Return to the canals

Stratford Canal Basin

During yesterday we moved the boat off the river into Stratford canal basin. as we wanted to get an early start today on the 16 locks to our planned stop.

Last night was a chance for another meal out. The choice this time was the Coconut Lagoon , a South Indian restaurant with a good rating on the internet (www.qype.co.uk is reliable in our experience). Again qype proved accurate, very good food and a different menu to the standard Indian. Also as qype said it was a little expensive, but I guess Stratford being a tourist centre, that is to be expected.

Densie entering a lock

A narrow bridge - will we get through?

We left the basin at 8am this morning and quickly started on the locks on the Stratford Canal. As a couple of boats had got out before us we were expecting to be stuck in a queue at each lock, especially as this is a narrow canal, only with locks only wide enough for one boat. Fortunately this did not prove to be a problem, and the steady stream of boats coming down the locks hoping to moor in the basin for this weekend's Water Festival ensured that most locks were empty when we needed to enter.

After a hot morning, feeling a bit tired after the unaccustomed exercise, we moored at 12:30 at Wilmcote, a village some 3-4 miles from Stratford. And this is where we stayed for the rest of the day.

Mary Arden's House

In the afternoon we walked into the village and looked around the Tudor "Mary Arden's House" (Mary Arden being William Shakespeare's mum) and the adjoining tudor farm where a good range of old farming tools, other rural bygones and old farm animal breeds were on display. Well worth a visit. I did notice there was no specific mention of the inconvenient problem that according to our guidebook Mary Arden actually lived next door.

Stratford on Avon

Leaving the last lock on the Avon

Holy Trinity Church where Shakespear is buried

We started the morning with a 15min walk into Bidford. An attractive place with a butcher, bread shop etc. Having bought a piece of sirloin for this evening's dinner we returned to the boat and set off ever onwards at 9:40.

Today's journey was the longest for some weeks - we were travelling for about 5.5 hours with lunch being eaten on the move. Again the weather, scenery and locks were much the same as on previous days and by the time we reached Stratford we were really ready to stop. We moored on the river rather than taking the lock up into the canal basin as we thought it would be quieter. The plan is to stay here until Wednesday morning when we will start up the Stratford Canal which will take us towards Birmingham.

After mooring we went for a walk into the town centre. Very busy, lots of tourists and hot, the heat being ameliorated by an icecream. We will need to buy provisions for the next 3 or 4 days as there aren't many shops near the canal, but that can wait until tomorrow.

Bidford on Avon

A dragonfly landed on the boat last night

A similar cruise to yesterday. Weather very hot and the river very tranquil with dragon flies flitting, a few birds and little sign of habitation or other people except for the anglers who were out in force today. We often wave or give a "hello" to anglers we pass. On the canals they are friendly but we got little response from the Avon ones.

Evesham Lock

We left Evesham at 9am and passed through Evesham lock with its unusual lock keeper's cottage. This took us to the Upper Avon which was formerly managed by a separate Trust, but the two have now merged. The river is noticably narrower and more shallow. The larger cruisers common on the lower Avon cannot travel this far and so there was little traffic even with today being a Sunday.

Bidford on Avon - only the rightmost arch is passable

We arrived at Bidford on Avon at 3pm having had an hours stop for lunch but unfortunately all the moorings were taken so we had to carry on. Half a mile further we were able to find a pleasant spot to moor out in the countryside near a lock.

Bidford bridge is of note as it was built in 1482. Unlike the Severn, the Avon could be bridged in medieval times and so many of the bridges are very old. Eckington Bridge, where we moored a few days ago, dates from the 16th Century. The bridges were of course not designed for modern boat traffic and so do limit the size of craft that can use the river.

Evesham

Steaam Launch

Hampton Ferry

Another day of very good boating weather. We left Craycombe at 9:30 and continued on our journey up the Avon. A pleasant but uneventful cruise enlivened by a group of about 16 small steam-powered launches which were taking part in the annual club trip.

