Black Country Ring Two years ago I wrote an article about our family holiday on the Kennet and Avon Canal. We all enjoyed it so much we booked another school half term canal holiday for the following year. Little did we know what was in store and it would be cancelled due to Covid19! We rebooked the holiday for 2021. Fortunately Boris said we could go this time so off we went to Great Haywood which is directly north of Birmingham. The very first canal holiday that Roy and I took over 55 years ago was through the centre of Birmingham. It was very derelict at the time but the experience resulted in us becoming canal enthusiasts and joining IWA. This time we would take a circular route - The Black Country Ring which would take us through Birmingham again and we would be able to see how their canal system has changed for the better. The Ring was advertised as having 79 locks and taking about 43 hours. As it was a Bank Holiday, we left early and arrived at the canal basin at 9.15 am. Louise, our daughter, and family arrived minutes later. Luckily our boat was ready early so we loaded our bags and provisions. There was great excitement getting to know the layout of our 69 foot boat and choosing our cabins. We set off at midday and made good progress travelling in an anti-clockwise direction on the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal. Lucas 12 yrs. and Bella 9 yrs. couldn’t wait to help at the locks. Indeed they helped at all the locks during the whole holiday. Lucas also soon became very competent at handling the boat. We travelled south through beautiful countryside and moored just below Penkridge. That evening we discovered we had been given double bedding for two single bunks. A phone call to base soon sorted that and our duvets arrived before long.
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