Rockin' in the West Midlands.

Having enjoyed a weekend of Rugby, we set of early on a frosty morning, leaving Long Moll's Bridge

basking in the dawn light. I still have no idea who she was, her name is immortalised in bricks and mortar and no one knows to whom the name belonged, it's a funny old world.

We passed Hatherton Junction and the truncated end of the Hatherton Branch, it used to be another route up to the B.C.N. Now it's just another restoration project.
We passed Coven and then it was onward and into the cutting

known as Pendeford Rockin'.

You can just about squeeze a narrowboat into it, although, as you can see, it widens out in places so you can manage to pass another boat. Just how they managed to pass two working pairs is beyond me.

It seems to resemble a mill leat more than a canal.

Escaping through Marsh Lane Bridge always comes as a relief even if it is only Wolverhampton's suburbs that lie beyond.

Autherley Junction, a.k.a. Cut End, soon appears and a sharp right under the junction bridge and you're on the Birmingham and Liverpool Junction Canal better known as the "Shroppie".
Just beyond the bridge is a stop lock and a large hire boat base, this makes for some exciting moments on summer weekends, best to avoid it at those times.