Stourbridge canal cruising advice

[jonesthenuke]

My wife and I are thinking of cruising this canal in the next week or so as part of doing the Stourport ring and would welcome advice on availability of moorings etc on the Stourbridge canal.

 

I assume its OK to stop at Merry Hill/ Brierley Hill near the shopping centre; it looks peaceful enough when we have been there by car? Are there other reasonably safe moorings between there and Stewponey as this would be a lot of locks for the two of us to do in a day?

 

Alternatively what is it like leaving Birmingham going out through Wolverhampton rather than down past Stourbridge?

 

Any advice welcomed. Thanks.

[nikvah]

You're right, Merry Hell is a good mooring, either in the basin or past the pub,on the embankment which also has rings and overlooks the shopping cetnre. The 8 Delph locks usually have very efficient volockies (10 - 4) and take little over an hour or so. I believe you can arrange moorings below at Withymoor island. Altho' Brierly Hill looks built up on maps, the canal seems quite rural and OK for

day time mooring past the railway bridge. After a rest the 16 Stourbridge locks take a few hours in the pm and then you're out in the country and can take it easy.

[MtB]

You're right, Merry Hell is a good mooring, either in the basin or past the pub,on the embankment which also has rings and overlooks the shopping cetnre. The 8 Delph locks usually have very efficient volockies (10 - 4) and take little over an hour or so. I believe you can arrange moorings below at Withymoor island. Altho' Brierly Hill looks built up on maps, the canal seems quite rural and OK for

day time mooring past the railway bridge. After a rest the 16 Stourbridge locks take a few hours in the pm and then you're out in the country and can take it easy.

 

 

Yeah right, I've never seen them!

 

But then I tend only to do the Delph in the freezing cold slashing rain when they'd actually be appreciated...

[Scholar Gypsy]

I moored overnight here a few years ago - next to a bit of park with Sainsburys at the bottom of the hill. Very quiet & peaceful.

 

Try to leave time to visit the glass museum in Stourbridge - there are moorings there on the offside.(bottom left photo here: http://www.stourbridge.com/red_house_cone.htm)

 

 

Delph locks are fast - if you have an anti-vandal key. I sold one of my spares to a boat coming the other way who didn't have one...

Edited March 30, 2016 by Scholar Gypsy

[Dave_P]

It's a nice detour down the town arm with good moorings near the bonded warehouse

[adam1uk]

We thoroughly enjoyed the Stourbridge Canal when we did it last September. The moorings on the embankment overlooking Merry Hill are fine.

 

I assume from what you say that you'll be coming out of Birmingham and turning through the Netherton Tunnel. I'd recommend a side trip down to Hawne Basin -- experience the Gosty Hill Tunnel, and get the cheapest diesel available from the Basin. Depending on your timings, the Trust there will also let you stay the night if you want.

 

Going downhill from Merry Hill, there are lots of locks but they're all pretty quick. We didn't go to the end of the Stourbridge Town Arm this time, but there are decent moorings there. We were coming the other way, and stopped out in the country, a little way above Stourton Top Lock.

 

As I say, we were going the other way, but if you're interested the relevant days of my blog are here: Stourport to above Stourton Top Lock; Stourbridge and Delph Locks to Merry Hill; Merry Hill to Black Country Museum via Hawne Basin.

 

On the whole, I think this way is probably more interesting than going through Wolverhampton. having said that, we've always quite enjoyed the Wolverhampton 21, and going that way also means you get to experience The Bratch -- which the Stourbridge route misses out.

[PaulG]

My wife and I are thinking of cruising this canal in the next week or so as part of doing the Stourport ring and would welcome advice on availability of moorings etc on the Stourbridge canal.

 

I assume its OK to stop at Merry Hill/ Brierley Hill near the shopping centre; it looks peaceful enough when we have been there by car? Are there other reasonably safe moorings between there and Stewponey as this would be a lot of locks for the two of us to do in a day?

 

Alternatively what is it like leaving Birmingham going out through Wolverhampton rather than down past Stourbridge?

 

Any advice welcomed. Thanks.

I've moored at Merry Hill loads of times. No problems at all, and if you moor opposite Weatherspoons you can use their free Wifi :-)

It's improved a lot since the financial crisis. Before that it was a center for stag and hen parties, with several bars of the "all you can drink for £30.00" variety. Thankfullly all these have closed and it's a lot quieter at night.

There's a small basin at the foot of the Delph flight with room for a couple of boats. Tenth Lock pub does cheap steaks.

Depends how many locks you want to do in a day, and how much time you have, really.

[jonesthenuke]

Thanks for all the advice, a great response from the forum as usual!

[Rob-M]

We did Merry Hill to Stewponey last year with a lunch time stop at the end of the Stourbridge Branch, this included flushing water down when we had an empty pound. You could stay overnight at the end of the Stourbridge Branch if you didn't want to do it all in one day. I prefer the trip down the Stourbridge rather than down the Wolverhampton but if you have plenty of time then via Wolverhampton can kill a few days as there are more places to stop once you are out the bottom of the 21.

[___]

My wife and I are thinking of cruising this canal in the next week or so as part of doing the Stourport ring and would welcome advice on availability of moorings etc on the Stourbridge canal.

 

I assume its OK to stop at Merry Hill/ Brierley Hill near the shopping centre; it looks peaceful enough when we have been there by car? Are there other reasonably safe moorings between there and Stewponey as this would be a lot of locks for the two of us to do in a day?

 

Alternatively what is it like leaving Birmingham going out through Wolverhampton rather than down past Stourbridge?

 

Any advice welcomed. Thanks.

 

Taking the Dudley and Stourbridge Canals together you can moor securely at Hawne Basin and Stourbridge Bonded Warehouse. Both require deviations from the through route but both are interesting. I stopped at both when moving my boat after completing the sale as I needed to leave it unoccupied. I have contact names and numbers if you PM me.

 

In truth though I don't really think it's a problem area any more than any canal in an urban area. There are moorings at Windmill End (the south end of Netherton Tunnel) and outside the basin at the end of Stourbridge Arm where you will probably find other boats. Beyond Stourbridge bottom lock the canal becomes rural. About five years ago I moored a hire boat opposite the Red House Cone between locks 4 and 5 of the Stourbridge flight. That was so we could move onto their mooring in the morning to visit. There was no problem.

 

Personally I hate Merry Hill. Windswept over developed soulless fake place around the basin with the pontoons. Convenient though I guess. Hawne and Stourbridge are proper canal places.

 

Overall it's a very interesting route. You have Netherton Tunnel which is long, straight and wide and if you go to Hawne also Gosty Hill which is the total opposite and will take more than half the time of Netherton to transit despite being only a sixth as long. The six middle locks at Delph flight are closely spaced in a row with massive overflow weirs and look very imposing from below. The Stourbridge flight is very picturesque - although you won't think so as you arrive at the top lock having travelled from Delph. You will see what I mean as you descend the flight. There are also plenty of unreconstitued sections particularly Delph Bottom to Stourbridge Top locks. Not to everyone's taste but every bit as much of what canals are about - arguably more - than pretty locks in rural villages.

 

Jon