Hockley Heath
May 2017
I don't think I have ever seen the Birmingham Level fill so quickly.
For weeks the Birmingham Level has been nearly two bricks down, a reduction which left the tug boats iall sorts of problems and one crew reported a 22 hour marathon to get from the Black Country Living Museum to Hawne Basin.
I have a soft spot for little buttys, even than they are really push tugs!
What we needed, we all agreed, was a bit of rain to fill the monster pound which extends for over 40 miles. Well today the heavens opened and water was spilling into the canal from every quarter. The forecast was for heavy rain all day and rain it did.
Tuesday saw us holed up in Birmingham doing some shopping, banking and washing before Helen was interviewed and photographed for a magazine article. During the evening she hosted her book group aboard the boat so Dan and I made ourselves scarce and had a delayed birthday meal and trip to see the latest Alien film.
But Dan isnt with us just for a jolly. He is also with us to help us down the locks to Warwick and for that we needed to get to Hockley Heath. The problem was the weather which was forecast to be awful all day - and so it was. Whilst I wouldn't tackle the locks in teeming rain, there is no reason not to travel if wrapped up in the right clothes. So it was waterproofs from the off at 7.30am and I did my best to shelter under my umbrella for the next 10 hours. We made slow but steady progress to Hockley Heath. As we travelled every pipe was gushing storm water and you could almost see the level rising and swamping the grass edges. By the end of the day the water was nearing the overflow weirs so it must have added a good 4 inches.
And so we sit perched and ready to make our descent. I will just have to prise Dan from his sleeping bag in the butty - no mean feat.
2 comments:
So lovely to see you both yesterday, an added bonus to my canal fix! Do hope things were easier with the butty alongside for the rest of the flight. You certainly were doing the marathon tackling both Lapworth and Hatton and I'm sorry I couldn't be more help. Did feel rather guilty not doing any work but it was time to go and meet Ian. God bless you both in your travels and time together, we pray for your continued healing and recovery Helen, the canals are a great place to convalesce, except perhaps for the long flights of locks!
Love Karen and Ian
Karen it was great to see you, although more briefly than we would have wanted. The Butty alongside worked much better and we made it to The Cape by 7.00pm
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