Thursday 28th July.
What a beautifully quiet spot this is at Craycombe Turn Moorings on the River Avon. We are about 19 miles from that most famous of Warwickshire towns, Stratford-upon-Avon, a town we visited on our first attempt to navigate the River Avon back in 2008, failing miserably when the river went into flood..
The town not only boasts the refurbished and newly reopened Shakespeare Theatre, but it also has loads of mooring spaces. However, it is not our plan to moor in the basin, rather we will stay on the river for a day or two and, when we’ve had another good look around, we’ll pass through the basin and onto the Stratford on Avon Canal.
Meanwhile, we have a few more stops to make along the way. Today will be Evesham, the moorings for which are about four miles away. After that we will, quite likely take in Bidford, Welford and Luddington. The boater who accompanied us through the locks yesterday also suggested a really good pub for a lunchtime stop, which is at George Billington Lock.
Luddington is where we finished up on our last attempt at navigating this river. We paid our £50 at Stratford and proceeded down river and, by the time we reached these moorings the river had gone into flood and we had to turn back three days later. Not this time though, this time the water level is so low that we are having to step up from the boat to the wharf, rather than being on a level or even higher up, as would be the case under normal river levels. I think the level is about six inches down on the average for this time of year.
Anyway, off to Evesham today.
Friday 29th July.
We only had one lock to come through yesterday and four miles, so we arrived at Evesham well before lunch time. For mooring spaces Evesham takes the cake along the Avon, with the possible exception of Stratford itself. Such a long stretch as to provide moorings for all who care to visit.
About half a mile after the lock is a ferry that is operated by rope by the ferryman sitting in the boat with his passengers. On approaching the ferry it is necessary for boaters to give three long blasts on the horn, so that he can lower the rope to allow passage across it. I dare say the ferryman considers this to be something of a pain, much the same as we do, but it’s a case of live and let live I suppose.
Evesham is a most attractive town especially when there are lots of people about and the children’s play area is being used to capacity. On the opposite side to the moorings is a trip boat which, due to the hot weather, was being well used. There is also a boat hire place hiring out small outboards and rowing boats and this was also doing a brisk trade.
Naturally we took a walk into town, but we were somewhat disappointed by the lack of food stores. I suppose I could have checked online for Tesco/Sainsbury/Morrison’s etcetera, but we had hoped for at least one mini-market. However, when we popped in again this morning, we did manage to find a Co-op, but that was all.
In addition to the most attractive waterfront, with lime trees standing about 80 feet high lining both banks, the moorings are controlled and maintained by the local council, which means there is no limit on the amount of time we can spend here. Of course, we have to be off the river before our 60 quids worth of licence runs out, but that’s the only limiting factor.
Compared to yesterday, today has been cloudy and cool, with very little river traffic about. Also, as with much of the Severn and Avon, TV reception has been pretty much non-existent. Indeed, here at Evesham the radio is pretty useless too. But why is it so easy finding Classic FM when BBC Radio 2 is non-existent?
Tomorrow we’ll be off to George Billington Lock which, according to a fellow boater of a couple of days ago, boasts a very good pub offering excellent food. I think it would be rude of us not to pay it a visit.
Saturday 30th July and the weather looks set fair for our trip to George Billington Lock. Thankfully, according to the forecasters, this situation should continue until Tuesday. However, we don’t expect to be off the river until Thursday, so we may experience a soaking. That soaking will not come soon enough, nor will it be heavy enough, for the river to go into flood.
I misremember if I mentioned anything in the last blog about my latest problems with email. Anyway, I have been receiving returned emails that look like they were sent by me but were, in actual fact, spam messages sent by someone else using my address. How this is done goodness only knows, but they have become another problem to deal with.
The long and short of it is, according to the people at my server, that I have no need to worry as my account has not been compromised. However, just to be on the safe side, please do let me know if you have received any messages that look like spam and, more importantly, have come to you bearing my address. If such is the case please forward them to me so that I can approach those concerned once again and get them to sort that out too.
Sunday 31st July.
I don’t know what it is about this river, but it seems to take forever to get through a lock. OK, so they are a little wider than doubles on canals, and because the water level is a bit low, the water tends to gush into the lock pretty rapidly, even so it shouldn’t take an hour to pass through one.
Yesterday we arrived at Evesham lock and found there was already a boat going through. This is not unusual when we leave later than planned. So, we had to wait for that one and then empty the lock for ourselves and the wee cruiser already there and waiting. Perhaps these locks are just slow at emptying. Anyway, this one took an hour to pass through but, since the cruiser hared off ahead to the next lock, that one didn’t take so long.
There is just one difference between these and the canals, it is obligatory to tie both forward and stern lines whilst in the lock and, having tried tying just the centre line and been thrown all over the place, we have abided by this rule ever since.
So, it took about 2½ hours to travel 3½ miles through two locks, a feat that would take an hour less on a canal? I’m still quite puzzled by this.
We arrived at about 11.30 and were advised by the couple in the cruiser to moor up at the Offenham Park moorings, which are by the roadside and make it possible to visit the local pub. This used to be called The George Billingham, after a local character. However, it has since been sold and had the name changed to The De Montfort Country Restaurant and Bar. I leave you to imagine what the new owners have done to the place. No Stella on tap, just a trio of other lagers, none of which is to my taste, so I settled for a Guinness. Goodness knows when one of these was last poored, but it didn’t settle well in my stomach, so I only suffered the one.
Coming out of this lock there is a long line of 24 hour moorings and, after what occurred later I was soon wishing we had moored there instead, especially in view of the tarted-up pub.
A short while after settling in another boat turned up and moored in front of us. These were the people who had to wait for us to pass through Evesham Lock. Anyway, I had a short chat with the man and it seemed they would probably use the pub. ‘Goody’, I thought, ‘a bit of company’.
A little while later the woman wandered off with the dog in the direction of the pub. When she returned the man started the engine, untied the ropes, and off they went. Obviously she wasn’t impressed with the pub. We, as I have said, wandered up there later and were, if anything even less impressed.
Some time later still, a wide beam moored in their place and settled in for the day. Later still, another wide beam moored up alongside them. This was now looking tricky for our Sunday morning departure, because there is only room for two boats here, with just a few feet behind us for manoeuvring past them.
The situation became even worse when a third boat, a cruiser, moored alongside the second one, and this one had a dinghy tied up behind it. It now looked impossible to leave here without disturbing them in the morning. So, I called out to the man on the cruiser and explained that we would be on our way at about 8 am and he promised to move up a bit and tie his dinghy alongside, neither of which he had bothered to do before we went to bed. Not that we got much sleep until past midnight.
It wasn’t just our neighbours causing a disturbance; and I must emphasise here, that sound travels at night and across the water; but we also had a bunch of fishermen by the other moorings, who were not being that quiet either. The fishermen are still there this morning and, at almost 6 am, are not being as quiet as they might, it being a Sunday morning and all.
So, we probably should have gone on to Bidford yesterday, as our first neighbours did. Had they stayed here we probably wouldn’t have had the other three boats cluttering up the place. What a disastrous evening that was.
Still, off to Bidford this morning. As I look out of the window, I can see the fishermen preparing to leave, or are they? I’m not so sure now. Nope! They seem to be staying. Me no understandee!! After catching a 12lb trout yesterday, one of them is busy hauling in his live bait for another attempt today. I’m not against angling as such, but I can’t say I care for this live bait business. Surely a lure is just as effective?
One thing I am sure of, we’re not going to find it easy getting out of here, unless our ‘friend’ on the cruiser gets up early and shifts his boat and dinghy!!
Come the time to leave here the people on the wide beams helped to ensure that we didn’t damage the cruiser or dinghy. The owner of both was still curled up in bed, blissfully unaware of the goings on.
For now, that is that, so I’ll post this short blog and continue it from Bidford.
Have a good week.
Dave, Sheila and Rusty.
Sunday 31 July 2011
Wednesday 27 July 2011
Shiralee Cruise 2011 #20
Saturday 23rd July
What a beautiful morning and it’s not yet 6 o/clock. The sun is shining, the mist is rising off the water and all is right with the world. Hmmm! Can it last I wonder?
Continuing on from my earlier ramblings, Sheila and I chatted yesterday about the possibility of completing the River Severn down to Gloucester and then giving the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal a whirl. However, after some consideration we decided not to tempt providence. Knowing our luck with rivers going into flood – remember the Soar in 2007 and the Avon in 2008 – we thought it best to leave that expedition for another time.
The G&S does have its attractions though. For a start all the swing bridges are manned. This is because the canal was designed to take much larger boats than our mere cockleshells, so the swing bridges are that much bigger. Humungous in fact. So, another time perhaps.
Six am and our neighbours from last night are already preparing to leave for Worcester. It seems that, in this instance we judged correctly in allowing these fellers to moor alongside. I can’t really blame our other neighbour from refusing them permission. He could have attracted problems and regretted his decision. I suppose we were lucky this time.
Just look at that, 06.15 and our neighbours have set off back to Worcester and they hardly disturbed us at all. If only there were more young people like them.
Sunday 24th July.
The day has started calm but overcast and, so long as it doesn’t rain heavily, we’ll be on our way to Tewkesbury. We had another boat moor up alongside us yesterday evening, so we’re going nowhere until they move.
I had a long chat with another neighbour before we went for a pub lunch yesterday and he told me about a food shop in town that is run by an ‘old bloke, about 70’. Hmmm! How nice of him to mention it, especially when I had already told him my age. Anyway, according to him this man makes some pretty good pork pies, one of my food loves. So before the pub lunch, we called in for a couple of those and, while we were there, bought a rather large beef and gravy pie as well. We’ve enjoyed a few real treats this year from local shops, such as bakeries and butchers.
So, whilst talking to our neighbour, who lives on the Gloucester and Sharpness, he went on to describe it to me. Apparently it is very wide along much of its length, as wide as the Severn and, when it reaches the estuary, it spreads right out and you can moor up and walk down to the sea. Of course, being a canal, you can only go out to sea through a lock, and it costs about £160 to engage the services of a pilot to take you from there, down the tidal Severn, to the Kennett and Avon Canal.
Doesn’t time fly? Here we are at Upton and it’s almost the end of July. We now have a little over two months and we’ll be back at Mercia for the winter. In that time frame we have to do the Coventry and Ashby canals. We also want to pay a visit to Barby marina on the North Oxford, just to see if it will be suitable for wintering over next year. So, lots to do, and only a couple of months in which to do it.
But first the Avon, Stratford upon it and the Stratford-on-Avon Canal, which should keep us busy for a good while. We reckon the Avon will take us about six days, although we’ll allow for ten. Gotta get our moneys worth, don’t we? There are plenty of mooring places along the way, although we have no idea how many spaces they have, and we want to see as much of the river and its towns and villages as we can.
Monday 25th July
Summer has finally arrived, with the past few days being a vast improvement on what came before.
Yesterday we left Upton at 08.30 and arrived at Tewkesbury at 11.00. Just 2½ hour to travel the six miles and one lock.
In keeping with rivers in general, mooring places are in short supply. Why this is the case, I can’t imagine, especially when you consider the amount of cruisers using them. These boats come in all shapes and sizes but, having seen the size of some of them it must be assumed there are quite a few rich folks living on, or near, a river.
Landing stages at locks also seem sparse, with only room for two boats to tie to whilst the lock is being operated. We were fortunate when arriving at the lock into Tewkesbury, in that we were the only boaters waiting to go through. In fact, had we thought to ask our neighbours of the night before, we would have discovered that they were also coming here and we could have travelled with them. They were just going through the lock as we arrived, so we had to wait for them and the boats coming down.
After the usual faffing about on arrival, we took a walk along the High Street and were amazed at the profusion of pubs. I know Tewkesbury is bigger than Upton, but there seems to be far more pubs than the town can support. However, this is a popular tourist spot and they probably do most business during the summer months.
We stopped off at the Nottingham Arms on the way back, had one drink in there, then carried on walking and had our second drink in The Olde Black Bear, which lies by the riverside. This pub is the oldest in Gloucestershire – or Gloster, as the county is known to locals – and dates back to 1301. Imagine that, over 700 years old! Quite a few of the buildings along the High Street also date back to a similar period, the most noticeable of which is Lloyds Bank, a four storey edifice of ancient origin, if I’m not mistaken.
