Grandparents Gadabout - Week 1

Wednesday 26th May - Diglis to Oddingley

Our summer cruise this year is to Ely to spend a few weeks with our newest grandchildren, Remi and Max Sadler-Eyre

As we were coming through Worcester we saw our first swan family, the cygnets could be only a few days old, still very fluffy!

This family was at the lock opposite Perdiswell Leisure Centre, but sadly they only had one cygnet.

Two hours into our cruise and we passed the first boat of the day.  Boats are unable to go onto the River Severn at the moment as it is closed due to high water levels.  So that would explain why we have seen so few boats.

Lock keepers cottage, on the Offerton Flight of locks, built in 1910, and still lived in today.  Just after these locks the canal goes under the motorway, very noisy indeed! 

Last lock of the day, it was after this that we became aware of the low water levels making our progress very sluggish.  At Tibberton Dave checked the weed hatch to make sure there was nothing wrapped around the propeller, but all was clear.

We carried on to Oddingley and managed to get the last space before bridge 27, we have never seen these moorings so full! 

6.5 miles, 14 locks, 1 swing bridge, 5 hrs 12 mins

Thursday 27th May - Oddingley to Stoke Prior Top Lock

Our mooring this morning, brilliant blue skies and the promise of a fine day ahead.

Dave took charge of the tiller and I spent an hour inside the boat giving it a good clean, very satisfying.  

We passed this boatyard at Dunhampstead, it has started a boat hire business called Trinity Boats, which they have also built.  We see them coming down through the Diglis Locks onto the River and they do look very smart.

Unfortunately, yesterday Dave hurt his back and it meant that he was unable to work the locks today.  So Toby and I did them all together, here we are taking a well earned rest as the lock is filling!

I saw this hook on several of the locks on the Stoke Prior set of locks, I’m not sure what it was used for, but I’m guessing it would be something to do with the rope for the horses?  

We moored for the day below Stoke Prior Top Lock and walked up the Tardebigge Flight of locks, this is the lock I slipped in during a rainy descent some years back, I’ve read the notice now, so am forewarned!  

A drink in the garden of the Queens Head, in the evening sunshine and then back to the boat.

6.5 miles, 11 locks, 1 tunnel, 4 hrs 18 mins

Friday 28th May - Stoke Prior Top Lock to Bridge 56 Cherry Trees Farm

A bright and early start as we are going up the Tardebigge Locks today.  We are being met by 2 Volunteer Lock Keepers at the Queen’s Head and they are going to help us up the locks.  I am working all the locks today as Dave has a bad back and will drive the boat.

The cottage in the photo is a Landmark Trust property, where you can rent the cottage for a self catering holiday.  We met two ladies sitting in the garden yesterday on our walk and they were playing Upwords - looked a good game!

Just as we were getting to the midpoint on the flight we passed a working boat.  They are fixing a leak from the canal down onto the fields below.  They are fixing it with an original mix of clay which was used when the canals were built.  Puddling clay was first used on canal systems and remains in use today to maintain them.

This is the lock beside the reservoir, and I noticed a stone base beside the lock. It has a semi circle on the side and 4 holes which look as though they supported something. Al, the volunteer lock keeper thought it might be the remains of a structure to hold a crane. Materials would have been lifted out of the boats and perhaps used in the construction of the reservoir.

The final lock of the day, Al and Ed are demonstrating their social distancing, but a huge thank you to all the volunteers who helped us today, if it was just me we could have been going all day!  As it was we came up the flight in 3 hours exactly, pretty good going!

We moored up below the top lock for the evening and after some lunch went for a walk, even though it had turned quite showery.

This is the lock keepers cottage at the top of the locks, a grade II listed building, the single storey section to the left of the main cottage could well have been a stables.

On the opposite side of the canal is this plaque commemorating the meeting between Tom Rolt and Robert Aickman onboard nbCressy which led to the setting up of the Inland Waterways Association in 1946.

2.25 miles, 31 locks, 3 hours 42 minutes.

Saturday 29th May - Bridge No 56 to Kings Norton

After a heavy shower, we began our cruise for the day, grey skies and a little chilly.  Over in Ely and the east coast they were basking in warm sunshine!

