A Mink and "Big Bird"?

Friday 30th June 2017 back at Worcester.
A cool morning but thankfully dry. As we walked into town, we paused to admire the carved signpost in Vines Park that celebrates the re-opening of the Droitwich Ring.
Each of the four arms was carved on one side and on the other showed the number of miles, locks, swing bridges and tunnels by canal to the furthest point north, east, south and west from Droitwich on the canal network. The sign pointed north to Tewitfield, Lancaster (127 miles, 106 locks, 13 swing bridges and 7 tunnels), east to Brandon on the Little Ouse (187 miles, 189 locks, 11 swing bridges and 8 tunnels), south to Godalming in Surrey (204 miles, 201 locks, 30 swing bridges and 7 tunnels) - which is where we are headed - and west to Llangollen (125 miles, 93 locks, 10 swing bridges and 7 tunnels). A great and imaginative illustration of the breadth of the canal network.

Two lovely murals are to be found in the town,each depicting the history of the town in a different way.

Droitwich now celebrates its long history of salt production and, in Vines Park, there is a replica of one of the boats called a "trow" that used to carry the salt down the barge canal to the Severn for shipment to the world. It now provides seating for passers-by.

There is also a replica of a Roman brine pit.

With a fridge full of goodies from Waitrose, we topped up with water and set off down the northern section of the restored Ring. This part is the former "barge" canal, so the locks are wide locks; however, the abundance of sedge meant that the canal itself was frequently quite narrow. Often, as M walked between the close-spaced locks to "set" the next lock, she couldn't see where MM was and even wondered if she missed the lock altogether!

We have hardly seen another boat moving on the Droitwich Ring, but as we approached the first of eight locks that lead down to the Severn, we saw that there was  a boat coming up - great timing. Then, as we waited to go into the lock, another boat came up behind us and so joined us in the lock. Typical, like buses, none for ages and then they all turn up together!

But it was great to be able to work the wide locks in company. Nb. "Lindal Iron Ore" is a hire boat based out of Lowesmore Basin, where we moored MM last weekend. The two families  on board were on their first canal holiday and doing very well and clearly enjoying themselves.

This ivy-covered footpath signpost reminded M of "Big Bird" from Sesame Street - except it was green not yellow.

This is a beautiful rural stretch of canal. The only slight disappointment is that because of the sedge barrier and the other vegetation, there is nowhere along the whole stretch between Droitwich and the Severn where you could moor up.

The C&RT is "upgrading" the towpath along this stretch; M said that she by far prefers the original grassy path. Maybe the C&RT should put in some visitors' moorings?

Linacre Bridge is one of James Brindley's original accommodation bridges. It was much more elegant than the later bridges.

Drama as M, walking the towpath, came out of the tunnel under the A449 just before lock 2. Running towards her came a mink, which stopped in its tracks when it saw M, almost under her feet.

At the same time, a golden retriever, "Barney", spotted the mink and gave chase from behind. The mink hesitated, confused as to which way to go. Eventually, it dashed past M, hotly pursued by Barney and the pair of them disappeared into the tunnel amid much squeaking and growling. R was also coming through the tunnel on MM and watched as the two of them raced towards him. The mink escaped into the water and so both it and Barney lived to fight another day.
Finally, we got to the last lock that let us down on to the River Severn.

There is only one river lock before Worcester. For our new friends, a river lock was a bit intimidating, so they were pleased to share it with us.

After mooring up on the Severn at Worcester in the same place as last week, we invited our five new friends on board for a glass of wine. Rachael, Kathy, Caitlin, Derek and Dave hail from the New Forest and are on their first ever boating holiday.

In the end, we provided the glasses and they, very kindly, brought a bottle of wine. A great way to end a really fun day.
Today: 10 miles, 9 locks and 5.0 hours.
Trip: 90 miles, 80 locks and 68.6 hours.

On to the Droitwich Ring.

Thursday 29th June 2017 in Droitwich.
Quite a shame to leave such nice peaceful moorings but rain was forecast for later, so we decided to try to get to Droitwich before it started. It was a lot cooler today, hence the layers of warm clothing.

R disappeared with MM into the short Dunhampstead tunnel while M walked over the top.

Thankfully, they both emerged unscathed at the other end just as M arrived.

The sedges are just as high here as they were yesterday. Sometimes it feels like we are looking for the "African Queen".

The junction of the Worcs & Birmingham canal with the start of the Droitwich Ring arrives with very little warning just after a bridge and requires a very sharp turn to the left before slipping through another bridge with a narrow gap. Luckily, forewarned, R and MM managed it without too much difficulty.

The first three locks on the Droitwich Ring come almost immediately.

