So Kath and Anna-Marie from Narrowboat Experience joined me last night to moor
up here. It's a little bit deceiving this canal because there are a lot of high
weeds so you're unable to moor and we thought we might be able to moor at
various different places along the way but we ended up travelling hours, and
hours, and hours extra simply because of these things.
{ Music }
We are taking it easy today and only travelling six miles and through five
locks. We moored up for the night just after lock four which was adjacent to
Mildenham Mill. It was the last working water-powered flour mill in
Worcestershire and sits between the canal and the River Salwarpe. A hundred
years ago, grain arrived by train at local stations as well as by horse drays
from local farms ready to be milled here. Just around the corner is a set of four
locks spanning from Ladywood Bottom Lock to Ladywood Top Lock.
It's then an easy northeasterly journey into the centre of the town of Droitwich Spa.
{ Music }
Molly is having lots of fun on the towpath with Anna-Marie. Running up and
down whilst Kath and I do the driving. It won't be anywhere near as a long a day as
yesterday, that was really tiring.
{ Sounds of water and light breeze against plants }
You're gonna see the real behind-the-scenes of The Narrowboat
Experience. Kath's just the hired help, I do all the work. Jono will attest to
that - Yes Jono? Jono: Indeed!
{ Music }
Just coming out of that lock there, Molly is sat by the bank, waiting for
Anna-Marie to give her her commands and carry on walking up the canal and at the
last lock Anna-Marie said that Molly sat there crying as soon as I went off
around the corner. She was crying after me - oh that's so
nice. Something I never hear obviously because
I'm not next to her.
{ Sounds of lock paddles being opened and water }
When I came down the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal a good two months
ago now, there was a round building right next to the lock and I had a couple of
comments of what on earth was that about, what was it for? Basically, just imagine
it like a little bit of a weir. If this top pound got too full, it would just
overflow the bricks and the water would follow down, through a brick tunnel
into the lower pound and it just keeps all of the locks even. So for example,
there was a stream that output its water into the pound and that had a bit of a
heavy rainfall and the others didn't, it just sort of keeps it all even out. It
also traps lots of debris and branches and leaves and things and you'll find
the Canal & River Trust coming along with big sticks with hooks on and pulling it
out and putting it on the sides just to keep it all working and functional. It's
just to keep the levels correct that's all they are.
Kath: Just gonna ruin your shot!
Now Kath is busy doing the locks, Molly's had to come back on board.
There's only Anna-Marie that's dog-friendly!
{ Anna-Marie laughs in background }
The Droitwich Barge Canal was one of the earliest canals to be built and was
opened in 1771. Coal was brought up the wide canal to the town of Droitwich to
boil pans of salt. The barge's filled with the salt then returned with a
direct link to the port of Bristol. It's a short canal at only seven and a quarter
miles in length and it travels through some beautiful countryside. I think it's
gorgeous. I haven't heard a lot about it.
But it's part of the mids Worcestershire ring?
Considering how close we are to Droitwich Spa itself, as well as
Worcester, it's extremely rural and very, very quiet.
It's just countryside all around. It's really nice. It's just such a shame that
you can't moor up in more locations.
At Sawlwarpe there is an extremely tight, 90-degree corner.
Yeah, they're professionals. It was a horrible corner ninety-degree. They did
it easy-peasy.
{ Music }
So all the way down to Droitwich Spa there was no mooring whatsoever. There's
a tiny bit right at the end next to the railway lines but that was really loud.
So both Narrowboat Experience and myself have come into the basin and it's free
for 48 hours. There's a water tap here as well so we'll probably top up and keep
going. Because the pontoons are a bit small in the basin and the fact that I
have no steps in the stern of Alice, Molly had to be brave and make her way
along the roof. Whilst our boats sat in the basin Anna-Marie, Kath and I went out
for dinner for the evening. Today it's a journey that I have to do every so often
and lots, and lots of people have asked when do I do it, how do I do it and it's
going to get my car. I'm going to catch a train
and hopefully get down to Gloucester.
However, all trains were cancelled due to an incident, so I had to get a taxi to my
car. Not a cheap day travel wise! In next week's vlog we make our way out of
Droitwich and with just a few centimetres to spare, I squeezed under
the M5 motorway bridge towards the Worcestershire and Birmingham Canal and
the dreaded Tardebigge Locks. Until next time, see you later.