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Stourport ring Itinerary - 10 days out of Alvechurch


Neil Ryan

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22 hours ago, Neil Ryan said:

So could we realistically head down the flight until we've had enough and then moor for the night or are you required to pass through all of the Tardebigge locks at once? If we are not leaving Alvechurch until 3, how far could we get in 2-3 hours?

Thanks for your help

It will take approx. 1 hr. to get to Tardebigge top lock,  It is not advisable to moor in the lock flight as the locks are close together and the water level may go down overnight.  My advice would be to go the other way and have a lock free run into Birmingham. This will also give you the chance to get used to the boat handing if this this is your first time on a narrowboat.  It takes about 4hrs from Alvechurch right into the centre of Birmingham where there are plenty of moorings. I suggest your first stop is at Hopwood (1hr from Alvechurch) where you can dine at the Hopwood House Inn which is canalside. If you want to go a bit further you can securely moor at Bourneville (2 1/2 hrs from Alvechurch). It is not advisable to moor anywhere else on the run into Birmingham.  I suggest you get a copy of Pearsons Canal Companion '"Stourport Ring " guide.

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38 minutes ago, Flyboy said:

Am I missiing something here ?  The last time I went through the Severn locks they were all 250 feet X 30 feet.

You probably should inform CRT then as they seem to have shrunk.  See my post above, are you saying that the CRT doc is not correct?  I was going on that and my impression of the size.  Bevere for example is 28.5m x 6.15m (93.5ft x 20ft).  So you would get 4 Narrowboats in as long as they are short.  The locks below Worcester are bigger, with Upper Lode being the biggest at 80.77m x 9.27m (265ft x 30ft), but even then all of it is really usable by narrowboats but you would easily get 6 in, not sure if they would put 4 abreast if they would then you would  get 8 in.

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10 minutes ago, Flyboy said:

It will take approx. 1 hr. to get to Tardebigge top lock,  It is not advisable to moor in the lock flight as the locks are close together and the water level may go down overnight.  My advice would be to go the other way and have a lock free run into Birmingham. This will also give you the chance to get used to the boat handing if this this is your first time on a narrowboat.  It takes about 4hrs from Alvechurch right into the centre of Birmingham where there are plenty of moorings. I suggest your first stop is at Hopwood (1hr from Alvechurch) where you can dine at the Hopwood House Inn which is canalside. If you want to go a bit further you can securely moor at Bourneville (2 1/2 hrs from Alvechurch). It is not advisable to moor anywhere else on the run into Birmingham.  I suggest you get a copy of Pearsons Canal Companion '"Stourport Ring " guide.

There isn't enough room for 4 boats to securely moor at Bournville.

I don't think heading to Birmingham at the start of the week is the best idea as it could leave a rush up Tardebigge at the end of the trip.

 

1 minute ago, john6767 said:

You probably should inform CRT then as they seem to have shrunk.  See my post above, are you saying that the CRT doc is not correct?  I was going on that and my impression of the size.  Bevere for example is 28.5m x 6.15m (93.5ft x 20ft).  So you would get 4 Narrowboats in as long as they are short.  The locks below Worcester are bigger, with Upper Lode being the biggest at 80.77m x 9.27m (265ft x 30ft), but even then all of it is really usable by narrowboats but you would easily get 6 in, not sure if they would put 4 abreast if they would then you would  get 8 in.

I heard a good story from Joe Hollingshead were they crushed an empty working boat when the lock keeper put three abreast in one of the locks between Stourport and Worcester, whilst they fitted with the lock full as they went down the lock walls sloped in and the empty boat in the middle got slowly squashed.

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2 minutes ago, Rob-M said:

There isn't enough room for 4 boats to securely moor at Bournville.

I don't think heading to Birmingham at the start of the week is the best idea as it could leave a rush up Tardebigge at the end of the trip.

 

Also the end of the week can be used for visits to Black Country Museum, Dudley Tunnel and Birmingham which can be tailored to the time available.