These locks are unusual in that they use fully functional side ponds to save water. When emptying a lock, the first half of the water is diverted into the side pond. The second half is let out to the pound below in the normal way. When filling the lock, the first half is filled from the side pond and the second half comes from the pound above in the normal way. So each lock movement only uses half a lock-full of water instead of a full lock-full. This is the empty side pond.

These side ponds used to be very common - and we have seen many derelict ones that are no longer in use - but here they are fully operational to save water.
There was also a friendly and cheerful C&RT volunteer on the lock to help boats through.
These locks have been recently restored and we admired the block paving and their general condition.

Locks 4 and 5 are a staircase pair. These are brand new locks and again they are in excellent condition. It's all very pleasing!

Next to the staircase was a wild flower meadow. M counted 23 different species of flowers in this sward alone!

When the Droitwich Ring was being restored, the canal had to go under the M5. Luckily, there was a culvert built under the motorway to take the small river Salwarpe, that runs through the middle of Droitwich. The culvert is JUST big enough to take a narrowboat. We made it with just two inches to spare! Good job MM isn't any higher.

The last lock before Droitwich itself is a wide "barge" lock, which is really a flood lock so, as the river is low, we could have opened the gates at both ends and gone straight through - if it weren't for the swing bridge in the middle. Took M a while to work it out, not helped by a very large number of school children being shepherded across the bridge by their teachers; they were on a WW2 day and many of them were in 1940s clothing.

There are two more swing bridges in Vine Park in the centre of Droitwich. They are locked and there was a good deal of bad language from M as the padlocks were jammed in the mechanism and it took both of us and a lot of heaving and straining to get the padlocks out and then back in again.

Finally we moored up in the excellent visitors' moorings in the town, which are in a secure compound close to the centre.

A walk around the town revealed some surprises, not least St. Andrew's Church, which has no spire because it was removed when subsidence due to salt extraction made it unsafe. It does look rather odd without its spire! Throughout the town there are many buildings at really extreme angles because the ground has subsided and taken the buildings with it.
In the shopping centre was a statue to Edward Winslow. The date, 1620, and his attire, gave us the clue that he was one of the Pilgrim Fathers. Given our recent trip to Plimoth Plantation in Massachussetts, we looked him up and found that he was a local Droitwich man who had survived the initial harsh winter in 1620/21 and had become Governor of the Colony for three years, eventually dying in the Caribbean in 1655 aged 60 years old.

R was delighted to find a branch of "Muffin Break", which also has a branch in the Belfry in Redhill. We have been to the Redhill branch on a number of occasions and have been very impressed. Unfortunately the Droitwich branch left a lot to be desired as they produced a "Cappuccino" that was a white coffe with a few bubbles on the top. Very disappointing!

Supper was a new recipe that M had found in the Waitrose magazine (M was delighted to find that there is a Waitrose in Droitwich). The supper was delicious!
Today: 5 miles, 8 locks and 3.5 Hours.
Trip: 80 miles, 71 locks and 63.6 hours.

A Short but Rural Journey.

Wednesday 28th June 2017 at Dunhampstead.
It's lovely towpath walking here. For much of today, M walked the towpath between locks that were very close together; while R and MM disappeared behind sedges which grow to about 10ft tall. The sedges are a haven for wildlife, especially birds.

The locks are in a pretty setting, even on an overcast day. The hay in the adjoining meadow had already been cut and baled and will no doubt give the farmer a second cut.

The M5 was an unwelcome but brief intrusion on the tranquillity of the waterway. But the noise of it carries for at least a mile on either side.

This really has to be our ideal house! A perfect setting with its small adjacent church; a scene probably little changed for several hundred years.

Finally a chance to wash down the roof, which had got very dirty sitting in the marina for five days, not helped by the rain and the need to walk across the roof in locks, which tends to make muddy footprints.

The evening reflections on the water were lovely.

We were basking in the peace of our surroundings and enjoying the sound of a flock of young long-tailed tits in the hedge beside us when the tranquillity was shattered by a pair of Hercules which thundered overhead at about 500ft. Brilliant!
Today: 3 miles, 6 locks and 2.3 hours.
Trip: 75 miles, 63 locks and 60.1 hours.

On Our Way Again.

Monday 26th and Tuesday 27th June 2017 in Worcester.
The train journey back to Worcester from Reigate couldn't be easier; just one change at Reading. It's a lovely route through the Cotswolds and the Vale of Evesham.
We had intended to return on Sunday but buses were replacing trains on much of the route, which would have doubled the journey time, so we decided to return on Monday. We took our time over the journey and, not helped by our train running late, we arrived at the marina just as the office was closing. So we decided to stay overnight and settle up with them in the morning.
Our "neighbour" on the boat next door arrived back from work and then went shopping - in a very small rowing boat! When not in use, the boat is stored in his front well deck.

