Kinver to Stourport

More rain today. "Weathers not good" I shouted to a passing boater. "Its the boats returning from a rally" she said. Her hearing must be worse than mine. The Stour was high after the rain and beyond Falling Sands Lock appeared to be higher than the canal. And so back into Stourport. About 100 miles and about 90 locks. Pity about the weather.

Prestwood to Kinver

" I'm heading up the Fens branch"; "The Fens; thats a long way" said Joanne. "No; the Fens Pool branch Brierley Hill" said the guy from the Peak Forrest canal.  Plenty of rain this morning delayed our departure to 1030.  Lots of boats coming back from the Stourbridge waterways festival. A volunteer on Stourton locks helped us through and we passed Sue and Colins boat "Dakota" looking good in the rain.

 It just poured as we went through Hyde Lock making the lock-side very slippy. We called it a day at Kinver at 1430.
 It stopped raining.

Merry Hill to Prestwood

Todays forecast is for rain
. We also have about 25 locks today so 0900 found us in Wetherspoons, Waterfront, for a full English breakfast. Shortly after we were underway tackling the Delph 8 locks followed shortly after by the Stourbridge 16.

 We had a good system with Joanne preparing the lock then me driving in and operating the lock then climing back on and closing the gates behind me with a push from the boat hook. A couple of gates I couldnt get with this method so Joanne had to walk back. Anyway we cleared the Delph in an hour and the Stourbridge 16 in two and a half hours, not bad.

 At the bottom lock I embarrassingly got the rope caught in the propeller. Something I am always warning others about. I had not noticed that our rear line had dropped in the water. Had to open the weed hatch and had to set about cutting the rope of the prop shaft with the carving knife managing to cut my thumb in the process! Moored up about 1530 before the first rain deluge began.

Birmingham to The Waterfront at Merry Hill.

Last night we visited the £189M Central Library in Birmingham. Some building as you woukld expect for £189M. As well as books (!) it has various art displays, cafe's, roof garden and collections of historical documents. Worth anyone's while paying a visit as the views over Birmingham are superb. Mind you the building is not without its critics in this time of smaller library cuts plus the fact that the £189M was borrowed and has to be paid back by Birmingham city.

So set off about 1030 from our mooring opposite the Indoor Arena down Telfords New Main line. Wide and deep the waterway cuts staright through the industrial outskirts of Birmingham and through Smethwick. It never fails to amaze me on this section that there is mile after mile of either Blue Brick edging or cut stone edging to the canal. There must be many millions of these bricks.

Miles of Blue Brick canal edging

Miles of cut stone edging

In this Post Industrial age this route has more than its fair share of wasteland but around Avery Bridge near Smethwick and around Tipton some industry does seem to survive next to the canal. 

After about 8 miles a sharp left turn brings you onto the Dudley No 1 canal and you are soon in the long dark Netherton tunnel. On emerging into daylight it soon becomes aparent that the terain has changed this side of the watershed. The Rowley Hills are behind you and the Clent Hills in front. The canal twists and turns such that sometimes Netherton church is to the left and sometimes to the right, the slopes of the hill its mounted on tumbling towards the canal.

Netherton Church hill

 Unlike the straight New Main line out of Birmingham the Dudley no1 twists and turns and goes through a very tight hairpin bend at Blowers Green. Lots of detritus in the canal around Peartree Lane and through the site of the Round Oak steelworks closed in 1984. Soon we are mooring up at The Waterfront next to the Merry Hill shopping centre just before the onset of todays promised rain.

S

Stourport Ring

Well hursday and Friday next week. As a result having to curtail plans and head back to Stourport via Brmingham. So it off from Alvechurch along the Worcester and Birmingham canal into the city centre. Passed nb "Kinver" in the depths of Wast Hill tunnel.35 minutes from end to end.At Gas St Birmingham a oldish guy shouted "Stourbridge; thats where I come from" I replied "I used to live there as well" We cant afford things like that in Stourbridge" he said. "Thats why I left" I retorted.
Moored up 1500.

Wast Hill tunnel

Wast Hill tunnel

Bittell reservoir

Back on the boat at about 1715 after meeting up with Joanne in Bham New St and getting a rush hour train back to Alvechurch. Beans on toast for tea then a pint of "Kinver Crystal" in the Weighbridge Inn nearby. Think we will stay here tomorrow and avoid the rain. Paradoxicly we are mored next to the space reserved for nb Kinver which we used to have a share in before Stourbridge Lion.

