Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
An impressive sandstone cutting near Wolverley
.
Rodbaston, Boggs, Brick Kiln and Gailey locks take the canal away from the motorway,
and up to its 17km summit pound. The canal thus avoids Junction 12 of the motorway, which
is surrounded by the Gailey Pools reservoirs that not only have a heronry but large flocks of
ruddy ducks introduced from North America and now seen as pests by ornithologists in this
country.
The road from the motorway to Gailey wharf is the A5, built by the Romans as Watling
Street, here just short of Water Eaton, the Roman burga of Pennocrucium, together with a le-
gionary fortress, two forts and two temporary camps.
At Slade Heath the railway line finally crosses and makes its departure. The A449, which
has followed a similar line and is a Roman road here, passes close to the Fox & Anchor pub-
lic house at Cross Green and then also crosses and departs in the direction of the railway. Not
far away is Featherstone Prison.
The canal now passes under Junction 2 of the M54 and into a progressively more built-up
section of Wolverhampton at Fordhouses. Although the worst excesses of the built environ-
ment are avoided there is little to show of the
hean tune
, the Old English for high village, of
which the lady of the manor in 985 was Wulfrun.
Aldersley Junction quickly follows, the bottom end of the New Main Line of the Birm-
ingham Canal, which climbs steeply up the side of Wolverhampton horse race course from
where the pounding of hooves on turf may be heard.
This is now part of the Stourport Ring. A Norman church tower with battlements is hidden
by the trees at Tettenhall where the A41 crosses. The oblique railway bridge beyond it no
longer carries trains but the line between Oxley and Castlecroft has become the Valley Park
nature trail and cycle route.
