To Kidderminster and Beyond

We paused in Stourport to enjoy a well earned beer in the sunshine, then we were all eager to start our trip up the Staff & Worcs canal. The Severn is great, but can be stressful, so it was lovely to be back on a conventional canal, even though we we did get caught in a few heavy showers. After the Severn, the canal felt very narrow, but there were few other boats around so we had as much space as we wanted ...


That night, we moored at one of George & Yorkie's favourite spots, just below the church in Kidderminster. Last time they moored there, I, Eddie, wasn't even born. I agreed though, It was a great spot, not only because it was scenic, but also because of the canal memorabilia, left over from the industrial past. To a canal anorak like me, it was fascinating ...


... I inspected closely while the other chaps crossed the canal at the nearby lock to visit the big Sainsbury's we were moored opposite. This mission was an important one to replenish the ship's stores.

The next morning we had planned to take some time out to travel on the Severn Valley Railway, but even though it was late April, trains were only running at weekends ... and it was a Monday. This was disappointing, and not as good as our local Norfolk Poppy line's service.

Taking time to explore the canal at the leisurely pace we could now afford, was just as exciting though. In places we were travelling through sandstone gorges. The rock was quite soft fortunately, so room for the lock beams could be made, by chiselling away at the rock ....


... luckily we didn't have to do this as it had been done, many years earlier, by the hard working canal builders.

Lots of love, Eddie, George, Yorkie and crew xxx