A Gentle Day - 12th August 2020

 Wednesday 12th August 2020

Wolverley Lock to between bridges 26 and 27 S & W Canal - pint.suppers.cubed

2 miles, 1 lock

As I left the boat to take Monty for a walk nb Doris was coming up the lock behind us.  It was time to say farewell.

There were two reasons for a slow start - the meat I had ordered would not be ready until after 10am and we had had a disturbed night.  Monty is terrified of thunder and as most of you will know, we had a lot of that along with spectacular cloud to cloud lightening.

We were outside talking the people on the boat in front of us when just after 9pm the first rumble was heard.  Monty legged it at top speed back to the boat with me in hot pursuit.  He would not go into the boat until I had done so and then he headed for the little table I have up for the computer.  He dashed  under it, but our magazine basket was already there.  The latter is not that big - maybe 2 foot by 1 foot

Not to be deterred the poor dog, climbed into it!

I did manage to persuade him out of it, got his blanket which I draped over the table to make a den for him.  There he stayed until we went to bed, when he came and squashed himself right up to the cabinet on my side of the bed.  It is so distressing to see him so upset, but there is not a lot we can do to help.  We do have a thunder shirt for him, but it is too hot to put him in that.  We have tried all sorts, to no avail.

As I went to the tea room this morning to collect our meat (two more ice cream tubs somehow came home with me as well - it is that sort of weather), this splendid boat had made its way up the lock.

Shortly after they went past we pulled pins and we were on our way for a very short trip today.  Mind as it was so hot we were really glad there was only one lock to contend with.  

The landslip from last year is still well contained.

Debdale lock - one of the few without a bridge at the bottom end of the lock, but there were other boaters around to lend a hand.

Then through a very cobwebby Cookley tunnel - a 65 yard reprieve from the baking sun.

Past some long and well kept gardens

and the house with an outside clock

Chris has 'a thing' about clocks that don't show the correct time - I am pleased to say that this one does

There is a very large area of 'park homes' that do all look well kept and attractive.  This one is having a lot of work done to terrace their land down to the canal

Whilst next door's has been completed, but is maybe waiting for a few plants for added colour?  They must both be lovely areas to sit and watched the world go by.

Brolly up, but as a sunshade

We were on the look out for a mooring that might just give us a bit of shade.  We found one under trees which offered a bit of protection, however I don't think that there was anywhere that would have protected us from the intense heat and high humidity.  We did have seclusion which is always a bonus.

There was also a small inlet under the trees to park a chair.

From the side hatch views you can see the big trees that did afford some shade.

The day was so hot we had to break out Monty's cool coat.  He is not keen when it first goes on and tries to 'rub it off'

He does accept it, settles down and it does keep him a bit cooler.  I think Chris and I could have done with one too, if the truth be told.

The plan was to barbecue the burgers I had bought that morning and to just have them in a bun with some salad and ice cream to follow.  It was all to be eaten sitting out on the towpath, however.....

the first rumble of thunder started shortly before Monty's dinner time of 6pm.  Chris did light up our little BBQ, but it ended up as a truly British BBQ - wet! We ate inside.  The storm (not as bad as last night) went on until around 9pm and Monty finally calmed down enough to eat his dinner at 10pm.

The verdict on the burgers - for our taste they were over salty - we are hoping the steaks are better!  

It is all in the timing - again! 11th August 2020

 Tuesday 11^th August 2020

Bird in Hand, Stourport to Wolverley Lock

5.5 miles, 5 locks

We woke to the sound of rain pattering on the roof.  Thankfully, it did not last long, but oh boy was it dirty!  Our lovely clean roof and solar panels are shiny no more!

 They will need to be rinsed off, but not until it is a bit cooler. 

We said farewell to the crew on Doris this morning, but I am sure they will overtake us at some point over the next few days.

I mentioned timing again – as we approached Falling Sands Viaduct there was the unmistakeable sound - a toot that could only come from a steam engine.  Chris dutifully slowed and we waited – our patience was rewarded when the train arrived pulling quite a lot of carriages containing happy, waving people.

We had just five locks to do today and they are made a lot easier on the Staffs and Worcs canal as most of them have a little bridge by the double gates.  It does save a lot of walking round, however Monty will still not cross them unless they have a rail each side!  This one is a definite ‘No’.

The lock in the centre of Kidderminster has diametrically opposed views at either end.

Looking to the south

And then to the north

When we arrived at Kidderminster lock the C&RT man (in the above picture) was walking down towards us to say that both paddles at the top of the lock were open, but he could not see a boat.  I think he should have shut the paddles first as the lock was full and then asked questions!  I checked there was no boat in sight, closed the paddles and turned the lock and we made it through and out of Kidderminster.  Who opened them, or more likely, left them open we will never know!

Timing again – we met a boat at a winding hole – we passed it before he turned, which meant we were ahead of him for the next lock.  Things were getting busy by now with boats going both up and down.  I have to say that people are keeping their distance and we feel quite safe. 

The one constant feature of today’s trip was a chap on a sit and ride mower going up and down the towpath and then up and down again (he must have passed us at least half a dozen times) creating great clouds of dust.  It was bad enough on a boat, but must have been much worse for walkers.  