 

Wast Hill Tunnel to Birmingham is hardly bandit country in any case. Immediately north of the tunnel isn't a place I would moor but there are invariably boats moored at various locations on the stretch as a whole these days.

 

JP

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19 minutes ago, Rob-M said:

There isn't enough room for 4 boats to securely moor at Bournville.

I don't think heading to Birmingham at the start of the week is the best idea as it could leave a rush up Tardebigge at the end of the trip.

 

I heard a good story from Joe Hollingshead were they crushed an empty working boat when the lock keeper put three abreast in one of the locks between Stourport and Worcester, whilst they fitted with the lock full as they went down the lock walls sloped in and the empty boat in the middle got slowly squashed.

I would assume that the specified 6.15m is at the narrowest point so you can see that you would get 3 in when the lock was full, although “full” is not exactly full on the Severn at summer levels.  So certainly only 2 accross then!

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2 hours ago, Flyboy said:

Am I missiing something here ?  The last time I went through the Severn locks they were all 250 feet X 30 feet.

Yes, certainly you are missing something. Bevere, Holt, and Lincombe locks are all just over 90ft long x 19ft wide. Ideal for 2 narrow boats at a time.

 

Upper Lode lock is about the size you mention, but they won't be going anywhere near that unless there is something seriously wrong with their map reading ability!

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Wow, glad to see that canal boat forums have the same passion as classic Porsche forums. Honestly, I really appreciate all of the input. As you can imagine it is very hard to plan for 16 people, 6000 miles away.  I think we have decided to head clock-wise and tackle the locks first. I think that might be less life threatening for a group of 50 year olds than saving for the last day. 

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On 05/02/2019 at 22:32, Captain Pegg said:

Much easier to regulate the spare time for getting home from the Birmingham direction.

 

My thoughts are cruise the one hour south from Alvechurch, stop above Tardebigge top lock, have a cup of the tepid brown water that Canadians drink instead of tea while taking in the marvellous surroundings, have a look at the lock, get the method straight in your heads then proceed to work all the boats through so everyone knows what to do and all moor up on the visitor moorings below the top lock.

 

I'll wager three hours will have passed from leaving Alvechurch and it will be a glorious early evening perfect for a stroll down the locks to the Queen's Head to help prepare for what lies ahead the next day.

 

In response to the question about mooring on the flight it is actually possible but it's likely that there will be at least one lock between each boat because the pounds are short. It's not generally recommended to moor in lock flights as the water levels can vary and you will obstruct other boats if you hang around into the day.

 

JP

Not so sure about the first sentence JP as (assuming a Saturday handover) there'd be no problem in timing Thursday night at the Queens (half price pizza night as a rule) ready for Tardebigge on Friday in preparation for the required early entry to the yard the next morning. I'm not so sure t'other way is better for timing as it's also only a half day run to Alvechurch from Brum (yet too far for the handover morning). Swings and roundabouts perhaps.

 

The rest, however, is a stroke of genius or at the very least really good sense. A great way to get the hang of things and plenty of room to moor 4 boats together in the long top pound... even if the Queens is a fair old "stroll" from the top pound! 

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Heading to Tardebigge first wouldn't be my choice. Getting to the bottom of the flight is going to be unlikely, and moorings at the bottom are limited, so 4 boats arriving late are unlikely to fit.  At the top of the flight, or below lock 1, there are lots of moorings but nowhere to eat.  I'd also advise against doing Tardebigge as your first locks.  It's a big flight to tackle as you first locks.

 

Far better to head for Birmingham.  If arriving late you may find it all very busy with moored boats, but carry on through to the BCN mainline and moor just past Vincent Street Bridge on the new mooring rings (some of you may not fit and you'll need to knock pins in).  Then you'll have all the eating out options you could wish for.

