A New Home for Thomazina

Taking the boat from Saul Marina to our new home in Gnosall

an adventure in itself

Wolverley and Debdale Locks, Cookley Tunnel

Wednesday 28th October

We only had one goal today, to get to The Anchor Inn at Caunsall. Our friends Sheila and Kev first told us about this lovely pub, famous for its 'well-filled' cob rolls. It's only a hop-skip-and-a-jump from where we were moored at Wolverley — not even a 'jump' as no locks, so an easy journey compared to the day before. 

We went through Cookley Tunnel, taking the obligatory photos of our Little Pink Coffee Pot for our friend Esther who has her own coffee shop in Venice. 

We first met Esther thirteen years ago, on our second trip to Venice, when we identified her slightly Brummy accent and asked where she came from. "You won't have heard of it" was the reply, but as soon as she said "Cookley" we knew it exactly, as its houses perched atop Cookley Tunnel are a very distinct landmark on the Staffs and Worcs Canal. A few years ago we bought a bright pink moka coffee pot from Esther and we started to document its journey with us on the boat. 

New Adventures for the Little Pink Coffee Pot

Previous travels of the LPCP

Cobs and Herons

In less than a couple of hours we were moored at Austcliffe, and a five minute walk through a pretty wood took us to The Anchor. It is a really popular pub, no matter what time you arrive there will always be a crowd there, but they are strictly following the current guidelines. We anti-bac'd hands, tracked and traced, and waited to be seated in their newly covered outside area. They have recently added locally-made pork pies to their choice of ham, beef or cheese cobs, so of course we had to try those, which were delicious. Complemented by a pint and a half of Butty Bach beer, always well-kept at The Anchor. Sadly, Smuggler didn't get his usual plate of meat scraps, but he was a really good boy and when we had finished our lunch he wolfed down the morsels we saved for him, along with the salad we couldn't  manage. He loves cucumber, seems to enjoy raw onion, not so keen on lettuce — but he ate it anyway just to show willing! When we walked back to the boat a heron was waiting for us at the side of the canal. He was completely unworried by Smuggler and flew along and settled behind the boat for a while. After that there wasn't much else to do but have a lazy afternoon.

Thursday 29th October

Whittington & Stewponey Locks,
Dunsley Tunnel, Stourton Junction

Bad weather was originally forecast for today. We hadn't travelled very far on Wednesday, and the threat of another covid-related lockdown is at the back of our minds, so we decided to try and get as far as we could. We were soon into the lock at Whittington, which is near to where Dick Whittington's grandfather lived. Then on to Kinver, famous for the houses built out of the sandstone rock, and once home to a popular light railway that attracted visitors to visit the "Switzerland of the Midlands", seventeen thousand on Whit Monday 1905! The sandstone rock is evident on all the lock and tunnel approaches. In the rural surroundings between Kinver and Hyde, it is hard to believe that for two hundred years there was a huge ironworks with twenty puddling furnaces lining the canal.

We passed Stourton junction, where the Stourbridge Canal heads off, and looking at the signpost brought to mind some of our previous journeys — the Stourbridge Sixteen, Black Delph, Windmill End, Netherton Tunnel and ultimately Brum. On past the remains of a canal company roundhouse at Gothersley, through Rocky, Greensforge and Hinksford Locks.

Smuggler has to 'help' at all the locks. As soon as he hears the engine slow down he is ready and waiting to jump off with John. These locks were all going 'up', so Smuggler stands on the edge of the lock watching the boat, and as soon as the boat is high enough he hops back on.

In the end the weather was mainly dry so we managed to get to a mooring just before Swindon Lock, a journey of 8 miles and 8 locks.

The mooring near Swindon Lock was surprisingly peaceful and we had a good night's sleep, although we had to let the woodburner die out during the evening as the boat was very hot — the weather had turned really warm considering the time of year.

Friday 30th October

Botherham and Bumblehole

A day of mixed greyness and the odd sharp shower, and alliterative lock names — Bumblehole, Botterham and Bratch. Bumblehole is forever imprinted on our minds because it was where we picked up a folding canvas chair around the prop a few years ago. John always refers to it as "the fisherman's chair" although to be truthful we have no idea where it came from. He is probably influenced by the fact that it took us over an hour to cut it away, a good advert for Dunlop in how well made it was! Botherham is a set of two staircase locks — make sure no one is coming down, and that the top chamber is full and the bottom one empty, take the boat into the bottom and let the water from the top down. A rise of over twenty feet. 