Also of interest was Hampton Ferry which is operated by a ferryman pulling his boat across the river using a rope strung across between the banks. He lowers the rope on request by any boats wishing to travel up or down the river.

We stopped for a free loo pump out and to take on fresh drinking water and continued into Evesham where we have moored opposite the town park.

After lunch on board, we walked into the town centre for a bit of shopping and I must admit we were disappointed. It was dominated by national chains and there were few small specialist shops. The only food shops were the Coop and Iceland, a greengrocer or two and one butcher. Furthermore, there are few old buildings, much of the town centre being modern. Evesham unfortunately is very different to Tewkesbury and Pershore.

Further up the Avon - Craycombe Turn

First job in the morning was a bit of shopping. The high point was provided by the trip to the butcher in Pershore market for some home-pressed tongue and a piece of home-made game pie for lunch.

The diamond-shaped Wyre Lock

Typical Avon view

We left Pershore at 10am with the weather becoming sunny and very warm and the top of the boat getting too hot to touch. The scenery improved up a notch from the "attractive" level to the "delightful" as we slowly cruised up the highly meandering river. At one point we found we were pointing back to Bredon Hill, well south of Pershore!

The improvement to the scenery was matched by an increase in the variety of birds. In one short section I noted cormorant, buzzard, kestrel, little egret, mistle thrush, song thrush and great crested grebe as well as the standard swan, moorhen, mallard, pigeon etc which one sees everywhere.

The top green plaque shows the 2007 flood level

Wherever we go in this area we see reminders of the great flood in 2007. The picture shows the height the water reached above Fladbury Lock - note this is perhaps 5-6 feet above the normal upstream water level, and thus over 12 feet above the downstream level.

At lunchtime we finished our travelling (6 miles and 2 locks) for today at Craycombe Turn, a well maintained mooring out in the countryside. I spent the afternoon with a siesta followed by some work on my OU Maths course to prepare my next assignment while Denise did some beading and cleaned the boat.

Pershore

Left Eckington Bridge at 9:30 and continued northwards in a gentle way arriving in Pershore at 12:30 after 6.5 miles and 2 locks. The scenery continues to be attractive but without any specific sight being worth a photograph.

Tug pushing empty barge

Unusually there was a bit of commercial traffic, a large pile of earth was being moved by barge along the river. Two tugs were being used to pull the loaded barges to Pershore and return the empties to near Nafford Lock, a distance of about 4-5 miles.

The other sight of great interest to us as birdwatchers was a very clear view of a cuckoo on a power line - my first. Naturally everybody in the UK must have heard them, but they are much more rarely seen.

Pershore Abbey - the nave formerly continued to the left

We have spent the afternoon looking around Pershore, an attractive small town with an indoor market. Its main claim to fame is the impressive Abbey church consisting of the Quire and Norman tower of the former monastery church, the large nave having been demolished centuries ago. We were lucky to get a guided tour taking us to the top of the tower with much of interest including the bells, a mechanical carillion (like a musical box) that plays tunes on the bells, 17th century graffiti, and a superb view from the top.

Eckington Bridge

One of many alleys in Tewkesbury

Spending a day in Tewkesbury was well worthwhile. After dropping 2 weeks washing off at the laundrette we went on to the Abbey, a spectacular historical church that seems much too large for a fairly small town. It had been the centre of an important monastery which was sold to the town's people on Dissolution. The nave is Norman and contains several 15th century tombs of notables. The tomb that particularly struck me was an unnamed one topped by a realistic carving of a long dead cadaver with various worms, beetles and other creatures crawling over it. According to the description this was a fashion of the time.

The next stop was the John Moores (a countryside writer who died in 1970s) museum which incorporated a timber frame shop which had been returned to the condition of the tudor period - again, well worth a visit. The town itself is attractive with many original timber frame buildings, little alley ways, and a good selection of small shops, though it suffers from heavy traffic passing through the centre.