 

Day 2, head for the Delph/ Merry Hill.  You'll have a single lock at Parkhead junction to spend time getting used to locking.  Your problem again is finding good moorings in high season for four boats, but at The Waterfront, you should have no problems getting in somewhere.  The recommended pub in the Vine (aka Bull & Bladder), but there's plenty of choice there. Then get a good night's sleep, you'll have a lot of locks tomorrow...

 

Day 3, Merry Hill to Kinver.  31 locks!  But nice eating out/pub choices in Kinver.

 

Day 4, A lovely run down to Stourport.  Take your time, it's a lovely stretch.  Moorings above the canal lock, more mooring in the basin, more moorings on the river pontoon.  Lots of eating out choices.

 

Day 5, River Sever to Worcester, enjoying having the River current in your favour. Loads of moorings by the racecourse on the river but there's a charge.  A free pontoon by diglis locks.  More moorings up on the canal through diglis locks.  The pub at diglis is nice but there's a whole city to explore.

 

Day 6, free day:  explore Worcester or head down the Severn to Upton or Tewkesbury for a pub lunch!  Overnight moorings are tight in Upton for four boats.  Better to head back to Worcester for the evening.

 

Day 7, Diglis to Dunhampstead, eat at the Fir Tree.

 

Day 8,  Dunhampstead to Stoke Pound, arrive early afternoon to bag the moorings.  Consider breasting up?  Queen's Head pub opposite.

 

Day 9, Stoke Pound to Alvechurch, moor on visitor moorings or in the marina.

 

Day 10, you'll probably have to hand the boat over first thing, so you'll be glad you're already in Alvechurch.

 

 

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2 hours ago, doratheexplorer said:

.  I'd also advise against doing Tardebigge as your first locks.  It's a big flight to tackle as you first locks.

 

 

Oh, I don't know.  That's exactly what we did 35 years ago on our first canal holiday.  Nothing like going in at the deep end (although I left that literally until many years later).

In fact the Tardebigge locks are one of the easiest to operate flights, as I realised later.

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31 minutes ago, Mac of Cygnet said:

 

Oh, I don't know.  That's exactly what we did 35 years ago on our first canal holiday.  Nothing like going in at the deep end (although I left that literally until many years later).

In fact the Tardebigge locks are one of the easiest to operate flights, as I realised later.

It can be done but you can't get away from the fact that the nearest place to eat is miles away.  That was the main criteria for the OP.  By going anti-clockwise you can moor up by a pub every night.  You can't do that going clockwise.  It's that simple.

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At 16 I took two hire boats from Alvechurch with one of the Directors sons and his students from Japan that were learning English. We set off on the Saturday afternoon and headed down Tardebigge, attempting to explain lock operation and setting ahead was difficult so I single handed most of the locks but we made the Queen's Head before dark. It can be done but as has already been said better to do the top lock and moor overnight then do the flight the next day and either stop at one of the pubs Captain Pegg has put in the other thread or go all the way to Worcester.

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9 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

Not so sure about the first sentence JP as (assuming a Saturday handover) there'd be no problem in timing Thursday night at the Queens (half price pizza night as a rule) ready for Tardebigge on Friday in preparation for the required early entry to the yard the next morning. I'm not so sure t'other way is better for timing as it's also only a half day run to Alvechurch from Brum (yet too far for the handover morning). Swings and roundabouts perhaps.

 

The rest, however, is a stroke of genius or at the very least really good sense. A great way to get the hang of things and plenty of room to moor 4 boats together in the long top pound... even if the Queens is a fair old "stroll" from the top pound! 

I am thinking that with 10 days there may be a good deal of spare time towards the end of the holiday. I would get down to Worcester and up to Stourport and then think about visits to places such as Severn Valley Railway, Black Country Museum and Birmingham. If there is time to kill it can be done much more productively on proper holiday activities on the back stretch if going clockwise. If you go anti-clockwise you'll be holidaying on the edge of Bromsgrove while passing time. At that time of year doing the Stourport Ring in half the available time isn't impossible.

