2021 is now a couple of weeks old and January thus far is proving to be a very challenging month, what with Lockdown Mk. 3 and ever-rising rates of Covid infection. Exploration antics have by necessity gone onto the back burner again but I still get out and about with my camera when I can...
- Wightwick Lock -
I'll kickstart my 2021 trip reports with news of a circular walk I completed on Friday 15th January, revisiting the Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal down to Dimmingsdale. Slate grey skies are hardly conducive to quality photography but I'm just glad to get out of the house in truth, meaning Wightwick Mill Lock is a very welcome sight regardless of the overcast conditions. The towpath soon takes me to Wightwick Lock where the accompanying keeper's cottage nestles amidst a mass of foliage; I remind myself that the section of the canal south of Compton first opened in 1771, making some of these structures around 250 years old!
- Mermaid Hire Cruisers -
Ducking under Windmill Lane, I note the Wightwick Wharf base of Mermaid Hire Cruisers seems very intent on promoting the availability of their winter moorings. Over to the left, Castlecroft Lane presents the final vestiges of suburban Wolverhampton before I enter South Staffordshire, Castlecroft Bridge (No. 55) having a distinctive pitched appearance in carrying a farm track into neighbouring fields. Mops Farm Bridge is overlooked by Pool Hall, a building which lends its name to the nearby fisheries where a couple of anglers are busy tending to their respective catches.
- A Castlecroft Character -
Throughout the stroll I've been amused to spot a series of funny faces cropping up at regular intervals - it appears that no unsuspecting stump or tree trunk is safe from being given bottletop eyes or a mouth crafted out of wire casing. I've covered the canal around here several times previously without realising just how many of these characters there actually are - they're literally everywhere! I'm also pleased that conditions aren't too muddy despite recent rainfall, so I shouldn't look like I've waded through a swamp by the time I get home.
- Dimmingsdale Bridge -
Enough of this frivolity, I have serious exploration to report. Dimmingsdale Bridge is flanked by the local garden centre (currently closed until late January pending any further lockdown announcements), and fishing is clearly a popular Lower Penn pastime judging by the amount of people trundling tackle trolleys around. The pool of the J Sankey Angling Club is close at hand which may explain the number of cars parked up along an otherwise quiet stretch of country lane.
- Dimmingsdale Lock -
A short distance on from Dimmingsdale Bridge is Dimmingsdale Lock, the farthest point of today's endeavours. The towpath switches sides here with the lock bridge acting as a mossy turnover while the balance beam ends are carved with the number 28 (the canal has 43 locks in total). After attempting photos from a succession of angles and saying hello to some passing dog walkers, I retreat back to Dimmingsdale Bridge and prepare for the homeward plod via Dimmingsdale Road.
- Penstone Lane -
Dimmingsdale is little more than a hamlet so besides the garden centre the other main features are a Severn Trent pumping station and then a short row of houses near Penstone Lane. It isn't far into Lower Penn so I quickly reacquaint myself with Greyhound Lane, Victory Hall and the Greyhound pub, ignoring the South Staffordshire Railway Walk in favour of Market Lane and Langley Road. Merry Hill indicates my arrival into Wolverhampton territory once more and the whole circuit took two hours or so, just ideal for stretching those lockdown legs of mine - cheers!
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