1st timers - Just back from Stouport Ring, how it went!

[Stevev]

First off, thanks to all had answered my questions over the last few weeks, invaluable!

 

Headed off Saturday 2nd June from Alvechurch towards Birmingham at 4pm and moored overnight at Hopwood and had a nice meal at the Hopwood House pub.

 

Sunday 3rd..rain, rain, rain and more rain....we went through Birmingham (Gas Street Basin deserted!), went down new Main Line and didn't see another boat at all...went through Netherton tunnel and were glad for the shelter from the rain...still no other boats and we kept going until we got to Merry Hill and moored past Green's Bridge with some other boats belonging to boat owners. It was so windy here our boat got blown across and pinned to the fence on the wrong side of the canal and some friendly chap jumped off his own boat and came to our rescue to help us moor. Ate in the Brewer's Wharf at Merry Hill and it was another standard Marston Pub and does what it says on the tin.

I have never been so soaked and we were all literally soaked through to the skin through 4 layers of waterproofs and clothing!

 

Monday (the only sunny day!) - headed on down to Kinver and got the last mooring past Kinver lock. Pub there closed so walked into Kinver and ate at the White Hart. Another Marston pub so standard ok hot food on a plate!

 

Tuesday - Overcast but dry...headed down to Stourport...moored outside canalside pub after bridge 8 (I think) but kitchen closed due to Jubilee BH. Ate in The Rising Sun (by bridge 5) - perfectly ok pub, very friendly people inside.

 

Weds - Down the Severn in the pouring rain again (saw only 1 boat going up or down the Severn!), up onto the Birmingham and Worcester and kept going all the way to Tibberton and had a cracking meal in the pub right by the canal (Bridge Inn I think?). Also the owner treated me to some of his homebrew cider from the kitchen and I slept well that night!! This was by far the best meal we had all week.

 

Thursday, wet and windy - Moored up right at the bottom of Tardebigge. Had a simply horrible meal at the canalside pub called The Queen's Head.

My wife had to send her salmon back since it was uncooked in the middle and my daughter's kid's meal of a toad in the hole was burnt to a cinder! My lamb was fairly inedible...

 

Fri - Cold and windy in morning and began Tardebigge climb at 8.15am. We were lucky since nearly all locks in our favour plus hardly any traffic coming down so we got through top lock by 11.45!! 3.5 hours I was very pleased with especially since it was pouring down again by about lock 46!!

Pushed on and got back to Alvechurch around 1.30pm...soaked, left boat off and came home a day early!

 

Overall impressions? My wife and I enjoyed it (mostly). There's only so many soakings you can take and we had the heating going on the boat pretty much all week to dry clothes and keep warm. The in-laws hated it due to the weather and harder work than they thought! But overall my wife and I came away with a real sense of achivement in beating weather and locks! Met some fantastically friendly people, ate good food apart from that 1 pub, our 8 year old loved feeding and watching the swans and ducks all the way round.

 

Would we do it again?......Yes but definitely not with the In-Laws so I'm happy there since it's also made my wife realise we wouldn't go anywhere with her parents ever again!!! Next time we'll check the weather, book last minute and choose our fellow passengers more wisely!!

 

Tired but happy...hate UK weather though!

[Tuscan]

I have so much sympathy with any hirer last week, the weather was truly awful, we have had the advantage of just tieing when the weather was it it's worst. However if you enjoyed your self in this weather then you are hooked !! My wife and I had a good chuckle at the thought of the in laws stewing in the boat as the steam rose of the wet clothes.....

[familyfive]

Shame the weather wasn't better for you and that you finished a day early but it seems that you had a good time overall.

 

Like you I holidayed a lot on the canals as a youngster and decided to take the family on the Llangollen in July 2009 and it POURED, much like the weather we've had this week. I can't believe I told my husband not to bother packing wellies - we haven't made the same mistake again! I thought it would put everyone off but it had quite the opposite effect, we had a fantastic time and decided to do fortnight holidays in future, thinking that weather can't be bad for the whole 2 weeks - we were wrong!

 

Last year though we had a great fortnight weatherwise - third time lucky - however I think we've enjoyed all three trips equally.

 

We are going on the Leeds and Liverpool this year but just for a week as it doesn't really lend itself to a two week holiday. I remember going from Bank Newton (Inland Marine Leisure?) in a wet October but it was a great holiday. Thank goodness for radiators now!!

 

How did the dog enjoy it?

[Stevev]

I don't think Rosie (our Border Terrier) actually enjoyed it greatly since she's a quite a nervous dog and hated the locks if she was inside the boat...generally she wasn't a big fan of the boat quite honestly!

 

Might go without her next time!

 

It took until lunchtime today for us not to feel as if we were moving still slightly every time we sat still !!

[ditchcrawler]

Our fist time we went to the yard early to find out that our boat had broken down and not returned, so they had arranged for us to have a boat from Penkridge. We should have gone from Dunhampsted. It rained all week and we hired for the next 3 years. Then it was shared ownership for 8 years before fitting out our own boat and launching her about 12 years ago. So watch out, you will be looking at the adds soon.

[Guest]

Would we do it again?......Yes

 

Says it all.. job done.

 

Start saving for your deposit...

[shaggs]

Haha, I went on my first trip 4 years ago, had to drag me on the boat....... now have a deposit paid on one!

Glad you enjoyed it!

Mark