 

My dog manages to walk the up and down flight easily enough and his legs are about six inches long. At that time of year it could easily be light in both directions.

 

JP

4 hours ago, Rob-M said:

At 16 I took two hire boats from Alvechurch with one of the Directors sons and his students from Japan that were learning English. We set off on the Saturday afternoon and headed down Tardebigge, attempting to explain lock operation and setting ahead was difficult so I single handed most of the locks but we made the Queen's Head before dark. It can be done but as has already been said better to do the top lock and moor overnight then do the flight the next day and either stop at one of the pubs Captain Pegg has put in the other thread or go all the way to Worcester.

Don't you start calling me Captain! 

 

I need to change that name, especially now I have removed the profile pic that kind of explained it.

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3 minutes ago, Captain Pegg said:

I am thinking that with 10 days there may be a good deal of spare time towards the end of the holiday. I would get down to Worcester and up to Stourport and then think about visits to places such as Severn Valley Railway, Black Country Museum and Birmingham. If there is time to kill it can be done much more productively on proper holiday activities on the back stretch if going clockwise. If you go anti-clockwise you'll be holidaying on the edge of Bromsgrove while passing time. At that time of year doing the Stourport Ring in half the available time isn't impossible.

 

My dog manages to walk the up and down flight easily enough and his legs are about six inches long. At that time of year it could easily be light in both directions.

 

JP

All true, although I don't know about the length of your dog's legs, so I'll take your word for it!

 

It's not a bad walk - we did it every day for 10 days straight whilst iced in outside the Queens one year. My labrador had had enough by the time we got back though!  I suspect untrained Canucks might feel the same way when looking uphill at about closing time! :D

 

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1 minute ago, Sea Dog said:

All true, although I don't know about the length of your dog's legs, so I'll take your word for it!

 

It's not a bad walk - we did it every day for 10 days straight whilst iced in outside the Queens one year. My labrador had had enough by the time we got back though!  I suspect untrained Canucks might feel the same way when looking uphill at about closing time! :D

 

You're all mad though.  Do my anti-clockwise itinerary and you don't have to walk to the pub at all.  Leaving more time for drinking, less chance of falling in while drunk.

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6 minutes ago, doratheexplorer said:

You're all mad though.  Do my anti-clockwise itinerary and you don't have to walk to the pub at all.  Leaving more time for drinking, less chance of falling in while drunk.

First time I did it went clockwise in a week and I've done it both ways many times now, but I'm with you and would recommend the OP's to go anti. JP makes a compelling case though (other than walking all the way back up Tardebigge from The Queens at closing time!) and he does know the area well so it's hard to fault his suggestions. Practically, there's probably little in it - particularly with the flexibility 10 days offers.

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If you are taking 10 days you don't need to get down Tardebigge on the first day.

 

It is so long since I last did  multi-boat trip we didn't have mobile phones, but the basic idea still works. Agree where you're stopping and stick to it. Phones make it easier to let the other boats know you've got stuck.

 

If you want a side trip the Severn Valley Railway is recommended and you can all go together. 

 

Assuming the boats are all at least 50 feet long they won't all fit in one locking on the Severn.

 

As well as the choice of routes around the Black Country there is also the choice of going down the Droitwich Canal. 

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So, as promised, whether you like or not, or can be ars*d to read it, here is a plan for 10 nights of Stourport Ring with added detractions;-

 

Day 1 - Alvechurch to Tardebigge Visitor Moorings as discussed at length already.

 

Day 2 - Head down Tardebigge locks. Have break at Queen's Head then continue down Stoke locks, take on water at Stoke Works then moor up. Visit Boat & Railway. If particularly hot or wet you may just want to stop at Queen's Head or five locks further down at Stoke Wharf for the Navigation Inn.

