Wednesday 5th October; Pelsall Common to Anglesey Basin
We weren’t planning a long cruise today but we did want to visit the Cannock Extension so we were soon rounding Pelsall Junction. As you can see the extension is very straight.
Pelsall Common was on our left.
This area used to be a massive iron works; a dog walker I was chatting to remembered it, and said there used to be a railway crossing the canal nearer to Pelsall Works bridge, though that had gone by the time he was around. The huge grassy area where we moored used to look more like the common does now.
We went as far as the old colliery basins where we turned and moored so we could walk to the end, just to say we’d been there; we didn’t take the boat that far in case there wasn’t room to turn, but it would have been fine. While we were mooring Meg went for a nose about and jumped back on the boat with muddy paws before we noticed. I left it – it’ll be easier to clean up when it’s dry!
We bought some veg in the farm shop on the main road then retraced our steps back to Pelsall junction. Don't the moorings look fabulous in the sunshine? Photo by Dave.
We stopped at Brownhills to use the facilities; while the water tank filled, Dave cleaned the brasses and I did the port-side windows and removed the cobwebs from the little drain holes. Then we moved up a little bit to the visitor moorings and went to the extremely convenient Tesco before we had lunch. There can’t be many supermarkets quite so close to a good mooring. Two older ladies arrived to feed the geese – the flotilla was already swimming over as they walked up.
Tesco had packs of those Heatlogs (compressed wood waste) at only £5 per pack. We are using those in preference to coal as it’s not cold enough to need to keep the fire in overnight. We find two of them are good for the whole evening.
We continued to the Anglesey branch and went up to the end expecting to find some moorings. But the three boats which appear in the photos you see appear to live there, so we turned in the massive winding hole – easy you would think but there was a mean wind which made it very difficult. We moored on a pleasant stretch which was a bit noisy from the motorway but otherwise fine.
I went off for a short run but Dave and Meg walked right round the reservoir, passing the station at Brownhills West on the little steam line.
We haven’t had much trouble with rubbish on the propeller for a few days, but we have to keep putting the engine into neutral to drop the leaves off.
7 and a half miles.
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