Day 29 Stourport to Worcester

Saturday 27 July is river Severn day, so after the usual filling up and emptying chores, we navigated the turns in the basin and approached the staircase locks.  In these, the bottom lock fills by emptying the water from the top lock into it, so things must be done in a certain order.  A CRT volunteer was on duty to help and advise.

 Waiting above the first lock

 Concentrating!

 Lockkeeper and interested audience

 Onto the next one through the bridge

 and going down the final time...

 before the bridge - and the Severn!

 The leaving of Stourport

 First view downstream on the Severn - three and a half hours to Worcester, our next stop...

 which is half way to Tewkesbury, where we'll be turning northeast up the river Avon to Stratford

 River sized vessels are a bit bigger

Dutch barge Eva May, 90 feet and built in 1923 - for sale!

 First Severn lock, after a long weir. We keep left and head for the corner

 Reassuring arrow pointing to the lock

 Lincomb lock comes into view, with a green light so we can go in

 All the Severn locks are automated, so we stay on the boat and follow instructions

 One is, thread the centre line through the 'strap' on the lock wall

 Our view of the lockkeeper's booth

 Leaving Lincomb, Holt lock is four miles ahead

 Spectacular, almost tropical feel to the forest on either bank

 It's almost deserted, very few boats are moving

 Mutton Hall

 String of moored cruisers

Friendly lockkeeper at Holt

Starting to rain quite heavily

 A lot more cruisers on the river than we see on the canals, but they're usually moored up

 Telford's bridge on the outskirts of Worcester

The racecourse stand, so we're nearly there

 Moored on Worcester riverside, cathedral just visible in the distance

 

Day 20 - 28 Wolverley to Stourport

Thursday 18 July moored at Wolverley and not cruising today as both of us have dental appointments in Beeston.  That means spending most of the day travelling by train and taxi.  It's hard to believe how long it takes to travel relatively short distances on public transport in the midlands!

The first leg of our journey took us by taxi to Kidderminster Station and a nice surprise.  We walked into the 'station' only to find ourselves transported back in time.  We had, in fact, entered the Severn Valley Heritage Railway station.  We left promising to come back for a trip and headed to the far less interesting modern one.

 Ticket office and waiting room

 Every detail of the station meticulously created

Friday 19 July and still moored at Wolverley, weather grey and drizzly.  Today we're making a reconnaisance trip to explore Stourport before cruising there tomorrow. First impressions are of an interesting and historic place, a mixture of seaside town and inland port.

In the 1700s Stourport was built by James Brindley, as the 'port' at the southern end of the Staffs & Worcs canal where it joins the river Severn.  The layout hasn't changed much in 250 years.

The route from the canal (top of picture) to the exit onto the Severn via the narrow locks is somewhat tortuous, involving two sharp turns to the first of four staircase locks.  However, the last pair of locks isn't in line with the first pair, so for a boat our length, some gymnastics are necessary.

 View into upper basin from the final lock on the Staffs & Worcs canal

 Now apartments, this was once a swanky hotel for the owners and shareholders of the canal companies

Former warehouse with clocktower and bell which rings every hour, but 10 minutes early!

Inspecting the narrow locks 

Pretty cottages overlooking the basin

View up river, pontoons on the Severn, just outside the locks

Saturday 20 July and we set off for Stourport via Kidderminster, intending to moor just north of Stourport before starting south on the Severn the following Friday.  A convenient spot was found near the Bird in Hand pub while Jan went on a training course. 

Friday 26 July and setting off again in cooler conditions after the heatwave.

 First lock of the day

Historic working boat Phoebe, with painting of bottle kilns instead of the usual castle

Upturned tiller was a feature allowing easy access to the cabin
 

 Coming into Kidderminster

Catnap with Kidderminster cathedral backdrop
 

 Descending the lock

 The narrow lock exit, under a major road, required a bit of shuffling with oncoming boats to fit through

 In the 18th and 19th centuries Kidderminster was the main manufacturer of carpets in the UK

 Entering the lock at Falling Sands

 The lock cottage, now demolished, was the home of the Godson family - an evocative account of life there was written by David Godson who grew up there in the 1940s and 50s

 A huge tonnage of pig iron was conveyed here, to be smelted a short distance away on the river Stour accessible via this arch and a lock

 Stourport lock, with tollbooth and cottage

/

 Breasted up with nb Now Then, in the basin for the night

First attempt at Japanese patchwork, Jan's latest interest