As forecast, it was a pretty dull day, weather-wise, with grey skies, the odd drop of rain and, less expected, at times quite chilly. Still, tomorrow is supposed to be better.
We continued northwards from Austcliffe, planning to turn around at lunch time before returning back the way we have come. We do not have enough time to make a circular route.
It remained a picturesque route as we headed towards Kinver. At the risk of being mis-labelled, it was somewhat less usual to see a couple of ladies fishing together.
At Kinver, Christine walked into the village to visit another shop in her 'must not pass it by' list. This time she was in search of some tasty cakes. It took ,longer than before because the small shop was exercising strict discipline on its customers who had to form an orderly and socially-distanced queue with only one or two inside at a time.
Meanwhile Mike and Andrew ascended the lock and carried on to the service point just around the corner. Here there are two water points with room for two boats but a boat ahead of us pulled onto the mooring, half in one space and half in the other! This meant that we had to tie the bow up awkwardly and keep a constant watch to prevent the stern either colliding with a long erm noorer or swinging out in the path of other passing boats.
By the time they had finished, Christine was almost back at the boat where she proudly displayed her harvest. A little later, coffee was much enhanced by them.
Dunsley Tunnel - at 23 metres - must be one of the shortest on the network, but its excavation must have been a substantial effort at he time, carved through solid rock.
By now we had decided to continue past Stourton Junction for perhaps another mile to a suitable winding hole.
At the junction, the Stourbridge Canal heads off up through three locks on its way to Stourbridge and then on into Birmingham. The Staffs and Worcs continues to the left.
The winding hole is on a bend and is little more than a widening of the canal. It was quite overgrown suggesting that it is not often used for the purpose of turning around. But we made it after a large number of forward and backward movements. Immediately we moored for lunch.
The afternoon took us back the way we had come this morning although we ended up at Wolverley, not far short of Kidderminster. Many stretches of this canal are carved from red sandstone which often left vertical walls on one side. Understandably, at these places the canal is often quite narrow and modern steerers are daunted by the possibility of passing a boat in the opposite direction. Frequent bends do not help, either.
At Stewponey there was once a busy canal centre withe several buildings and a distinctive toll house.
The locks are generally spaced out so there are no long spells for reading! Close to Hyde Lock there is an information board that tells the story of Providence Mission that cared for 'crippled children', leasing the 40-roomed Hyde House at the start of the twentieth century, re-naming it Bethany House. Unfortunately the charity did not survive long after the founders death, the house became derelict and eventually burned down.
We continued back through Kinver, Whittington, Debdale and Wolverley Locks before we tied up on the official visitor moorings below that last lock. Although no chance of a tv signal, there are no official places until well into Kidderminster, and that's for tomorrow.
14.2 Miles - 10 Locks
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