West Mids Meander: Day 11

Another sunny and very warm day.  At about 8, I walked up to set the narrow locks up into Stourport Basins, and to my surprise found a boat coming down.  I helped them, and Adrian brought our boat onto the lock landing.  Once they were clear he made the turn off the river and into the lower staircase.

With the upper staircase also completed, we went onto the water point to fill the tank and start a wash load.

The canal then slips out of Stourport, through a brief bit of countryside, and then into Kidderminster.  The big road bridge was a building site when we came through here on one occasion, and the railway viaduct is always impressive.

We moored up outside Tesco and I went to do a big shop.  You can get the trolley pretty near the boat, particularly as we’d stopped right by the steps from the car park.  Once everything was put away, we had lunch.  Under way again, the first lock is Kidderminster, where a photo with the church is obligatory; looking the other way to the ring road and the retail park isn’t.

The next few locks all needed turning.  At Wolverley Lock, lots of people were eating nice looking meals in the garden.

Debdale Lock is famous for the cave alongside.  I don’t buy the theory that horses were kept there, because unless they walked across the gate or jumped the lock, how would they get there?

Cookley Tunnel is short and one-way, and until you’re virtually in it you can’t see if anything is coming the other way.

We carried on a little way and moored next to the stone marking the boundary between Worcestershire and Staffordshire.  Most of the boat is still is Worcs, but the saloon is in Staffs.

9 miles, 11 locks.  (123 miles, 157 locks)