Drat the Late Travellers

Monday 1^st October

A lovely bright sunny morning, so we left the marina at 8am and headed out of their modern wide entrance and headed up the first of todays15 locks.

* Wide Entrance of Droitwich Marina

We turned left at Hanbury Junction onto the Worcester and B’ham canal heading for Stoke Pound.

On route we went through the renowned lock 18 with its lovely garden opposite the lock cottage; they were selling runner beans for £1 per pound, and then on Stoke Works where John Corbett opened his salt works resulting in Droitwich becoming a Spa town rather than an industrial salt producer.

* Lock 18 Garden

* Stoke Works

Later a clear view of the Droitwich radio masts could be seen; they are the site of the most powerful BBC longwave transmitter and at night their aircraft warning lights can be seen from miles away.

* Droitwich Radio Masts

As we rose in Stoke Bottom lock we were regaled with the sight of lots of Black Prince hire boats and many others in various stages of being built spreading almost across the whole canal. Presumably there are so many there because it is the end of the season.

* Black Prince Hire Fleet.

As we wound our way up the Stoke flight the Windmill at the Avoncroft Museum of historic buildings came into sight. The Museum is well worth a visit as it covers a wide range of buildings from the relatively modern prefabs back to a nail makers workshop from the Black Country.

* Avoncroft Windmill

We found a nice mooring just after the Queens Head Inn and before the start of the Tardebigge Flight.

* Mooring

* Queens Head Inn

After lunch we took Phoenix a walk up the locks so that June could see the task that lay ahead of her tomorrow. At the first lock we saw water pouring down the bye-wash and wondered what was up. At the next lock the water was coming over the tow path and it appeared that two boats were coming down the locks so close together that the water from the locks had no where to go.

* June Surveying her next Task.

No boats had passed all day so were hopeful of the locks being set for us in the morning but alas at 3.30 a boat decided to ascend the flight so it looks as though we will have them all against tomorrow.