This morning we start our cruise of the River Avon and, assuming we are able to stop off at the places we want to, we should reach Stratford around Sunday or Monday next.
Tuesday 26th July
Stopped off at the local marina in Tewkesbury yesterday before heading towards Stratford and, knowing there to be a dearth of mooring places on this river, we simply stopped at the first available place, which was Eckington, about eight miles and one lock away.
The Avon is far different to the Severn, having far more open scenery and far fewer tall trees to block the view. The weather was just great and, aside from a light breeze in places, as calm as a mill pond all the way.
We arrived at about 11.30, at which point I checked on the diesel receipt from the marina. Instead of a 70/30 split in our favour, the man who filled our tank charged us at 50/50, which was most annoying, especially as he had written 30% for propulsion on the docket. In mitigation of this man’s error I have to say the diesel pump stopped at 100 litres and he had to reset it and continue pumping another 17 litres into the tank.
I think I ought to explain how this split works. When that European lot ordered the charging of fuel duty on red diesel, our stupid government decided that, in the best interests of fair play we should accept a split of 60/40 in favour of the tax man. However, it was left to the boater to decide what to enter on the new form. Since that time, which was on the 1st of April 2009 – although the ruling became effective in November 2008 – I have been keeping a check on our usage, both domestic and propulsion and have almost always settled on 70/30 in our favour. This is because we use far more fuel on charging batteries and running the heater, than we do for cruising.
Anyway, I don’t believe the man at the marina did it deliberately, rather he had it in his head for a 70/30 split on the first 100 litres, forgetting he’d added another 17 to the tank, and managed to confuse himself in the process.
The village of Eckington is reached by a road that spends a great deal of its length uphill, as you would expect from a village close to a river. It is only about half a mile away, so we took a slow stroll up that hill and, to my delight, found a pub at the top of it called The Bull. This has obviously been refurbished in the modern style recently and serves Stone Cooked meals, whatever that means. On their menu we spotted Impala Steaks, which came in at about £23 a pop. Not for us then!
I have experienced a problem with just one other boater this year regarding the running of our engine, but I found another one yesterday evening in the form of a ‘noddy-boat’ owner. Noddy boats are, in case you are wondering, those silly little plastic cruisers that abound on canals and rivers.
In order to avoid annoying fellow boaters, I run our engine no later than 7 pm. The watershed is 8 pm.
Yesterday evening I switched it on at 5.30 with the intention of turning it off again at 7 pm, which I went out to do. Mor noddy boat owner gave me a right proper scowl and, since I don’t much care for that kind of behaviour, I asked him what his problem was.
“I’ve been breathing in your fumes in here”
“Sorry old chap”, I replied, “but I do have to charge my batteries you know”
He then suggested I should be a little more considerate.
OK, I could understand him being annoyed at the diesel fumes, had they been blowing his way, but the wind was in the opposite direction. At which point I decided he simply wasn’t worth the effort of further discussion. What is it with these people? They would have genuine cause for complaint if we ran our engines after the watershed. But, since I always switch off at least half an hour before that, I don’t see the problem.
In this instance, unlike the one I reported on earlier, I think he was simply annoyed at the continuous hum of the engine.
Today, we hope, we’ll be able to moor up at Pershore and take a walk into town. There are three sets of moorings there, so we should be OK.
Wednesday 27th July
Yesterday we made our way to Pershore and, since we had no idea as to the amount of moorings there were nearer to the town, we moored just before Pershore New Bridge. The Old Bridge saw plenty of action during the Civil War and, just in case Jerry attempted to overrun these islands from the Severn and Avon, the New Bridge was heavily fortified. There are still huge, round concrete bollards there preventing all but bicycles to cross it.
We walked across this bridge and into the town in the morning, up one side and down the other, and all we bought was a newspaper, a couple of savoury sausage roll, a couple of individual pizza type baguettes and some fruit. I say ‘only’, because Wifey conveniently forgot the ice creams, for which she received a sound rollicking.
Later in the afternoon another boat took up residence in front of us and, even later, a bunch of Eastern Europeans, possibly Polish, also turned up, complete with kids and bottles of vodka. Happily they didn’t cause any fuss or make much noise and departed for home quite early.
I had thought to post this yesterday but, with a virtually non-existent signal, I had to wait until today. However, I received a call from ‘Three’ in the afternoon, telling me that adjustments had been made to my email settings and could they check them out. Nope! No signal here. So, they will be phoning me again today some time.
I also downloaded 205 photos from Wifey’s camera, which gives her plenty to do in giving them names of places.
It is now a quarter to two in the afternoon and we have travelled from Pershore New Bridge moorings to Craycombe Turn moorings. This took us from 07.45 until 11.15 and took in three locks and seven miles. Fortunately we had the company of another boat going through the 2nd and 3rd locks, after which they went on to Evesham and we stopped here.
This is, I am pleased to relate, a very quiet spot and does not have picnic tables. It is also quite a walk from the nearest road so, unless we are visited by a boat load of drunks, we should enjoy a peaceful evening.
Tomorrow will see us at Evesham. Until then I will now post this blog.
Enjoy the rest of your week.
Dave, Sheila and Rusty.
What a beautiful morning and it’s not yet 6 o/clock. The sun is shining, the mist is rising off the water and all is right with the world. Hmmm! Can it last I wonder?
Continuing on from my earlier ramblings, Sheila and I chatted yesterday about the possibility of completing the River Severn down to Gloucester and then giving the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal a whirl. However, after some consideration we decided not to tempt providence. Knowing our luck with rivers going into flood – remember the Soar in 2007 and the Avon in 2008 – we thought it best to leave that expedition for another time.
The G&S does have its attractions though. For a start all the swing bridges are manned. This is because the canal was designed to take much larger boats than our mere cockleshells, so the swing bridges are that much bigger. Humungous in fact. So, another time perhaps.
Six am and our neighbours from last night are already preparing to leave for Worcester. It seems that, in this instance we judged correctly in allowing these fellers to moor alongside. I can’t really blame our other neighbour from refusing them permission. He could have attracted problems and regretted his decision. I suppose we were lucky this time.
Just look at that, 06.15 and our neighbours have set off back to Worcester and they hardly disturbed us at all. If only there were more young people like them.
Sunday 24th July.
The day has started calm but overcast and, so long as it doesn’t rain heavily, we’ll be on our way to Tewkesbury. We had another boat moor up alongside us yesterday evening, so we’re going nowhere until they move.
I had a long chat with another neighbour before we went for a pub lunch yesterday and he told me about a food shop in town that is run by an ‘old bloke, about 70’. Hmmm! How nice of him to mention it, especially when I had already told him my age. Anyway, according to him this man makes some pretty good pork pies, one of my food loves. So before the pub lunch, we called in for a couple of those and, while we were there, bought a rather large beef and gravy pie as well. We’ve enjoyed a few real treats this year from local shops, such as bakeries and butchers.
So, whilst talking to our neighbour, who lives on the Gloucester and Sharpness, he went on to describe it to me. Apparently it is very wide along much of its length, as wide as the Severn and, when it reaches the estuary, it spreads right out and you can moor up and walk down to the sea. Of course, being a canal, you can only go out to sea through a lock, and it costs about £160 to engage the services of a pilot to take you from there, down the tidal Severn, to the Kennett and Avon Canal.
Doesn’t time fly? Here we are at Upton and it’s almost the end of July. We now have a little over two months and we’ll be back at Mercia for the winter. In that time frame we have to do the Coventry and Ashby canals. We also want to pay a visit to Barby marina on the North Oxford, just to see if it will be suitable for wintering over next year. So, lots to do, and only a couple of months in which to do it.
But first the Avon, Stratford upon it and the Stratford-on-Avon Canal, which should keep us busy for a good while. We reckon the Avon will take us about six days, although we’ll allow for ten. Gotta get our moneys worth, don’t we? There are plenty of mooring places along the way, although we have no idea how many spaces they have, and we want to see as much of the river and its towns and villages as we can.
Monday 25th July
Summer has finally arrived, with the past few days being a vast improvement on what came before.
Yesterday we left Upton at 08.30 and arrived at Tewkesbury at 11.00. Just 2½ hour to travel the six miles and one lock.
In keeping with rivers in general, mooring places are in short supply. Why this is the case, I can’t imagine, especially when you consider the amount of cruisers using them. These boats come in all shapes and sizes but, having seen the size of some of them it must be assumed there are quite a few rich folks living on, or near, a river.
Landing stages at locks also seem sparse, with only room for two boats to tie to whilst the lock is being operated. We were fortunate when arriving at the lock into Tewkesbury, in that we were the only boaters waiting to go through. In fact, had we thought to ask our neighbours of the night before, we would have discovered that they were also coming here and we could have travelled with them. They were just going through the lock as we arrived, so we had to wait for them and the boats coming down.
After the usual faffing about on arrival, we took a walk along the High Street and were amazed at the profusion of pubs. I know Tewkesbury is bigger than Upton, but there seems to be far more pubs than the town can support. However, this is a popular tourist spot and they probably do most business during the summer months.
We stopped off at the Nottingham Arms on the way back, had one drink in there, then carried on walking and had our second drink in The Olde Black Bear, which lies by the riverside. This pub is the oldest in Gloucestershire – or Gloster, as the county is known to locals – and dates back to 1301. Imagine that, over 700 years old! Quite a few of the buildings along the High Street also date back to a similar period, the most noticeable of which is Lloyds Bank, a four storey edifice of ancient origin, if I’m not mistaken.
This morning we start our cruise of the River Avon and, assuming we are able to stop off at the places we want to, we should reach Stratford around Sunday or Monday next.
Tuesday 26th July
Stopped off at the local marina in Tewkesbury yesterday before heading towards Stratford and, knowing there to be a dearth of mooring places on this river, we simply stopped at the first available place, which was Eckington, about eight miles and one lock away.
The Avon is far different to the Severn, having far more open scenery and far fewer tall trees to block the view. The weather was just great and, aside from a light breeze in places, as calm as a mill pond all the way.
We arrived at about 11.30, at which point I checked on the diesel receipt from the marina. Instead of a 70/30 split in our favour, the man who filled our tank charged us at 50/50, which was most annoying, especially as he had written 30% for propulsion on the docket. In mitigation of this man’s error I have to say the diesel pump stopped at 100 litres and he had to reset it and continue pumping another 17 litres into the tank.
I think I ought to explain how this split works. When that European lot ordered the charging of fuel duty on red diesel, our stupid government decided that, in the best interests of fair play we should accept a split of 60/40 in favour of the tax man. However, it was left to the boater to decide what to enter on the new form. Since that time, which was on the 1st of April 2009 – although the ruling became effective in November 2008 – I have been keeping a check on our usage, both domestic and propulsion and have almost always settled on 70/30 in our favour. This is because we use far more fuel on charging batteries and running the heater, than we do for cruising.
Anyway, I don’t believe the man at the marina did it deliberately, rather he had it in his head for a 70/30 split on the first 100 litres, forgetting he’d added another 17 to the tank, and managed to confuse himself in the process.
The village of Eckington is reached by a road that spends a great deal of its length uphill, as you would expect from a village close to a river. It is only about half a mile away, so we took a slow stroll up that hill and, to my delight, found a pub at the top of it called The Bull. This has obviously been refurbished in the modern style recently and serves Stone Cooked meals, whatever that means. On their menu we spotted Impala Steaks, which came in at about £23 a pop. Not for us then!
I have experienced a problem with just one other boater this year regarding the running of our engine, but I found another one yesterday evening in the form of a ‘noddy-boat’ owner. Noddy boats are, in case you are wondering, those silly little plastic cruisers that abound on canals and rivers.
In order to avoid annoying fellow boaters, I run our engine no later than 7 pm. The watershed is 8 pm.
Yesterday evening I switched it on at 5.30 with the intention of turning it off again at 7 pm, which I went out to do. Mor noddy boat owner gave me a right proper scowl and, since I don’t much care for that kind of behaviour, I asked him what his problem was.
“I’ve been breathing in your fumes in here”
“Sorry old chap”, I replied, “but I do have to charge my batteries you know”
He then suggested I should be a little more considerate.
OK, I could understand him being annoyed at the diesel fumes, had they been blowing his way, but the wind was in the opposite direction. At which point I decided he simply wasn’t worth the effort of further discussion. What is it with these people? They would have genuine cause for complaint if we ran our engines after the watershed. But, since I always switch off at least half an hour before that, I don’t see the problem.
