A Week from Autherley Junction

[Geoffrey Hammond]

Some friends made contact today. They have hired a boat from Autherley Junction for a week from this Friday. They are enthusiastic but are seeking my advice. In turn I am seeking yours.

 

In their party are five children and four adults: none is particularly strong, none is experienced; all are quite gung-ho.

 

They seek a week to keep the children - aged 7 to 10 - busy and enthusiastic, but they do not wish to end every day knackered.

 

My immediate thought is:

 

Wolverhampton Flight - Black country Museum - Old Main Line - Symphony Hall - Birmingham - New main Line - Netherton Tunnel - Stourbridge - Stourton, Stourport and then back up to Autherley on the Staffs and Worcester.

 

Other thoughts, recommendtaions hugely appreciated.

 

Thank you.

[arbutus]

Your proposed route is mainly through urban areas.

I would try to see a bit more of the Staffs & Worcs., at least down to Kidderminster. The colours on the trees should just be turning and the S&W is a great canal to keep people busy. The locks are spaced out (not in flights) and there is plenty of activity getting people off the boat, working the lock and getting back on the boat.

[cheshire~rose]

I personally would not suggest a novice crew who are not particularly strong start their week with the Wolverhampton 21.

 

The Staffs & Worcs is a stunning canal and a lovely gentle week down to Stourport and back again.

 

Cave dwellings at Kinver, Severn Valley Railway, the fun fair at Stourport are all highlights for children. The Bratch is a wonder that has to be experienced.

 

There are lots of locks along the way but they tend to be spaced out so you do not have many more than 2 or three at a time so it does not completely wear you out (with plenty in the party there is always someone can stay on board to make tea or prepare lunch as sometimes the locks are just a weeny bit close to prepare a sandwich in between them if there are just 2 of you.

 

There is some truly stunning scenery along the way and I am certain they will enjoy it

[RichardH]

Call me boring but I just love the Shroppie and would head north as far as 1/2 a week takes and then pootle back

 

Thanks for the referral by the way Mr H !

[muddywaters]

Or why not head in the other direction on the S & W towards Great Heywood and the T & M a nice peaceful mainly rural cruise with locks fairly well spread out could even head down as far as Fradley junction or turn left on the T & M and have a look at the Harcastle tunnel even if they don't go through it.

Or the other route suggested is a good one as well StourPort and back.

Have heard very good things about the Shroppie but not been on it so can't really say much

[cheshire~rose]

I love the Shroppie too but I was struggling to think of any particular highlights for the children - as I don't have a young family myself I don't tend to look for things for kids but could easily think of several attractions down the southern Staffs & Worcs

 

Come on forum - who knows what things there are for kids on The Shroppie?

[LoneWolf]

The Shroppie (including its offshoots) is the best canal.

 

why do kids need some 'attraction' or organised thing to do? cant they just enjoy the boating. get em an eye-spy birdwatching book or something like that if they need some structure.

or they could dance on the roof

[journeyperson]

Of the four directions you can go in from Autherley I think down the Staffs & Worcester to Stourport is the best for a week out. It is the prettiest section of that canal and if you go in the other direction you have railways and motorways for company most of the time.

 

I like the Shroppie but in a week you will hardly reach the best part of it unless you do the Audlem flight there and back.

 

Thinking about it you will easily get beyond Audlem in a week - but it is harder work than the Staffs & Worcs.

Edited October 19, 2011 by journeyperson

[cotswoldsman]

Hi Geoffrey how are you?

I would head down the Shropshire Union. Just one lock on the first day, plenty of nice countryside. They should make it easily to Market Drayton. Some nice pubs with good food. I think you will find that in whatever direction they go there is not much for children within easy reach of the canal.

[Laurie Booth]

I personally would not suggest a novice crew who are not particularly strong start their week with the Wolverhampton 21.

 

The Staffs & Worcs is a stunning canal and a lovely gentle week down to Stourport and back again.

