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Date: 4th September 2024
Canal: Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal, River Severn, Worcester and Birmingham Canal
Direction: Southeast
Julian visiting Narrowboat Round Tuit
It was really great to have a visit from Julian today, he came up in Tango (she used to be our VW Campervan) and stayed at the Wolverley Campsite beside the canal. We took a cruise down the locks in Kidderminster, turned around and headed back to Wolverley were we moored up for the night. We had a lovely evening meal together in The Queens Head pub.
John and Boasley visiting Tango
This morning, we took the boat back to Kidderminster and picked Vince up at Caldwall Lock. He travelled with us for a couple of hours before heading back to his car, and we moved onto find a mooring for a couple of days on the outskirts of Stourport. We are now building up to our big adventure on the River Severn.
Today we moved on to Stourport Basin where we filled up with water and did a pump out, but we had to wait for an hour for the diesel truck to arrive before we could fill up with fuel.
Whilst waiting for diesel we took a walk around Stourport Basin and checked out the deep locks that we need to navigate in order to get out onto the river. We also checked the traffic light system to ensure that the river was safe to navigate (it was on green).
Rather than spending a night in Stourport Basin we decided to just bite the bullet and at 3:30pm we put on our lifejackets and headed out onto the River Severn. I have to say that I was really nervous about taking the boat onto a river for the first time but as we emerged from the bottom lock the sun came out and the water was as still as a millpond.
The wide open expanse of the water, the wildlife and the fact that there were no other boats moving made for the most beautiful evening cruise. As we pulled into the first river lock, we told the Lock Keeper that we were inexperienced; he explained exactly what we needed to do and made the process very comfortable.
The only challenge was after passing through the second river lock when we recognised that we needed to moor up for the night, but where should we do this because it isn’t as easy as when on a canal. We pulled up outside a pub but were told (by a fisherman) that it was closed, and the pontoon was very rickety. So, we turned the boat around (no winding holes needed on the river) and headed back towards the lock. There was another pub with a mooring outside but that was clearly designed for GRP Cruisers and was way too short for our boat. In the end we had to moor on the lock landing, which is a big no-no, but we really had no other option.
The River Severn
The next morning, we were up early and headed off as quickly as possible, because we needed to clear the lock landing before another boat had to use it. The day was not as bright, but the river was still extremely beautiful and surprisingly relaxing to navigate.
Today we passed a couple of other boats, including one very large river vessel that created a lot of wake. We were surprised by 2 canoeists who suddenly appeared beside us, sped off and very quickly got ahead of us (we were in no hurry and were just enjoying the scenery).
As we approached Worcester there were some attractive river bridges to pass below (good practice for when we eventually decide to tackle the tidal section of the Thames) and we cruised past the imposing Cathedral.
We knew that it would be challenging to get the boat off the river and into the locks at Worcester whilst cruising downstream. So John took us past the lock entrance, turned the boat around and took us up stream to approach the lock entrance. Once through Worcester Lock No. 1 and No. 2 we pasted Diglis Marina and joined the Worcester and Birmingham Canal.
Worcester is an attractive city but we didn’t feel comfortable mooring in the centre, so we travelled a little further (through a few more locks) and finally found a very pleasant mooring opposite a large playing field – perfect for Boasley to let of some steam after the confines of the boat.
Worcester Cathedral
We are John, Lorraine, and Boasley the Boat Dog.
Follow our adventures as we learn to live the life of contiuous cruisers on the British waterways.
