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.

The Long Awaited Visit - Part 2 - 31st May - 1 June 2021

 Bank Holiday Monday 31st May 2021

Droitwich Spa Marina to Vines Park, Droitwich and back again

3 miles, 10 locks, 6 swing bridges

They say the sun shines on the virtuous and once again today was dry, sunny and hot, so maybe we have done something right in life!  This trip is our 'go to' day trip and makes a great family day out.  It also would be our first trip under the M5 culvert since having a new TV aerial fitted - would we fit?  There was only one way to find out.

We assembled at the marina and set off in glorious sunshine.  We were far from alone - there was a steady stream of boats leaving, but they were all turning left to head up the Hanbury flight.

Just as we arrived at the first lock (a staircase) we looked around and lo and behold there were two more behind us which we assume must have come from the marina or were travelling together and waiting after each lock/flight of locks for the other one to catch up.

With so many helpers we were soon down the first three locks

There were enough hands to allow us to take it in turns to just sit, relax and enjoy - a rare treat!

I was too busy looking to check all was well as we went under the M5 to take any photos, but we made it with room to spare.  We do usually remove the cratch to aid our passage through the culvert - today it also allowed for more room for socialisation.  

Before we knew it we were down the lock after the M5 and in the last lock at the entrance to Vines Park.

We had planned on stopping for a picnic opposite Waitrose after Chris had gone through the last swing bridge and winded in Netherwich Basin, however while the latter was taking place, someone else had the same idea!  In the end Chris decided to fill up the water tank as the water point was free and it is much easier there with the bow right by the tap than running the hose the length of the boat in the marina.

The locking/swing bridge crew waited patiently in the shade

We moored up just outside the basin for the next event - a very important one - lunch!  I think you can just make out Monty tucking into his lunch time carrot!

Time for a family line up in height order before we set off to return to the marina.  We are missing one person - our son in law who had to work.

Finally a fun one with the youngsters - I am not sure how happy the youngest member was though!

It was busier going back, but who cares about queues when the weather is perfect and the company even more so.

With a boat ahead of us at the lock after the M5 tunnel and another coming out of that lock there was some fun and games when the lady lock worker from the boat going down got left behind!  It is possible to walk round by the road to the next lock, but unless you know where you are going it is better to be on the boat.  They tried to reverse back to the lock landing, but kept going aground, so there was nothing else for it, but to let her access her boat via ours.  Probably not the wisest decision we have ever made due to covid, but I have to say that did not occur to me at the time.  I guess we were working on 'normal' rules when it is the done thing to help others out when they have got into a pickle.  So far, so good and we are all fit and healthy, so I hope we got away with it.

The only downside to this trip is that there is very little steering to be done that does not require careful manoeuvring, however our son and eldest grandson did manage to get control for a while - under canine "supervision" of course!

The day was rounded off with Pizzas all round courtesy of our son who had brought his pizza oven with him.

Tuesday saw all 11 of us heading to a local pub for lunch (two tables to abide by the rules) once again in glorious sunshine.  Our son and family headed home as he had to go to work on Wednesday.  Such is life!

It was a glorious few days that we will all remember for a very long time, made even better by perfect weather.

We hope to head off on our 'summer cruise' towards the end of this month.

The Long Awaited Visit Part 1 - 29th-30th May 2021

 As has been the case for many people we had not seen our son, daughter-in-law their three children since March 2020.  To say I was excited would be an understatement.  They arrived on Saturday 29th May and we just had a very relaxed evening just revelling in all being together again.  It has certainly been a very odd year.

Sunday 30th May 2021

Avoncroft Museum, Bromsgrove

I am sure there will be some of you who have visited this wonderful Museum when down this way.  It is a bit of a hike from the canal, but well worth it.  It re-opened this year on Saturday 1st May.  That evening some people took it upon themselves to vandalise many of the buildings and some of the interior exhibits.  Windows were smashed and they left a trail of destruction behind them which, of course, meant the museum had to close losing the rest of the Bank Holiday bookings.  The vandals had done tens of thousands of pounds worth of damage.  Volunteers and staff set to work clearing up all the glass and boarding up the windows so they could open the following weekend, albeit with some of the buildings shut.  An appeal was launched to help fund the repairs and it seems that it was so successful that they got money from all corners of the globe.  Why anyone would do this is beyond my comprehension.  The museum is out of town, not near any pubs and they are likely to have gone by car with the intent of doing what they did.  As far as I know they have not been apprehended.  

What is so special about this place?  It is a collection of old buildings from Worcestershire and beyond that have been rescued and re-built in what is England's first open air museum.  The Website can do a much better job than I can.  As a family we have visited it many times over the years - they put on a lot of activities for the youngsters on special occasions.  We find the whole site so welcoming and peaceful that we sometimes just pop in to take Monty for a walk (we are members).  We decided it would be very appropriate to go over there to show our support, especially as the Bromsgrove Town Leet were going to be in attendance.  To our shame we did not know that they even existed even though we have lived in the area for almost 10 years.  In our defence, I suspect that they are out and about mostly in the summer and we, of course, are usually away then.  

As we arrived there was a ceremony taking place - the local baker had made some scones and they had to be passed fit for consumption.  The Town Bailiff asked two member of the Town Leet to test them.  There was a lot of discussion about how you pronounce 'scone' and whether you put the jam or cream on first!  They were passed as fit for the people of Bromsgrove to consume and the baker was presented with a certificate and a sprig of evergreen, so that those who were unable to read would know they had been approved.  All very well done.  They must have all been rather warm in all their regalia.

The three grandchildren (17, 13 and 12) insisted that they must have a ride on the little train just for old times sake.  Their Mum and Dad joined them!

After that we just went for a wander around in the sunshine.  It was very sad to see so many windows boarded up and the buildings closed.  

The staff and volunteers have done an amazing job to get things to the stage they are now.  I suspect it may be years before they are back to normal.  All the glass has to be authentic to the age of the building, so not easy or cheap to source.

The old 'loo' has always been a favourite for the children!

Even the playground was visited

The windmill is one of my favourites and has appeared in my blog on many occasions as it is visible from a few parts of the canal.  I always know we are nearly home when I see it in the distance.

This poor lady was wrapped up in many yards of pure wool!  

It was a very gentle and fun way to spend an afternoon.  Once we were home our daughter, son in law and their two boys came round for a BBQ.

I will never take for granted all 11 of us being all together in the same place again.