Thursday 10th October 2013

Thursday 10th October found me collecting a couple of First Great Western pals, Andy Cryer and Steve Melhuish,  at Kidderminster station just past 1800. Meal in The Steps Inn at Stourport then over to The Holybush Inn for their "Jammin'" night of music. Great evening of guitar music and singsongs with probably 5 or 6 guitars and bongos and other strung instruments.We won a gallon of beer in the raffle at about 2230 which had to be consumed by chucking out time. Retired back to the boat for sleep which was far to near to the setting off time of 0800.

Friday 11th October

Despite a late night we were on the way about 0815 after bacon sandwiches for breakfast. This trip we are doing a sort of figure of eight or more exactly a figure of six; out on the Severn, Droitwich, Tardebigge, Kings Norton, Stratford on Avon, Evesham, Pershore, Tewksbury then back up the Severn to Stourport-or at least thats the plan. Estimate just over a fortnight.

Steve and Andy on S/Lion

So its through the double staircase locks out onto the river for a breezy run down to the junction with the Droitwich Barge canal at Hawford near Bevere lock. Plenty of birds in evidence including at least 5 Kingfishers.

The turn onto the Droitwich is a very sharp "U" turn off the Severn which can be tricky but we did it "Just like a job in the town" ready for the 8 or so locks up to Droitwich basin.

Start of the Droitwich Canal

At Ladywood lock the woman occupying the lock cottage said that boat numbers had been low all year. A elderly walker who walks the Droitwich Canal four times a year said" I've seen the real Stourbridge Lion in America.
Moored in Droitwich and visited the Old Cock Inn and another pub by the canal.All were quite quiet a startk contrast to the conviviality of the Hollybush the night before.

Saturday 12th October

Stevehad to leave this morning. Cable cutters had disrupted the train service but the 144 helped in getting him back on his way to Plymouth. So us two remaining crew set off down the Droitwich Junction Canal towards Hanbury. This is a new navigation only restored a couple of years ago. The original line of the canal has been obliterated by subsequent building work including the M5 motorway. It therefore makes use of a very restricted culvert under the motorway and some quite deep locks to regain its original alignment at Hanbury locks.

 At Hanbury 3 locks some friendly volunteers helped us through. The lady volunteer had been picking Damsons off a nearby overhanging tree. She also took note of our licence details. Not sure what she did with these.

Drizzle was a bit of a nuisance but some brighter patches intervened as we made our wayup the first few locks of the Worcester and Birmingham canal to the Queens Head at Stoke pound.

Mooring at the Queens Head

We ate in the Queens Head (I had a rather hot Chilli Rissotto!) Its quite strange how this place in the middle of nowhere was extremely busy with everyone dressed up for a night out, bouncers on the door and a disco in the, rather wet, garden. It was unexpected to see these in the middle of the countryside.

Sunday  13th October

Big day today. We have 29 locks to do and its pouring with rain up to the village of Tardebigge. Never mind we aproach them with some vigour with Andy going ahead and preparing them and me closing them up afterwards. After about 8 locks a boat behind was catching us up. A guy off the boat came up "Do you want to come past" I said. "No, we have a large crew and I've come up to help" he said. A friendly and chatty guy, he helped us for the rest of the day.

Tardebigge

Tardebigge churchyard

 Thought I saw "Chipper" Bennet from school pass on the towpath, jogging, b ut may have been wrong. After 4 hours we gt to the top lock. We did consider going further but the rain had made it cold. Andy did a reconnaissance of the "Tardebige" public house, a pub I didnt know existed, but reported that it was a modern pub with ice cold beer and chavs. So we stayed on the boat, listened to music and cooked.

Monday 14th October

Still raining. While preparing to go spoke to the woman on the boat next door. "We have had a terrible night" she said, "the alternator has packed upand we have no power. We are trying to locate a new alternator for a Shire engine but not much luck" 

"I have a Shire alternator spare" I said. It seemed an unlikely coincidence but I had. I handed it over and we exchanged contact details for its eventual return. I felt pleased with this unlikely coincidence as it fitted my thoughts of the waterways as a "Linear Village" Hope we dont get a alternator problem before I get it back!

Through the two tunnels at Tardebigge and moored up in the marina at Alvechurch. We are leaving the boat there for a couple of days, me to go to London for work and Andy for home in Taunton.