trips to the shop, on the way up and down, and will be visiting again today!  I think we may be a little obsessed :-) though we've yet to part with any cash!!

Above is the Cross Keys pub, on the outskirts of Penkridge, where some random bloke tried to chat Sandra up!  Belle and Sandra got a 'pint-to-go' from here - you take in a plastic pint glass, get it filled then take it back to the boat and continue your journey - what a novel idea!!

Captain Ahab looking completely chillaxed at the tiller 

 Sandra and Belle putting the world to right at 'the pointy end'

On the return journey through Gailey lock 

Belle, the Captain and the two boats almost kissing!!!

What a great day.  It's always reassuring to find other like-minded folks who enjoy the waterways of Britain and relish the simplicity of life afloat.

In the evening we had a visit from another friend and her partner - Adele and Andy - and we had a couple of drinks at 'Misty's' bar across the canal.  Unfortunately they weren't serving food and we'd almost run out of food and beverages on the boat so weren't the best of hosts, but we did find a smidgen of boat-brewed Kahlua from last year's trip that we had as a night cap. 

Andy, Adele and Sandra

Today's exciting plan is to fill up with water and gas and find the 'Co-op' in Penkridge and get stocked up.

Family and foul play!

It was an early start Saturday for the public transport experience to Malpas, Cheshire, to visit my eldest daughter Lisa and her husband Rob - oh and their new chickens!!  The journey there was smooth and seamless, we managed it in just over two hours; the return journey however was fraught with differing timetables, and took four and a half hours arriving back on the boat just before 11pm!  Ah well, such is life when you live on a narrowboat, we should've been more meticulous at checking schedules.

Barry wore his best NZ wedding shorts for the visit, as they'd also taken the opportunity to invite Rob's parents - so Barry met his step-daughter's parents in-law for the first time ...

 Diane, Dave, Rob, Lisa and Sandra

Lisa, Rob, Sandra and Barry - don't 'ya just love the matching beards!

Last weekend they'd had three chickens delivered to the house and they'd been in their 'coop' since then so that they became familiar with their new surroundings.  Saturday was the day when they were to be let out in the garden for their first run around, guarded by their carers and visitors in case Shimmy, the resident cat, decided he fancied a meal.  Lisa had warned us that they may be a little 'chicken-obsessed' but we didn't anticipate how much fun three chickens on the run could be!

Rob advises on the complexities of chicken care

Betty, Cambria and Ginger enjoy their 'Big Day Out'

  Pecking the grain from the hands of Rob, Lisa and Barry

Lisa was brave enough to hand feed       Cambria laid a perfect egg

The problem came later in the day when we realised how foolish we were wearing shorts and not bringing a change of warmer clothes - we were chilly and feeling silly walking through the centre of Wolverhampton and waiting for the bus from 2145 to 2215hrs.  The forecast was 25 degrees and we must've imagined this meant a balmy summers day (which it was) and evening - yeah right!

Today we're at Calf Heath, about to board Wand'ring Bark ...

A wander around Wolverhampton

We left The Black Country Museum moorings late on Thursday afternoon and took a short journey to Wolverhampton ready for the 21 lock flight today.

Coseley Tunnel

Not 'The War of the Worlds' but Chillington Wharf

   Approaching Wolverhampton

We arrived around 7pm Thursday evening - unfortunately we hadn't checked out supermarkets close to the previous mooring (thanks for the message Derek and Dot - we only got it today) and there was little to be found in the way of provisions in the city centre .  There were many scantily clad youths once again, rubbish everywhere and an abundance of 'fast food' places, so I just picked up some essential milk and a meal of chicken, chips and curry sauce!  We moored opposite the BW facilities as there was no towpath access there - for some reason we didn't feel terribly 'safe' overnight!

Moved a little further in the morning to have a wander around Wolverhampton

In the daylight Wolverhampton didn't seem quite so threatening and we moved a little way down so that we could take a walk into town and were pleasantly surprised by the centre with a different mix of people ...

Fountain and church in the city centre - not sure if they have a name!

Wolverhampton Wanderer's (Wolves) football stadium - even the seating colours are in the shape of a wolf!

Then it was on to the 21 locks - all in excellent condition and in the process of being painted by a group of jolly chaps who opened a couple of them up for us which increased our speed somewhat!

