Date: 2nd August 2024

Canal: Dudley No. 2 and Dudley No. 1

Direction: West

Locks: 1

Swing bridges: 0

Netherton Tunnel

After leaving Birmingham:

The cruise out of Birmingham was a very different experience to traveling through the rural countryside. We left the city through housing estates and followed the Birmingham Main Line to Sandwell, then we turned onto the Wolverhampton Line (the old line). A large amount of this journey took the canal back and forth under the M5 motorway, which was interesting to see but definitely not scenic.

We spent a couple of pleasant nights moored in Tipton, outside the Black Country Museum and the entrance to the Dudley Tunnel. There is something special about being able to bring your home right up to the entrance of these amazing attractions. We took our time walking around the museum; it is spectacularly constructed and is a truly immersive experience with passionate actors playing their part in the shops and houses. After the museum we took a 45 minute guided boat trip through Dudley Tunnel. If you haven’t done this we would highly recommend it, the guide makes the whole thing very engaging.

From Tipton we took our boat through the Netherton Tunnel. The idea of traveling deep beneath the earth for 2 miles is quite daunting, but in fact it was very wide and straight and after 45 minutes of darkness we emerged into bright sunlight and found a mooring in the Bumble Hole Nature Reserve.

We had heard mixed reviews about mooring in Bumble Hole, but our own experience was that it is a pretty place with a lovely towpath and a café/shop. During the day it is a popular route for walkers and cyclists, but at night it can attract small groups of rather lively and noisy people.

Dudley No. 2 Canal

Today’s cruise:

The temperature was a little cooler today although the sun shone, this made it a pleasant day for cruising. We headed west from Bumble Hole and continued along the Dudley No. 2 Canal. This is a very nice waterway, from the boat the view was mostly of reeds, wildflowers and the bird life but it was also clear that we were traveling through a heavily populated area with a variety of industry backing onto the towpath.

When we reached Park Head Junction we filled up with water (unnecessarily, but it’s best practice to take every opportunity) and turned left. We met a volunteer from the Friends of Park Head Locks who was repainting the bollards and paddles. He passionately explained the Grazebrook Arm to us (that leads to the other entrance to Dudley Tunnel) and helped me work the lock mechanism when we travelled through. It’s always lovely to meet other people who enjoy the canals as much as we do and it’s a bonus when they are willing to share their obvious knowledge of the area.

From here onwards we were navigating the Dudley No. 1 Canal and soon arrived at Merry Hill, where the canal opens up into a basin.

Bridges on Dudley No. 2 Canal

Mooring at Brierley Hill:

The basin at Merry Hill has plenty of moorings in and around it. There is a pub and a nightclub opposite and Merry Hill Shopping Centre sits behind these. On a warm sunny day this was a pleasant mooring (if a little noisy at night) and a convenient place to restock all of our supplies.

There were mooring bollards, so we were able to use our ropes to tie up.

The towpath was brick, flat and very well maintained.

There was sunlight for most of the day, making it a good spot for the solar panels.

The internet and TV signal was very good.

Links:

Friends of Park Head Locks