In this instance, unlike the one I reported on earlier, I think he was simply annoyed at the continuous hum of the engine.
Today, we hope, we’ll be able to moor up at Pershore and take a walk into town. There are three sets of moorings there, so we should be OK.
Wednesday 27th July
Yesterday we made our way to Pershore and, since we had no idea as to the amount of moorings there were nearer to the town, we moored just before Pershore New Bridge. The Old Bridge saw plenty of action during the Civil War and, just in case Jerry attempted to overrun these islands from the Severn and Avon, the New Bridge was heavily fortified. There are still huge, round concrete bollards there preventing all but bicycles to cross it.
We walked across this bridge and into the town in the morning, up one side and down the other, and all we bought was a newspaper, a couple of savoury sausage roll, a couple of individual pizza type baguettes and some fruit. I say ‘only’, because Wifey conveniently forgot the ice creams, for which she received a sound rollicking.
Later in the afternoon another boat took up residence in front of us and, even later, a bunch of Eastern Europeans, possibly Polish, also turned up, complete with kids and bottles of vodka. Happily they didn’t cause any fuss or make much noise and departed for home quite early.
I had thought to post this yesterday but, with a virtually non-existent signal, I had to wait until today. However, I received a call from ‘Three’ in the afternoon, telling me that adjustments had been made to my email settings and could they check them out. Nope! No signal here. So, they will be phoning me again today some time.
I also downloaded 205 photos from Wifey’s camera, which gives her plenty to do in giving them names of places.
It is now a quarter to two in the afternoon and we have travelled from Pershore New Bridge moorings to Craycombe Turn moorings. This took us from 07.45 until 11.15 and took in three locks and seven miles. Fortunately we had the company of another boat going through the 2nd and 3rd locks, after which they went on to Evesham and we stopped here.
This is, I am pleased to relate, a very quiet spot and does not have picnic tables. It is also quite a walk from the nearest road so, unless we are visited by a boat load of drunks, we should enjoy a peaceful evening.
Tomorrow will see us at Evesham. Until then I will now post this blog.
Enjoy the rest of your week.
Dave, Sheila and Rusty.
Friday 22 July 2011
Shiralee Cruise 2011 #19
Friday 22nd July.
Following on from the previous blog, the weather is much calmer this morning than it was yesterday afternoon, when the wind was pretty strong. Also, and unlike our last visit to Worcester, there were far more boats here. One charity boat had a devil of a job finding a space. Perhaps the holiday season is hotting-up now.
On a good day we are treated to the sights of University students rowing, canoeing and sculling up and down the river. The most interesting of these is a 12 man/woman canoe, with a drummer at the stern beating out the pace. Yesterday we had two of these go hammering past. They really do put some effort into it. Sometimes only alternate rowers will paddle, at other times they all give it some welly. It really makes me wish I had been able to attend uni. Ah, well, wishes could be fishes, for all it matters now!
Today we’re off to Upton-upon-Severn. Hopefully TV reception will be a wee bit better. It’s Friday and we do like to watch A Question of Sport.
So, my dear reader, what would you do regarding my comments bout those two canals? Unless you have had to navigate them you cannot comprehend the state they are in. To all intents and purposes they may as well close them down while they carry out essential weed control. In their current state it would be all but impossible to moor up in an emergency and that, dear reader, is a fact.
It was so bad on the short trip from Worcester to Hanbury and the connection to the Droitwich Canals that, rather than take a run up to Birmingham and Gas Street Basin afterwards, we decided instead to go on and do the River Avon. Maybe next year well approach Birmingham from the top end and minimise the amount of time we spend on the Worcester and Birmingham. Maybe!
What I am doing in the first instance is composing a letter to BW, which I will submit with a few photographs, backing up my claim as to the state of the B&W. Unfortunately we didn’t take many photos of the S&W, but we may have a few relevant to the subject.
I am also going to find contact details of David Suchet and Timothy West, both champions of our waterways, with a view to asking them to support my demands for a clean-up of these canals. But not before receiving a reply from BW.
In addition, if I don’t receive a satisfactory reply from BW and others, I’ll see what can be done via local and national media, such a newspapers and local news channels.
What do you think? What would you do?
Later………
We only suffered a little light rain on our way to Upton and only had to pass through one manned lock along the way, which was just past the entrance to the Worcester and Birmingham Canal. This left us 10 miles of lock-free travel in beautifully calm conditions.
We passed about seven other boats heading for Worcester and, since we had never cruised the Severn before Wifey took plenty of photos.
To be honest, although this is a pretty wide river and the longest in the UK, where both banks are wild along most of the route, with tall trees and such on both sides, there’s not much of interest to catch the eye. Between Worcester and Upton there is only one bridge crossing this river, so it’s not even broken up by villages or towns. Other than yacht clubs and the occasional stretch of open fields, it would have been totally boring had the weather been unkind to us. But, as it was such a beautiful day, the journey was very relaxing.
We arrived here at about 11.15 and quickly moored up at the floating pontoons. Personally I don’t think space for only four boats is anywhere near enough because, anybody turning up late in the day, especially during the school holiday season, is going to be hard pressed to find a mooring spot available. We were fortunate in that, by the time we arrived a couple of boats had already departed. Our timing in these matters is pretty good, having learned from experience to arrive at our destination before lunch time.
Following the obligatory cuppa and walking the dog, we set out to explore the town. The Nicholson’s Guide shows three pubs near the river but, walking up and down the high street, which is not that long, we saw at least another half dozen. How do they all survive, I wonder?
The rest of the town boasts quite a few old buildings, and one, that is also a pub dates back to 1601. There is also a wide variety of shops, including a deli, butchers, bakers, clothing shops, a Spar and Co-op, along with a few charity shops and antique shops, all in all a very interesting town and a great pleasure to stroll through.
We returned to the boat via one of the pubs nearest the river called The King’s Head and sat on the terrace with our drinks. No sooner had we sat down than it started to rain. So, off we went into the pub where I finished my first pint. Having bought the second one the rain stopped, so we made our way out to the terrace again. Within a few minutes it started raining again, at which point we drank up and went home. It’s been raining on and off since then.
Thankfully I was able to tune the TV in to digital, so we can watch A Question of Sport tonight. The picture and sound still break up sometimes, but nowhere near as bad as we have had. Had they improved the quality of analogue, rather than foist this godawful digital system on us, I for one would not have been unhappy. Living on solid land with an aerial tuned to digital is, for the most part, a pretty good viewing experience. But for us low-lifes floating around the inland waterways, digital TV is not all it’s cracked up to be and can be very difficult to tune in to at times.
You may remember the floods in this area in 2007 well, these pontoons are supported by huge, 6 inch steel pipes that are probably 25 ft high. When the water rises after heavy rain, which is not an unusual event in this country nowadays, what with global warming (?), the pontoons rise with it, so that moored boats stay safe and secure. During those floods the waters rose high enough for the people on the moored boats to paint messages at the top of the poles. We can’t quite read what they say, but the date is plain to see. Amazing! Good old stoic Brits, rather than sit and bemoan their predicament, they dig out the paint and brushes and leave messages for posterity. Brilliant!
Tomorrow, depending on the weather, we will either stay here another day, or go on to Tewkesbury and join the River Avon. Since that river is run by a charitable trust the use of it does not come free. The last time we ventured down it from Stratford it cost us £50, and we only travelled three miles before the river went into flood. Once the waters receded we returned to Stratford and blew 50 quid in the process. Hopefully we’ll have better luck this year.
Saturday 23rd July
Yesterday evening, too late for them to get all the way back to Worcester before dark, two young lads in a 32 foot narrow boat turned up here. They first tried to moor up by the steps near the pubs, but that didn’t seem possible, because they then came over to us. Now, since all four berths here were taken there was only one way they were going to stop here, and that was to moor alongside one of us.
Earlier on in the day we helped another boater to slip in on the other side of the pontoon we’re on and, because of debris between it and the wall he came in nose first so as to avoid fouling his prop. Our new arrivals decided they would try squeezing in alongside that boat first.
After a short while they reversed out again and headed towards the steps, which are further down river to us. You have to remember here, that the correct way to moor up on a river is facing against the current. Anyway, after a few minutes they had turned their boat around and decided to come alongside our boat, which was OK by us. Some folks do object to other boats tying up to their own, but for the life of me I don’t know why.
It appears that the first boater they tried did so object and the reason given was that he wouldn’t be able to open his side hatch and, what is more, he wouldn’t be able to close it either. Oh dear, what a shame, tut, tut! Some people…………..!
I did remind the new neighbours that we retire to bed at 10 pm and they promised to be quiet when they returned from the pub. They were true to their word too bless ‘em.
Now, all we have to do before leaving for Tewkesbury is to get a paper. We had thought to stay a second day and have a pub lunch but, as it is such a bright morning, and assuming it stays that way, we will probably get moving.
Meanwhile, true to a certain person’s suggestion, I’m keeping this blog shorter than most and, with the excellent connection here at Upton, it will be posted now.
Cheers folks and have a good weekend.
Dave, Sheila and Rustydog.
Following on from the previous blog, the weather is much calmer this morning than it was yesterday afternoon, when the wind was pretty strong. Also, and unlike our last visit to Worcester, there were far more boats here. One charity boat had a devil of a job finding a space. Perhaps the holiday season is hotting-up now.
On a good day we are treated to the sights of University students rowing, canoeing and sculling up and down the river. The most interesting of these is a 12 man/woman canoe, with a drummer at the stern beating out the pace. Yesterday we had two of these go hammering past. They really do put some effort into it. Sometimes only alternate rowers will paddle, at other times they all give it some welly. It really makes me wish I had been able to attend uni. Ah, well, wishes could be fishes, for all it matters now!
Today we’re off to Upton-upon-Severn. Hopefully TV reception will be a wee bit better. It’s Friday and we do like to watch A Question of Sport.
So, my dear reader, what would you do regarding my comments bout those two canals? Unless you have had to navigate them you cannot comprehend the state they are in. To all intents and purposes they may as well close them down while they carry out essential weed control. In their current state it would be all but impossible to moor up in an emergency and that, dear reader, is a fact.
It was so bad on the short trip from Worcester to Hanbury and the connection to the Droitwich Canals that, rather than take a run up to Birmingham and Gas Street Basin afterwards, we decided instead to go on and do the River Avon. Maybe next year well approach Birmingham from the top end and minimise the amount of time we spend on the Worcester and Birmingham. Maybe!
What I am doing in the first instance is composing a letter to BW, which I will submit with a few photographs, backing up my claim as to the state of the B&W. Unfortunately we didn’t take many photos of the S&W, but we may have a few relevant to the subject.
I am also going to find contact details of David Suchet and Timothy West, both champions of our waterways, with a view to asking them to support my demands for a clean-up of these canals. But not before receiving a reply from BW.
In addition, if I don’t receive a satisfactory reply from BW and others, I’ll see what can be done via local and national media, such a newspapers and local news channels.
What do you think? What would you do?
Later………
We only suffered a little light rain on our way to Upton and only had to pass through one manned lock along the way, which was just past the entrance to the Worcester and Birmingham Canal. This left us 10 miles of lock-free travel in beautifully calm conditions.
We passed about seven other boats heading for Worcester and, since we had never cruised the Severn before Wifey took plenty of photos.
To be honest, although this is a pretty wide river and the longest in the UK, where both banks are wild along most of the route, with tall trees and such on both sides, there’s not much of interest to catch the eye. Between Worcester and Upton there is only one bridge crossing this river, so it’s not even broken up by villages or towns. Other than yacht clubs and the occasional stretch of open fields, it would have been totally boring had the weather been unkind to us. But, as it was such a beautiful day, the journey was very relaxing.
We arrived here at about 11.15 and quickly moored up at the floating pontoons. Personally I don’t think space for only four boats is anywhere near enough because, anybody turning up late in the day, especially during the school holiday season, is going to be hard pressed to find a mooring spot available. We were fortunate in that, by the time we arrived a couple of boats had already departed. Our timing in these matters is pretty good, having learned from experience to arrive at our destination before lunch time.
Following the obligatory cuppa and walking the dog, we set out to explore the town. The Nicholson’s Guide shows three pubs near the river but, walking up and down the high street, which is not that long, we saw at least another half dozen. How do they all survive, I wonder?