Eckington Bridge with Bredon Hill beyond

This morning we refilled with water, bought some fresh provisions, and started our way north up the Avon. After a couple of hours along this lovely river we have moored at Eckington Bridge where we have decided to stay for the night. The journey was pleasant, the Avon being a river for dawdling rather than a motorway like the Severn. Along much the route the river was overlooked by Bredon Hill described by Houseman in a Shropshire Lad.

On the Avon - Tewkesbury

Densie (front boat) moored at Haw Bridge on the Severn

We agreed to share the lock with a fellow boater - Upper Lode Lock on the Severn

We left Haw Bridge at 9:40 with perfect boating weather - blue skies, warm, no wind - and continued up the Severn. There was no need for speed so we pootled at about 3mph at little more than tick-over until we reached the long wide Upper Lode Lock near Tewkesbury. We were soon followed into the lock by one of the large holiday cruise boats, the Edward Elgar, who pulled up alongside,dwarfing our little home.

In the big locks as the incoming water swirls around we keep the boat secure by passing bow and stern ropes around cables attached to the lock sides and holding on firmly. I was praying that the crew on the Edward Elgar were doing the same as there was only a few feet between us. The EEs captain came and looked over the side and had a little chat before the lock filled.

Soon after leaving the lock we turned off the Severn onto the Avon which will takes us up to Stratford. The Avon is run by the Avon Navigation Trust, a charity which was responsible in the 1950s and 60s for restoring what had become a semi-derelict navigation. They make a £55 charge for two weeks use of their waterway.

The manned Avon lock took us up into Tewkesbury where we will moor for a couple of days. So no blog tomorrow.

Return to the Severn

Llanthony Bridge is raised to let Densie into Gloucester Docks

Gloucester Docks with view of Cathedral

Travelling up the Severn - Sandhurst Hill

Our main activity yesterday was to visit Gloucester cathedral. We found it far more interesting than we expected. I would say there is more to see than at Worcester and that Gloucester is comparable to some of the better known cathedrals.

Particular points of note are the solid Norman columns in the nave, the magnificent 14th century east window with much original glass which when created was the largest window in the world, the tombs of Robert son of the Conqueror and Edward II and some interesting tombs from the early 17th Century.

Today we left our mooring at Llanthony Bridge at 12:00, watered up, passed through the bridge and the Gloucester dock lock back onto the Severn where we noticed that the river is noticeably lower than last week. The weather up the Severn was sunny and warm with little wind and the journey very pleasant. Our happiness was further improved by seeing 3 kingfishers en route.

We were planning to carry on to Tewkesbury, but decided to stop early (3pm) at Haws Bridge again, where we had moored on the way down.

Back in Gloucester

Densie will fit under Sims Bridge so no need to interrupt the traffic

Last night's meal at the Bell, Frampton was very good. It started badly as we were informed when we arrived that no food orders would be taken for the following 3/4 hour as a large party had just arrived. Fortunately a small half of good beer and the embargo ceasing after 15 minutes calmed my annoyance and the quality of the food satisfied us both.

First job today for Denise was a bit of touching up the paintwork. This is of course a continuous task as the boat is frequently scratched by rubbing against the side in locks and whilst mooring. The areas fixed this morning were a stretch of roof guttering which had started to rust and a section of the gunwhale (the walkway round the outside of the boat) which had got trapped under the edge of the floating pontoon whilst we moored in Gloucester a week ago.

Once the paint had dried sufficiently we set off from Frampton at 10am and reached Gloucester Sainsburys at 12:30. After a chat with a fellow boater we had met in Gloucester previously we shopped for the next few days, including most urgently our lunch for today.

We have moored for the night just before Llanthony Bridge and will stay here tomorrow as we plan to visit the cathedral, so next blog on Sunday.

The Hulks and Frampton on Severn

A Purton Hulk

Another day of perfect weather. We awoke late and decided to walk to the local Purton hulks before setting sail (or starting the engine). These are the rusty remains of redundant old river boats that were deliberately beached for many years from 1909 until1965 to protect the canal embankment from river erosion. In recent years it has been realised that they represent a unique historical collection and so the site has been given official protection.