Bratch 'hitchhikers',
nuzzling horses, handsome bridge at Awbridge

Bratch Locks are probably the prettiest on the canal, with a flag flying from the octagonal toll office and a Victorian pumping station nearby that looks like a fairytale castle. Brindlay originally built Bratch as a three-lock staircase, but later the locks were separated with short pounds, connected by hidden side pounds and culverts. Bratch is manned in the summer months and we were lucky as we passed through on the last day for this year, so had assistance from two C&RT volunteers. No sign of the regular lock keeper or his assistant that we've come to know over the years, and we wondered if their jobs have been cut. One of the lock keepers asked a favour, would we allow two little girls to travel up through the locks on the boat, as they had never been through a lock. I asked them to stand on the other side of the stern (socially distanced of course!), and impressed on them how important it was to keep their hands inside the boat so that there was no chance of crushed fingers if we banged the side. I have known the force of incoming water in Bratch locks to sweep me forward and into the gates, so I took extra care to keep the boat well back in each lock. Isabel and Lottie did exactly as asked, and really seemed to enjoy their short trip, their mum and dad taking photos from above. I showed them some old photographs of Bratch and they laughed when their dad struggled to shut the lock gates. Later the family walked on up the towpath and waved goodbye to us through the cut out holes of the pretty bridge at Awbridge.

Leaving the Staffs and Worcs for the Shroppie

We passed the moorings near Wightwick Manor, and eventually got to Compton Lock, the first lock that Brindley built on the Staffs and Worcs, in the late 1760s, and the end of our run of 31-locks up from the River Severn in Stourport, a rise of 294 feet. We passed Aldersley Junction, where the 'Wolverhampton Twenty-one' forks off on its journey into the BCN (Birmingham Canal Networks). Then we were at Autherley, the junction with the Shropshire Union Canal, "the Shroppie", which John refers to as 'Telford's Motorway'. There is a 'stop lock' here, only 6 inches deep, which the Staffs and Worcs Canal Company insisted on in 1830, to prevent Telford's newer 'Birmingham and Liverpool Junction Canal Company' stealing their water! It should only take a matter of minutes but a build up of silt is preventing the bottom gate from opening. We helped the boat in front of us, they helped us, but it still took nearly half an hour to get through. Thank goodness that C&RT plan to work on it in a couple of weeks time. Once onto the Shroppie our speed increase. Deeper, clearer water and less fallen autumn leaves meant that the filter on our raw-water-cooled engine didn't block up so easily. We decided to press on for moorings that Sheila and Kev used during lockdown earlier in the summer, just before Bridge 8. If you count the staircase locks individually, today we had covered over 12 miles and 15 locks. As we moored the light was just going, but strangely there was a vivid red sky — no chance of 'shepherd's delight' tomorrow, with the gales forecast.

More travels with a coffee pot

A New Home for Thomazina

Taking the boat from Saul Marina to our new home in Gnosall

an adventure in itself

Monday 26th October

Thank goodness for warming
porridge & soup

We knew this would be a hard day as we had a few logistical obstacles to overcome. Carrington Road Bridge, which takes the Worcester bypass over the River Severn, is being rebuilt, with new sections being craned into place alongside the old bridge. On Saturday, when John got his lift back with our friends John and Joan, they were delayed on the motorway by sections of bridge being transported along the inner two lanes of the motorway. Canal and River Trust (C&RT) had been sending us emails warning us that we would not be allowed to go underneath while the crane was being operated, but the emails were vague as to which times were not allowed on which dates. We had asked the lock keeper at Upper Lode Lock, but he seemed to know less than us. The best he could tell us that we wouldn't be allowed to travel under the bridge between 10am and 2pm. But he also warned us that on the previous day they had started construction work earlier in the day.

Cormorants and Cranes

Knowing that there wouldn't be anywhere to moor up if we got there and were prevented passage, we got up at 5.30am and left Upton-upon-Severn just after 6am, when it was just getting light. We had a couple of heavy rain showers, but made it to the bridge by just after 9am. They have also been refurbishing Sabrina footbridge, near Diglis Locks, but luckily for us the work was on hold and we got through Diglis without a hitch, moored for Smuggler to hop off for a few minutes, then set off again. We were so lucky with the weather from then on, with sun, showers and rainbows — lots of rainbows.

Sun, showers, rainbows,
Stourport in the late afternoon sun 

That just left the Stourport problem. Narrowboats arriving from the River Severn have to access the canal system through two sets of staircase locks. C&RT are repairing them however, and we had been told we must use the widebeam locks that are usually reserved for bigger boats, but only on a Monday, Wednesday or Friday when volunteers would be manning them between 9am and 3pm. Levels on the River Severn were rising, and when we reached Bevere, the next lock beyond Worcester, the automatic display showed amber warning for the area near Stourport. Our speed was slower than usual because of the high water, and we could see we would struggle to get there before 3pm. A hire boat overtook us but the keeper at the next lock, Holt, held the gates open so we could share the lock with them. We asked the couple on the hire boat (who knew nothing about the Stourport restrictions) if they would tell the volunteers that we were on our way, but we knew there was a chance that even the more powerful hire boat would not get there in time. Although we had originally planned to get to Stourport on Wednesday, we didn't fancy being moored for two nights on the rising river, so I took a chance and rang C&RT. The woman I spoke to didn't hold out much hope, but she rang back with a mobile number for a volunteer who had offered to stay until 4pm. We rang him when we got to Lincomb Lock and he was waiting with a friend when we got to Stourport. The keeper at Lincomb said that it was almost 3pm when the hire boat had gone through the lock, so thank goodness I found someone helpful on the end of the phone, or we'd all have been moored out on the river until Wednesday. 

