Anyway, this morning I was in Wolverhampton - part of the long-running saga of the car's cooling system. This time the heater core inlet pipe had split (on the way to York on Monday and almost instantly half of the water squirted out). Needless to say I had to buy both the inlet and outlet pipes to sort it out. Bits of tape have kept it together for the time being.
Needing to go to the town centre, I walked from the garage mainly along the canal. The full set of photos is on facebook but here is a selection.
Just next to the garage is the tip (or 'community recycling facility') as it is known. This sign, now hidden in the foliage, is, in its current context, quite an amusing survival from whatever the previous use of the land was...
A bit further along I got to the canal via the Gorsebrook Bridge, a nice ferro-concrete bridge of the 1930s, spanning the canal near Lock No.15 (of 21) which was itself built in the 1860s.
Looking back down my route (ie. away from the City Centre) from Lock No.11 (I think). In front is the Wolverhampton Low Level railway line, with the High Level line (the main line from London) behind it.
One of the saddest sights in Wolverhampton for some years has been the old Mitchell and Butler brewery outside the station. This Victorian tower brewery was in use until about 2001, but was subject to an arson attack in 2004. In late 2007 development began at the once-evocative derelict Low Level Station to turn it into an anodyne set of luxury apartments. It seems that the brewery has gone the same way...
Again, more photos on facebook. To finish with a couple of shots of canalside architecture. The first, from the bridge below the top locks, is looking towards Wolverhampton city centre with the Chubb building (of lockmaking fame) prominent in the background. The second is of the street entrance of the Broad Street Canal Basin, which was looking quite atmospheric with the sunlight streaming through. Note also the giant BR sign on the station car park in the background.
Well that's all for now. I know why I gave up posting to the blog - it is much too time-consuming and stressful to get all the photos lined up right etc. However I shall persevere and try to put some more on soon. Walking down this short stretch of canal - a couple of miles I guess - made me think a bit more about my plan of walking from Shropshire to London along the canals...
