Not quite the day we’d planned

12^th July; Netherton Tunnel branch to Coseley Tunnel

Well, I’d thought we’d be making an early start to tackle the Wolverhampton 21.  As it turned out, that would have been a very bad idea so it was just as well it didn’t happen.  Dave thought, as there weren’t many opportunities to work on the port side this trip, he’d do a bit of work on the bit between the rubbing strake and the gunwales before we left, but it turned out it needed a lot more work than he’d expected.

Meanwhile, after the birdsong at dawn, the factory noise started before 6.  Yesterday, being Sunday, had been blissfully quiet with just the birds and passers-by for company.  Anyway, once Dave had finished the rubbing down, and I’d washed off the dust for him, the wind started to get up.  The bank was a little too high to stop the vegetation touching the new paint, so I spent some time leaning on the boat to hold the side away from the edge, and getting quite cold into the bargain.  There had been the odd bit of drizzle in the air, then Dave was a just a few inches away from completing his work when it started to rain properly.  We retreated inside, had lunch and looked at the options.  The Wolverhampton locks were clearly not going to be part of the plan today.  Coseley tunnel it was then.

The rain seemed to have stopped so we left straight after lunch.  The wind made it rather tricky to reverse out of the arm back onto the main line, and the operation wasn’t helped by Meg suddenly leaping off the back in hot pursuit of a feral cat.  As we got her back on board and started down the main line the rain started again.  A minute or two later, there was a bang followed by a series of taps … something around the prop.  We limped across the aqueducts and pulled in.  We must have hit a bike, torn the wheel off then the tyre off the rim, in about three seconds.  The tyre was chunky and reinforced with wire.

Well twisted

And all the while it was raining gently.  As we approached Factory Locks at Tipton it was not gentle any longer, so there are no more photos.  At least it wasn’t cold – the lock beams felt warm to the touch.  There was a lot of weed above the lock, with just a narrow channel showing where boats had come through from the Wolverhampton Level.  It wasn’t long before we reached the bollards before Coseley tunnel, thankfully free, and we were soon inside out of the weather, with the Mikuni fired up to dry us off.  Every now and then a dog walker went by, and once some damp looking young teenagers.  Later on they passed on their way home again, waving cheerily.  Then we heard shrieks and giggles, as our stern gently drifted away from the bank.  At least they’d only lifted the rope over the bollard and not cut it!  It took Dave longer to get his waterproofs back on than it did to pole us back over and re-moor.

2 miles, rain, 3 locks, rain, a naughty dog, a twisted tyre, a lifted rope and rain.