The first and only lock of the day is Tardebigge Top Lock.   The top lock has a rise of 11 feet, unusually high for a single lock. This lock was built to replace an experimental vertical boat lift.  The Tardebigge vertical lift was invented by John Woodhouse and installed at his own expense, with excavation and masonry provided by the company. Finished on 24 June 1808, it was housed in a covered shed and used a fixed counterweight of bricks, connected by a set of eight parallel chains and pulleys. Lifting was performed by two men using a windlass. The 64 ton wooden caisson was sealed at each end by guillotine gates, as was the lock chamber. It succeeded in lifting 110 boats in 12 hours but was considered too fragile for permanent use.  Consequently there was recourse to locks for the remainder of the canal and the lift was replaced in 1815. The lift mechanism has gone but the outline of its balancing pit may be seen near the lock keeper's cottage.

This is the Marina at Alvechurch which hires Black Prince boats.  When we came past last year all the boats were moored in every available space, now there are only a few not out for hire, the hire companies do say that they are booked up and this being half term week we are expecting it to be busy.

A good shot of Ella as we are leaving Alvechurch, Dave is walking with Toby and took this from the towpath.

Bittell Reservoirs are busy with fishermen today, the Bittell Reservoirs were built to keep the Worcester & Birmingham Canal in water, and now provide a haven for wildlife, as well as sailing, fishing and windsurfing. 

We gained a passenger whilst Dave and Toby were walking, the pigeon stayed for about 5 minutes and then flew off.  We have had butterflies and dragonflies in the past but this is the first time for a pigeon!

We moored up at Kings Norton and I saw our first goslings of the season, still very fluffy so not very old.

After our lunch we walked into Kings Norton to stock up on some essentials and went for a walk through Kings Norton Park.  We found this information about the Mop Fair.  Since the 16th century a 'Mop Fair' has been held on the Green, on the first Monday of October.  A Mop Fair was a hiring fair where people would go looking for employment, but although no longer used to help employment it is an important event each year with its stalls, fairground attractions and the traditional ox-roast.

9 miles, 1 lock, 3 tunnels, 4 hrs 18 mins

Sunday 30th May - Kings Norton to Pinner’s Bridge No 31

The view from our side hatch this morning before we set off, particularly like the reflections in the still water.  It was surprisingly cold to start off with, but once the sun came through it was a gloriously warm sunny day!

The first lock on the Stratford Canal is this guillotine lock, an amazing piece of machinery, but today it was looking resplendent as all the graffiti and mess had been cleaned off it and it had been restored to how it looked originally, a good job. 

Dickens Heath in the sunshine, it almost looks quite inviting!  The canal, which runs from Kings Norton, was navigable as far as Hockley Heath by 1798, the remaining link to Stratford being opened by 1816. Hockley Wharf served the surrounding area and non-perishable goods were unloaded there, including timber, lime, coke, coal, cement, bricks and salt. The last commercial load was brought into the wharf on Christmas Eve, 1929.

We stopped at Lady Lane Wharf to fill up with diesel for the first time ever, it used to be a social clubhouse for the linear moorings, but has been renovated as a Marina office selling boating essentials.  It has an interesting history as one of the earliest cruising clubs founded after the Second World War and it was also the birthplace of the Stratford Canal Society which was responsible for the restoration of the Stratford Canal. 

We moored up at Waring’s Green and walked up to Wedge’s Bakery where we bought delicious sandwiches for lunch.  It was such glorious weather that we decided to press on and begin the Lapworth locks.  It makes tomorrow’s cruising a little easier.

We have just come through the first lock and have 3 more to go before we stop for the evening.   We moored just after Pinner’s Bridge 31 and were enjoying some peace and quiet when an ABC hire boat from Alvechurch went past at such speed that our mooring pins were torn out of the ground and we were cast adrift.  Quite scary as we were travelling at quite a considerable speed and had to wait until the boat slowed before we could get off and retrieve our ropes and pins from the canal!  

11.5 miles, 4 locks, 5 hrs 30 mins.