Trent to Worcester/Birmingham canal and beyond

From our "posh" pontoon on the River Trent we ventured downstream in thick mist ( Hammer - horror style), lights ablaze ,through two giant,manned locks reaching Worcester around lunchtime in warm sunshine. We were impressed with the place, a sort of posher Stourport with less history. Our plan was to join the Worcester and Birmingham canal, heading towards home, despite horror stories of the 58 lock journey to Birmingham, none of  which has proven true to date, and we are already moored after the 12th lock.    

Debdale lock to Stourport-on-Severn and beyond

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Debdale lock is hewn out of solid sandstone and also is the site of a large cave with a door-shaped entrance, previously used to rest canal horses ?

The Staff and Worcs from here to Kidderminster is predominantly rocky with each lock having unusual by-passes.

Near Stourton Junction is Stewpony Lock ( ? ) I did not research the origin of the name but merely left it to your imagination.

At Cookley there is a solid rock 65 yard tunnel with terraced houses atop and then we moored for supplies from Sainsbury's in Kidderminster, a town boasting a pleasant mix of old and new warehouses, now home to several household name stores such as M & S, Next, Debenhams, Tesco etc. Having quietly admired the town design we then noticed the town centre locks were all fitted with ant-vandal locks or "water conservation keys", which says a lot. Luckily we had purchased one yesterday from a CRT volunteer.

Next stop Stourport on Severn where a series of  4 staircase locks led us to the River Severn , a seemingly endless expanse of water. It is fair to say the Stourport basins increased Lynne' tension levels but a very friendly and understanding CRT volunteer  was on- hand with excellent advice and expertise throughout our adventure.

For some unknown reason Lynne chose to ignore his advice to moor on a pontoon near the locks exit and we trundled past Stourport marina to Lincomb lock. Following advice from the lock keeper we headed for mooring next to the Hampstall Inn, site of the Hampstall ferry disaster in 1919, when nine people drowned as the ferry was swamped by the waves of a passing steamer.

Minutes after mooring we suffered a very heavy and prolonged shower, an unfitting end to a warm and sunny day.

Caves alongside River Trent allegedly used by bandits in the time of Oliver Cromwell.

I will publish this blog sometime tomorrow as we currently have no internet, TV or phone connections.

Compton to Bumble Hole and beyond.

From Compton we set off in pleasantly warm sunshine passing Whitwick Manor, now National Trust, and Pool Hall, Dimmington reservoirs and 5 locks quite nicely spaced until  the infamous Bratch locks, a set of 3 raising or lowering the canal 30.2 feet within a very short distance .

Whilst the procedure for operating the locks is well explained by notice boards on-site, a lock keeper is based there to help or advise if needed. No problem.

A few locks later Botterham staircase set looms (20 ft ) but with no lock keeper to help. Again no problem.

Bumble Hole lock failed to live up to it's name and sadly was instantly forgettable . 

All in all we completed 15 locks today and moored near Ashwood Marina to recuperate. 

Staff & Worcs plus Bittern

My viewing of an adult Bittern in Staffordshire warranted a call to the UK RSPB as the species was pronounced extinct here in the early 1900's. It is a member of the Heron family but chunkier and far more beautiful, with speckled plumage. The RSPB are hoping for another Red Kite success story of bringing a species back from extinction. Very exciting stuff. I'm sorry I do not have a Bittern photo, but if you google it there is a wide range of photo's there.

Tonight we are at Gailey on the Staffordshire ring, although where we go tomorrow is anybodies guess.

We're playing it by ear and attempting to stay cruising until the last possible moment. Gailey brings back pleasant memories as we regularly used to hire Viking Afloat boats from here when we were younger and fitter. Their boats were good, apart from the colour scheme, a hideous yellow and red. There was no hiding place with those. A few still remain.

The days are certainly getting colder but remain good for cruising, with shorts, tee shirts and sandals being a no-go now.

We made it to Compton for overnight mooring, still on the Staff & Worcs canal, which has considered itself to be a river up to this point. Very wide with gradual sweeping curves. Suitable mooring became rare today so we squeezed between a boat and Compton lock, bearing in mind locks are not used at night so will not disturb us.

Staff & Worcs.

It rained all evening and night but we were greeted by blue sky and sunshine this morning. What would us Brits talk about if we had "normal" weather ?

We got to Great Haywood in time for lunch (beans on toast.........we know how to live )and turned onto the Staffordshire and Worcestershire canal ( Staff and Worcs for short ) to undertake the Stourport Ring. We are in no rush to get home and this fills the gap admirably, we think. Weather permitting, of course.

They appear to have the same maintenance regime as the Macclesfield, the actual footpath is unmade but the jungle between it and the canal is identical. The canal is generally very wide but mooring is  rare, as are locks. The scenery is agricultural but pleasant.

An exciting and rare event happened this afternoon. A BITTERN showed itself when it took off from reeds on the canal and landed in some nearby marshland. It is the first Bittern I have ever seen, a large and very, very rare member of the heron family with fabulous speckled wing feathers. I consider myself very priveledged to have seen one. Excited, or what?

Back to the weather: it became very windy and cold during the afternoon. We moored opposite a hotel/restaurant in Acton Trussell.

Stone Trent & Mersey

We had a brilliant Italian meal in La Dolce Vita with two new boating friends, unfortunately followed by a hypo. The moral of the story being not to underestimate the carbs in Italian dishes.

This morning was sunny and pleasant again, prompting a leisurely cruise through Stone to one of our famous "middle of nowhere" mooring spots further south on the Trent and Mersey. Considering where we are it was great to find mooring rings ready for us to use, one major plus point of this canal.

Potteries

Having sensibly suggested Stoke can solve our"housing crisis" by converting defunct industrial buildings into desireable flats and vast acres of wasteland into a new town/city/community, without adversely affecting wildlife,farmers or us, the general public. I suggest this new development, South of Stoke, is named Potteries, and includes a shopping centre, a swimming pool and any other facility required. The area already has good transport links by train, bus, car and boat, what more could you want?

We are back to shorts,tee shirts and sandals today, courtesy of warm sunshine. Lynne has fully recovered from the shock of falling in but shows no lasting affects ( physically ).

The day started warm and sunny but dropped a few degrees by lunchtime, after which we tackled 5 locks and cruised as far as Stone, a fairly nondescript medium sized town with character.