The rest of the town boasts quite a few old buildings, and one, that is also a pub dates back to 1601. There is also a wide variety of shops, including a deli, butchers, bakers, clothing shops, a Spar and Co-op, along with a few charity shops and antique shops, all in all a very interesting town and a great pleasure to stroll through.
We returned to the boat via one of the pubs nearest the river called The King’s Head and sat on the terrace with our drinks. No sooner had we sat down than it started to rain. So, off we went into the pub where I finished my first pint. Having bought the second one the rain stopped, so we made our way out to the terrace again. Within a few minutes it started raining again, at which point we drank up and went home. It’s been raining on and off since then.
Thankfully I was able to tune the TV in to digital, so we can watch A Question of Sport tonight. The picture and sound still break up sometimes, but nowhere near as bad as we have had. Had they improved the quality of analogue, rather than foist this godawful digital system on us, I for one would not have been unhappy. Living on solid land with an aerial tuned to digital is, for the most part, a pretty good viewing experience. But for us low-lifes floating around the inland waterways, digital TV is not all it’s cracked up to be and can be very difficult to tune in to at times.
You may remember the floods in this area in 2007 well, these pontoons are supported by huge, 6 inch steel pipes that are probably 25 ft high. When the water rises after heavy rain, which is not an unusual event in this country nowadays, what with global warming (?), the pontoons rise with it, so that moored boats stay safe and secure. During those floods the waters rose high enough for the people on the moored boats to paint messages at the top of the poles. We can’t quite read what they say, but the date is plain to see. Amazing! Good old stoic Brits, rather than sit and bemoan their predicament, they dig out the paint and brushes and leave messages for posterity. Brilliant!
Tomorrow, depending on the weather, we will either stay here another day, or go on to Tewkesbury and join the River Avon. Since that river is run by a charitable trust the use of it does not come free. The last time we ventured down it from Stratford it cost us £50, and we only travelled three miles before the river went into flood. Once the waters receded we returned to Stratford and blew 50 quid in the process. Hopefully we’ll have better luck this year.
Saturday 23rd July
Yesterday evening, too late for them to get all the way back to Worcester before dark, two young lads in a 32 foot narrow boat turned up here. They first tried to moor up by the steps near the pubs, but that didn’t seem possible, because they then came over to us. Now, since all four berths here were taken there was only one way they were going to stop here, and that was to moor alongside one of us.
Earlier on in the day we helped another boater to slip in on the other side of the pontoon we’re on and, because of debris between it and the wall he came in nose first so as to avoid fouling his prop. Our new arrivals decided they would try squeezing in alongside that boat first.
After a short while they reversed out again and headed towards the steps, which are further down river to us. You have to remember here, that the correct way to moor up on a river is facing against the current. Anyway, after a few minutes they had turned their boat around and decided to come alongside our boat, which was OK by us. Some folks do object to other boats tying up to their own, but for the life of me I don’t know why.
It appears that the first boater they tried did so object and the reason given was that he wouldn’t be able to open his side hatch and, what is more, he wouldn’t be able to close it either. Oh dear, what a shame, tut, tut! Some people…………..!
I did remind the new neighbours that we retire to bed at 10 pm and they promised to be quiet when they returned from the pub. They were true to their word too bless ‘em.
Now, all we have to do before leaving for Tewkesbury is to get a paper. We had thought to stay a second day and have a pub lunch but, as it is such a bright morning, and assuming it stays that way, we will probably get moving.
Meanwhile, true to a certain person’s suggestion, I’m keeping this blog shorter than most and, with the excellent connection here at Upton, it will be posted now.
Cheers folks and have a good weekend.
Dave, Sheila and Rustydog.
Thursday 21 July 2011
Shiralee Cruise 2011 #18
Monday 18th July and the week is off to a pretty awful start, with a strong wind and early rain. However, with Hanbury Wharf only a couple of miles away and with no locks to negotiate, we might just make it today. We really do need to empty our sit-upon and top up with water, but we’ll just have to see.
I’m having second thoughts about doing the full circle down the Droitwich Barge Canal and onto the Severn again. I think I would rather come back out of the Droitwich Junction and continue on to Birmingham. We’ve already seen the Worcester Racecourse and the town on this trip, I don’t really see the need to do so again. We are hoping to do the Avon and Severn next year, so we could easily include the Droitwich then. I’ll have to put this to Wifey of course.
The problem with these two canals is that the only moorings are at Droitwich itself and also at the entrance to it from this end. In order to traverse both stretches of canal, you either stop at Droitwich or continue on to the Severn, in which case you would have to pass through 16 locks and eight miles all told. The length of the Junction canal is only two miles, but it has eight locks. Whereas the Barge is about six miles long and also has eight locks.
Hanbury Wharf is where The New Boat Company, the company we bought Shiralee from, had their head office. Whether they are still there we shall have to see. I know they closed their office at Reading, which was where we collected the boat, and they do have an office at Mercia Marina. As far as we can tell they are still doing good business, both with new and used boats.
Later…..
We left Tibberton at 08.30 and arrived at Hanbury Wharf at 10.00, only to discover that the chandlery doesn’t open on a Monday. It’s just as well we intended staying the night anyway. Tomorrow morning we will have to move across to the wharf from our moorings opposite, empty our Elsan and top up with water and also purchase a gas bottle, before we can set off up the Droitwich.
Tuesday 19th July.
Once again the weather has let us down, with loads of rain first thing this morning. We waited until the chandlery across at the boatyard opened at 9. am then moved across to fill up with water and other such menial tasks. As we did so I spotted another boat edging out from its moorings further back. Of course, he too wanted to moor up at the wharf but, since other boats were permanently moored there, he was unable to do so until we had finished.
A few minutes after we had tied up the owner of the boat called across and asked if we were moving on when we had finished what we were doing. He seemed a wee bit put out by us being there, explaining that he needed to get in there because he would bee moored there, for some repairs or other, for a period of two weeks. Never mind that other boaters will want to pull in for diesel and water. Another case of the ‘Me Society’.
We eventually left Hanbury at 10 am and started to make our way down the Droitwich Canal, which starts just past the first bridge from our moorings. Arriving at the first lock we found a BW man, who seems to be stationed there to help boaters through just that lock. At the second lock down were a couple of maintenance men repairing some brickwork, so our friend had been stationed there to ensure slow progress whilst they were working.
So, as we were obliged to wait a while, I had a chat about the state of the two canals we had just travelled along. It turns out that, until BW put the care and maintenance of the towpath out to contractors, he was the man in charge of that job. He too was disgusted at the state of them and suggested we write to BW, which of course I had already planned on doing. His words were, “The more people who complain in writing, the more likely something will be done”. So, any other boaters reading this and travelling those two canals, get writing and complain!!
There are eight locks from this end in two miles of canal, which brings you into the basin at Droitwich. This stretch is known as The Droitwich Junction Canal and ends with a double width Stop-Lock. This is similar to the one we were trapped in at Kegworth on the River Soar.
After the sixth lock there’s a tunnel that runs under a very wide road. This tunnel is very low, so low in fact that there are warning signs and advice about the air height of boats going through. We had already removed our flower boxes and removed a couple of items from the top box and, having compared our boat to another that had just come through from the basin, decided we would be fine. As it turned out though, our aerial pole in front of the cratch did just touch the roof in a few places.
This canal, just like the Staffs and Worc and the Worc and Birmingham, is choked with weeds but, to be fair, they have been working to open it up again, so we can’t expect miracles.
The trip from the other end to here at the basin, took us 2½ hours all told and that’s pretty slow for us. Of course, it didn’t help when we had to stop to untangle a plastic bag and a whole bunch of the aforementioned weeds, from the prop. I’m surprised we haven’t encountered this problem before now, what with the state of those other two canals.
Now, as befits a couple of wrinklies, we tend to change our minds quite often, especially when it comes to which route to take next. We originally intended completing this canal from end to end, then we decided perhaps we would turn back from the basin and return the way we came. Now we have decided to avoid all the locks associated with heading for Birmingham and, instead, go down the Barge Canal to the Severn. From there we’ll head for Worcester and moor up overnight at the racecourse again. We will then return along the Severn to Stourport and back on to the Staffs and Worc.
I do hope that makes sense, because I’m saying it only once, then you’re on your own.
Cheers.
Wednesday 20th July.
Weather still yeucky but, as we’re staying here another day and only paying a visit to the local quack, this should not present a problem.
Yesterday we walked into town to the nearest supermarket, which turned out to be a Waitrose store. Wifey is not too keen on these, considering them somewhat more expensive than others, but I found this store to be light and airy, with well spaced aisles and the perishables of very high quality. Yes, they are a wee bit more expensive that Sainsbury and Tesco, somewhat similar perhaps to M&S, but well worth a visit. We even found peas and a mixture of peas and carrots, packed in a sardine shaped tin, only somewhat bigger.
Once again, as we have dropped through seven locks, we now find ourselves with poor TV reception. Digital was breaking up badly and it didn’t make any difference which direction we tuned in to. We eventually tuned into analogue and, much to our surprise, Channel 5 was perfect. Sadly the other four channels were barely worth watching, but we suffered through it just to watch Richard Hammond tell us all about the inner working of our home planet. Of course, if there’s anything worth watching this evening, we’ll have to suffer the same rubbish all over again, and it won’t improve until we’re back on the Staffs and Worc.
I have suggested to Sheila, that perhaps we should go back to a satellite system before we go cruising next year. Soon after we bought the boat we invested in such a system, but found that tuning in could be one hell of a problem sometimes. However, if we look for a system that includes a good tracking device, we should have fewer problems.
With all this in mind I paid a visit to eBay this morning and I found a site that gave a list of all the channels available on their system. But why is Channel 5 not included? I then remembered that we had to purchase a card last time, which probably gave that channel and, I think, one other, but I can’t remember which.
Thursday 21st July and still not much in the way of summer and, according to the weather girl last night, not much chance of seeing the sun until the weekend. Although, the weather looks good for this morning and the next stage of our cruise.
We’ll be off to the River Severn this morning and will be completing the Droitwich Canals by cruising the six miles and eight locks of the Barge Canal. We’ll then head on down to Worcester racecourse and moor up for the night. On Friday morning we’ll turn around and go back to Stourport – probably! It would take too long to complete this run in one day. We only do 2 or 3 hours a day normally and this trip to Worcester will be long enough for us.
The two canals, which meet up at Droitwich, took 38 years to restore! Can you believe that? Because much of the canals had been built over after it closed, they had to use part of the river and build new locks. One short tunnel is actually so low, that you have to duck down very low in order to pass under it. This is because it passes under a wide road. Before reaching this tunnel, there is a hanging bar, similar to those at the entrance to multi-story car-parks. This bar tells you that you have only two inches clearance above it.
As I was saying, 38 years to restore. Which begs the question, where was the help from government? Surely to goodness it doesn’t take a genius to realise the benefits of opening these derelict canals asap.
Friday 22nd July.
It took us 4½ hours yesterday, to get from Droitwich to Worcester racecourse, mainly because although the Barge canal is wider than the Junction, the encroachment of weeds and reeds from both banks means a slower than normal cruise. It is impossible to see across the tops of the growth, especially on bends, so it is necessary to proceed slowly, just in case another boat is coming towards you at the bend.
Three and a half hors of that trip were on the canal, which has eight locks over its six mile length and, despite the tall plant life, it is still a very pretty canal. From the end of the canal only an hour, through one manned lock, to our present moorings which, incidentally, cost £3.50 per day.
We took the precaution yesterday afternoon, of checking the 10 day forecast for this area and, as it looks to be fairly bright with just a smattering of showers, we’re going to enter uncharted territory. We’re going up the River Avon to Stratford. Our first stop will be at Upton-upon-Severn, where we’re hoping to top up with diesel. We’ll then move on to Tewkesbury and onto the Avon for the 41 mile trip to Stratford.
From Worcester to Upton is just 10 miles, with one manned lock along the way. From Upton to Tewkesbury is just six miles, with no locks at all. From Tewkesbury to Stratfor there are, if I counted correctly, 18 locks, none of which is manned. Ther are also a couple of low bridges along the way, but these are only a problem if the water rises beyond a certain level, which we do not expect this time around.
