How Low Can You Go?

The Droitwich canal continued to have more surprises in store for us.

Just after Louis's cowslips we came across a simple staircase lock. I called Louis over for his next lock lesson - in the space of a couple of hours he had advanced to advanced lock handling and he was taking it all in his stride. I explained how the bottom gate of one lock was he top gate of the next. It was important to check that both pounds were empty before starting off; thankfully the canal was quiet so this was no problem.


Louis wanted a photo for his boating log book and this one shows the arrangement of the staircase lock rather well.

He also found a plaque confirming that the Droitwich canal had only re-opened last year. We were all astounded at the amount of work that must have been involved in the restoration and full of admiration for all those who had worked so hard on the project. It was a great privilege to be one of the first boats to travel this way since the re-opening.


The thrills continued as we approached the M5 motorway. What an obstacle to have to pass. I don't suppose for a moment that any of the drivers rushing along imagined for one moment that they were so close to the waterway underneath them. As we approached we got a warning of how low we would have to go to make it throughout the tunnel.


We cleared the height guides, but not by much; it was a good job the water level wasn't any higher, otherwise we'd have been doing a long reverse. Even so, as the tunnel proper came upon us, we all took a sharp intake of breath, hoping there would be no screeches of torn metal and even worse cracked heads.


We were o.k. though provided we kept our heads down and knelt to steer. It was quite an experience and actually quite quiet - we were completely protected from all the traffic thundering over our heads.

After the motorway tunnel came 2 swing bridges, I just could't get over how exciting this canal was and how many interesting features were packed in. But it was enough for 1 day, so just after the swing bridges we tied up for the night and were soon relaxing over a home cooked meal and a glass of wine. It was simply great to be aboard and none of us wanted to go anywhere else.

Lots of love, Eddie, Louis and crew xxx

Canal Quiz

As I said last time, we like locks and we are very efficient at working them. We work as a well oiled team, as oiled as most of the locks are, thanks to the efficient services of the Canal & River Trust (formerly British Waterways) teams.

Even so, there is still a bit of idle time at a lock as we wait for it to empty and/or fill. This is good as it gives us a chance to relax and take in our surroundings. The first few locks of the Droitwich Canal were particularly interesting as they had lots of posts with information plaques for us to study. There were also trendy metal decorations which made them quite artistic and easy to climb.


On one side was a question, and on the other the answer. You won't be able to see the text, so I'll tell you that the first question was 'What are these locks built from?'

Being a bit of a canal anorak I thought I knew all there was to know about the canal system, then I realised that I wasn't sure of the answer. I had a hunch but I needed to check, so all I had to do was swing round to the other side of the post and ...


... I was right the answer was bricks.

There were several locks fairly close together, so while I steered Maria between them, Louis explored the tow path. It was a lovely rural stretch and Louis was thrilled to find a beautiful clump of cowslips beside the reeds at the waters edge.


It was all very pleasant and the rain which threatened at times didn't come, so we were all very happy and glad we had chosen to travel via the Droitwich.

Lots of love Eddie, Loius and crew xxx

Down the Droitwich

We simply can't go any further without introducing you properly to our boat, as without her the trip could not have happened. So here she is, the good ship Maria ...


.. and what a beauty she is with the lovely canal side setting of Kidderminster church to show off her fine lines. Those in the know, will deduce from Maria's maroon and navy paintwork, that she's a Black Prince hire boat, and we were lucky to have one of the latest additions to their fleet. She'd only just had her maiden voyage, so was spick and span and very smart. I enjoyed being aboard Maria so much that I spent the least time ashore of all of us bears.

I mentioned last time, that our trip had started with the excitement of travelling the newly restored Droitwich canal. The welcome sign on the lock gate that we saw previously, was only seen once you were actually on the canal. The signing at the canal junction, where we turned right to join the Droitwich, was far less significant. We were looking out for the turn using our boating guides and it was just as well we were, as the only indication we got was the small white sign on the wall, just above Maria's bow fender ...


Turns are always quite tricky when your boat is so long and the canal so narrow, but we made the turn successfully and almost immediately we were enjoying the sights of this delightful canal. Our canal guide was published before the Droitwich was restored,
so it only showed us where it used to run. There was no detail, such as where the locks would come, and also the unusual swing bridges.

We didn't have long to wait before our first lock ...


We all love working the locks, so for us, they are a pleasing sight - not everyone on the waterways would agree with us though!

Lots of love, Eddie and the crew of Maria xxx

We're Back Afloat

A number of us have recently returned from one of our favourite types of adventure, a holiday afloat on the English canals. We've reported on canal adventures several times previously, but every trip is different, with unique sights and experiences, so we don't think we'll be boring you by sharing our latest adventure.


