Worcester to Kinver

We left the River Severn at Worcester and sailed through the suburbs on the Worcester & Birmingham Canal.  At one of the bridges workman stood on a precarious looking raft to carry out repairs on the arch. 

Workman manoeuvre their raft out of the way so we can come through

After ascending 7 of the narrow looks we pulled over near Blackpole.  On Friday we continued along the canal which had narrowed down with weeds growing on both sides and was also shallow in places.  We kept going to the moorings at the junction of the Droitwich Canal.  

The Droitwich canal branches off to the right

The Droitwich Canal was reopened in July 2011 following extensive restoration and our Nicholson's guide gives little detail because at the time of publication the canal wasn't navigable.  We used our afternoon walk to have a look at the short 1.5 mile stretch into Droitwich and found it had a variety of features.  All the locks into Droitwich are deep narrow locks drawing a lot of water.  The first 3 locks had side pounds to store water emptying from the locks which is then re-used to fill the locks when required.  Further along was a staircase of 2 locks and then a single lock took us onto the river section.  A new tunnel was constructed under the M5 but it is very low; a warning board hangs across the canal so boaters can check their clearance before entering the tunnel.  

Looking down at the low motorway tunnel, we went through with inches to spare

In Droitwich a broad lock takes us off the river back onto the canal and into Vines Park.  3 swing bridges cross the canal in the park before we reached the moorings at Netherwich Basin.  

Netherwich Basin is in Vines Park but  is surrounded by tall reeds so it is secluded from the park

Droitwich is a small town with a good selection of shops and charity shops for books and DVDs.  It has some impressive black and white timbered buildings and a modern shopping centre with attractive ceramic friezes depicting the town and its history. 

One of the ceramic friezes in the new shopping centre

On Monday a ground frost sparkled on the grass as we left the basin.  Another new tunnel took us under the A38 as we travelled westwards back to the River Severn.

The view through the A38 with its flat roof.  

We turned north on the River Severn and after working 8 broad locks on the canal we were pleased the river locks were manned.  

The elegant Holt Fleet Bridge crossing the River Severn with Holt Lock in the distance

At Stourport-on-Severn the river pontoons provided a good mooring.  Stourport is an odd little town; it has a permanent fun fair and a street of fish & chip shops and amusement arcades which wouldn't look out of place at a seaside.  I was amused to see a collection of carousel horses looking out from a roof top balcony. 

Carousel horses overlook Stourport Canal Basins

On Wednesday we sailed through the maze of locks and basins at Stourport.  A staircase lock took us up into the first basin and another took us into a second basin where we took a channel through moored boats into a third basin.  Here we took a left turn and up a single narrow lock onto the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal. 

The first staircase lock where the top lock feeds directly into the bottom lock.  

As we sailed out of Stourport Kev spotted some old logs left in the undergrowth at the side of the canal, very handy now the weathers turning cold.  Out came the chainsaw and we soon filled our wood locker and part of the front deck.  

Queen of the woodpile

The next day we sailed into Kidderminster where we stopped briefly for shopping before continuing our journey.  We wanted to be at Kinver on Friday because Kev's chair had broken and the makers, Wilsons of Kinver, are going to supply a spare part.  Wilsons are no longer at their original canalside premises but Mr Wilson offered to bring the replacement plate down to the canal, an excellent service.  With the new plate it didn't take Kev long to restore the swivel to his chair.  

Our journey from Worcester to Kinver