HS2 Abandoned Destruction and a Broken Sluice.

 Wednesday 10th June 2026 in Rugeley.

Unsettled weather was promised but we decided on an early start so that we could get to Fradley Junction and have breakfast at the C&RT Cafe there.

The countryside around her is very rural with large fields put down to arable crops, namely wheat, maize, potatoes and (M hopes - PEAS!!).

Half way to Fradley, we passed Huddlesford Junction, where one day the Lichfield Canal may connect through to Birmingham. In the meantime, the arm provides private mooring, although the large "Stop" sign is hardly welcoming.

At Fradley, we moored up just before the water point and walked down to the Cafe. Sadly, these days it is only a take-away service but it is always a nice place to visit.

The Cafe staff are very friendly and helpful. M had a fish finger bap and R had a toasted teacake and marmalade.

One bold visitor to our table had his eyes on M's bap. He snatched up a bit and immediately made off with it, hotly pursued by a hopeful blackbird, followed by a determined pigeon!  

We returned to MM to find another Kingsground boat, nb Norwood, moored up beside us. She is twenty years old but the owners have only had her for three years.They are a lovely couple and absolutely delighted with her. 

 

There are two locks at Fradley; M was pleased to see dozens of  Early Purple Orchids next to the first lock. We have seen quite a few of these around Fradley but it is unusual to see so many in a small space like this.

 

 Above the second lock there was a field of wheat absolutely full of poppies. It looked lovely but the farmer may not be best pleased, as they will take nutrients from the main crop.

Just a few hundred yards further on, through lovely mature woodland, is a section of the woods that has been destroyed for HS2. Work on HS2 has now ceased this far north but the massive mounds of earth and the devastation remains. Will all this ever be returned to nature?  Somehow, we doubt it.

Earlier, we went past another site at Lichfield. All across the countryside around here are HS2 scars that have seemingly just been abandoned. The two huge brown scars in the bottom half of this picture used to be a productive farm, a small airfield and an equestrian centre. Only the isolated farmhouse survives, stripped of its farmland. What a waste - and for what?

There was one more lock ahead at Wood End but when we arrived we found that three C&RT chaps were there trying to fix the ground paddle, which was not sealing properly, thus making it difficult to empty the lock. To identify the problem they decided to put in stop planks and drain the water out.

It turned out that one of the guide runners that holds the sluice panel in place had come adrift - it's inside that black hole under the paddle mechanism. So they had no option but to try to get it to seal and then put that paddle out of action as they did not have the necessary equipment to replace the guide runner. Somebody will have to come and do that later. In the meantime the lock is still usable, so we were able to go through after a short delay of about one hour. All credit to the C&RT chaps who were so good humoured and were perfectly relaxed about having us as an audience!

Next to the lock is what was once a lovely cottage - but that too has fallen into the hands of HS2 and so is slowly rotting. Yet another waste!

Soon after is Armitage "tunnel", a very narrow section that used to be a tunnel until the sandstone roof caved in. M went ahead to check that there was nobody coming the other way as the far end cannot be seen from where we were. 

These houses on the outskirts of Rugeley have always amused us as they used to appear to have huge chimneys. Sadly, no more since the power station was demolished!

We moored up in the centre of Rugeley just as heavy rain arrived. We are not far from a large and excellent Tesco, our first stop tomorrow for a "few bits".

Today: 13 miles, 3 locks and 4.9 Hours.

Trip: 135 Miles, 84 Locks and 63.8 Hours.