On Tuesday morning, we settled up at the office, emptied our pooh tank and filled our water tank. As this is also a hire base, they were very efficient and their equipment was very powerful. So the speed with which one tank emptied and the other filled was remarkable!
We thanked the marina staff for their hospitality and set off. It was certainly easier turning out than it had been coming in.

Almost immediately we passed under the railway bridge that we had crossed by train yesterday. The circular "hole" in this bridge was apparenty built into it to save weight but it is also quite decorative.

Provisions were needed! So, we moored up only a few hundred yards up the canal and walked into town.
As we set off, we passed two nice chaps, an uncle and his nephew, fishing beside us. One showed us a large chubb that he had caught. M asked if they needed anything in town, but they declined. It seemed that they were unemployed and short of money.

On the way into town we  passed a handsome former "Hop Factors" built in 1759, now converted into apartments.

Next to the station is a yard with a very attractive and unusual steel sliding gate - a treat for railway enthusiasts like ourselves.

When we returned to MM with a "few bits", we had also acquired some sandwiches, which we gave to the fishermen along with some cake, which we had brought from home. They were delighted and said that we had bought them luck, as they had caught chubb and zander while we were there.

M's flower troughs in the well deck continue to flourish and are frequently admired by passersby. This year's crop came from RHS Wisley and they have certainly done us proud.

This end of Worcester is full of little streets with terraced houses. They are surprisingly quiet and, other than the plethora of parked tin boxes, don't seem to have changed much for a century or more.

Narrow locks now all the way into Birmingham, only another 50 to go!

And, according to this milepost, just 28 miles.

We passed the site of one of Cadbury's factories that used to make cakes and employed over 700 people. In 1966 Cadbury's proposed to extend the factory but were turned down by the Board of Trade, so, in 1971, they closed the factory down. At the time, it was one of the largest, and best, employers in the city.

Having done six locks today, we decided to moor up and have an early supper despite the proximity of a busy A road - because just ahead are another six locks very close together and they end up next to the M5 motoway. If we tried to do them now, it would make us very late - so they will have to wait until tomorrow.

Today: 3 miles, 6 locks and 2.2 hours
Trip: 72 miles, 57 locks and 57.8 hours

From the River Severn to the Worcester & Birmingham Canal.

Tuesday 20th and Wednesday 21st June 2017 in Worcester.
Another sunny day dawned. Ray and Helen from nb. "Bigger Decisions" came on board for a coffee before they set off for Tewkesbury further down the Severn. Their plan is to go up the Avon to Stratford. It was so good to have met them and we hope to stay in touch.

A group of young canoeists waved cheerfully as they passed, obviously enjoying their trip on the river.

At about midday, we set off ourselves for the junction of the Worcester & Birmingham Canal and the Severn. On the way, we passed a large colony of mainly adolescent swans - count them if you can!

The Cathedral makes a marvellous sight as it overlooks the river.

A small trip boat makes regular trips up and down the river; there are also larger vessels that ply the waters from here down to Gloucester.

Just south of the Cathedral is the junction where we turned left into the first of two wide locks that take the canal up to Diglis Basin.

The junction is marked by a finger post - only 30 miles to Birmingham - but 58 locks!

After the first two wide locks, the remaining 56 locks are narrow, which are much easier. We like narrow locks; they are quicker to fill and empty, the gates are not so heavy and it is easier to keep control of the boat. The 56 include the "Tardebigge" flight, the longest continuous flight of locks in the country - 30 locks in two-and-a-quarter miles. Should be fun...

Historic Diglis Basin is at the top of the two wide locks and it is now a small but attractive and popular marina.

Soon after, we passed the famous "Commandery", which was the Royalist Headquarters during the deciding Battle of Worcester in the English Civil War in 1651.

The site of the battle is commemorated by pikes and helmets mounted on the bridge over the canal, which is located on the site of the original eastern gate to the city next to the Commandery.

Just two narrow locks (hooray!) before we moored up for the night within striking distance of Worcester Marina, where we shall leave MM for a few nights as we have to go home for various family commitments.
On Wednesday morning, we made an early start up to the marina. The turn in is challenging as you have to go beyond the entrance, turn around and then squeeze back round to get through the narrow bridge hole.

As ever, with patience, and just a little help from R, MM managed it impeccably. (note from M - it was actually all down to the skill of the Skipper!).

We moored here for a night three years ago and the staff at the marina were as helpful as ever, so we were soon moored up and ready for the short walk to Worcester railway station and the trip home.
Two Days: 2 miles, 4 locks and 5.8 hours.
Trip: 69 miles, 51 locks and 55.6 hours.