We awoke to a bright and sunny day - only a few cloudy spells until just before we moored for the night. At times it was hotter than we have felt for some time.
We had not noticed before that these locks have back pumps. The first part of today was a short section with two remaining locks before the main basin before the river. We paused at the service mooring for the full range of emptying and filling.
The descent to the river is via two wide locks - when we came here in March the lower one was under flood water and there was not much difference between above and below the top lock! Back to normal levels now.
The only landing pontoon below the final lock onto the river is downstream so we had to turn left and make a u-turn to pick up crew!
The view of the city from the river is dominated by the cathedral which towers above the water,
Several of the arches of the main road bridge were blocked by floating debris - trees and branches swept down earlier in the year and still not cleared away.
We net a number of boats coming downstream, almost back to normal traffic levels it would seem.
The first of the three river locks is at Bevere. Keepers were on duty at each of them (the Severn does not offer boater-operation) Two fishermen had found a great shady spot to moor up.
The approaches to all of the locks was noticeably greener than when we came here early in the season last year. At each lock we could see some works taking place around the edges of the weirs but we could not work out exactly what was happening. Anyone know?
There are several popular pubs on the river banks - this one at Holt Bridge was especially busy today with some of its customers sitting in protective bubbles.
Just above Lenchford Inn we saw where the bags of aggregate were being loaded onto pans to take down to the work sites we spotted earlier - but still no clearer about what they are for.
Eventually, the narrow entrance into Stourport Basin came into view.. The ascent from the river to the basin is via two sets of staircase pairs. There were plenty of families around, many keen to help with the locks.
This narrow footbridge was the stimulus to adding guard rails to all similar bridges on this canal.
After landing and setting the second flight, Christine went into town to find one of her favourite pork pie butchers - always needs a diversion when passing through here. This time she also managed to find a jar of lemon curd, meeting up with the boat at the lock out of the basin.
Alas at the top of the second staircase, where there is a large gap between the lock side and the ledge to cross over above the gate, Mike's foot slipped but fortunately he was holding on to the hand rail so only fell onto one knee with only one boot getting wet. This would have been unremarkable were it not for being a performance in front of an audience and also because he now has a rather sore thumb from holding onto the rail.
We were now on the distinctive Staff and Worcs, noted for its bendy but very green appearance. Most of the locks are spaced out, built where a change of level was needed without requiring expensive embankments or cuttings
Just after passing under the Severn Valley Railway Viaduct we were passed by a boat on its way down towards Worcester. As they approached they asked were we Alchemy from Cornwall? Yes we are and they are contributors to some of the same social media - nb Chuffed. Sadly it was a narrow place so no chance to stop and chat. Further, just as we passed we collided with an underwater obstruction socially-distancing from the towpath which pushed us well off course.
We arrived at Kidderminster, now very much re-developed from its industrial past, with just a few reminders. This chimney is all that is left fro what s now under a shopping centre.
We moved out into countryside once more and whilst Mike prepared the evening meal, Christine and Andrew worked us up three more locks - Christine even steered through a tunnel! They were on the hunt for a mooring spot where there was a chance of tv reception - earlier there was a steep bank in the way. We eventually tied up at Austcliffe.
21.7 Miles - 18 Locks
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