June' Birthday - Stourport on Severn

Today is June's Birthday, after magnificent thunderstorms last night while at Worcester, today is very pleasant.

We started the day with Bucks Fizz, served with smoked salmon and scrambled egg; a great way to begin a birthday!

Our cruise back from Sharpness was uneventful, apart from buying red diesel at 40p/l; Crick marina eat your heart out! Fighting the current out of Gloucester Docks was hard for the first 2.5 miles up the parting, but after that not a problem. At Worcester we moored in the river by the racecourse, the sign said £3.00 but nobody bothered to collect it.

Right now we are moored, again in the river, between the entrances to the locks for Stourport Basins. We have to find our lock handles and handcuff keys before we can proceed on to the Staff and Worcester. Again we have changed our minds as to our route, we now plan to hang a left at Autherly Junction and head for the Anderton lift and the River Weaver. What it is to be free spirits!

The bad news is that Terry has been nicked for speeding, 39 mph in a 30 zone on the A5, it will cost £60 and 3 points! We were on our way to Midland Swindlers, that well known chandlery, to buy a new stove pipe for our new Puffin stove. It was a mobile camera in a white van parked at the road side, sod's law!

If you have read this, make a comment below!!!!

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Sharpness!!

We have arrived at our destination, the object of this cruise, Sharpness!!

The Gloucester Sharpness Canal is to be recommended, it is wide, deep and all the moveable bridges manned; in addition the views are stunning. However it is very remote, just a few pubs, no shops that we can find. One of the locals said we should get all our shopping at Gloucester before leaving for Sharpness.

There is very little boat traffic but an incredible number of BW people. We certainly will be back!

Tomorrow we will start our return journey, retracing our steps as far as Worcester, but staying on the Severn to Stourport and then taking to the Staff and Worcester.

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Gloucester Docks

We arrived at Worcester, exactly as predicted in the last blog, on Friday at lunch time and moored above lock 4. Here we encountered a BW notice telling us that the towpath through, and visitor moorings at Diglis Basin would be closed for a year! So we moored where we were. This actually turned out to be a pleasant and convenient mooring which we would recommend.

We took the weekend off from cruising and stayed put, an excellent idea in the heat and set off for Tewkesbury early Monday morning. As to be expected, BW let us down twice. The closure did not take place, and the BW duty lock keeper did not turn up to unlock the final two locks from the basin at 8:00am.

Eventually we were allowed to use the locks, we joined the River Severn and had a very pleasant cruise down stream and moored outside the LANT lock overnight for £3.00.

Today was a similar experience, no problems with leaving Tewkesbury or the two BW locks and a very pleasant cruise. However I asked the BW Information Office if I could have some post sent to their office for collection when we return from Sharpness. "Sorry, against our company policy", is the short version of the reply I received.

Ah well, what do we pay our licence fees for?

Off to Gloucester for a look round!

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Dunhampstead Bridge - Worcester & B'ham

We had a day off on Monday, spent it in Birmingham City Centre. A nice change from cruising.

Tuesday we spent travelling south on the Worcester & B'ham. Four tunnels and one lock took us one down the Tardebigge flight, leaving 28 locks for Wednesday!

Wednesday morning was a trifle damp with rain, the forecast was to clear up soon, it did and we set off for Tardebigge at 11:20am. June steered Pluto all the way down the flight and did an excellent job. 28 locks and 2.5 miles in four hours. We met very little traffic on either day.

Today, Thursday was a gentler day, 12 locks only and a pint in the local for lunch.

For tomorrow we plan 14 locks and 7.5 miles to Diglis Basin in Worcester.

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Cambrian Wharf Birmingham

Sunday afternoon sees us moored at Cambrian Wharf alongside the top lock of the Farmers Bridge Flight.

After a day off in Warwick, we stopped overnight at Turner's Green having climbed the Hatton Flight with Elaine's help. Saturday saw us climbing the Lapworth Flight, what a relief to get back to narrow locks. Saturday afternoon was spent with the Earlswood Motor Yacht Club drinking London Pride!

After a quick engine and gearbox service, we had a roast beef Sunday lunch with HSB bitter at Wetherspoons, followed by coffee and brandy! What a way to live, by the way, breakfast at King's Norton junction was bucks fizz with scrambled eggs and smoked salmon.

Our only comment on the trip was the usual why don't BW do something! The North Stratford was grossly overgrown on the towpath side and shallow. The Worcester and Birmingham was so shallow north of King's Norton that we had to pole over the worst patch. - The news this weeks said BW was hoping to have freight on the canals after 40 years, if they promote this route it will have to be helium filled balloons!!!

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Warwick - Saltisford Arm

We spent the last two days cruising from Napton to the Saltisford Arm, what a welcoming place, to be recommended to all cruising types! We are having a day off today before tackling the Hatton Flight and then the Lapworth Flight.

There was hardly any traffic on the 25 locks from Napton, just like we like it. We were with Elaine and Gordon so that we shared locks all the way and had drinking companions. What a way to live!

Sadly we part company tomorrow, Gordon is off to Cardiff by road and Elaine is boat sitting with Rubes. In any case we are going in different directions at Lapworth.

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Early Summer Cruise to Sharpness

We have finally made our minds up about where we are going and have set off from Crick this morning.

As you can see we are bound for Sharpness, via Warwick, Worcester and Gloucester. Today we passed through Watford and Braunston. We are in company with Elain and Gordon on Cushy as far as Warwick and are moored short of Napton Junction.

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Kilworth Challenge

We left the Marina on Friday Morning, June by car and Terry solo in Pluto. We met for lunch at Sybole Farm and moored for the night at North Kilworth Bridge with the car in an adjacent lay by.

The Kilworth Challenge can be described as two days of orienteering with an event at each checkpoint, the event can vary, from a game to a quiz, or a full blown assault course. We spent Saturday and Sunday marshalling on some events and spectating at others. It was very interesting and successful as £51,200 were collected through sponsorship for charity.

With the help of Ian in his fiancée's new sports car, our car was ferried back to Crick on Sunday afternoon, before the prize giving and we boated part way back to Crick after the prize giving. Early Bank Holiday Monday morning we came across Nimrod moored at Yelvertoft, so we woke up the sleeping crew for a cup of coffee.

We spent the rest of the day at the Show. A good long weekend!

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