The two widebeam locks took time as they are really hard work, and there was no mooring in the main basin, so we had to go through York Street Lock to find a mooring. By the time we moored up for the night it was 5 o'clock — eleven hours since we had left Upton. But at least we were now off the river and on the narrow canals where we can choose when and for how long to travel!

Smuggler waiting patiently
outside the butcher's

Tuesday 27th October

It was raining and we deserved a lie in so didn't rush to get up. Stourport has the luxury of three butchers, and we especially like Gough's where they will cut the bacon to any thickness you like. After buying Italian style sausages, black pud, duck eggs, chorizo, minced steak and thick bacon, we moved half a mile up the canal to the bridge next to Lidl and stocked up on essentials, including beer and wine. 

Autumn colour on the Staffs and Worcs Canal, repairs to the
railway viaduct, Falling Sands Lock, Caldwall Lock

We cruised for a couple of hours until it seemed the rain had set in, and moored in a quiet spot for lunch and a snooze. Then the sun came out, so we decided to carry on for Kidderminster. We don't like to moor in the middle of Kiddy, so planned on getting through the town with the aim of mooring just before Wolverley Court Lock. 

During the day we had been in touch with cousin Viv and her husband Robin, who were at work in their Antique Centre in Kidderminster. They asked if we would like to meet for a pub meal, their treat — a generous and tempting offer. The spot where we originally planned to moor has no road access, so we needed to continue cruising to Wolverley, the last half an hour in the dark. 

Kidderminster Church from the lock, lock wall detail,
Wolverley Court Lock by night

Our first experience of night time cruising — and hopefully our last! We found a mooring below Wolverley lock and had a very good meal in The Lock Inn, and a good catch up with Viv and Rob.

A New Home for Thomazina

Taking the boat from Saul Marina to our new home in Gnosall

an adventure in itself

Leaving Saul mooring, Shaggy Ink Cap sandwich,
Saul Junction, Tall Ship puds

Friday/Saturday 23rd/24th October

We spent a night on the boat in Saul Marina, then John drove up to Gnosall to leave our car there, after a delicious breakfast sandwich made from Shaggy Ink Cap mushrooms picked in the field next to the marina. Thanks to good friends John and Joan Allway, John didn't have to do masked battle with public transport, as they drove up and fetched him back to the boat. It had been blowing a hoolie all morning, but when the wind dropped the rain started and we left it a little late setting out. We didn't quite make it through Hempsted bridge before closing — although I tried being ultra nice to the bridge keeper he insisted he had to close early because of extra cleaning. We do understand the restrictions surrounding this dratted virus, but we were probably the only boat he had seen that day in such foul weather. Hey-ho. We moored up just before the bridge and caught the bus to Gloucester docks to have a last meal in The Tall Ship, and to say goodbye to Pat and the team as they will be leaving the pub in the new year. All change. Smuggler came too, his bus fare cost a whole £1 — we were supposed to pay again on the return journey but the driver didn't ask. By not getting into Gloucester docks, we had missed the chance to get bread, but Pat saved the day for us with baguettes and chocolate chilli cake, wrapped up to take away.

Llanthony Bridge, lifejackets on, Gloucester Lock

Sunday 25th October

Through Hempsted just after 8am, as soon as the bridge keeper switched on the lights, then under Llanthony bridge and a last look at Gloucester Docks for a while. Straight into Gloucester Lock and we were onto the River Severn just before 9. Although there were no high tides there had been a lot of rain in Wales and the river was running high, so it was nearly 2pm by the time we got through Upper Lode Lock at Tewkesbury. Upton-upon-Severn is choked with boats in the summer and we usually hope we can squeeze in there, but this time the moorings were empty when we moored up just after 4. The clocks went back the night before, so it was already going dark.

Pubs of the River Severn

For over thirty years the pubs between Gloucester and Tewkesbury have been our waymarkers, and we we were sad to say goodbye to them. 

The Globe, The Boat Inn at Ashleworth, The Red Lion at Wainlodes, Haw Bridge Inn, Riverside, The Coal House at Apperley, The Yew Tree at Chaceley, the Lower Lode Hotel. 

Some are no longer pubs, and who knows how many of them will survive the turmoils of the current environment?

Right:

Autumn colours and changeable skies, Upper Lode Lock and Upton upon Severn