View of the Cotswolds

Then we started our return trip to Gloucester. We often find a return trip looks quite different to the outward journey. Today was no exception as the scenery was dominated by the Cotswolds, a view we had missed on the way down.

Old house on Frampton village green

We moored at Frampton on Severn just in time for lunch. In the afternoon we walked around the attractive village at the centre of which is the enormous village green some 0.5 miles long and perhaps 75 yards wide containg a cricket pitch and three "natural" ponds full of fish and surrounded by rushes and flag iris. Facing the green there is a pub at each end and an attractive mixture of period houses along the sides.

It's time we had a meal out, and have decided on the Bell Inn in Frampton which had an interesting menu and as we discovered on our walk serves very good small-brewery beer.

The end of the canal - Sharpness

Densie moored at Sharpness

View from the mooring across the Severn

We travelled the remaining 4 miles of the Gloucester & Sharpness Canal to Sharpness this morning, well as far as one can go without entering the commercial port. It was a wonderful trip, the weather was perfect with blue skies and the scenery superb with good views over the Severn. There was even some bird watching as a common tern ahead of us dived into the water and flew out with a small fish in its beak.

On this stretch of the canal there are some interesting sights - the Purton "timber ponds" where logs were stored afloat prior to onward shipment and the few remains of a railway bridge across the Severn. Unfortunately a vessel collided with the bridge in 1959, badly damaging it. The bridge was subsequently demolished and the metalwork sold.

After refilling our water tank we turned round and moored in an attractive spot overlooking the Severn. As it was not yet lunchtime we decided to try to walk to the commercial port of Sharpness. The route took us via the old tidal basin, now a marina and alongside the Severn. The tide was just about to turn and the swirling waters made very obvious the dangers of the river. The people on the boat moored next to us last night were talking about their plans to take their narrowboat from Sharpness across the river to Lydney later in the week. From what we saw this morning, I dont think we will join them!

The path continued through a meadow down to an isolated row of houses facing onto various dusty dock based works, which was as close to the harbour we could get. Glancing at the sky we saw a bird, obviously a raptor, being mobbed by gulls. We had brought our binoculars and were able to confirm the bird as a peregrine falcon, the first time I have seen one other than at well publicised nesting sites (usually cathedrals).

Our original plan was to start on our way back to Gloucester his afternoon, but the weather was so good and the cider that had accompanied our lunch was affecting our motivation so we decided to stay. It was a good opportunity for Denise to do some boat maintenance. Densie has wooden doors exposed to the sun and rain. Unless they are regularly varnished, water seeps in and turns the light brown wood an unpleasant dull grey. We also tried to clean some green algae off our blue boat cover, with some success.

Slimbridge

Weather when we woke up was rather grey and cold, so we didnt want to move immediately. I did a bit of maintenance work on the boat - the bolts attaching the propellor shaft to the gearbox tend to work loose because of engine vibration so I checked and tightened them, nothing much required fortunately.

The weather improved quickly so we set off at 9:30 carrying on southwards. After 1.5 hours we stopped at Patch Bridge on the outskirts of the delightfully named village of Shepherd's Patch which also marks the the closest the canal comes to Slimbridge Wildfowl Reserve entrance.

The journey had been very enjoyable, the sunny weather complemented by the views over the Severn Estuary and hills beyond to the west and the Cotswolds to the east. The width and depth of the canal makes it feel like a river, but it does not suffer the river's disadvantage of high banks interfering with the views.

After mooring we made a packed lunch and walked the 3/4 mile to the Wildfowl Reserve where we visited the hides and did a bit of bird watching (we were not interested in the captive collection). Although there are comparatively few water birds around in the summer as most migrate to the Arctic we had a pleasant walk around, perhaps the highlight being the half mile path to the edge of the Severn with great views up and down the river and the opposite coast.

