The Birmingham and Fazeley Canal
Sunday 23rd January 2022
We are on a new (to us) canal! We have turned onto this canal before but only as far as the Fazeley Marina so it’s all new waters after that! Very exciting to be exploring new parts of the country!
It was a very cold cruise today but enjoyed all the lovely surrounding countryside. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds acquired a large area of worked out gravel workings and opened a large nature reserve called Middleton Lakes alongside the canal, which is lovely and we walked back through some of the reserve on our way back to fetch the car.
This photo is the unusual Drayton Foot Bridge. It is a footbridge linking together two rather gothic-looking, castellated towers, each containing a staircase. Why this rather eccentric folly was built doesn’t seem to be known for certain - but the fact that the Drayton Manor Estate (more recently the Drayton Manor theme park) is nearby could point to it being insisted upon by a wealthy squire of the estate wanting a boring nearby canal to be livened up with a fancy decorative bridge!
We reached the Curdworth flight of 11 locks today and ascended the first three of them to moor outside The Dog & Doublet Inn.
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Curdworth is one of the oldest settlements in this part of the world and it’s name is derived from Crida, the first King of Mercia. At the first lock (Lock 11 as we are at the bottom of the flight) there as some beautiful canal cottages where a lovely chap came out and helped us with the lock. Such a lovely place to live, right next to the canal and adjoining the nature reserve. How lucky we felt to also be living in this area for a short time!
We walked back to pick up the car from Fazeley via the RSPB nature reserve which was well worth the extra steps, to our surprise birds were not the only wildlife we encountered.
We nipped into The Dog & Doublet and had a very nice pint of Speckled Hen, before being treated to a most delicious Sunday roast chicken dinner by Lady Rosemary (she spoils us - and we love it!). However, even better, we were talking about childhood memories during the meal and both myself and the Captain had very fond memories of having tinned peaches and evaporated milk for pudding when we were kids - and - lo and behold, the Lady just happened to have some! Brilliant! They were still as delicious as I remembered!
Monday 24th January 2022
Today we are staying put. We got some jobs done and at teatime went to The Dog & Doublet for a pint with Bob and Rosemary and ended up having our tea there. On certain nights Chef Pete - who specialises in Chinese food - so we felt we had to try it.
The food was amazing, the landlady is fantastic - so friendly and accommodating - nothing was too much trouble. We can’t recommend this pub enough - if you’re cruising by or in the area - go visit - you won’t be disappointed!