Although todays cruise is relatively short, it’s not without its challenges. Maybe you have heard the saying “Poor Planning Precipitates Poor Performance”, sometimes known as the 5P’s and we had some planning to do, if we were to complete this cruise without tragedy.

Some might says its unwise to start a significant journey on an empty stomach, so with this in mind we headed off in search of a local establishment we had been told about to partake of some nourishment. 😏The Old Swan (also known as Ma Pardoes) is one of the last four remaining English home-brew pubs. Featuring an ornate Swan ceiling and standalone burner in the bar, the premises are home to the Olde Swan Brewery. There is a cosy snug to the rear of the bar where we could take the dogs in,  adjacent is a small bench next to what used to be the door to the side alley where wives would be served with a flagon of nectar for their tired husbands as they returned from a hard days graft. If this was the stuff that the Black Country was built on,,, we thought it would provide us with the nourishment we needed for our forthcoming journey 😊

https://www.facebook.com/brewerswife/

Reviewing the weather forecast the day before we knew there was a good chance of rain “why would we travel in the rain?” you might ask  …  simple answer, we had booked in at Hawne Basin a few days earlier. Hawne Basin was almost full but Ivor (The Moorings Officer) kindly informed us he could accommodate two boats for the time we wanted, so needed to be there on the agreed dates.  The other reason we wanted to cruise today was because Steph was travelling back to Derby the following day – but didn’t want to miss out on the tunnel – even though it was really scary!!

“What about these 5P’s ?” you might say, well, between Bumble Hole and Hawne Basin there was a matter of a relatively small tunnel called Gosty Hill Tunnel, comparatively small in length (circa 563 yards long) and only the width of a single lock, which was clearly not the issue,,,, it’s the height,,, or lack of it, which was reason for concern.

You may have noticed from photos of Hang Loose that we have quite a lot on the roof – solar panels, bags of coal, etc, not to mention the chimney and TV aerial.  Paul had a busy time preparing - lowering the solar panels, laying the bags of coal in a single layer … even my Buddha had to be moved so it didn’t get knocked off!  He was backwards and forwards (faffing about) making sure (or hoping) that nothing would be a casualty of the tunnel.

It was, as forecast, a rainy day – but we had to go!  Backwards …. The branch we needed to travel was behind us so we reversed miles (well, actually just a few hundred yards) to head towards Gosty Hill Tunnel. We have already walked this route (although not as far as the tunnel) so we have talked about this in a previous blog.

We cruise past the remains of old arms and wharves but a lot of the scenery is industrial units and unfortunately there was quite a lot of rubbish dumped alongside the canal – although we had seen some hard working volunteers clearing up on one of our walks. 

This sign explains that Rowley is infamous as being the hiding place for Robert Wintour, who was one of the conspirators of the failed gunpowder plot!  And in another part of the canal, in the 1900s, a visiting circus’ elephants were found frolicking in the canal!!

The tunnel was approaching and it does indeed look very narrow! 😮  On the approach to the tunnel, along a narrow channel, there is the remains of an old tug dock. 

The tug was used to pull open work boats through the tunnel from 1913 to the late 1930s.  Before that the boats were legged through.  There is one air ventilator shaft in the tunnel, which we spotted in the front garden of house as we walked to the railway station.

The tunnel is quite high to start with but then the roof suddenly changes height and Paul had to crouch down to steer the boat, Steph was that busy taking a picture of Dracula that Paul had to warn her very quickly to duck as the roof suddenly became lower.  Just missed knocking herself out!! 🙄 You can see in this photo that the roof is high up until the picture of Dracula and then it is only as high as the white rim underneath – very claustrophobic!  The roof does rise again, to give a little break but it drops down again for the final short stretch.

  It was slow going and although we were sheltered from the rain, it was very cold in there 🥶and as always with tunnels – it’s quite a relief to emerge back into the sunlight (well the light …. no sun today).  We were greeted by a high wall of archways that used to be the Stewart & Lloyds steel tube works.

It was a very short distance from the tunnel to the sharp right turn into Hawne Basin, that has caused many a problem for boaters, especially when it’s windy.  Paul, of course, expertly manoevred into the basin. 😎  We received a very warm welcome from Dee, filled up with fuel and water and then moved to our mooring spot for the next week.

Although the canal used to carry on for another 5 miles, to join with the Worcester Birmingham canal at Selly Oak, it now terminates at Hawne Basin, which was a GWR railway interchange basin used for the transhipment of tubes – and closed with the railway in 1967.

Hawne Basin is owned by the members of Coombeswood Canal Trust and is surrounded by typical Black Country trading estates on all sides. Hidden away from the outside world, the basin offers a stark contrast to the hustle and bustle of modern life. It provides a home to a number of boaters who live on their boats all year round, however most boats in the basin are people who leave their boats and live elsewhere. The basin is also home to a club house, launderette, showers, shop and other facilities which are spotless, there is a real community feel about the place with strangers being made to feel part of that community straight away. On Friday evening one of the couples from the basin went out to the local fish & chips shop after taking orders from anyone who was interested. We then sat in the club house and tucked into what could only be described as heavenly, while listening to boating adventures, past and yet to come 😊. Sunday dinner is also provided at a very reasonable price, however if you’re not careful you could get roped into preparing the vegetables which also adds to the community feel. Truly an amazing place and well worth the experience of the scary tunnel 😊.

The Trust was established to:-  stimulate interest and appreciation of the Dudley Number 2 Canal, with the aim of improving conditions while providing facilities for recreation or other leisure activities around the local area. (In our humble opinion, they are doing what it says on the label and doing it well…Thank you….🥰

Their website has all the information you need as well as containing the rich history of the place and local area.  Home page (hawnebasin.org.uk)