Gloucester & Sharpness Canal

We had a pleasant weekend in Gloucester. On Sunday we shopped in the morning and visited the waterways museum in the afternoon. Then the rain fell. Fortunately it stopped in time for us to go out for a chinese meal. Another place we can recommend - the Gourmet Oriental. It was very good tasty food and the restaurant itself was attractive although its surroundings are perhaps less so. For some reason there are very few restaurants in central Gloucester so we were lucky to find this one.

Today, we left our moorings at 9:15, travelled under the lift bridge at the south end of the docks, and stopped to pump out the loo and fill the deomestic water tank. Next stop was a large Sainsburys on the edge of town conveniently located next to the canal. The Gloucester & Sharpness Canal has virtually no shops along its entire 16 miles length and so we needed provisions for 5 days.

On the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal

After lunch we moved off again down the G&S canal. It is very different to most other UK canals being built in 1827 towards the end of the canal era as a ship canal designed to allow ocean going merchant vessels to reach Gloucester avoiding the dangerous lower reaches of the Severn. When it was built in was the widest and deepest canal in the world.

The G&S from Gloucester Docks has only one lock, that to lower ships down to the Bristol Channel at Sharpness from where they could sail to Bristol and beyond. We wont be doing that one - though narrowboats can make the journey to Bristol provided they are accompanied by a qualified pilot (and have nerves of steel).

The green light allows us to proceed while Parkend Bridge opens

Typical G&S bridge keepers cottage - the portico and Doric columns are original

What the canal lacks in locks it makes up for with swing and lift bridges. There are about 16 in total, each operated by a bridge keeper as they are not suitable for boater operation. This must a considerable expense in manpower especially as all commercial traffic on the canal has ceased.

We have now moored at Saul Junction where the currently closed Thames & Severn canal branched off to Lechlade and the Thames.

Gloucester

Densie at Haw Bridge. The pub is on the left.

Last night we had a good meal at the friendly and well run Haw Bridge Inn. The food was fairly typical good pub fare and was very well cooked and the beer was delicious. I would recommend this place to other boaters - non boaters may have difficulty finding it.

One sight in the pub which did catch my eye was the marker showing the maximum height of the 2007 floods. This was about 3 foot high in the main bar - the pub must be 15-20 foot above water level. Photographs in the bar showed the columns supporting the mooring pontoon were covered, and the water was nearly up to the top of the stone bridge supports. An aerial picture of the pub shows it and the adjacent pub being little more than islands surrounded by water that stetched as far as the photograph covered.

Densie moored in Gloucester

At breakfast this morning the weather was looking grey and a bit threatening but it quickly cleared. We left Haw Bridge at 9:30 and arrived in Gloucester Docks 2 hours later having travelled 8 miles and 1 lock. The journey was again much the same as on previous days with pleasantly wooded riversides which hid most of the countryside beyond.

We were delighted to see our first kingfishers this year - those on the rivers must have been much better off during the winter than those on the canals which froze to a depth of several inches.

Gloucester was formerly a major port and the docks were built in the early 1800s. The two basins are surrounded by historic warehouses of that period which have now been converted into offices, bars and flats. Nowadays there is virtually no commercial traffic. the only boats one sees are narrowboats and the larger boats used for pleasure trips.

We plan to stay in Gloucester for a couple of days, so the next blog entry will probably be on Monday.

Another day on the Severn

Upton Pepperpot - remains of medieval church demolished in 1930's

3 Upton Pubs - one on left, two on right

We left Upton at 10:00 after a quick shop, mainly for dinner for this evening in case our planned pub meal didnt work out.

Under the M50

The weather is much improved with light cloud and some sight of the sun. We travelled under the M50, past the junction with the Avon near Tewkesbury, and moored at Haws Bridge at 12:30 where we had lunch. The journey was much the same as yesterday, the tree lined river was attractive but little else could be seen because of the high river banks.

The main reason for mooring at Haws Bridge is that British Waterways have provided some public moorings on floating pontoons. Finding anywhere to moor on the Severn is difficult, the shallow and often rocky riverside precludes any mooring except at official sites, these are often fully occupied

The second reason for staying at Haws Bridge is that there is nothing here except for 2 pubs. Hopefully one of these will provide our meal for the night, though I noticed the one calling itself a "countyside restaurant" did have a sign up saying "kitchen closed".