 

Day 3 - Continue on through Astwood locks in the morning and moor up immediately below bottom lock. Walk across footpath from bottom lock to Hanbury Hall. Visit the house if you wish but you can just admire the outside and the walk around gardens and have a tea or coffee or maybe lunch in the tea room. Continue on to Worcester in the afternoon. There are moorings above lock 3 and between locks 3 and 2 but you may have to spread out to find the gaps. Water point is also between locks 3 and 2. You will definitely find space on the river. There is a small charge for mooring on the river. You can fill with water at the end of the morning between locks 3 and 2. The two locks down onto the river are broad and will take two boats at a time. Alternatively forget Hanbury Hall and take a look at Worcester when you get there.

 

Day 4 - Head up the river and lock up through Stourport basins to moorings above York Street lock. Depending on where in Worcester you start it should be mid to late afternoon by the time you get there and have cleared the five locks onto the canal which can be a bottleneck. It's a picturesque spot though so not a problem if it's busy. Keep going if you can't immediately find moorings. The canal winds it way through the town and there will be somewhere to tie up.

 

Day 5 - Cruise up to Kidderminster early on and moor above Town lock by Sainsbury's supermarket. Walk to Severn Valley Railway and have a trip on a steam train. You can spend hours here. Some would say it's the best of its kind. Later on cruise up to Wolverley and eat at the Lock Inn.

 

Day 6 - Head on to Kinver the next morning. This is one of the most scenic parts of the canal network winding it's way along and occasionally through a ridge of sandstone. Moor at Kinver visitor moorings and walk up through the village to Kinver Rock Houses. These are houses cut into the sandstone. Take lunch there or in the village. In the afternoon continue up to Stourton Junction and onto the Stourbridge Canal up a flight of four locks. Either moor at Stourton (no pub) or continue to the Stourbridge Arm and moor in Stourbridge itself.

 

Day 7 - A day of locking up to Merry Hill or Netherton. There are 16 locks at Stourbridge and 8 at Delph which are quite a sight from below. The Vine/Bull & Bladder is closest to Delph bottom lock but you will be too early there for overnight so carry on up the flight then either moor at Merry Hill and walk to the Vine (no food but superb beer) or carry on to Windmill End from where you can walk to the Old Swan at Netherton which is perhaps the most traditional pub you will find on the route. It brews it's own beer and has a dining room.

 

Day 8 - Through Netherton tunnel and on to the Black Country Museum. There are moorings right outside but not all of you may find spaces, that doesn't matter as it's fine to moor just the other side of the last bridge on the approach. You will sense that you have arrived somewhere different even from the outside and it's a great place to moor overnight. Even if you can't all initially moor up right outside you might be able to shuffle in later. The museum is a recreation of the Black Country of a century and more ago spread across many acres with working buses and trams, a beam engine, houses, shops, school, canal wharf, mine, and most importantly the fish and chip shop and pub. On the opposite side of the canal to the museum is the Dudley Canal Trust visitor centre. They run trips into the Dudley Tunnel which is an old canal tunnel - now bypassed by Netherton tunnel for powered boats - with a connected network of caverns that were mined along which the trip takes you. You could do both the museum and tunnel in one day or leave the tunnel trip until the next morning. Maybe eat aboard for a change. Alternatively you could brave Tipton of an evening. 

 

Day 9 - It's half a day from the museum to Birmingham direct along the Old Main Line so depending on when you set off you could take a detour via some of the lock flights that link the levels of the Birmingham canal - Brades, Spon Lane and Smethwick - to add some interest on the trip into Birmingham. Moor up when you arrive in central Birmingham. The canals are the central feature of that part of the city. It's a short walk to the city centre but there's actually plenty centred around the canal. If you haven't had your fill of heritage visit the back to back houses or maybe just go shopping.

 

Day 10 - When you've seen enough of Birmingham (hard to imagine I know :blink:) do the last leg of the trip of 3 or 4 hours either to Hopwood or perhaps back to Alvechurch where you can moor opposite the marina and walk round to the Weighbridge. If you want to do more boating on this day maybe take in a few miles of the Stratford canal or head on past Alvechurch and turn at Tardebigge. Alvechurch to Tardebigge is a lovely stretch worth doing again.