 

Cave dwellings at Kinver, Severn Valley Railway, the fun fair at Stourport are all highlights for children. The Bratch is a wonder that has to be experienced.

 

There are lots of locks along the way but they tend to be spaced out so you do not have many more than 2 or three at a time so it does not completely wear you out (with plenty in the party there is always someone can stay on board to make tea or prepare lunch as sometimes the locks are just a weeny bit close to prepare a sandwich in between them if there are just 2 of you.

 

There is some truly stunning scenery along the way and I am certain they will enjoy it

This gets my vote

[George Seward]

Staffs and Worcester, try a day on the Severn too, it's delightful. No contest.

[Hairy-Neil]

I personally would not suggest a novice crew who are not particularly strong start their week with the Wolverhampton 21.

 

 

 

I'm with the OP's thoughts here. It's a fantastic mix of rural and urban with oportunities for museum visits at BCLM Dudley, Stourbridge Glass and Birmingham itself has the Think Tank and an excellent museum in the Jewelry Quarter. Add the Sea life Centre, Cadbury World, excellent sources of real ale (Bathams, Holdens, Ma Pardoes) around Netherton/Brierly Hill the list goes on...

 

If the Wolverhampton 21 is so daunting on the first day, then reverse the route and do it on the last....

[muddywaters]

I'm with the OP's thoughts here. It's a fantastic mix of rural and urban with oportunities for museum visits at BCLM Dudley, Stourbridge Glass and Birmingham itself has the Think Tank and an excellent museum in the Jewelry Quarter. Add the Sea life Centre, Cadbury World, excellent sources of real ale (Bathams, Holdens, Ma Pardoes) around Netherton/Brierly Hill the list goes on...

 

If the Wolverhampton 21 is so daunting on the first day, then reverse the route and do it on the last....

TBH we never found the 21 particular daunting, only problem we had on it was we went down it during that chemical pollution problem and strong winds.

Other than that found it a great flight to work, not the hardest we have done by ay means.

Although I did suggest going the other way towards Great Heywood thinking about it Towards StourPort is a better option than my original suggestion.

Think the OP suggestion might be worth considering as well there again we have no problem with cruising urban areas as well as country side.

As for the Shroppie can't comment because as I said in my other post we have not done it yet

[cheshire~rose]

TBH we never found the 21 particular daunting,

 

I do not find it in the least daunting either, We tend to approach flights of locks as a bit of a challenge and we try to get a good rhythm going and work our way through. Having been called upon (or often volunteered)to lock wheel many friends through flights, Atherstone, Foxton, Hatton, Aston and The Wolverhampton 21 are all flights that I tend to think of as almost my local ones I would go so far as to say I actually enjoy having a bit of excercise and would not think twice of assisting other people through if I had the time and was in the area.

 

Our boat is moored at Hatherton so only round the corner from Autherley and we make the same decision of "which way shall we go this time" regularly. My orginal suggestion was based on that experience but with a not to the fact that we usually just have 2 adults on board and no children to consider.

 

My daughter and son in law borrowed our boat recently. They have been out on her several times before and so they are not complete novices. They had 4 days and asked if we thought it was viable to get up to The Black Country Museum, then onto central brum and back in that time. No problem we said knowing that is exactly what we have done before when we have had 4 days cruising. I spoke to my son in law at around 3.30pm on the first day. They had stopped for a rest with 6 locks in the flight to go. It was a blisteringly hot day and they were both exhausted. By the top of the flight they realised they had picked up something on the prop but we had warned them to get to the museum before attempting to moor. They pushed on to try and get there before they lost the light but the prop foul got silly and they tied up near the tunnel as the light started to fail. They spent the next 2 days anxious about the fact that they had to get all the way back down those locks instead of relaxing and enjoying their break. This was a valuable lesson to me - never assume that everyone else finds a flight of locks an enjoyable challenge as I do. It is also worth bearing in mind that the amount of enjoyment can be directly linked to other influences. in this case the weather and a prop foul combined to make the day quite unpleasant for them.