Moving again!

Meeting the Conway Castle on the Severn

After watering up at Worcester we left Diglis Basin and dropped down through the two Diglis locks back to the Severn. After a week in Worcester we were really glad to be moving again. The weather was grey but dry, so not too bad.

The journey was uneventful. Just the one lock on the river on the outskirts of Worcester and then a long cruise through the countryside. For a while there were good views of the Malvern Hills and then a section where there were 100 foot high red cliffs on the west side. We met what seemed like a rather large trip boat, the Conway Castle. As is customary, the passengers all waved at us and we waved back.

Overall it was a very pleasant but there was not a lot to see really.

We have moored at Upton on Severn, a delightful little town with an astonishing number of pubs (7 at least) mostly clustered around the river side. The moorings were fully occupied when we arrived and we had visions of another 6 mile cruise on to Tewkesbury, but fortunately the owners of "Luck Dip", another narrowboat of a similar size to ours, kindly agreed to let us moor along side them.

Allowing other boats to mooring alongside , known as "breasting up", is regarded as good practice when space is limited.

Still in Worcester

The Maid of Fibre boat - newly decorated.
(Sorry about the "Toilets Only" sign.)

In the marina last night we say a brightly coloured boat leaving the paint shed. On talking to the owner we found out that they supply shops in the Midlands area with yarns for knitting and crochet. Their plan is to travel the canals encouraging local knitters to visit the boat and examine the company's products. More details can be found on their www.maid0ffibre.com website.

This morning I checked the area on densie where we found the rusty water yesterday. Seemed dry, but noticed a lot of condensation on the sides - perhaps that has been the problem all along, condensation being generated without any way for it to drain away. Doesnt matter much now as we wont be using the 240V input for a while.

With the forecast not looking too good we decided to leave the marina and moor for free on the canal. This done we went for a walk around the city, visiting the cathedral and a few shops.

As it turned out the weather has been reasonable most of the day, so we could have moved on. However, we can do that tomorrow, back on the Severn towards Gloucester. We had checked the status of the river - despite all the rain it is only at the bottom of amber, just above green, so no real concerns there.

Rain stopped play

We are still in Worcester. Denise returned on Monday from her weekend travel to a surprise 50th birthday do in Hampshire. We had planned to leave the marina today but the rain was pouring down so we decided to stay put. The new plan is to leave tomorrow, but the forecast isn't much better.

We had some "interesting" technical problems. Technical problems are often like that on narrowboats with everything being a bit of a compromise as nothing is really designed purely for canal conditions .

The first problem was the shower pump. We need a pump to remove water from our shower tray because it is a foot or two below canal level and so cant drain by gravity. On Saturday I was about to have a desperately needed shower, turned on the pump and nothing happened. First thought was a fuse which proved to be dead, so I replaced it, turned on the pump, and was rewarded by a bright blue flash and another dead fuse.

After discussion and advice from the marina engineers I was able to take the pump to pieces and found that the rotor which normally spins rapidly transferring water from the inlet to the outlet had broken. An arm had come off and was jamming the mechanism. Fortunately this is a well known problem and a replacement rotor was obtained from the marina. After everything was put together again it all worked - hooray, I am now clean.

The next problem is electrical. These are always a pain and are quite common - modern boat electrics are getting complex as they involve both 12V and 240V technology. Densie's electrical system was designed by a Polish electrical engineer and apparently was implemented to their military standards. Also of course electricity and water dont mix well.

The symptom was that during the heavy rain over the weekend the 240V supply repeatedly cut out for a second or two, during the few dry periods everything worked fine. Immediate thought was that this was a problem with the marina supply. However subsequent investigation led us to find an inch of rusty water in the bottom of the apparently sealed area where the external 240V supply is brought into the boat. Not good - rusty water and 240V certainly dont mix.

