Autumn Cruise: Day 17

There was lots more rain in the night, but the forecast promised a dry but dull day.  We set off from Netherwich Basin at 8am, the first boat to leave.  There’s a couple of miles through the outskirts of Droitwich and then the tiny village of Salwarpe before the first lock.

As we progressed down the locks, which all needed to be turned, we encountered increasingly grumpy fishermen.  Some of them told us the Severn was shut; we suspect that really they just didn’t think we should be disturbing their fishing.  The lady who lives in the cottage by Lock 4 was worried by the amount of water above the lock — it was pretty much level with the lock landing.  While in the lock, I phoned the lock keeper at Holt Lock on the Severn, who said conditions were normal and the river very much open.

At Mildenham Mill Lock a boat was approaching the come up as we left.  It turned out it was a hire boat we’d also crossed with the other day as we came out of Worcester, because they said exactly the same today as then: they looked at the Lord Vernon’s Wharf on the side of our boat and told us they live near there.  It makes a nice change from people asking where it is, which happens very frequently.

At the bottom two locks, the electronic boards said the Severn was in the green in the direction we were going, but had rising levels in the opposite direction.  This changed to falling levels while we waited.  The Severn had more of a flow on it today though, as it was a bit of a job to get off the side and turn up the river from the bottom lock.  Adrian likes the house which overlooks the lock and the junction.

Of course we could have come past here on Sunday — Hawford Junction being just four miles and one lock up the river from where we turned off at Diglis in Worcester.  Instead we have done 16 miles and 32 locks.

Once out on the Severn the sun came up, much to everyone’s surprise.  I fired up the VHF radio and called the lockie at Holt Lock as we approached, so he could set the lock for us.  Just before it is Holt Bridge, which had some nice reflections underneath off the water.

Above Holt Lock we passed the Edward Elgar.  It’s a strange looking boat — it’s not immediately obvious which is the back and which is the front.

The Hampstall Inn looks pretty smart, but the elaborate sign on the front sports a good example of a greengrocer’s apostrophe.  For some reason, though, only the real ales get one while the wines and spirits have to do without.

I radioed Lincombe Lock, and the lockie there said we were already in sight.  There is a camera pointing down the river, because the lock itself is round a corner.

We arrived at Stourport and stopped on the pontoons on the river so I could go and set the locks up to the basins.  There are two staircase pairs, and you have to check there’s no-one coming the other way because there’s no room to pass in the middle.  Having done that I set the bottom lock and signalled to Adrian to bring the boat in.

The two staircases are strangely aligned and it’s a job to get cleanly from one to the other.

As the boat came into the top lock the heavens opened, and we got drenched again.

I walked round to the other side of the basins while Adrian brought the boat.  We’d decided that if the one visitor mooring was free we’d stay in the basin, but if not we’d go up the lock.  A boater was looking on nervously; it turned out he’d set York Road Lock but then waited for the rain to pass, and was a bit worried we were going to go straight into his lock.  We moored up with a great view from the galley window, and the new tv aerial also works here.

14 miles, 14 locks.  (171 miles, 163 locks)