After the tribulations of yesterday we hoped for a better day today although it was again planned to be a fairly long day. Overnight someone had slipped our mooring ropes but the boat had not drifted and there was no other evidence of interference so no real problem. Never figured out why it was just our boat out of the half dozen moored that they picked on.

The day started quite grey as we slipped out of Birmingham at 7.30am. The Worcs & Birmingham at this end is characterised by the huge brick road bridges high above the canal and these were the only points of interest on an otherwise uneventful stretch. Edgbaston Tunnel was novel in that it was lighted throughout despite being only 100 yards long. I can think of a few tunnels were those lights would be more useful! On past Birmingham University, which is not really visible from the canal but glimpses can be obtained showing just how big the campus is, and past the Cadbury's factory at Bournville over on the right, before coming to Kings Norton Junction. Here we met a boat coming the other way just the opposite side of Bridge 72. He stopped and waved us through but only then did I realise that he was right across the junction to the Stratford Canal. Despite being quite a large junction I had to go past him and then had problems turning but after a few reverses made it round to catch a glimpse of the first guillotine lock we had come across.

This first lock on the Stratford is not now used but the guillotine mechanism was a precursor of the different features to be found on this canal. We passed the first swing bridge, this one disused, before reaching Brandwood Tunnel where we encountered a boat in the middle that was going so slowly that I thought he had broken down, but as we pulled up behind we realised he was moving so we tagged on and crawled through. As we came out of the tunnel another boat came in at a fair speed which was a bit worrying as I was not sure that the tunnel was wide enough for two boats but he had obviously done this before and he sailed through without problem. We passed the slow boat shortly but then had to stop for water and feared we would be behind him again but he also stopped for water and we were able to get away in front.

The next highlight was Shirley Drawbridge which is power operated with push buttons on a control box which shut the road barriers and raise the bridge. Sandy and Sean looked after the operation while I steered. As a one-off experience this was quite interesting but I am not sure if I would like 'power-assistance' to be the norm as it does take away a lot of the physical fun of operating the locks and bridges. The next lift bridge we came across was hydraulically operated with a windlass, much more appropriate even if the crew said it was hard work! This stretch of the canal down to Hockley Heath was interesting but quite the filthiest stretch of canal we had come across with much floating debris ranging from polystyrene to floor boards and wooden pallets with everything in between. On a couple of occasions we had to go up to the bows with the boat hook to remove planks of wood that we were pushing along. The debris here was much worse than anything we had found going into Birmingham and was not expected on the Stratford Canal but I guess that this end is still very much the outskirts of Birmingham.

We stopped for lunch at The Wharf Tavern by Bridge 25 at Hockley Heath intending to have a snack but ended up with a full cooked lunch as it was so reasonable (see Eating Out). After this we were well set up to tackle the Lapworth Locks and the canal now changed into a much greener more rural environment that was closer to what we had expected of the Stratford. The morning had been fairly quiet but, of course, when we came to the flight everybody came out and there were half a dozen boats coming up as well as quite a few now behind us. The boats coming up helped us in that we could occasionally go straight into a waiting lock but on many of these locks the pounds in between are so short that it was a struggle sometimes for two boats to pass. No real problems however and we were able to negotiate the flight of 18 locks in a little over two and a half hours, despite having to wait once or twice for other boats.

The junction with the Lapworth Link is another of those canal places with character and we stopped awhile to wander around taking a look at the first of the famous barrel-roof cottages we had seen, as well as the various locks and bridges. A fascinating location and well worth a visit. We were soon through lock 20 and onto the Link, which only took ten minutes to pass along, before turning left onto the Grand Union where our stop for the night lay just beyond Bridge 65 near to The Navigation pub. We had intended to eat there but our full cooked lunch meant that no-one was hungry so we couldn't be bothered to walk to the pub and spent the evening on board instead.

A good day, spoilt just a bit by all the garbage at the top end of the Stratford, but enlivened by Lapworth Locks and the junction.