The cost to boaters for the privilege of travelling this river is £50, which is levied by the River Avon Trust, or some such organisation. We paid this last time and only managed three miles, when we were stranded in flood waters for three days. Mind you, we had some good company and, with the hilarious sight of a holiday boat being towed off the weir, entertainment was not a problem.
Now, I have no idea what Internet reception will be from here on, so I’ll post and wish you all a very pleasant weekend.
Dave, Sheila and Rusty
I’m having second thoughts about doing the full circle down the Droitwich Barge Canal and onto the Severn again. I think I would rather come back out of the Droitwich Junction and continue on to Birmingham. We’ve already seen the Worcester Racecourse and the town on this trip, I don’t really see the need to do so again. We are hoping to do the Avon and Severn next year, so we could easily include the Droitwich then. I’ll have to put this to Wifey of course.
The problem with these two canals is that the only moorings are at Droitwich itself and also at the entrance to it from this end. In order to traverse both stretches of canal, you either stop at Droitwich or continue on to the Severn, in which case you would have to pass through 16 locks and eight miles all told. The length of the Junction canal is only two miles, but it has eight locks. Whereas the Barge is about six miles long and also has eight locks.
Hanbury Wharf is where The New Boat Company, the company we bought Shiralee from, had their head office. Whether they are still there we shall have to see. I know they closed their office at Reading, which was where we collected the boat, and they do have an office at Mercia Marina. As far as we can tell they are still doing good business, both with new and used boats.
Later…..
We left Tibberton at 08.30 and arrived at Hanbury Wharf at 10.00, only to discover that the chandlery doesn’t open on a Monday. It’s just as well we intended staying the night anyway. Tomorrow morning we will have to move across to the wharf from our moorings opposite, empty our Elsan and top up with water and also purchase a gas bottle, before we can set off up the Droitwich.
Tuesday 19th July.
Once again the weather has let us down, with loads of rain first thing this morning. We waited until the chandlery across at the boatyard opened at 9. am then moved across to fill up with water and other such menial tasks. As we did so I spotted another boat edging out from its moorings further back. Of course, he too wanted to moor up at the wharf but, since other boats were permanently moored there, he was unable to do so until we had finished.
A few minutes after we had tied up the owner of the boat called across and asked if we were moving on when we had finished what we were doing. He seemed a wee bit put out by us being there, explaining that he needed to get in there because he would bee moored there, for some repairs or other, for a period of two weeks. Never mind that other boaters will want to pull in for diesel and water. Another case of the ‘Me Society’.
We eventually left Hanbury at 10 am and started to make our way down the Droitwich Canal, which starts just past the first bridge from our moorings. Arriving at the first lock we found a BW man, who seems to be stationed there to help boaters through just that lock. At the second lock down were a couple of maintenance men repairing some brickwork, so our friend had been stationed there to ensure slow progress whilst they were working.
So, as we were obliged to wait a while, I had a chat about the state of the two canals we had just travelled along. It turns out that, until BW put the care and maintenance of the towpath out to contractors, he was the man in charge of that job. He too was disgusted at the state of them and suggested we write to BW, which of course I had already planned on doing. His words were, “The more people who complain in writing, the more likely something will be done”. So, any other boaters reading this and travelling those two canals, get writing and complain!!
There are eight locks from this end in two miles of canal, which brings you into the basin at Droitwich. This stretch is known as The Droitwich Junction Canal and ends with a double width Stop-Lock. This is similar to the one we were trapped in at Kegworth on the River Soar.
After the sixth lock there’s a tunnel that runs under a very wide road. This tunnel is very low, so low in fact that there are warning signs and advice about the air height of boats going through. We had already removed our flower boxes and removed a couple of items from the top box and, having compared our boat to another that had just come through from the basin, decided we would be fine. As it turned out though, our aerial pole in front of the cratch did just touch the roof in a few places.
This canal, just like the Staffs and Worc and the Worc and Birmingham, is choked with weeds but, to be fair, they have been working to open it up again, so we can’t expect miracles.
The trip from the other end to here at the basin, took us 2½ hours all told and that’s pretty slow for us. Of course, it didn’t help when we had to stop to untangle a plastic bag and a whole bunch of the aforementioned weeds, from the prop. I’m surprised we haven’t encountered this problem before now, what with the state of those other two canals.
Now, as befits a couple of wrinklies, we tend to change our minds quite often, especially when it comes to which route to take next. We originally intended completing this canal from end to end, then we decided perhaps we would turn back from the basin and return the way we came. Now we have decided to avoid all the locks associated with heading for Birmingham and, instead, go down the Barge Canal to the Severn. From there we’ll head for Worcester and moor up overnight at the racecourse again. We will then return along the Severn to Stourport and back on to the Staffs and Worc.
I do hope that makes sense, because I’m saying it only once, then you’re on your own.
Cheers.
Wednesday 20th July.
Weather still yeucky but, as we’re staying here another day and only paying a visit to the local quack, this should not present a problem.
Yesterday we walked into town to the nearest supermarket, which turned out to be a Waitrose store. Wifey is not too keen on these, considering them somewhat more expensive than others, but I found this store to be light and airy, with well spaced aisles and the perishables of very high quality. Yes, they are a wee bit more expensive that Sainsbury and Tesco, somewhat similar perhaps to M&S, but well worth a visit. We even found peas and a mixture of peas and carrots, packed in a sardine shaped tin, only somewhat bigger.
Once again, as we have dropped through seven locks, we now find ourselves with poor TV reception. Digital was breaking up badly and it didn’t make any difference which direction we tuned in to. We eventually tuned into analogue and, much to our surprise, Channel 5 was perfect. Sadly the other four channels were barely worth watching, but we suffered through it just to watch Richard Hammond tell us all about the inner working of our home planet. Of course, if there’s anything worth watching this evening, we’ll have to suffer the same rubbish all over again, and it won’t improve until we’re back on the Staffs and Worc.
I have suggested to Sheila, that perhaps we should go back to a satellite system before we go cruising next year. Soon after we bought the boat we invested in such a system, but found that tuning in could be one hell of a problem sometimes. However, if we look for a system that includes a good tracking device, we should have fewer problems.
With all this in mind I paid a visit to eBay this morning and I found a site that gave a list of all the channels available on their system. But why is Channel 5 not included? I then remembered that we had to purchase a card last time, which probably gave that channel and, I think, one other, but I can’t remember which.
Thursday 21st July and still not much in the way of summer and, according to the weather girl last night, not much chance of seeing the sun until the weekend. Although, the weather looks good for this morning and the next stage of our cruise.
We’ll be off to the River Severn this morning and will be completing the Droitwich Canals by cruising the six miles and eight locks of the Barge Canal. We’ll then head on down to Worcester racecourse and moor up for the night. On Friday morning we’ll turn around and go back to Stourport – probably! It would take too long to complete this run in one day. We only do 2 or 3 hours a day normally and this trip to Worcester will be long enough for us.
The two canals, which meet up at Droitwich, took 38 years to restore! Can you believe that? Because much of the canals had been built over after it closed, they had to use part of the river and build new locks. One short tunnel is actually so low, that you have to duck down very low in order to pass under it. This is because it passes under a wide road. Before reaching this tunnel, there is a hanging bar, similar to those at the entrance to multi-story car-parks. This bar tells you that you have only two inches clearance above it.
As I was saying, 38 years to restore. Which begs the question, where was the help from government? Surely to goodness it doesn’t take a genius to realise the benefits of opening these derelict canals asap.
Friday 22nd July.
It took us 4½ hours yesterday, to get from Droitwich to Worcester racecourse, mainly because although the Barge canal is wider than the Junction, the encroachment of weeds and reeds from both banks means a slower than normal cruise. It is impossible to see across the tops of the growth, especially on bends, so it is necessary to proceed slowly, just in case another boat is coming towards you at the bend.
Three and a half hors of that trip were on the canal, which has eight locks over its six mile length and, despite the tall plant life, it is still a very pretty canal. From the end of the canal only an hour, through one manned lock, to our present moorings which, incidentally, cost £3.50 per day.
We took the precaution yesterday afternoon, of checking the 10 day forecast for this area and, as it looks to be fairly bright with just a smattering of showers, we’re going to enter uncharted territory. We’re going up the River Avon to Stratford. Our first stop will be at Upton-upon-Severn, where we’re hoping to top up with diesel. We’ll then move on to Tewkesbury and onto the Avon for the 41 mile trip to Stratford.
From Worcester to Upton is just 10 miles, with one manned lock along the way. From Upton to Tewkesbury is just six miles, with no locks at all. From Tewkesbury to Stratfor there are, if I counted correctly, 18 locks, none of which is manned. Ther are also a couple of low bridges along the way, but these are only a problem if the water rises beyond a certain level, which we do not expect this time around.
The cost to boaters for the privilege of travelling this river is £50, which is levied by the River Avon Trust, or some such organisation. We paid this last time and only managed three miles, when we were stranded in flood waters for three days. Mind you, we had some good company and, with the hilarious sight of a holiday boat being towed off the weir, entertainment was not a problem.
Now, I have no idea what Internet reception will be from here on, so I’ll post and wish you all a very pleasant weekend.
Dave, Sheila and Rusty
Sunday 17 July 2011
Shiralee Cruise 2011 #17
Wednesday 13th July.
Although overcast the weather doesn’t look at all threatening, so we will probably go on to Worcester. Last time we passed through, coming in the opposite direction, Sheila walked into town for shopping, so I didn’t see much of the place. This time though I shall make every effort to give it the once over.
Yesterday as promised, Santanu called me, albeit about an hour later than planned. To cut a long story short; you must surely be getting a bit tired of this saga; it seems we have a conflict with Sky. Although my messages are passing through ‘Three’, it seems the failure is with those sent to Sky addresses only.
When ‘Three’ bounce a message as undeliverable, their message lists all the addresses to which the original message was sent. But, they put the problem address at the top and this is the address that fails, not, as I thought, all the other addresses too.
I’ve carried out another couple of tests for their techie and, when he calls again today, I’m hoping this will be an end to the matter.
Meanwhile we’re off to Worcester and from there, possibly to Gas Street Basin in Birmingham as we’ve been told it is well worth a visit, with lots of free museums, five day moorings and a great, big city to explore. Wow! Let’s go Boo – Boo!
Thursday 14th July.
Yesterday we moved the 12½ miles from Stourport to the racecourse at Worcester. The trip took us through three manned locks. We left at 08.30 and arrived at 12.30. I think this must be the longest single trip we have made since leaving Mercia, but then we were on a river and rivers do not have much by way of moorings between towns. Still, the weather stayed fine and dry, with just a light breeze.
Soon after we arrived we took a walk into town and, when we returned and she had a chance to read the paper, Wifey noticed we had actually arrived on race day. This was an evening meeting with the first race starting at 6.30 pm. Having delayed dinner until much later than usual, we ambled up to the road next to the track and took a few photos of the first race.
Later in the evening we were treated to canoeists and scullers racing up and down the river and snapped a few of them too. Phew! All that exercise fair wore me out.
Unfortunately we’re once again in a poor reception area for digital TV, but we did manage to watch Top Gear on analogue, although that was a bit iffy too, so it was down to some more reading, but that’s OK with me.
This morning at about 08.30, after Sheila popped off for a paper and some milk, we made our way to Diglis Basin in Worcester, which entailed about a mile of river, followed by two locks. Once again, after a cuppa, we took a walk into the town for the rest of our shopping and found M&S had their ‘Dine for 2 for £10’ offer on and, quite as you would expect, we availed ourselves of this magnificent offer. I don’t know how they do it but, a main meal, accompanying veg, a sweet and a bottle of wine, all for £10? Marvellous! We’ve only ever come across this once and thoroughly enjoyed it. We still have the wine from that last visit.
Tomorrow we’re off up the Worcester and Birmingham Canal and will cover 30 miles and go through 58 locks – not in one day, I hasten to add!!. Piece of cake! There are 30 locks in the Tardebigge flight alone, and they all have to be done at one go, no mooring in between. Should be fun, but first we have to decide where to stop for the weekend.
Friday 15th July has dawned with a clear sky and not a ruffle on the water, but then it is only 5.30 in the morning. By the time Wifey surfaces there will be a light breeze at the very least.
