Tardebigge Day

Tardebigge Bottom Lock to Alvechurch : 6 miles, 30 locks, 2 tunnels
To date : 790 miles, 546 locks

As so often happens when I know I have to get up early, I was awake at the ridiculous hour of 4am.  I tried to get back to sleep but at 5am I figured I might as well get up.  We were both ready to go by 7.15am so we went to tell Barry and Carol we’d make a start.  The boat moored ahead showed no sign of movement so the locks would be in our favour.  It was one of those dark and misty mornings but not cold at all. 

We made our way round to the first lock at 7.30am with nb Winton’s Folly following not far behind.  Wow, we were lucky.  A boat came up behind just moments later!  Roly so kindly offered to come and help us up the flight.  He was on his way to the top in his van and would walk down to meet us.  We knew we’d not be meeting an oncoming boat for more than an hour – even if someone had left from the top at first light.

I worked the first few and then let Mick take over.  The paddles were hard to wind!  We got ourselves in a bit of a routine.  While the lock was filling, Mick went ahead to the next lock and opened the gates.  By then the lock was full and I’d close at least one of the paddles by the time he returned.  While I took the boat to the next lock Mick closed the gate behind me and opened a bottom paddle so it would be ready for Barry and Carol. 

It wasn’t all that many locks ahead that we saw a figure through the mist opening lock gates as he headed down toward us.  With Roly helping the routine changed slightly.  He’d stay behind to close the gate and prepare the lock for Barry and Carol. 

Along the way we passed just one boat.  That’s not counting the boat moored in one of the short little pounds.  Roly says it was there earlier in the year when they came down the flight.   There were heaps of dansom plum trees at the locksides but there were no longer any low enough to reach.  I even spied a eucalypt and Roly kindly grabbed me a piece.  Mmmmm… the smell of home.

We had intended to moor up before the final lock.  It was only 11am so I said to Mick that I’d walk back to the previous lock to have a chat with Barry and Carol.  Carol has finally found the courage to learn to steer their boat into the locks.  Perhaps necessity is a good thing!  She’s been doing pretty well at it too.  When I reached the lock there was a touch of tension in the air.  Apparently there was one bumpy entry that knocked a glass from a cupboard.  But really…. what a fabulous effort for someone with so little practice.  The only time she bailed out was when the oncoming boat appeared.  We looked back and saw Carol standing on the lockside.

We had a quick discussion and decided to move on to Alvechurch.  Barry and Carol’s daughter is coming to visit with her family on Saturday and they’d like to be in Birmingham by then.  We said farewell and thank you to Roly at the last lock and headed on our way.  

It was a companionable morning’s work and we made excellent progress.  We completed the flight in 3 hours and 20 minutes.  Not a bad effort.  We were in Alvechurch for lunch and a relaxing afternoon.  No sooner did I pull the pram hood up and the heavens opened.  We couldn't have timed it better.

Mick's visit to the Avoncroft Museum

A few photos from Mick's visit yesterday to the Avoncroft Museum of historic buildings.  The museum is home to many old buildings which have been rescued and re-built including an ice house, a toll house, a windmill and a cell block.

Ps... yes, it's not yet 6am and I'm wide awake!

The bottom of Tardebigge

Astwood Bridge 41 to Tardebigge Bottom Lock : 2 miles, 6 locks
To date : 784 miles, 516 locks

We've been watching the weather forecast with an eye on when to tackle the Tardebigge Lock flight.  Thursday is looking ok until lunchtime but then rain which appears it may be heavy.  Friday the rain looks to be lighter but on and off all day.  We decided to move up to the bottom of the flight and make a final decision in the afternoon.

We had a chat with Roly and Bev and headed on to get water just a little beyond our mooring.  Through Stoke Prior there was a pretty tree lined section of canal.

We saw several boats on the locks today.  There's three of them clustered together and as I walked up to the first of those three I could see someone had either gone through them ahead of us leaving all gates and paddles open behind them or the boat that was entering the top lock of the three had gone down ahead and opened them all in advance.  How annoying.  We realized it couldn't be the first possibility because we'd just passed a boat coming towards us in the pound and there was no boat in sight going up ahead.  The fellow on the boat coming down was standing up on the lock gates to see us down below.  I bit my tongue and said nothing as they passed us.  I looked back as they left the lock below us and they left those gates and paddles open too!

Once we'd settled on our moorings Mick went off to look at a nearby museum, Barry and Carol went shopping and I stayed back to work.  I walked up the first 10 or so locks to see what we were in for.  There was a boat coming down so if we're the first ones off in the morning the locks should be in our favour.  Problem is there's one other boat moored in front of nb Winton's Folly.  We had an in depth discussion this afternoon about would we might be able to do to prevent them getting in ahead of us.  Chain them to the armco with our bicycle chain?  Padlock them inside their boat?  Bow haul their boat back through the bridge and block the bridge hole?

I rang my brother, Anthony, today to have a quick chat before they fly out from Australia on Saturday.  He and his wife, Leanne, are spending a few days in London and then they'll come and visit us in time for a visit to the Black Country Museum.  I told him he was going on the blog tonight after he said his friend in London was going to get them "Octopus Cards".  Hmmmm.... a new ticketing system in London?

We have a pleasant mooring right opposite the Queens Head pub.  It looks quite upmarket and this evening after our card game with the water still as glass it looked very pretty.

Six locks to lunch

Astwood Bottom Lock 17 to Astwood Bridge 41 : 1 mile, 6 locks
To date : 782 miles, 510 locks

We sent a text to Roly and Bev this morning asking if they'd like lunch out at the pub today.  We moved up through the six locks that separated us from them and moored just by Stoke Prior.  They walked down the locks to help us through the locks and we chatted as we went.  Mick opened the bottom paddle on each lock as we finished so they'd be set for Barry and Carol coming up behind us.

After sitting around chatting for a while, the six of us had lunch at The Bowling Green pub.  We didn't return to the boat until 4pm.  I had work to do so came in to spend another couple of hours. 

Not much in the way of photos today.  The first is last night's moorings.  The second is Freddy and Phantom, two of Roly and Bev's dogs (Cindy didn't feel like a walk today).  The third is our mooring for tonight.

On the road again

Droitwich Spa Marina to Astwood Bottom Lock 17 : 2 miles, 3 locks
To date : 781 miles, 504 locks

It was time to move on again today but there was no rush.  The visitors on nb Winton's Folly went home today and the rest of us made the most of electric hookup.  We had decided we'd head off after lunch but of course by then the heavens had opened.  We put on our waterproofs and off we went, leaving Barry and Carol to finish the ironing!

It did drizzle on and off through the three locks that took us back up to the Birmingham and Worcester Canal but it wasn't too bad.  It was only a short cruise from there.  We'd planned to moor below the Astwood Locks.  The canal was still overgrown with reeds but there was a stretch with the lock in sight that was a little wider.  We pulled in there and moored up.  There had been a boat behind us in the locks and they passed us just as I was finishing putting up the pram hood.  They called out that they loved the little pram hood.  So do we!  In fact, we've raved on about how much we love having it that Barry and Carol have put in an order with Kinver Canopies for one of their own.

Barry and Carol joined us an hour or so later.  By then we'd been off to pick a couple of cups of blackberries that we'd seen back at the previous bridge.  Carol had passed on a couple of cooking apples that one of the girls had brought with her so I cooked them up together to have on my breakfast.  Delicious!