The warm, sunny weather could not last! The day began pleasant enough but very overcast. We set off in good time, turning immediately into the lower staircase of the narrow locks up to the Stourport Basins, which are on two levels, the main part being at the top.
Alongside the first two locks is the busy dry dock. When we were here a couple of weeks ago it was filed with a trip boat but its repair work must have been completed and the single narrowboat looked almost overwhelmed.
The upper staircase is not aligned with the lower one. The distance between the two is fairly short so lining up the boat to enter is not easy. Should have been no problem today as there was no wind unlike when Christine came down last time when it was all but gale force!) It was all going so well and the onlookers thought that this was going to be a five star demonstration until just after the boat was into the wash walls and it caught something - we wondered if it was underwater as this happened before.
The lower lock in this upper staircase has a very large overflow weir so that the top lock can be emptied without first having to empty the bottom one. Alongside the upper lock is also a reminder of the days when each canal was a separate company.
Christine left to walk into town with another pork pie from the butcher much in mind! Meanwhile Andrew and Mike cruised across the main basin to the service block, adjacent to the old workshop. Whilst Andrew went to set the next lock, Mike serviced the elsan.
The next lock was close by, under the road bridge which cramps the style of the lock beams on the bottom gates. Mike could see that crew were waiting!
The Foundry Warehouse is now an aquatic centre a shop selling tropical and wold water fish. The foundry was first opened in the late eighteenth century, taking full advantage of the opportunities provided by the good transport access both via the canal to Birmingham and the Severn to the cities downstream. However , by the middle of the twentieth century the company had failed to invest in modernisation and kin 1956 the employees were given one week's notice. The surrounding rea had by now become predominantly residential and the extensive air pollution from the foundry was very unwelcome and the demise of the business was inevitable when served with notices to clean up its operation. Much of the works was demolished in 1967, leaving the present building which was a warehouse and office.
Mike persuaded Andrew and Christine to take a look at the short arm linking Pratt's Bridge to the River Stour, which he had explored on our previous trip. Whilst he had thought it an interesting feature, sadly neither of the other two was at all impressed!
Just after passing under the new Link Road south of Kidderminster we saw this - a work of art? or the result of magnet fishing?
We continued up through the town and moored just after the main lock, alongside one of the retail parks. At the end of the last tip we had noticed that only one of the speakers attached to the television was producing any sound and we planned to visit PC World and/or Argos to find a replacement. Turned out to be a bit more complicated than anticipated as technology has moved from wired speakers to Bluetooth sound bars. They checked out what was available, also also followed up a suggestion to look in Range (which did have some cheaper variations on the same theme) We then realised that the Bluetooth speaker which we bought last year for playing music from a mobile phone was probably the same functionality, albeit not very powerful. So we returned to the boat to experiment to see whether this was a suitable route.
It was also lunch time but by the time we had eaten and tried out our experiment - successfully - a very heavy rain shower had arrived so were were delayed for a while before we could return to PC World. Eventually the rain cleared and Mike and Andrew returned to the shop an thence back to the boat. Before leaving we gave it a whirl but then had to ponder the best way to ;position the speaker.
Letting Andrew sort out the complex wiring already in place, Mike opted to cruise up to the next lock. Alas, no sooner had he cast off but the rain returned, even heavier and this time accompanied by a thunderstorm and the occasion flash of lightning. he could not pull in to let it blow over as the bank was too shallow so he had to persevere and get rather wet! By the time he arrived at the lock landing where he could tie up, the rain suddenly sopped and we could carry on.
At Wolverley Lock we came to a sudden stop for the day as the lock had been already chained up the the might - we reported on the landslip last trip. The restrictions have been eased but still only open from 9 am to 3 pm and we were just half an hour too late. Nothing for it but to tie up on the lock landing below and wait for the morning.
After preparing tonight's chilli, Mike decided to walk across to the village church which we also saw from a distance last time. Andrew joined him - the church is a strange Italianate style which is the result of a large brick-built nave and chancel extension to the stone tower which was all that was left of the medieval church. This was opened in 1772 but the stone tower was almost completely encased in brick in the early nineteenth century.
The inside of the church is not especially interesting but it does have a substantial gallery.
From the back of the church we could see the different stages of construction, including the stone base of the tower.
We also had a good view of the small village below. We walked down the footpath which is amazingly carved deep into the sandstone to give a climbable path, still quite steep!
The path brought us out at the open centre of the village. Of the various businesses once here, only the pub still operates. The former Post Office and Postmaster's Cottage are now homes and their former use only obvious from the names.
A rather imposing house in the village centre caught our attention but we could not immediately 'decode' the history. We later discovered that it was part of a much larger Lea Castle, built around 1809 by a local ironmaster but his son later sold it to finance the purchase of Exmoor Forest. By 1945, almost all of the castle had been demolished leaving only the gatehouse. This was then extended several times to produce a very significant dwelling.
After we had returned to the canal, Mike went back to the boat whilst Andrew walked along the towpath to take a close look at the bank collapse. Christine made a similar journey a little later - by evening it was quite pleasant.
The installation of the new sound bar was completed - well actually only temporarily attached to the wall until we are sure of the best location, but early indications are that this is where it will stay. at least it gives a but more space on the shelf and in the cupboard underneath.
6.3 Miles - 10 Locks
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