West Mids Meander: Day 6

We had a lovely evening with Bob and June at the Navigation, catching up since the last time we saw them which was before lockdown.  It’s a nice pub, and although the main courses were perhaps a little disappointing, the desserts were all excellent.

This morning we set off just before 8.  The house above the first lock of the day is colour co-ordinated to within an inch of its life.  Even the boat matches.

After the four locks, I carried on walking and did the two lift bridges, which are both windlass operated.  The first one takes more than 60 turns to raise, but the second is better.

Then it’s miles and miles of lock-free canal.  Adrian got off and stopped traffic at the Shirley Drawbridge.

We made a brief stop at Lyon’s Boatyard for an oil filter and some oil, as the oil change is not far away.  It’s a nice little place with very friendly staff.

Just before the end of the North Stratford Canal is the former guillotine stop lock.

We had been planning to turn left at the junction to head towards Worcester, but a change of plan had been hatched during the morning.  It turned out that our friends Andy and Helen would be in Birmingham this evening, having been trading with the Jam Butty in Worcester over the weekend.  So we’d arranged to meet them in the city centre — meaning we turned right at King’s Norton.  Not long afterwards a familiar boat came into view — although our old share boat, Debdale, has had a change of colour scheme since our days.  Even better, Carole and Nick were on board, who were syndicate members all those years ago.

The Worcester and Birmingham Canal is much deeper than the North Stratford, and we made good progress, accompanied by trains alongside.  There’s a new station being built at University, so it will soon look different again.

Soon we arrived in the city centre, and went through Worcester Bar.

The whole place looks pretty lively, with lots of new cafes and bars.  A space was available in the Oozells St Loop, so I did a spin and reversed in.  We headed out for some shopping, and by the time we got back, Helen and Andy were moored alongside us.

17 miles, 4 locks.  (72 miles, 85 locks)