[Junemc153]

Our first nb holiday was from the hire base at Autherly. We went to Stourport, turned round, went past Autherly and got as far as the Cross Keys pub before turning round.

 

As novices it was a great trip and there was lots of different things to see - good facilities too with shopping at Kidderminster and Stourport.

 

It is by far my favourite canal now and I would recommend it to anybody as a first trip

[muddywaters]

I do not find it in the least daunting either, We tend to approach flights of locks as a bit of a challenge and we try to get a good rhythm going and work our way through. Having been called upon (or often volunteered)to lock wheel many friends through flights, Atherstone, Foxton, Hatton, Aston and The Wolverhampton 21 are all flights that I tend to think of as almost my local ones I would go so far as to say I actually enjoy having a bit of excercise and would not think twice of assisting other people through if I had the time and was in the area.

 

Our boat is moored at Hatherton so only round the corner from Autherley and we make the same decision of "which way shall we go this time" regularly. My orginal suggestion was based on that experience but with a not to the fact that we usually just have 2 adults on board and no children to consider.

 

My daughter and son in law borrowed our boat recently. They have been out on her several times before and so they are not complete novices. They had 4 days and asked if we thought it was viable to get up to The Black Country Museum, then onto central brum and back in that time. No problem we said knowing that is exactly what we have done before when we have had 4 days cruising. I spoke to my son in law at around 3.30pm on the first day. They had stopped for a rest with 6 locks in the flight to go. It was a blisteringly hot day and they were both exhausted. By the top of the flight they realised they had picked up something on the prop but we had warned them to get to the museum before attempting to moor. They pushed on to try and get there before they lost the light but the prop foul got silly and they tied up near the tunnel as the light started to fail. They spent the next 2 days anxious about the fact that they had to get all the way back down those locks instead of relaxing and enjoying their break. This was a valuable lesson to me - never assume that everyone else finds a flight of locks an enjoyable challenge as I do. It is also worth bearing in mind that the amount of enjoyment can be directly linked to other influences. in this case the weather and a prop foul combined to make the day quite unpleasant for them.

In hindsight maybe you could have advised that they also had the option of the visitor moorings at the top of the flight although they would not have been able to go anywhere off the boat of course

[adam1uk]

I'd agree with those who've suggested going down to Stourport. In my view, it's the prettiest bit of the Staffs and Worcs, and there's plenty of interest along the way. If they're running ahead of schedule on the way back, there's always the option of diverting up the Stourbridge locks and down the Wolverhampton 21.

[cheshire~rose]

In hindsight maybe you could have advised that they also had the option of the visitor moorings at the top of the flight although they would not have been able to go anywhere off the boat of course

 

They were aware of that but wanted to try and get to the museum so they could spend the whole of the next day there, also with 2 dogs aboard they really needed to get somewhere more suitable for them

[Hairy-Neil]

In hindsight maybe you could have advised that they also had the option of the visitor moorings at the top of the flight although they would not have been able to go anywhere off the boat of course

 

Why? We often tie overnight at the top of the 21 and are regulars in the Great Western Arms and a nearby curry house. Often use the local supermarket too. Never had an issue with leaving the boat.

[muddywaters]

Why? We often tie overnight at the top of the 21 and are regulars in the Great Western Arms and a nearby curry house. Often use the local supermarket too. Never had an issue with leaving the boat.

My understanding from what others have said on here was if you moor on the offside moorings you can't get out on foot

[Hairy-Neil]

There are plenty of 'normal' moorings at Broad Street for those who aren't paranoid....

[Geoffrey Hammond]

Many thanks for all advice.

 

They are setting off today.

 

I will let you know how they get on.

[cloggy]

They were aware of that but wanted to try and get to the museum so they could spend the whole of the next day there, also with 2 dogs aboard they really needed to get somewhere more suitable for them

 

Are there dogs staffies, If so saw them at the museum

[cheshire~rose]

Are there dogs staffies, If so saw them at the museum

 

Yes they are! A leggy "blue" one and a chunky 1 year old brindle - both bitches