We are off! Monday 28th - Wednesday 29th June 2021

Monday 28th June 2021

Droitwich Spa Marina

0 miles, 0 locks

Chris had a blood test booked for this morning and Tesco delivered our fresh food before 10:00.  The bulk of the loading onto the boat had been done over the preceding days.  The plan was to arrive, fill the tank with water and head off, however things did not quite go to plan.

The hose was deployed, the tap put on and all looked to be good, until suddenly the hose burst!  We are so thankful it happened in the marina whilst we still had access to the car.  A quick click and collect to Homebase and Chris was able to head back to Bromsgrove and pick up a new one.  By the time all that was done and the tank had been filled, we decided to stay put and head off on Tuesday.

Tuesday 29th June 2021

Droitwich Spa Marina to Tibberton

3.92 miles, 3 locks

Since I last posted at the beginning of this month, I have been having physio for some back pain issues and it would also appear that my left leg has joined the right leg - it is showing signs of arthritis, so we are quite severely compromised!  Chris' COPD has got worse over the last year, so it has to be me who works the locks and does the majority of the dog walking.  We have left with every intention of getting to Derby as our first port of call, however, it remains to be seen if we do actually manage to get there.  Our planned days are, on the whole, short, so fingers crossed we do succeed.

As we left the marina and turned left towards Hanbury we found 

two voluntary lock keepers opening the lock for a boat to emerge.  Once they had gone we were able drive straight in.

It is very unusual for me to be on the boat at the bottom of a lock.  We know one of the VLKs well and he told us there had been some excitement recently at Hanbury and we would see what as we ascended.

And there is was -  a huge hole.  The wooden surround was put up a couple of days ago, but the hole is increasing in size at an alarming rate.  The metal posts are now at the circumference.  Our local C&RT manager has been informed and hopefully someone will come and look sometime today and add orange netting to the metal poles.

We ended up with a VLK at each lock, so we were up the flight of three in no time at all.  We turned right at Hanbury junction heading towards Worcester.  We passed this healthy looking brood. 

Just one tunnel today at Dunhampstead - all of 230 yards which was just as well as we found the tunnel light and the horn were not working.  It was a quick fix once we had moored for the day.

It was wonderful to be out on the water again enjoying the peace of the countryside.

The yellow irises were a bit past their best, but still a pleasing sight.

Monty and I jumped ship for a while.  There were signs that contractors had been out trimming, but it was good to see that some growth is being left for the wildlife.

These mile markers along the Worcester & Birmingham Canal have been added over the last few years.  I am not sure, however, how many have been dedicated to those who have departed - a lovely idea as a permanent reminder of canal users who have gone before us.

The railway line is never far away along this stretch of the canal.

We arrived at Tibberton hoping we would find a mooring to find we could take our pick!

We chose to moor almost at the far end away from the pub.

We had no TV or radio signal - had we been avid football fans we could have gone to the pub, but we aren't and we are also still trying to avoid large groups of people.  Had we had signal we would have watched the England match and we were pleased to hear that they had won. By late afternoon just two other boats had joined us, but with so much space to choose from we were well separated.

Wednesday 30th June 2021

Tibberton to Bridge 16, Perdiswell

2.97 miles, 8 locks

We were ready to go by 09:15, but by then the two boats moored behind us had gone past plus another one, so we knew we would be the fourth in the queue and having to fill every lock before we could enter unless there were boats coming up.

What a tranquil scene to enjoy as I prepared the first lock for Chris

A lot more peaceful than the M5 behind him!

Monty has not forgotten his locking duties

He is 9 now, so he does lie down on the job a bit more often!

At the second lock I met up with one of the contractors who were still busy mowing and strimming - he kindly stopped work and helped me with the bottom gates - assistance is always appreciated.  He did confirm that from last year they were told to start leaving some vegetation for the wildlife.  They clear round the locks and recognised and well used mooring sites.  A good  decision in my book - if we choose to use a 'wild mooring' we have the means to clear enough vegetation to allow us to get on and off.  He did comment that you can never please everyone though! We spotted this monster plant rather overwhelming the poor foxglove.  

It was taller than me (5 foot 5 inches) and even with my arm at full stretch I could not quite get a photo of the top of it - the contractor and I reckon it is some sort of thistle?  I am sure someone will correct me if I am wrong.

More expanses of countryside to enjoy.

The boat ahead of us must have been working at the same pace as us as we never caught up with them.

Monty opted to do some travelling between locks on the boat and soon adopted his normal look out position.

Maybe 'awaiting'  would be a better word than 'undergoing'?  

It was at the penultimate lock on the Offerton flight of 6 that we became aware that there was a boat behind us.  They never caught us up, so I guess we were all working at a reasonable pace.

At our last lock of the day (Blackpole) there were a lot of very noisy gulls swooping and diving - we wonder if there is a ground-fill site in the vicinity.

Just as we approached bridge 16 and our target for the day we came across a pack of very happy dogs wallowing in the shallows.

Once again we had the pick of the moorings opposite a very large recreation ground.  The boat that followed us moored up behind us, but at the good distance and there is one more a long way ahead of us.  Only one boat passed us up going uphill and since we moored at lunchtime only one other boat has continued on down the canal.  It is all very peaceful.  All I can hear are the birds singing in the trees.  Bliss.

Side hatch views

This will do us very nicely for the night.