The weather forecast for today was almost continuous rain - and it was not wrong! There were just one or two short intervals when sun emerged and it showed how warm it could have been the rest of the time.
We used the facilities at the top lock.
This is known as Longwood Junction but not because this is where a shirt arm went off to a former colliery about three quarters of mike away. Instead, it was the end-to-end join between the Daw End branch of the Wyrley and Essington and the Rushall Canals. The Longwood Boat Club use the first part of the arm for moorings as well as the former lock cottage and outbuildings.
Daw End is a contour canal - unlike the dead straight Rushall, so has many ends. At times it runs through quite rural territory as it skirts around various towns and industrial parks.
Although the trees have yet to sprout leaves, we could see several different types of catkins - here are three but others may have simply been variants at different stages of development.
Aldridge Boat Centre is a small set of moorings but seemed to have limited facilities, certainly no diesel of chandlery sales.
We paused under a main road bridge as we had spotted that a sm,ll general shop was close to the canal - there are very few in these parts. Andrew manged to pick up some milk but alas no newspaper.
At the end of Daw End we passed through Catshill Junction to join the main line of Wyrley and Essington.
A mile later we came through Ogley Junction where a canal once ran across to the Coventry Canal at Huddlesford, descending a flight of locks.
The rest of the stretch up to Chasewater was known as the Anglesey Branch. About half way along we felt the engine suddenly struggle and we sought refuge under a main road bridge to investigate via the weed hatch. Turned out to be three rather thick pieces of rope. Fortunately, they all eventually succumbed to pulling off. We would not have fancied our chances at cutting through them otherwise.
Just before the terminus we saw this former wharf. We assume that there were once loading chutes. The 1938 OS Map indicates that a short siding from mineral railway that connected Cannock Chase Colliery to the main line South Staffordshire Railway came alongside here.
We came here for the first and only time back in 2008, on one of the first long trips with nb Take Five. At that time would could moor temporarily to a hard edge below the outtake from the reservoir using convenient rings. Alas, they have now been roped off and we had to seek elsewhere. Surprisingly there is no real provision for visitors arriving by canal and we had a slightly untidy mooring just a little way back from the winding hole. We doubted that there would not be too much passing traffic!
We walked up to the reservoir and to the Chasewater Visitor Centre. The cafe and craft centre were open but only a small number of visitors - unsurprising given the wet weather.
A water sport feature - a fixed line water ski it seemed - was closed and its web site suggests that it ceased offering rides last year.
We walked out on the short jetty.
A herd of deer had invaded the children's play area. Half were already outside and the gradually demonstrated how they gained access and exit!
After lunch, Andrew walked down to the main road to catch a bus and then a train back to Droitwich to collect his car as he was leaving us this evening after an evening meal. As he walked from the station to the marina he checked out the water levels. Although they have subsided back to near normal they clearly had been very high very recently. Mike and Christine just stayed put - Mike had a short paper to write. It was not needed for a few days but this proved to be a good opportunity to save time later in the week.
7.6 Miles - 0 Locks
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