"Down the Cut"

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Some of you may have noticed that I have added a link to “Ramblings of a Boatwoman”. Her blog is actually called “My Life on the cut. - From a female perspective” and I am enjoying reading it very much.

I have been following her journey by referring to my canal maps.

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You see, I have also been reading the ‘Water Road’ by Paul Gogarty. He is a travel writer for the Daily Telegraph and spent four months travelling 900 miles of England’s waterways.

The old maps are very useful to see exactly where people are.

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Paul, not looking where he's going!

(or perhaps 'going astern'?)

I have always been fascinated by our canal system and would just love to go off and explore.

My very first view of a canal would have been at Bournville, where the Worcester & Birmingham canal ran alongside the railway for many miles. When I was young, six or seven, Mother would take us to the Cadbury factory to wave to our Father. Now he worked in an area called ’waterside’, for the very reason it was alongside the canal. Here we could watch the trains, watch the canal boats and at a pre-arranged time, wave to Dad, who would come out onto those steps on the left of the picture below.

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Waterside - Cadburys, Bournville.

Later on, when at Grammar school, my mate and I would take his canoe to the ‘cut’ at Kings Norton and paddle up and down. We had to take it in-turns as it only seated one.

Kings Norton is at the junction of the W & B canal and the Stratford canal (the very same Stratford-on-Avon ie Shakespeare). There is a 2726 yard long canal tunnel here called Wast Hill Tunnel and we, being foolhardy lads, used to paddle off down into the darkness with no lights or life-jackets. They were the days!

I was hooked and set about building my own (as I would) in woodwork classes. I finished all the wooden framing and took it home to cover it with canvas.

This never came to be - I cannot recall why the project came to a halt - probably because of cost.

It wasn’t until 1973 that I got a real chance to see more of the canal system. A group of eight of us, hired two boats for a week, and set off up the Oxford canal. We travelled for three days and then turned round on the Grand Union and spent three days coming back. That’s me on the right of the picture in my Aran sea-going wooly pully. (Which incidentally, my Mother knitted for me and…..yes, you’ve guessed I, still have it today.)

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Oxford Canal - 1973

(with Chris & I think Lorraine, from NZ)

I also, still have the book we used way back in ‘73. I’m sure it is still valid, even though 37 years old, as canals and locks have a habit of staying put!

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Now I don’t have any music to offer on canals but many songs were written.

There is a link here to a site where you can hear quite a number.

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