Here in Worcester we are at least 40 miles from the point at which the Severn starts to widen out as it meets the sea, so why do we have so many seagulls here? I mentioned a couple of days ago, how I was unimpressed with the town, one of the reasons for that remark was the amount of bird droppings everywhere. The traffic noise doesn’t help either, but, then again, this is a pretty big town with lots of history and has many visitors.
Given the fact that we tend to avoid big towns and cities, I suppose we’ve been spoilt over the past five years. Goodness knows what we’ll make of Birmingham. I know we’ll be mooring up in Gas Street Basin, which is quite big and pretty much divorced from the big city noise, but it could still be hard on the ears. Never having visited England’s second largest city, it’s a must that we give it the once over whilst we have the opportunity.
Back at the ‘Bird in Hand’ a few days ago, I told you about the rowdy neighbours and the fact that they kept us awake until 2.30 am, when the Police finally turned up. Yesterday evening, in total contrast, a holiday boat turned up and moored behind us. On board were a couple of Dutch or German tourists, accompanied by a bunch of teenagers. ‘Here we go again’, I thought, but no, on their return from a walk into town, the older couple stopped by our boat and explained, that they had some teenagers on board and, should they disturb us too much, we simply had to ask and the would tone it down. In the event all we heard was a bit on guitar strumming and humming and soon after we retired they too quietened down. It’s rare to receive such consideration from British holiday makers.
Hopefully I shall soon see an end to this Outlook saga. After a short conversation with Santanu, the techie from ‘Three’, yesterday afternoon, along with a few more remote tests, he assured me that the matter would now undergo a thorough internal investigation. For the time being then, this subject is now closed.
A final point I would like to make though is this, having answered the questionnaire on screen that follows every session, why then do ‘Three’ insist on the ‘randomly generated’ telephone call that follows in the evening? So far I have had three of these calls. I have already answered their questions regarding how well I thought those sessions went, why badger me with more questions?
Later…..
We managed to get an early start on the next stage of our cruise and left Diglis Basin at 07.30. On our last trip this way, which saw us coming into Worcester from the Worcs and Brum canal, we moored up at Bridge 21, so we intended doing the same on the way to Brum. Unfortunately and unsurprisingly, the powers that be have treated this canal with the same disdain as the Staffs and Worcs, very little has been done to keep the towpath clear of weeds. I have no doubt this will be a problem all the way to Birmingham. However, just past Bridge 21 and about 30 yards short of the next lock we managed to find some shorter weeds to moor up against.
With the care and maintenance of our waterways being turned into a charitable affair, I don’t hold out much hope for pleasant cruising for the foreseeable future. Indeed it’s looking more and more like, ‘take care of your own problems folks. Never mind that you have paid in excess of £700 a year for a licence, we don’t give a damn’. Before we go off next year we’re going to invest in a cheap, electric strimmer.
I know I must come across as a bit of a whinger, but we have been sorely disappointed in the Staffs and Worcs already, and that looked like they had stopped the grass cutting right after we passed through three years ago. This moan does not apply to some of the other canals. Indeed, nobody can fault the Shroppie and all the other canals we’ve travelled this year, so why the bloody mess on these two? It really is a disgrace and, I have no doubt the people responsible will rollout the ‘ cutbacks’ saw. Lazy, more like!
Saturday 16th July.
Today started out dry but with heavy, grey cloud cover and we decided to make our way to Tibberton, just two miles away through seven locks. After the first lock the remaining six are walking distance apart, without mooring space in between.
Had we had a second cup of tea before leaving we would have stayed dry but, as it was, we left at 08.30, passed through the first lock and, for the remainder of the trip we were given a good soaking. At about the 4th lock along the way the heavens opened up with a vengeance and gave us a good drenching.
Waterproof and shower proof coats just aint what they used to be! Ours are so useless that when we get back to Mercia, we are going to pay a visit to Derby or Burton and purchase a couple of real, genuine, Bedoin waterproof coats, and at least calf length ones.
This reminded us of the time we passed through Bingley Five Rise locks on the Leeds and Liverpool, when we calmly awaited the arrival of a boat coming down, before we made our way up. On that occasion, no sooner had we entered the bottom lock of this staircase that the rain came down like stair rods, which we had to bear with our usual fortitude until we reached the top, at which point the sun came out and remained out for the rest of the day.
We will stay here until Monday morning, when we’ll head off for the Droitwich Junction Canal, stopping off at Hanbury Wharf for a gas bottle and to top up with water. After that it will be through eight locks and two miles to Droitwich, where we’ll stay for a couple of days. From there it is another six miles and eight locks along the Droitwich Barge canal to the River Severn. These two canals have recently been re-opened, so we’re quite looking forward to exploring new territory.
When we leave the barge canal we’ll moor up at Worcester Racecourse again and then come full circle to Tibberton, then on to Birmingham. Well, that’s the plan anyway.
Sunday 17th July.
This morning started out with heavy cloud and quite cool. With our batteries a wee bit low on power, even though the engine was running for two hours yesterday evening and we didn’t watch telly, I was unable to run the heater. I therefore had to wait until 08.00 before I could do so, by which time we had already eaten breakfast and we didn’t need it.
We haven’t even seen a Sunday paper since we left Mercia, much less read one, so why Wifey decided to get one this morning, I have no idea. I have to say that even though the price of the Mail on Sunday had been reduced to just £1 – no doubt as a result of the demise of the N.o.W – it really isn’t worth the money. Half of the main newspaper is full of holiday ads and the rest is pure gossip and crap. Even with the pages of puzzles and the strip cartoon, this newspaper is no better than the rest. A total waste of money as far as I’m concerned and I shall ensure Wifey doesn’t bother in future.
Just for a change, since we had already paid a visit to The Bridge Inn on our last visit here, we decided to give the Speed the Plough pub a go instead. Talk about quiet. This place can’t be bothered doing food on a Sunday, consequently, from midday until about 1 o/clock we were the only customers. The Lounge bar is full of clocks of every description, all of which were left behind by the previous tenants. Thankfully none of them was working otherwise we would have been driven potty by the constant ticking. The Guinness was a wee bit expensive at £3.40, but that has become the norm of late.
Tomorrow we’re off to the Droitwich Canal. First we need to stop off at Dunhampstead or Hanbury Wharf for a gas bottle. If we can moor up at the start of the Droitwich we will do so and continue onto the canal in the morning. Otherwise, having purchased the gas bottle, we’ll continue on to Droitwich and stay there for two nights.
Monday 18th July and we’re still awaiting the arrival of summer, rain yesterday and more rain this morning. We are supposed to be off to Hanbury Wharf this morning but, if this weather carries, I’m afraid we’ll have to stay here another day and outstay our welcome. Neither of us fancies another soaking and if push comes to shove, Tibberton will have to put up with our company for another day.
Meanwhile I’ll close this blog and post it.
Have a good week and take care.
Dave, Sheila and loyal pooch.
Although overcast the weather doesn’t look at all threatening, so we will probably go on to Worcester. Last time we passed through, coming in the opposite direction, Sheila walked into town for shopping, so I didn’t see much of the place. This time though I shall make every effort to give it the once over.
Yesterday as promised, Santanu called me, albeit about an hour later than planned. To cut a long story short; you must surely be getting a bit tired of this saga; it seems we have a conflict with Sky. Although my messages are passing through ‘Three’, it seems the failure is with those sent to Sky addresses only.
When ‘Three’ bounce a message as undeliverable, their message lists all the addresses to which the original message was sent. But, they put the problem address at the top and this is the address that fails, not, as I thought, all the other addresses too.
I’ve carried out another couple of tests for their techie and, when he calls again today, I’m hoping this will be an end to the matter.
Meanwhile we’re off to Worcester and from there, possibly to Gas Street Basin in Birmingham as we’ve been told it is well worth a visit, with lots of free museums, five day moorings and a great, big city to explore. Wow! Let’s go Boo – Boo!
Thursday 14th July.
Yesterday we moved the 12½ miles from Stourport to the racecourse at Worcester. The trip took us through three manned locks. We left at 08.30 and arrived at 12.30. I think this must be the longest single trip we have made since leaving Mercia, but then we were on a river and rivers do not have much by way of moorings between towns. Still, the weather stayed fine and dry, with just a light breeze.
Soon after we arrived we took a walk into town and, when we returned and she had a chance to read the paper, Wifey noticed we had actually arrived on race day. This was an evening meeting with the first race starting at 6.30 pm. Having delayed dinner until much later than usual, we ambled up to the road next to the track and took a few photos of the first race.
Later in the evening we were treated to canoeists and scullers racing up and down the river and snapped a few of them too. Phew! All that exercise fair wore me out.
Unfortunately we’re once again in a poor reception area for digital TV, but we did manage to watch Top Gear on analogue, although that was a bit iffy too, so it was down to some more reading, but that’s OK with me.
This morning at about 08.30, after Sheila popped off for a paper and some milk, we made our way to Diglis Basin in Worcester, which entailed about a mile of river, followed by two locks. Once again, after a cuppa, we took a walk into the town for the rest of our shopping and found M&S had their ‘Dine for 2 for £10’ offer on and, quite as you would expect, we availed ourselves of this magnificent offer. I don’t know how they do it but, a main meal, accompanying veg, a sweet and a bottle of wine, all for £10? Marvellous! We’ve only ever come across this once and thoroughly enjoyed it. We still have the wine from that last visit.
Tomorrow we’re off up the Worcester and Birmingham Canal and will cover 30 miles and go through 58 locks – not in one day, I hasten to add!!. Piece of cake! There are 30 locks in the Tardebigge flight alone, and they all have to be done at one go, no mooring in between. Should be fun, but first we have to decide where to stop for the weekend.
Friday 15th July has dawned with a clear sky and not a ruffle on the water, but then it is only 5.30 in the morning. By the time Wifey surfaces there will be a light breeze at the very least.
Here in Worcester we are at least 40 miles from the point at which the Severn starts to widen out as it meets the sea, so why do we have so many seagulls here? I mentioned a couple of days ago, how I was unimpressed with the town, one of the reasons for that remark was the amount of bird droppings everywhere. The traffic noise doesn’t help either, but, then again, this is a pretty big town with lots of history and has many visitors.
Given the fact that we tend to avoid big towns and cities, I suppose we’ve been spoilt over the past five years. Goodness knows what we’ll make of Birmingham. I know we’ll be mooring up in Gas Street Basin, which is quite big and pretty much divorced from the big city noise, but it could still be hard on the ears. Never having visited England’s second largest city, it’s a must that we give it the once over whilst we have the opportunity.
Back at the ‘Bird in Hand’ a few days ago, I told you about the rowdy neighbours and the fact that they kept us awake until 2.30 am, when the Police finally turned up. Yesterday evening, in total contrast, a holiday boat turned up and moored behind us. On board were a couple of Dutch or German tourists, accompanied by a bunch of teenagers. ‘Here we go again’, I thought, but no, on their return from a walk into town, the older couple stopped by our boat and explained, that they had some teenagers on board and, should they disturb us too much, we simply had to ask and the would tone it down. In the event all we heard was a bit on guitar strumming and humming and soon after we retired they too quietened down. It’s rare to receive such consideration from British holiday makers.
Hopefully I shall soon see an end to this Outlook saga. After a short conversation with Santanu, the techie from ‘Three’, yesterday afternoon, along with a few more remote tests, he assured me that the matter would now undergo a thorough internal investigation. For the time being then, this subject is now closed.
A final point I would like to make though is this, having answered the questionnaire on screen that follows every session, why then do ‘Three’ insist on the ‘randomly generated’ telephone call that follows in the evening? So far I have had three of these calls. I have already answered their questions regarding how well I thought those sessions went, why badger me with more questions?
Later…..
We managed to get an early start on the next stage of our cruise and left Diglis Basin at 07.30. On our last trip this way, which saw us coming into Worcester from the Worcs and Brum canal, we moored up at Bridge 21, so we intended doing the same on the way to Brum. Unfortunately and unsurprisingly, the powers that be have treated this canal with the same disdain as the Staffs and Worcs, very little has been done to keep the towpath clear of weeds. I have no doubt this will be a problem all the way to Birmingham. However, just past Bridge 21 and about 30 yards short of the next lock we managed to find some shorter weeds to moor up against.
With the care and maintenance of our waterways being turned into a charitable affair, I don’t hold out much hope for pleasant cruising for the foreseeable future. Indeed it’s looking more and more like, ‘take care of your own problems folks. Never mind that you have paid in excess of £700 a year for a licence, we don’t give a damn’. Before we go off next year we’re going to invest in a cheap, electric strimmer.
