We do like the mooring at the Bumblehole, but curiosity got the better of us, wondering what we’d find down the Hawne Arm.
We had been warned that the Gosty Tunnel was low and the water shallow, but the rewards would be cheap diesel at Hawne basin…. Paul and his crew from Waterways Routes, were moored next to us, and encouraged us to give it a go
A lot of effort has been put into encouraging people to make the most of the canals around here, and local artist Luke Perry has a series of 31 sculptures that represent the people and heritage of the Dudley 2, This graffiti artist is telling us that this was the Tollmans office, where he would set the toll fee using a notched freeboard stick to calculate the weight of the boat.
Sadly there’s a lot of derelict neglect to be seen around here, despite some gems, the sculpture we liked the most is the elephant, who was found frolicking in the canal in the 1900s. I wonder how CRT would have handled that one…
For a backwater only 2 miles long there was plenty to make us smile,
Then the entrance to the notoriously low Gosty Tunnel
Which isn’t all that long, and didn’t seem that low…..
At first…
But there was a nice friendly fella distracting us from the warning white paint
Or perhaps not so friendly
And yes we really did have to duck
But we followed the light at the end of the tunnel and made it out, without becoming victim to the rocky sides or count dracula. We were treated to some impressive old brickwork. This stretch of the canal had been vital to the former Stewarts and Lloyd’s steel works.
Hawne Basin had been the rail interchange for transhipment of S&Ls huge steel tubes, and is now the end of navigation. The original line had gone a further 5 miles to Selly Oak cutting out the centre of Birmingham
We picked up fuel for less than £/l wishing we had had an emptier tank. The reception was welcoming, and the community spirit obvious, I am sure they would have found us space for an overnight stay if we had asked. But we’d decided to make the return trip to Bumblehole the same day. Eric had promised me a black country speciality for tea, battered chips. Yes they really were that orange, and yes there was a huge piece of fish under them. Another good reason to plan a return trip this way.