Eventually Wolverley church hove into view., so we were near our destination - just one more lock to go.

Life was busy round Wolverley lock, but we managed to secure a mooring that will be in the shade eventually.  As I type at 5pm on Tuesday, it is still very hot.

Having braved a pub yesterday we decided we would treat ourselves to a drink and a sandwich for lunch.  Three very weary travellers made our way over the pub garden.  Whilst coming up the lock, I had spotted a little hidey hole at the far end of the tables that was fairly isolated and in the shade.  Monty fitted a treat under the bench and was relatively cool.

It was not the best cob in the world, but it is the first meal we have not prepared for ourselves in over 5 months – I think it would have been considered good even if it had been worse!  We treated ourselves to a bowl of chips – again the first in 5 months.

We then settled down to a very quiet afternoon with a quick trip out to get an ice cream from the tea shop – our first this year.  Who would have thought a year ago that a meal out and an ice cream from a tea room would have been such momentous moments!

We discovered that you can get beef and burgers from a local farm via the tea room.  We have two steaks and two burgers ordered that will arrive tomorrow morning.  We are not going far tomorrow, so there is no rush to move.

It is all in the timing - 10th August 2020

 Sunday 10th August 2020                                                                                                                         Hawford Visitor Moorings to The Bird in Hand, Stouport on Severn   9.75 miles, 9 locks

A 09:00 hours start had been agreed with the crew from nb Doris and we were about 5 minutes ahead of ourselves, which turned out to be a blessing.  As we left our moorings a boat appeared from the round the bend waiting to go down onto the river.  It is all in the timing and this time we got it right and they were left waiting.

Just the two double locks to traverse and we were soon on the River Severn.  It was overcast as we set off from the mooring, but it was not long before we the sun popped out and we had a wonderful trip along the river.  It is always good to have deep water under the hull.  It is not the most scenic of rivers, but the weather was perfect and we really enjoyed the run and made the most of the peace and serenity before our eyes and ears were over loaded at Stourport. Just a few photos to share the serenity of this river - well on a calm day it is serene.

There is a lot of work going on at Holt Lock

Nothing more arduous to do than hold onto a rope in these river locks and let someone else push all the buttons.

As we approached Stouport there was just one boat (the green one) waiting to up the lock before us.  It could have been a whole lot worse.

A Dad was out supervising his son and daughter whilst they fished.  As we approached there were cries of  'Dad, Dad, come quick - it is a whopper'!

I did not get a close up of her catch, but it did look quite sizeable

My first glimpse of the fun fair and it looked as though it was shut - sadly I was soon to discover that was not the case.  The eyes and ears took a full battering.  This is one place I would find it very hard to be a volunteer lock keeper.

Another boat went down after the green one went up

The volunteer on duty looked very hot, tired and pretty done in.  He asked if we would be okay as he was in dire need of a cuppa.  I said we would and off he went.  Between the two crews we got both boats up the two double staircases without anyone else wanting to come down.

Next stop was to be the services on the other side of the basin at Stourport.  We squeezed in as there was another boat already there.  His hose was by the waterpoint, but nothing seemed to be going on.  I asked if he was going to fill up his boat – it was then he realised he had forgotten to put the hose back on board.  Perhaps we arrived at the right time for him, or suspect the hose would have been left behind.

It transpired that he was waiting for the VLK to arrive as he was giving him a lift back to the locks – it is a long walk round in very fierce heat.  I hope his cuppa and a bit of lunch had revived him ready for a hot afternoon’s work.

Once they had moved off we moored up with nb Doris breasted up beside us.  Watered and emptied we were about to untie and move on when a Starline hire boat (they are based in Stouport) popped round the corner and onto the lock landing ready to go up our last lock of the day.  Not such good timing for us, but such is life.

This was to be the crews first ever lock and a Starline employee was with them giving very good instructions.  He then invited us to take the lock as it would be more practice for his holiday makers, so we had actually got the timing right!

As we left a boat was coming along the cut, so the gates were left open.   The boat, however, pulled over and moored!  Thankfully the hire boat crew and instructor were there to deal with the gate which saved me having to go back to deal with it. 

We continued on past some well kept properties and pretty gardens

Our destination was the moorings just past the Bird in Hand before the disused railway line. The latter is a favourite walk for us, but not today as it was far too hot.

It was not long before nb Doris arrived and slotted in behind us

Whilst in email correspondence with the treasurer of our canal society  (Worcester, Birmingham & Droitwich Canal Society) recently we discovered that he lives a 5 minute walk from the Bird in Hand.  We had not met him before as he has been unable to attend many meetings for several years as he had been caring for his wife.  She passed away in May (nothing Covid related) and we had agreed to phone him if we stopped here.   We did, he walked round and we went and sat at a very shaded tree at the Bird in Hand.  This was our first visit to a pub in over 5 months!  Joe wanted a cuppa, but they had no milk, so it had to be a cold drink whilst Chris and I enjoyed our pint of bitter and half of cider, respectively.  We spent a lovely hour chatting to Joe and found out he had been in the RAF and on Vulcans, but a few years after we were, so our paths had not crossed previously. It is a small world we live in.

Apart from a couple of rumbles of thunder and a few spots of heavy rain, the storms that were around passed us by.