Martin Clark wrote: > 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.
...you just can't believe everything you Google! You will be glad to know that your Google ranking for Great Wyrley Branch has now gone up.... -- Neil Arlidge - NB Earnest - The Wilderness years... Follow the truly independent TNC at : http://www.tuesdaynightclub.co.uk Visit this site and help save our waterways from the DEFRA cuts http://www.saveourwaterways.org.uk/
