Stourport

Navigations today - Droitwich, River Severn and staffs & Worcester

The first part of the day was, as promised, bright and sunny although by lunch time the weather was a decided disappointment. Before leaving Droitwich, Mike walked to the shops to buy a paper and was tempted by a special loaf for lunch (one of Morrisons specials) which we failed to get yesterday as someone had sliced everything - perhaps it was a mistake as they do not normally do that.

Mural opposite the moorings

Just after 9 we had a phone call: results day for Ellie, our eldest grand daughter we was pleased to report A* in maths, A in 7 others plus 3 B's. Well done! (We bought a congratulations card yesterday just in case so we will hope to post that in Stourport later today)

We set off at our usual time, 9:30, leaving the two Canal Boat Club boats that arrived after we did (The one right next to us tried having a barbecue on their stern under an umbrella in the rain last night! Not sure that it was a total success)

No, this picture is not meant to be some arty work - just showing that Mike on the stern was not able to get as many pictures of bridges as he would have liked as we were heading in the 'wrong' direction.

It would have been a different matter if he had been at the front - you can just see the edge of the boat creeping into the frame.

Not all stretches of this canal are reed-lined (just the bits where you meet a boat coming the other way!) This part almost looks like the Shroppie with its fairly high bridge.

Most of the remaining locks are in a flight of six - here at the top lock. As can be seen in the photo, the locks are now wide. This part was originally called the Droitwich Barge Canal as was built much earlier than the upper part (then called the Droitwich Junction canal) which, as we saw yesterday, was built to the same narrow standard as the Worcester and Birmingham canal to which it connected.

By the time we reached the next lock, grey clouds were rushing towards us. apart from one very short period when we were on the river, they all dropped their rain on someone else!

And yes, we did meet a boat coming the other way in one of these very narrow reed beds but there was no-one at the front to record it! (Oh look, the sky behind us was still bright blue!)

According to the information panel at the end of the canal, the A449 presented one of the greater engineering challenges to the restorers. It is not helped by being very much on a skew to the canal which means that the bridge almost turns into a tunnel for boaters.

Just above Lock 2 (the one before the river exit) is this light signal. There is no explanation about what it signifies - perhaps it is to do with safe river levels but without a sign no-one is going to be any the wiser. It certainly does not look cheap to install.

We came down through the last lock and pulled onto the extra mooring pontoon - really only necessary when there is a queue. Another unattended boat was already there so we stopped briefly, long enough to prepare and start lunch as well as to ring Holt Lock as requested by a sign beside this lock.

Hawford Junction

As the Holt lock keeper seemed to think he would see in in half an hour (our estimate had been about an hour which was closer to the mark) we set off still finishing lunch. However, rivers like this are not really our favourite navigation. Apart from these days feeling the need to don life jackets and to put the buoy on the roof, the scenery remains the same for long stretches.

There is very little habitation visible from the boat. What there is seems mainly to be chalets and bungalows - according to Nicholsons many occupied by 'retired persons'.

Just trees

We had only two locks to pass through on the river, operated by lock keepers in their control cabins although both did speak to us.

The locks look rather deep when approached but they are built to allow boats through even when the water level is very much higher than the normal summer level, as can be seen looking back after coming up.

Despite the size, the locks lift boats up very smoothly and a rope around one riser is enough to keep the boat in place - even that was probably just precautionary as the keeper started filling before we were attached!

Wide beam boats only

Eventually Stourport came into view and we passed the first entrance - wide beam boats only it says, although a narrow hire boat came out just before we arrived. We had to wait a while on the landing pontoon for one boat already going up to exit and then another to come down. The four locks into the main basin are arranged in two pairs of staircases.

This one is ours

The design is also unusual in that the upper lock in each pair is much deeper than the lower one which results in a lot of water overflowing. It the first pair it comes over the bottom gates and at the other over a large weir at the side.

After coming up through both staircases to the main upper basin we crossed over to the service block for all of the usual processes. Mike, silly boy, forgot to replace the cap on the container of undiluted blue which he only realised after slopping some onto the quayside and down his trousers. At least they will be well-disinfected!

Fortunately there was one space for overnight mooring next to the service block so we stayed there rather then continue up through the next lock.

14.2 miles - 14 locks