 

Sandra rests while the top lock empties - on a glorious sunny, summer's day

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At one of the locks - the gate wouldn't shut and Barry retrieved this old gate paddle from the canal which had been blocking it!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lots of locks with bridges crossing the canal ...

We found a great spot to moor up close to 'The Fox and Anchor ' pub at Coven - and there we discovered one of the two 'Cheese Boats' on the canals, with Helen and Dave on board. After a free tasting session, and as cheese and biscuits was on the shopping list, we couldn't resist buying 3 delicious cheeses for 10 pounds, a couple of boxes of crackers and a jar of pickle - that wasn't on the list!

 

Helen's persuasive powers at work from 'The Cheese Boat'

 

 

 

 

Our mooring for the next couple of nights

We're off on the bus and trains tomorrow to visit Lisa and Rob in Malpas, Cheshire for the day.  Then on Sunday we're having another day out with Andy and Belle on 'Wand'ring Bark'.  What an exciting weekend with family and friends we have ahead ...

A couple of days in Dudley (pronounced 'Dud-laay')

On Wednesday AND Thursday we visited The Black Country Museum, a 26 acre living history heritage site - what a fantastic place.  It's understandably won many tourism awards and is well worth a visit.  My parents visited us once again on Wednesday - we have to make the most of being fairly close to them while we can.  Mikey and Sophie left late Wednesday afternoon - their day visit turned into three days, bless them we had some fun together! 

The Canal Basin at the Black Country Museum - Dudley Tunnel and Tunnel Tour boats at end

 

 

We had a ride on the tram that was kindly donated to the museum and renovated, discovering that it was also born/made in 1920, so at 90 years old is the same age as my father - they're both still looking very grand for their ages.

 

 

 

 

 Down but not out - photogenic ally

The only original part of the museum are the Lime Kilns - the other buildings have been retrieved from surrounding areas and painstakingly re-built to mimic a 1930's Black Country town.  There's even a school where you can attend a lesson and write on a slate board, receiving a caning from the schoolmaster if you don't behave or mind you p's and q's!

The original lime kilns and the canal for transporting the quick-lime to the iron foundries

Slowly being restored to their former glory - there are two more boats unfortunately sitting on the bottom behind these ones

They certainly drew in the crowds during the school holidays

All the museum workers were dressed in authentic clothing, etc from the 1930s 

No sign of a power tool here!

Kitted out for the underground Black Country mining experience 

Always a long queue outside the Fish 'n' Chip shop 

The fairground with 1930's style rides, side-shows and Helter Skelter

 

You got the wrong guy officer!!

Coal in abundance - what The Black Country's all about

Producing steel chains

There's a Federation of Women Worker's building in the museum telling the story of the women chainmakers of Cradley Heath, who in 1910, led by Mary Macarthur, won a battle to establish the right to a fair wage following a 10 week strike. This landmark victory changed the lives of thousands of workers who were earning little more than 'starvation wages', while their male employers lived an affluent lifestyle.  Macarthur suggested that "women are unorganised because they are badly paid, and poorly paid because they are unorganised."

Manufacturing displays all sorts of products

Canal boat builders ...

and their tools ...

and working canal boats - are all part of The Black Country Museum - interesting stuff!

As we were in Dudley, here's five fascinating facts about the town:

1. Dudley is often referred to as the "heart" of the Black Country, with the broadest accent of the Black Country coming from there and surrounding areas - see the The Alphabet song for more explanations of this.  With a population of 194,91919 it is the 19th largest settlement in England
2. The present castle dates from the 13th century and is mentioned in the Doomsday Book.
3. Lenny Henry, British comedian, was born there.
4. The front and inner photographs for the 1971 Led Zeppelin IV album were taken in the Eve Hill area of town.
5. In an episode of the television comedy series Men Behaving Badly, Dudley is noted as the strangest place where Gary and Dorothy have had sex!

I found it quite amusing to also read that people from The Black Country, just like Suttonians, are offended to be labelled 'Brummies'.  People around the world tend to relate the Black Country dialect with Birmingham, when really it shouldn't be.  However, the exact boundaries of The Black Country have been hotly disputed for many years so it's probably all irrelevant really.

This morning's Dudley Canal Tunnel trip included 'Popeye the sailor man'!

There's a BW facilities block at the museum's moorings, so we managed to pump in and pump out and do a couple of loads of washing and drying on Thursday afternoon - bliss!  Now we just need to find a supermarket to stock up ...