Neil Arlidge wrote... >Adrian Stott wrote: >>Steve Wood wrote >>>of the Wyrley & Essington Canal at Strawberry Lane.
>> IIRC there used to be a fair bit of additional (now unnavigable) canal >> that way, including a flight of locks up to what was the highest pound >> ever on the BCN. Is that right? > >Indeed the "Main Line" went up from Sneyd Junction to Wyrley Bank via >another 5 locks to a summit of 533 feet. >It always suffered from water supply problems and as abandoned in 1954. Not quite correct. The five locks up from Sneyd Junction did indeed lead to the long pound that extended towards Great Wyrley and the three-mile long Wyrley Bank Branch, but the level of this was 503 feet. About 0.75 miles above the top lock was the Essington Locks Branch, which climbed another 5 locks to the Essington summit level of 533 feet. The Essington branch had even more water supply problems and was abandoned in 1830! See http://www.penninewaterways.co.uk/summits.htm Strawberry Lane crosses the line of the Wyrley Bank Branch (just north of the junction with New Lane). The branch continued almost to Cheslyn Hay. http://www.streetmap.co.uk/ suggests that the section from Landywood to the Walsall boundary is in some sort of water. I walked along part of it 35 years ago but I don't know whether this is still possible. -- Martin Clark (who used to know The 'Vention pretty well) Internet Boaters' Database http://www.boaterweb.co.uk Pennine Waterways Website http://www.penninewaterways.co.uk
