Aug 16

I am in Birmingham at Cambrian Wharf. This is a secure mooring area for visitors right in the heart of the city.

Pat and Kerry have returned to Canada after a wonderful month of exploration and cruising. We have travelled from Devizes on the Kennet and Avon Canal, up the Thames to Oxford, on the Oxford Canal from Oxford to Braunston, then up the Grand Union Canal to Birmingham. I’ve settled the mooring issue, and will be based at Braunston Marina for the foreseeable future.

The trip into Birmingham was interesting: the northern part of that canal (broad locks until Birmingham city is reached) was heavy going, and very shallow and dirty with lots of debris that kept the weed hatch busy. We were somewhat late in arriving, and had planned to stay in Typhoo basin, but found that to have no walking access in or out, so while secure, was really inconvenient. We moored along the canal with one other boat in a very industrial area. Few amenities, and definitely forbidding canal-side scenery. Lots of wharf remnants of when the canals were a major transportation system for industry. Only one was still used, and that for a movie studio (no mooring though).

The next day we climbed 19 locks into the city center, and what a difference: here things are rejuvenated and there are lots of amenities and action. Birmingham is a very vibrant city, and there is an international food fair in the market center, as well as some of the largest markets anywhere in the Bullring area. We explored that area and I will have a chance to return nd explore some more, as I will stay here for a couple of days to get in some needed shopping and all. Phone replenishment, etc.