The Fingerpost Pub at Yorks Bridge decided to close temporarily whilst a new bridge was being built across the canal. Work on the construction had started some months earlier, but due to a series of complicated traffic lights, customers were just not stopping at the pub. I had booked a table at the Finger Post earlier in January, and to their credit the landlord phoned me up in February to apologise. I opted instead for a meal at The Turf Lodge, aka Toby Carvery on the A5, and I made the necessary booking. By coincidence my route went close by the Carvery and so I considered starting from there and crossing the roundabout to pick up the route. I stood by the side of the road for 15 minutes waiting for a safe crossing of the A5 and gave up.
I decided instead that we would meet up in Wood Lane by Pelsall Works Bridge and then drive to the pub afterwards. Eight walkers assembled in bright sunshine, amongst them a few new faces. We joined the Cannock Extension Canal by Pelsall Junction and walked as far as Pelsall Road Bridge. We then crossed a field in the direction of Brownhills. Wyrley Common is full of disused coal shafts and several former mineral railways. We stepped down onto the Norton Branch of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS). This branch line primarily transported coal from the Cannock Chase collieries to the main railway network. It remained in use until 1975. We followed its route southwards to Engine Lane, supposedly the site of a Newcomen engine. To our right we could just make out the bed of the Slough Arm, a private canal with one lock.
We re-joined the Curly Wyrley near Jolly Collier Bridge. The towpath becomes The Beacon Way at this point, and we wound our way westwards past the filled in Gilpin Arm, which was abandoned as far back as 1850. Near here there is an incongruous lock paddle on the grass with no sign of a sluice or water leading off it. This section of the canal was once heavily industrialised, now it is modern housing. One member of our group recalled fishing in the canal here as a child. Foundry Bridge and Yorks Foundry Bridge are all that remain of the Pelsall Coal and Iron Company, which became the largest prosperous company in the area. The York family owned property and ran businesses around here including the Fingerpost pub, which at that time was known as The Royal Oak.
We arrived back at Pelsall Works Bridge in good time to drive in convoy to The Turf Lodge where we enjoyed a carvery and refreshment.
