We decided last night that we'd try a breakfast on a narrowboat cafe just around the corner from where we were moored, then do a bit of shopping, see what was on at either a concert hall or a theatre. So breakfast was had which was okay, but not up to Mick's standards ( but they rarely are!) then went for a wonder around Gas Street Basin. Of course we found a cafe that most probably did a really nice breakfast, but hey ho!
Compared to the way into Birmingham it is really lovely round here even though the Olly Murs concert last night had ended with an awful lot of horn beeping in the early hours! Off to a small Sainsburys to stock up on a few things. Then back to the boat. I was feeling very weary as a result of not that much activity, we needed to fill up with water and none of the plays or concerts were that alluring. So whilst I closed my eyes for a few seconds Mick looked at the routes we could take.
Birmingham has lots to offer, but with weather forcasts as they are we got itchy feet and wanted to be on the move again. We can always come back and take advantage of being in the centre of Birmingham when we haven't got somewhere to be. So route amended to have fewer locks we headed into Gas street basin to fill with water. There was a boat that looked like it had been moored there for sometime right next to the water point.A lady came to check over the toilets, she spent quite a bit of time on the phone obviously reporting the other boat. He apparently moves from service station to service station pinching the loo roll and leaving his rubbish where he shouldn't. She wasn't happy with him!
Off we set with Bournville in our sights for mooring for the night. There is a handy big Sainsburys just by bridge 80 with moorings. We took advantage of these and the short walk to stock up on heavier items, wine and potatoes, oh and Hot cross buns! A short while on we reached the sight of the chocolate factory with only the railway in our way. Here there are moorings on the tow path but also an area set aside off side with railings around it with gates etc. The sign suggests that the area is very dodgy and if you leave your boat it will be broken into! We pulled over to take advantage of the offside moorings but the wind had got up and was refusing to let us cross the canal. So we moored up tow path side inhaling the chocolaty aroma. Hmmmm! Just like York. We had no intention of going anywhere so felt this would be okay. Constant trains went by and we watched another boat move from the tow path to the cordoned off moorings, this gave us impetus to beat the wind. There was just space for one more boat and it had our name on it. Tied up off side a suitable distance away from the railings we settled down for the night listening to the wind whip up around us.
Mick cooked chicken tagliatelli a favourite. The wind has gradually got stonger, not quite white horses on the canal, it started to rain and now the snow has started. Here's hoping we manage to get some sleep tonight in between the gusts of wind and trains.
4.5miles 0 locks
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