Finally off towards Birmingham.

Tuesday 4th July 2017 finally leaving Worcester.
M had some cards to post, so we made one last sally into the city. Under the railway arches, we passed a lovely wild flower area.

M took a close-up of these blue flowers so that she can look them up later. If you look closely, there is a honey bee stopping for a drink (on the right). The books didn't help, so M still doesn't know what they are!

Only the tower and spire of St. Andrews Church survives in the middle of a memorial garden. At 245ft high, it is supposed to be the tallest, thinest spire in the country. Locally it is known as "Glover's Needle", named after the gloving industry ("Dents") for which Worcester was once famous. The rest of the church was demolished in 1949 and sadly only the tower and spire survived.

The old Police Station down one of the back streets is now apartments. How much more attractive is this building than the current concrete monstrosity bristling with aerials.

However, there is an imaginative plaque on the wall commemorating the creation of the Worcester Police Force in 1833 and the building of this police station in 1862.

Back to MM with the shopping.

Then we "let go" from our lovely mooring under the willow tree and set off down river. As we started off we passed a cheery group of school children on a canoe who waved happily. Clearly, mucking about on the river was a lot more fun than school! Even their teachers were enjoying themselves.

The Cathedral has to have one of the best locations in the country, overlooking the river as it does.

On the way, we looked across to the spire of St. Andrews from the other side. From a distance the "Glover's Needle" name looks very appropriate.

The trip boat is fittingly named the "Edward Elgar" after the city's famous son.

Very soon, we turned off the river into the first of the two Diglis Wide Locks. M opened the gates with ease and was delighted to see that they weighed 4.5 tonnes each! Brunnhilde? 

In Diglis Basin, we topped up with water and then went on through the next two narrow locks. By lock 4, we were already in a much more rural environment despite being only a mile or so from the city centre.

Two miles back to Worcester and 28 miles up to Birmingham. Diplomatically perhaps, it doesn't mention the remaining 54 locks to get to Birmingham!

We moored up in Astwood, still a suburb of Worcester but a very peaceful spot. The evening reflections on the water were lovely.

M remarked that the light on the water and the colours in the trees reminded her very much of a Constable painting. 
Today: 5 miles, 8 locks and 11.2 hours (three days power).
Trip: 95 miles, 88 locks and 79.8 hours.