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