 

Day 11 - Return the boats :( The best thing about buying a boat is that you never have to do this again.

 

JP

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13 hours ago, doratheexplorer said:

Heading to Tardebigge first wouldn't be my choice. Getting to the bottom of the flight is going to be unlikely, and moorings at the bottom are limited, so 4 boats arriving late are unlikely to fit.  At the top of the flight, or below lock 1, there are lots of moorings but nowhere to eat.  I'd also advise against doing Tardebigge as your first locks.  It's a big flight to tackle as you first locks.

 

Far better to head for Birmingham.  If arriving late you may find it all very busy with moored boats, but carry on through to the BCN mainline and moor just past Vincent Street Bridge on the new mooring rings (some of you may not fit and you'll need to knock pins in).  Then you'll have all the eating out options you could wish for.

 

Day 2, head for the Delph/ Merry Hill.  You'll have a single lock at Parkhead junction to spend time getting used to locking.  Your problem again is finding good moorings in high season for four boats, but at The Waterfront, you should have no problems getting in somewhere.  The recommended pub in the Vine (aka Bull & Bladder), but there's plenty of choice there. Then get a good night's sleep, you'll have a lot of locks tomorrow...

 

Day 3, Merry Hill to Kinver.  31 locks!  But nice eating out/pub choices in Kinver.

 

Day 4, A lovely run down to Stourport.  Take your time, it's a lovely stretch.  Moorings above the canal lock, more mooring in the basin, more moorings on the river pontoon.  Lots of eating out choices.

 

Day 5, River Sever to Worcester, enjoying having the River current in your favour. Loads of moorings by the racecourse on the river but there's a charge.  A free pontoon by diglis locks.  More moorings up on the canal through diglis locks.  The pub at diglis is nice but there's a whole city to explore.

 

Day 6, free day:  explore Worcester or head down the Severn to Upton or Tewkesbury for a pub lunch!  Overnight moorings are tight in Upton for four boats.  Better to head back to Worcester for the evening.

 

Day 7, Diglis to Dunhampstead, eat at the Fir Tree.

 

Day 8,  Dunhampstead to Stoke Pound, arrive early afternoon to bag the moorings.  Consider breasting up?  Queen's Head pub opposite.

 

Day 9, Stoke Pound to Alvechurch, moor on visitor moorings or in the marina.

 

Day 10, you'll probably have to hand the boat over first thing, so you'll be glad you're already in Alvechurch.

 

 

You've ground to halt on the homeward stretch and that's despite being a day short (10 nights not days). Diglis to Alvechurch is 12 hours cruising for a good crew. That's why I'd go the other way; coupled with the fact the OP has stated a preference to do the locks first.

 

JP

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24 minutes ago, Captain Pegg said:

So, as promised, whether you like or not, or can be ars*d to read it, here is a plan for 10 nights of Stourport Ring with added detractions;-

 

Day 1 - Alvechurch to Tardebigge Visitor Moorings as discussed at length already.

 

Day 2 - Head down Tardebigge locks. Have break at Queen's Head then continue down Stoke locks, take on water at Stoke Works then moor up. Visit Boat & Railway. If particularly hot or wet you may just want to stop at Queen's Head or five locks further down at Stoke Wharf for the Navigation Inn.

 

Day 3 - Continue on through Astwood locks in the morning and moor up immediately below bottom lock. Walk across footpath from bottom lock to Hanbury Hall. Visit the house if you wish but you can just admire the outside and the walk around gardens and have a tea or coffee or maybe lunch in the tea room. Continue on to Worcester in the afternoon. There are moorings above lock 3 and between locks 3 and 2 but you may have to spread out to find the gaps. Water point is also between locks 3 and 2. You will definitely find space on the river. There is a small charge for mooring on the river. You can fill with water at the end of the morning between locks 3 and 2. The two locks down onto the river are broad and will take two boats at a time. Alternatively forget Hanbury Hall and take a look at Worcester when you get there.