I know I must come across as a bit of a whinger, but we have been sorely disappointed in the Staffs and Worcs already, and that looked like they had stopped the grass cutting right after we passed through three years ago. This moan does not apply to some of the other canals. Indeed, nobody can fault the Shroppie and all the other canals we’ve travelled this year, so why the bloody mess on these two? It really is a disgrace and, I have no doubt the people responsible will rollout the ‘ cutbacks’ saw. Lazy, more like!
Saturday 16th July.
Today started out dry but with heavy, grey cloud cover and we decided to make our way to Tibberton, just two miles away through seven locks. After the first lock the remaining six are walking distance apart, without mooring space in between.
Had we had a second cup of tea before leaving we would have stayed dry but, as it was, we left at 08.30, passed through the first lock and, for the remainder of the trip we were given a good soaking. At about the 4th lock along the way the heavens opened up with a vengeance and gave us a good drenching.
Waterproof and shower proof coats just aint what they used to be! Ours are so useless that when we get back to Mercia, we are going to pay a visit to Derby or Burton and purchase a couple of real, genuine, Bedoin waterproof coats, and at least calf length ones.
This reminded us of the time we passed through Bingley Five Rise locks on the Leeds and Liverpool, when we calmly awaited the arrival of a boat coming down, before we made our way up. On that occasion, no sooner had we entered the bottom lock of this staircase that the rain came down like stair rods, which we had to bear with our usual fortitude until we reached the top, at which point the sun came out and remained out for the rest of the day.
We will stay here until Monday morning, when we’ll head off for the Droitwich Junction Canal, stopping off at Hanbury Wharf for a gas bottle and to top up with water. After that it will be through eight locks and two miles to Droitwich, where we’ll stay for a couple of days. From there it is another six miles and eight locks along the Droitwich Barge canal to the River Severn. These two canals have recently been re-opened, so we’re quite looking forward to exploring new territory.
When we leave the barge canal we’ll moor up at Worcester Racecourse again and then come full circle to Tibberton, then on to Birmingham. Well, that’s the plan anyway.
Sunday 17th July.
This morning started out with heavy cloud and quite cool. With our batteries a wee bit low on power, even though the engine was running for two hours yesterday evening and we didn’t watch telly, I was unable to run the heater. I therefore had to wait until 08.00 before I could do so, by which time we had already eaten breakfast and we didn’t need it.
We haven’t even seen a Sunday paper since we left Mercia, much less read one, so why Wifey decided to get one this morning, I have no idea. I have to say that even though the price of the Mail on Sunday had been reduced to just £1 – no doubt as a result of the demise of the N.o.W – it really isn’t worth the money. Half of the main newspaper is full of holiday ads and the rest is pure gossip and crap. Even with the pages of puzzles and the strip cartoon, this newspaper is no better than the rest. A total waste of money as far as I’m concerned and I shall ensure Wifey doesn’t bother in future.
Just for a change, since we had already paid a visit to The Bridge Inn on our last visit here, we decided to give the Speed the Plough pub a go instead. Talk about quiet. This place can’t be bothered doing food on a Sunday, consequently, from midday until about 1 o/clock we were the only customers. The Lounge bar is full of clocks of every description, all of which were left behind by the previous tenants. Thankfully none of them was working otherwise we would have been driven potty by the constant ticking. The Guinness was a wee bit expensive at £3.40, but that has become the norm of late.
Tomorrow we’re off to the Droitwich Canal. First we need to stop off at Dunhampstead or Hanbury Wharf for a gas bottle. If we can moor up at the start of the Droitwich we will do so and continue onto the canal in the morning. Otherwise, having purchased the gas bottle, we’ll continue on to Droitwich and stay there for two nights.
Monday 18th July and we’re still awaiting the arrival of summer, rain yesterday and more rain this morning. We are supposed to be off to Hanbury Wharf this morning but, if this weather carries, I’m afraid we’ll have to stay here another day and outstay our welcome. Neither of us fancies another soaking and if push comes to shove, Tibberton will have to put up with our company for another day.
Meanwhile I’ll close this blog and post it.
Have a good week and take care.
Dave, Sheila and loyal pooch.
Tuesday 12 July 2011
Shiralee Cruise 2011 #16
Saturday 9th July.
So, where is July? I think we’ve lost April, all we’ve been getting this past week are intermittent showers, April is coming three months late these days. This situation has become the norm over the past five years. How about that, this situation started to develop just before we bought ‘Shiralee’! Perhaps we should have learned by now, if we want to cruise rivers perhaps we should do so in April or May. This year, once again, looks like being a total washout where the Severn and Avon are concerned.
Today we are heading for Wolverley and will stay for the weekend. On Monday we should be at Kidderminster and, after a visit to the ‘Three’ shop, where I will attempt the impossible by asking them to ‘phone their techie department, we will see if we can find other shops. Shouldn’t be difficult, Kidderminster is a very big place.
One of the things I am looking for is some heat resistant paint called Hammerite and is something I will need for when we buy a new chimney. We have no intention of forking out for a stainless steel one, have you seen the price of those? It seems the normal, double skinned variety, fall apart after less than a year. But this is only because the seal at the top end rots away. My plan is to coat this with a protective layer of paint, hopefully it won’t rot through quite so quickly.
The only place at which the inner sleeve is connected to the outer one, is around the top rim. Once that rots through, due to the tar from the smoky coal, the inner sleeve simply drops, which is a very good indicator that a new chimney is required.
The other thing I need to find is a strip of hardwood. When cruising the canals and rivers the water level constantly changes in relation to the towpath, leaving me to adjust the height of the fenders. I want to rig up a tent guy rope affair so as to make this a speedier operation. I really would like to hurry this operation along, especially when we’re caught in a sudden downpour and have to moor up in a hurry.
After Kidderminster we were intending to carry on to Stourport and the Severn, but with all this rain threatening to put the Severn into flood, we have now decided to return up the Staffs and Worcs, past the point at which we joined it at Autherley Junction, and on to Great Heywood, at which point we’ll either turn left or right onto the Trent and Mersey. To be honest I much prefer this option anyway, our early experiences on the Soar have left me rather wary of rivers.
Sunday 10th July.
We took a stroll into Wolverley village this morning because we had been told that buses ran into Kidderminster from the church. What we found instead of a bus stop was a rather attractive pub called The Queen’s Head, named after Queen Caroline who reigned during the latter part of the 18th century and the early part of the 19th.
In order to reach the church we had to climb a short, grassy Public Footpath, which took us to the base of the huge sandstone rock upon which the church stands. In case you are wondering, the name of the church is the St. John the Baptist. Sadly Nicholson doesn’t tell us how old the church is, except that it is Italianate.
Next door to the pub is a tea room, which also sells newspapers, fresh bread and other goodies. The shop has seating inside and out and, when we visited the pub at midday, was quite busy. I don’t recall ever seeing such an arrangement with a pub and tea rooms side by side, but it certainly seems to work. In fact it works twice at Wolverley, since the pub and tea rooms at the lock stand on opposite sides of the canal and both do good business.
We took a different route to the church at midday because Sheila wanted to show me an animal pound and take a photograph of it. The pound was hewn out of the same sandstone rock that lines a great deal of this canal and was built to house stray animals, which would have been held in separate small pens until their owners claimed them and paid a ransom for their return. What Arthur Daly would call ‘a nice little earner’. Walking down the hill from the church into the village, we even found houses that had been carved into the rock, a most unusual sight.
The price of Guinness in pubs along this canal vary wildly, with some pubs charging £3.20, whilst others, like the Queen’s Head here at Wolverley, charge £3.35. We’ve even come across a price of £3.40p. Extortionate is what I call it.
So, having failed to find a bus stop near the pub, we stopped off at the tea rooms by the canal and asked in there. Apparently there is one at the roundabout where the animal pound stands, but we didn’t see it when we passed there on our way to the pub. As a last resort I asked the boater who had moored up behind us, who had been into Kidderminster and knew the area well. Fortunately he had a bus timetable, but all that told us was that there are just two buses a day from here. This means that if I am to relate my tale of woe to the staff at the ‘Three’ shop, we will have to take the boat there in the morning. I have copied all the returned messages into Word and onto a memory stick, which I will take with me. Hopefully I’ll get some satisfaction face to face. I certainly haven’t had much success on the ‘phone.
Monday 11th July.
It looks like a sunny day, which is just as well, because after Kidderminster we’ll be continuing on to Stourport Basin. Now, I know I’ve said we will probably return up the Staffs and Worc, but that might not be the case. According to a local boater the River Severn is quite low at present, despite the rain we’ve had of late, so we may yet continue as planned.
Our original intention was to go down as far as the Droitwich Canal, but that would mean about eight miles of the Severn and another seven miles on the Droitwich, with all the locks along the way, because there are no moorings at the srat of the canal. This could mean up to six hours of continuous cruising, and that’s not what we are about.
Instead we will probably go on to Worcester, moor up outside by the racecourse then negotiate the locks into Worcester on the following morning. By doing this we will be able to continue on to Birmingham and gas Street Basin, which was our original destination.
Oh boy, what a day! We left Wolverley at about 8 am with the intention of stopping off at Kidderminster and taking the laptop into the ‘Three’ shop. The trip only took about an hour and we pulled in to where the Sainsbury’s store used to be. Although the car park was full, with all the workers and scaffolding about and signs telling us that a new store was being erected, we assumed it had closed temporarily.
So, after walking the pooch and partaking of a cuppa, we walked into town in search of ‘Three’, which we found without too much trouble. Unfortunately, being a mobile ‘phone shop and consequently a law unto themselves, a young man put both hands up to us, indicating that they didn’t open until ten. Wonderful!!
We then went in search of the local Tesco store and, after asking around of the natives, we were pointed in the right direction. By this time my legs were giving me gyp, so Sheila left me outside and did the shopping.
We had now passed 10 o/clock and walked back into town to ‘Three’. These shops do not have a resident technician but, even with that being the case you can’t fault the staff in their willingness to help. After outlining my problem the nice lady assistant immediately put telephone to her ear and called the techie people.
“Do you have your laptop with you?” He asked me
“Yes”
“Do you have your dongle?”
“Yes”
“O.K. Mr. Chamberlain, would you please set it up and insert the dongle?”
This I did and gave him permission to access the laptop remotely. Here we go again, I thought, nothing will come of this long chat. And, after about 30 minutes, during which he accessed the laptop and checked my Outlook settings, he left me on hold to consult with a colleague.
At the end of all this, and much like the previous techie, he told me he would be looking in to this problem further and would telephone me later in the day.
I had given him copies of most of the messages that had been returned, so he knew exactly what was happening here. He also had details of my email address with absolute-email and would no doubt be liaising with them at some point.
True to his word Santanu called me later and explained that, although he had yet to discover why my messages were being returned as undeliverable, he would be giving this his undivided attention and would call me again tomorrow afternoon at the same time, about 3.15pm.
One thing that did come out of this afternoon call, was that he thought their may be some conflict between absolute-email and ‘Three’ where the sending and receiving of emails via Outlook was concerned. So, we shall see what we shall see tomorrow, which now means we shall have to defer our planned cruise down the Severn to Worcester until Wednesday. No matter, we’ll find things to do in Stourport instead and besides, the weather looks set fair for the rest of this week, so we have plenty of time. Happy Days!!
Tuesday 12th July.
Now, getting back to yesterday, having completed our marathon shopping trip into Kidderminster, we returned to the boat and discovered, much to our surprise that, despite the scaffolding around the building, Sainsbury’s was actually still open.
Ah well, no matter, the shopping’s done so let’s get going. So, after passing through the nearby lock and the outskirts of town, what should we find but the Tesco store. Great, just great, not only could we have saved the walk to and from the ‘Three’ shop to Tesco and back, we could have shopped at Sainsbury’s. And, with Tesco right beside the canal, we could have saved lugging all that shopping back from town to the boat, even had Sainsbury’ been closed.
When we finally arrived at our current moorings, we were faced with a bridge lying at an oblique angle to the canal. This caused a blind corner whereby we were unable to see if another boat was coming the other way. We needn’t have worried though, because some plonker had moored his boat on the other side of the bridge and as near to the bridge as he possibly could.