So, with the help of the marina engineers we are trying to discover where the water, presumably rain, is coming from. They have put some sealing around an inspection hatch - fortunately it is raining again and so we will find out if this fixes the problem.

Down the Severn to Worcester

Telford's 150 foot cast iron Holt Fleet Road Bridge (1828)

Started at 8:20 with perfect weather - sun, blue skies, only a little wind. Down one lock to the main Stourport basin and then two sets of staircase locks to takes us onto the Severn.

River boating is very different to the canals. The locks are much larger - taking two narrowboats with ease, and are manned so no work needed. The depth and width of the river means that we could put really work the engine as we reached a speed of 5.8 mph (as measured by my satnav). OK you may not think that is fast, but it feels fast enough on a narrowboat with the water splashing and the engine roaring.

Entering Worcester

12 miles and 3 locks later we reached Worcester, the cathedral looking very impressive from the river. After stopping for lunch we went up the locks out of the Severn into Diglis Basin on the Birmingham & Worcester Canal. Not as large as Stourport, but still good to see.

We have now moored in Lowesmoor Basin near the centre of Worcester where we have booked a 5 day mooring as Denise is catching a train tomorrow to spend the weekend with friends. Mains electricity is available so there will be no need to run the engine except perhaps for hot water.

As we wont be moving for a few days, the next blog entry will be on Tuesday.

Stourport

Stourport main basin

A Georgian corner

The weather was much improved this morning so we started early on the 4 miles and 3 locks trip to Stourport. Once we left the light industry of Kidderminster we were back into typical Staffs & Worcestershire scenery with the woods, River Stour and red sandstone cliffs.

We moored up in Stourport just after 11 and after a quick shop in Lidl (their fruit & nut muesli is very good and much cheaper than elsewhere) and lunch went for a wander round the town.

Stourport did not exist prior to the building of the canal. Brindley built 4 impressive canal basins here and locks down to the Severn so that goods from the new industries starting up in Birmingham and the Black Country could be transhipped for distribution around the country and abroad. The town was built around these facilities and because of the history has a large number of attractive and interesting Georgian buildings.

Although we enjoyed the canal basins and the Severn riverside, we were disappointed by the town centre. Where we had hoped for interesting restaurants, antique shops, deli's etc we actually found a good range of charity shops, several cheaper household goods shops, a coop supermarket, and at least five butchers. I do feel the town could make more of its assets.

Train to Bridgnorth

Bridgnorth 17thC Town Hall

Arrival at Kidderminster

The morning gave us rain again - as forecast so it didn't upset our plans. First job was a quick visit to Sainsburys, 2 minutes walk down the towpath, to stock up for the next few days. After that we separately went into Kidderminster town centre for a bit of shopping.

After lunch we could have moved on to Stourport but we decided to leave the boat at Sainsburys and to take the hour train ride on the Severn Valley Railway from its main terminus at Kidderminster up the Severn to the attractive old town of Bridgnorth.

The Severn Valley Railway was set up as an enthusiasts line running steam trains, but is now clearly highly professional. We left on time at 2:20 behind a 2-6-2 tank engine and arrived an hour later at Bridgnorth. There is much to see on the journey, amongst the sights is the bridge over the Severn which at 200 foot was the longest single span in the world when it was built in the 1860s. We could have returned after half an hour but decided to spend a while exploring Bridgnorth.

Its a really interesting town with many old buildings, one half at the top of a hill close to the castle and the other by a bridge over the Severn. We walked down to the lower town from the railway station and then took the cliff railway up the cliff to the upper town where we spent a good hour looking at the shops, buying some rare cheeses from a deli and having a coffee.

Unfortunately the Bridgnorth station buffet (bar) was closed when we returned to catch the train back, but we recuperated once we reached Kidderminster where the station bar there is in the Good Beer Guide.

Once back on the boat we cooked our evening meal. Of course I do this most evenings, but I mention the meal to recommend the wine we had with it - Vavasour, a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. It was absolutely delicious, one of the best white wines I have tasted for a long time.