 

Day 4 - Head up the river and lock up through Stourport basins to moorings above York Street lock. Depending on where in Worcester you start it should be mid to late afternoon by the time you get there and have cleared the five locks onto the canal which can be a bottleneck. It's a picturesque spot though so not a problem if it's busy. Keep going if you can't immediately find moorings. The canal winds it way through the town and there will be somewhere to tie up.

 

Day 5 - Cruise up to Kidderminster early on and moor above Town lock by Sainsbury's supermarket. Walk to Severn Valley Railway and have a trip on a steam train. You can spend hours here. Some would say it's the best of its kind. Later on cruise up to Wolverley and eat at the Lock Inn.

 

Day 6 - Head on to Kinver the next morning. This is one of the most scenic parts of the canal network winding it's way along and occasionally through a ridge of sandstone. Moor at Kinver visitor moorings and walk up through the village to Kinver Rock Houses. These are houses cut into the sandstone. Take lunch there or in the village. In the afternoon continue up to Stourton Junction and onto the Stourbridge Canal up a flight of four locks. Either moor at Stourton (no pub) or continue to the Stourbridge Arm and moor in Stourbridge itself.

 

Day 7 - A day of locking up to Merry Hill or Netherton. There are 16 locks at Stourbridge and 8 at Delph which are quite a sight from below. The Vine/Bull & Bladder is closest to Delph bottom lock but you will be too early there for overnight so carry on up the flight then either moor at Merry Hill and walk to the Vine (no food but superb beer) or carry on to Windmill End from where you can walk to the Old Swan at Netherton which is perhaps the most traditional pub you will find on the route. It brews it's own beer and has a dining room.

 

Day 8 - Through Netherton tunnel and on to the Black Country Museum. There are moorings right outside but not all of you may find spaces, that doesn't matter as it's fine to moor just the other side of the last bridge on the approach. You will sense that you have arrived somewhere different even from the outside and it's a great place to moor overnight. Even if you can't all initially moor up right outside you might be able to shuffle in later. The museum is a recreation of the Black Country of a century and more ago spread across many acres with working buses and trams, a beam engine, houses, shops, school, canal wharf, mine, and most importantly the fish and chip shop and pub. On the opposite side of the canal to the museum is the Dudley Canal Trust visitor centre. They run trips into the Dudley Tunnel which is an old canal tunnel - now bypassed by Netherton tunnel for powered boats - with a connected network of caverns that were mined along which the trip takes you. You could do both the museum and tunnel in one day or leave the tunnel trip until the next morning. Maybe eat aboard for a change. Alternatively you could brave Tipton of an evening. 

 

Day 9 - It's half a day from the museum to Birmingham direct along the Old Main Line so depending on when you set off you could take a detour via some of the lock flights that link the levels of the Birmingham canal - Brades, Spon Lane and Smethwick - to add some interest on the trip into Birmingham. Moor up when you arrive in central Birmingham. The canals are the central feature of that part of the city. It's a short walk to the city centre but there's actually plenty centred around the canal. If you haven't had your fill of heritage visit the back to back houses or maybe just go shopping.

 

Day 10 - When you've seen enough of Birmingham (hard to imagine I know :blink:) do the last leg of the trip of 3 or 4 hours either to Hopwood or perhaps back to Alvechurch where you can moor opposite the marina and walk round to the Weighbridge. If you want to do more boating on this day maybe take in a few miles of the Stratford canal or head on past Alvechurch and turn at Tardebigge. Alvechurch to Tardebigge is a lovely stretch worth doing again.

 

Day 11 - Return the boats :( The best thing about buying a boat is that you never have to do this again.

 

JP

Thanks JP that looks awesome and a fantastic start to our planning process. I just downloaded a nice map and will start filling in. Also ordered the Pearson's guide.

Might have to meet for a pint at the Queens Head?

NR

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