We travelled the Stourport ring on our latest trip. Ungi, Fred and Jimmy had actually done this trip before, but it was 11 years ago, and our blog is not that old, nor indeed am I, Boating Bear, Eddie, as I'm only 7. I'd heard how good it was so volunteered to arrange it and, as usual there were plenty of takers.

One of the attractions of a holiday on a narrow boat is that there is plenty of space aboard. A length of 55+ feet, with all facilities, including a well-equipped kitchen and 2 bathrooms, means that our minders don't mind sharing with quite few bears and size is no object, which pleases Ungi no end, as it means he can come along too. As I'm Chief boating bear I need to go as Skipper, (and I wouldn't have it otherwise) and this year, my apprentice, Able Seabear Louis, naturally had to come too. As it was his first time on a canal boat, he spent a lot of time under instruction. Could you have a better classroom than this ...?


One of the attractions of the Stourport ring was that we could travel along the newly restored Droitwich Canal. This was very exciting for us all, and I've got lots to tell you about it. We joined this new canal little more than an hour after casting off on our voyage. There was no mistaking that we were going the right way ...


... and this is what a lock gate looks like by the way.

I'm still very excited about this marvellous trip and hope you'll find it interesting reading.

Lots of love Eddie and the crew of Maria xxx

'Vale' to Valletta

Apologies for the many disruptions to our series of Maltese posts. We'll finish off today with just one more, before we hand over to the bears - ourselves included - who went on a new adventure last week.

No trip to Malta is complete without a trip to the capital, Valletta. We only just got our Valletta tour in, as we visited on the day we came home, possible, thanks to a evening flight. We walked into Valletta from Sliema, following the waterfront, and it was a lot further than we thought. Approaching the old city area was a bit like climbing a mountain, with a lot of false summits. By the time we got there it was time for lunch and we munched our pies out in the street, doing a spot of people watching - we did look out for other bears but didn't see any. Our first visit was to the Cathedral of St John with it's famous Caravaggio painting of the beheading of St John. We had audio guides to talk us through all the gilded sights.

As we're not really culture vultures, we particularly enjoyed the outdoor sights, especially the terrific views over the Great Harbour, which of course were free. The Saluting Battery with it's row of cannons was very impressive ...

... sadly we'd missed the daily firing and we couldn't find the right materials to hand to have a go ourselves. You might be forgiven for thinking I was sitting astride a cannon in my next picture - it was actually a telescope!

Looking out at all those historic buildings so close to the water, I thought it had a bit of a feel of Venice - or at least how I imagine Venice to be, as we've never been there.

We got a bit carried away exploring, and ended up having to hurry back to our apartment so we could catch our airport transfer. We stayed at the Sunseeker apartments and thought they were rather good.

We had a pleasant kitchen and dining area which was vey well equipped and we had a nice spacious bedroom and a small bathroom.

We did have a small balcony, but it was usually in the shade, so we tended to go up to the rooftop sun terrace with its swimming pool and sun loungers. It was a bit early in the season though to do anything more than sit in the sun.

I'm sure we'll go back, as it is a great value destination, but maybe January was a bit early for reliable sun; it was fine for walking and exploring though.

Lots of love, George and the Malteser bears xxx

Chelmer's Nature Notes Returns

I was very grateful to my friend Gardening Bear Tommy who called me out into the garden to show me what he'd discovered while mowing the lawn last weekend. We had a beautiful pair of baby robins waiting under our fushia bush for their parents to come and feed them.

One was bit shy and hopped away when I got my camera out, but the other was happy to be in my picture with me (look right) ...


... and as he got used to me, he, or it might have been she, was willing to let me get a bit closer and do a close quarters nature study ...


I was both fascinated and enchanted by these delightful youngsters and hope they will stay safe and grow up to be big and strong.

Love from Chelmer xxx

Better Late than Never

Apologies for rather late Easter greetings this year, but we were rather busy celebrating with the Midlands and Suffolk branches who were with us for the holiday period. A great time was had by all.

At the church nearest to our Bear Cave we have a new lady member who has come all the way of South Africa and is a great flower arranger. Not surprisingly, the Easter flowers were rather good this year. Revealed at our midnight Easter vigil and service of Light was ....


... this spectacular floral cross. The cross frame was covered in water soaked oasis and then the heads of lots of yellow and white flowers were pushed into the oasis. It is a wonderful creation and is lasting well thanks to the flowers getting the water they need.

There were lots of other floral decorations, both large and small and the predominant colour was yellow which is our favourite flower colour as it is so spring-like.


Gio particularly liked this one with its simple wooden cross.

This year we all had 'Real Easter Eggs' which are simply great as they provide you with a scrummy and ethical chocolate egg, made with Fair Trade chocolate and they tell the Easter story on the back of the box. We thoroughly approve.

We hope you also had a happy Easter.

Lots of love, Bris, Gio and all at Bears Unlimited xxx