We moored up about a boats length ahead of this plonker and settled in for the rest of the day. Later, when the owners of the boat returned, we were treated to continuous barking from their dog – there were two plonkers on the boat - and I eventually yelled at them to keep the dog quiet. Which they didn’t, coming as no surprise to any of us including the rest of the boaters moored here.
Later still out came the booze, complete with the shouting and hollereing, by which time it was too late to move on to Stourport, so we had to grin and bear it, until about 2.30 am, when they suddenly shut up. A few minutes later somebody walked by flashing a torch which, with the sudden cessation of noise I suspected belonged to the local plod. (Sheila confirmed this the following morning).This is one place we will not be mooring at again, assuming we ever return to this canal which is very doubtful, unless somebody decides to clear away the miles of tall weeds lining the towpath.
Today will be a definite move on to Stourport.
And so we come to the end of another blog, which I hope you enjoy reading.
Ta ta for now from:
Dave, Sheila and our ever adorable pooch, Rusty
So, where is July? I think we’ve lost April, all we’ve been getting this past week are intermittent showers, April is coming three months late these days. This situation has become the norm over the past five years. How about that, this situation started to develop just before we bought ‘Shiralee’! Perhaps we should have learned by now, if we want to cruise rivers perhaps we should do so in April or May. This year, once again, looks like being a total washout where the Severn and Avon are concerned.
Today we are heading for Wolverley and will stay for the weekend. On Monday we should be at Kidderminster and, after a visit to the ‘Three’ shop, where I will attempt the impossible by asking them to ‘phone their techie department, we will see if we can find other shops. Shouldn’t be difficult, Kidderminster is a very big place.
One of the things I am looking for is some heat resistant paint called Hammerite and is something I will need for when we buy a new chimney. We have no intention of forking out for a stainless steel one, have you seen the price of those? It seems the normal, double skinned variety, fall apart after less than a year. But this is only because the seal at the top end rots away. My plan is to coat this with a protective layer of paint, hopefully it won’t rot through quite so quickly.
The only place at which the inner sleeve is connected to the outer one, is around the top rim. Once that rots through, due to the tar from the smoky coal, the inner sleeve simply drops, which is a very good indicator that a new chimney is required.
The other thing I need to find is a strip of hardwood. When cruising the canals and rivers the water level constantly changes in relation to the towpath, leaving me to adjust the height of the fenders. I want to rig up a tent guy rope affair so as to make this a speedier operation. I really would like to hurry this operation along, especially when we’re caught in a sudden downpour and have to moor up in a hurry.
After Kidderminster we were intending to carry on to Stourport and the Severn, but with all this rain threatening to put the Severn into flood, we have now decided to return up the Staffs and Worcs, past the point at which we joined it at Autherley Junction, and on to Great Heywood, at which point we’ll either turn left or right onto the Trent and Mersey. To be honest I much prefer this option anyway, our early experiences on the Soar have left me rather wary of rivers.
Sunday 10th July.
We took a stroll into Wolverley village this morning because we had been told that buses ran into Kidderminster from the church. What we found instead of a bus stop was a rather attractive pub called The Queen’s Head, named after Queen Caroline who reigned during the latter part of the 18th century and the early part of the 19th.
In order to reach the church we had to climb a short, grassy Public Footpath, which took us to the base of the huge sandstone rock upon which the church stands. In case you are wondering, the name of the church is the St. John the Baptist. Sadly Nicholson doesn’t tell us how old the church is, except that it is Italianate.
Next door to the pub is a tea room, which also sells newspapers, fresh bread and other goodies. The shop has seating inside and out and, when we visited the pub at midday, was quite busy. I don’t recall ever seeing such an arrangement with a pub and tea rooms side by side, but it certainly seems to work. In fact it works twice at Wolverley, since the pub and tea rooms at the lock stand on opposite sides of the canal and both do good business.
We took a different route to the church at midday because Sheila wanted to show me an animal pound and take a photograph of it. The pound was hewn out of the same sandstone rock that lines a great deal of this canal and was built to house stray animals, which would have been held in separate small pens until their owners claimed them and paid a ransom for their return. What Arthur Daly would call ‘a nice little earner’. Walking down the hill from the church into the village, we even found houses that had been carved into the rock, a most unusual sight.
The price of Guinness in pubs along this canal vary wildly, with some pubs charging £3.20, whilst others, like the Queen’s Head here at Wolverley, charge £3.35. We’ve even come across a price of £3.40p. Extortionate is what I call it.
So, having failed to find a bus stop near the pub, we stopped off at the tea rooms by the canal and asked in there. Apparently there is one at the roundabout where the animal pound stands, but we didn’t see it when we passed there on our way to the pub. As a last resort I asked the boater who had moored up behind us, who had been into Kidderminster and knew the area well. Fortunately he had a bus timetable, but all that told us was that there are just two buses a day from here. This means that if I am to relate my tale of woe to the staff at the ‘Three’ shop, we will have to take the boat there in the morning. I have copied all the returned messages into Word and onto a memory stick, which I will take with me. Hopefully I’ll get some satisfaction face to face. I certainly haven’t had much success on the ‘phone.
Monday 11th July.
It looks like a sunny day, which is just as well, because after Kidderminster we’ll be continuing on to Stourport Basin. Now, I know I’ve said we will probably return up the Staffs and Worc, but that might not be the case. According to a local boater the River Severn is quite low at present, despite the rain we’ve had of late, so we may yet continue as planned.
Our original intention was to go down as far as the Droitwich Canal, but that would mean about eight miles of the Severn and another seven miles on the Droitwich, with all the locks along the way, because there are no moorings at the srat of the canal. This could mean up to six hours of continuous cruising, and that’s not what we are about.
Instead we will probably go on to Worcester, moor up outside by the racecourse then negotiate the locks into Worcester on the following morning. By doing this we will be able to continue on to Birmingham and gas Street Basin, which was our original destination.
Oh boy, what a day! We left Wolverley at about 8 am with the intention of stopping off at Kidderminster and taking the laptop into the ‘Three’ shop. The trip only took about an hour and we pulled in to where the Sainsbury’s store used to be. Although the car park was full, with all the workers and scaffolding about and signs telling us that a new store was being erected, we assumed it had closed temporarily.
So, after walking the pooch and partaking of a cuppa, we walked into town in search of ‘Three’, which we found without too much trouble. Unfortunately, being a mobile ‘phone shop and consequently a law unto themselves, a young man put both hands up to us, indicating that they didn’t open until ten. Wonderful!!
We then went in search of the local Tesco store and, after asking around of the natives, we were pointed in the right direction. By this time my legs were giving me gyp, so Sheila left me outside and did the shopping.
We had now passed 10 o/clock and walked back into town to ‘Three’. These shops do not have a resident technician but, even with that being the case you can’t fault the staff in their willingness to help. After outlining my problem the nice lady assistant immediately put telephone to her ear and called the techie people.
“Do you have your laptop with you?” He asked me
“Yes”
“Do you have your dongle?”
“Yes”
“O.K. Mr. Chamberlain, would you please set it up and insert the dongle?”
This I did and gave him permission to access the laptop remotely. Here we go again, I thought, nothing will come of this long chat. And, after about 30 minutes, during which he accessed the laptop and checked my Outlook settings, he left me on hold to consult with a colleague.
At the end of all this, and much like the previous techie, he told me he would be looking in to this problem further and would telephone me later in the day.
I had given him copies of most of the messages that had been returned, so he knew exactly what was happening here. He also had details of my email address with absolute-email and would no doubt be liaising with them at some point.
True to his word Santanu called me later and explained that, although he had yet to discover why my messages were being returned as undeliverable, he would be giving this his undivided attention and would call me again tomorrow afternoon at the same time, about 3.15pm.
One thing that did come out of this afternoon call, was that he thought their may be some conflict between absolute-email and ‘Three’ where the sending and receiving of emails via Outlook was concerned. So, we shall see what we shall see tomorrow, which now means we shall have to defer our planned cruise down the Severn to Worcester until Wednesday. No matter, we’ll find things to do in Stourport instead and besides, the weather looks set fair for the rest of this week, so we have plenty of time. Happy Days!!
Tuesday 12th July.
Now, getting back to yesterday, having completed our marathon shopping trip into Kidderminster, we returned to the boat and discovered, much to our surprise that, despite the scaffolding around the building, Sainsbury’s was actually still open.
Ah well, no matter, the shopping’s done so let’s get going. So, after passing through the nearby lock and the outskirts of town, what should we find but the Tesco store. Great, just great, not only could we have saved the walk to and from the ‘Three’ shop to Tesco and back, we could have shopped at Sainsbury’s. And, with Tesco right beside the canal, we could have saved lugging all that shopping back from town to the boat, even had Sainsbury’ been closed.
When we finally arrived at our current moorings, we were faced with a bridge lying at an oblique angle to the canal. This caused a blind corner whereby we were unable to see if another boat was coming the other way. We needn’t have worried though, because some plonker had moored his boat on the other side of the bridge and as near to the bridge as he possibly could.
We moored up about a boats length ahead of this plonker and settled in for the rest of the day. Later, when the owners of the boat returned, we were treated to continuous barking from their dog – there were two plonkers on the boat - and I eventually yelled at them to keep the dog quiet. Which they didn’t, coming as no surprise to any of us including the rest of the boaters moored here.
Later still out came the booze, complete with the shouting and hollereing, by which time it was too late to move on to Stourport, so we had to grin and bear it, until about 2.30 am, when they suddenly shut up. A few minutes later somebody walked by flashing a torch which, with the sudden cessation of noise I suspected belonged to the local plod. (Sheila confirmed this the following morning).This is one place we will not be mooring at again, assuming we ever return to this canal which is very doubtful, unless somebody decides to clear away the miles of tall weeds lining the towpath.
Today will be a definite move on to Stourport.
And so we come to the end of another blog, which I hope you enjoy reading.
Ta ta for now from:
Dave, Sheila and our ever adorable pooch, Rusty
Friday 8 July 2011
Shiralee Cruise 2011 #15
Monday 4th July.
Having read through the previous blog, I noticed that I tend to ramble a bit. The most obvious of those rambles sees me switching back and forth between different days. In reading that blog I became somewhat confused as to where I was, so I rather suspect my readers are equally confused. I suppose a wee bit of rambling can be acceptable in someone of my years and creaky joints and I do hope you are able to sort the wheat from the chaff, so to speak. However, whilst the rambling may give some of you a chuckle or two, I would rather not confuse you too much. To this end I shall read each days offering and edit as necessary.
Note to self: Must try harder!!
Tuesday 5th July.
Yesterday morning we cruised along to Wombourne, a jounry that took us through several locks, including the staircase set at Bratch. We had intended to moor there overnight and, when Sheila spoke to the lock keeper there, he pointed down to the bottom of the locks to tell her where to moor. For some reason, best known to herself, my dear wife wandered past the spot where I thought we would be mooring up, and simply carried on walking. By the time she stopped we were at the next lock, with nowhere to go except down.
We eventually arrived at Wombourne and stopped, ostensibly for the night. We then took a walk to find the local shops and, bearing in mind the problems I am still having with my legs, discovered them to be well over a mile away, and all uphill. Still, having found the shops and picked up a few bits, the trip back was all downhill, with a welcoming pub at the end of it. A couple of pints of Stella went down very well. The surprising event of this trip to the village of Wombourne, was the price of individual pork pies at the local butcher’s. £1.55!! Most village butchers are pretty reasonable, this one we class as a greedy pig. At the Wheaton Aston store, where they sell pork pies that originate from a local butcher’s, they were just 99 pence each.
Around 4 pm I decided I wasn’t, after all, too keen on staying at Wombourne, so we headed off to Swindon. On the way there we came to another set of staircase locks, standing at the top of which was a woman, who waved us on as if to suggest that, as she had filled the top lock up, we should come ahead and use it first. This is normal procedure at single locks.
However, since I had to let Sheila off the boat first, we pulled in and she jumped off to have a word. It turns out that this woman had, all on her own, travelled from Gloucestershire and her moorings on the Gloucester and Sharpness canal. Being confused as to the operation of staircase locks, as she so obviously was, begs the question, just how had she travelled all the way from Gloucestershire without running into serious problems? Anyway, Sheila decided to allow this woman through first and send her on her way, she still had the Bratch staircase of three locks to do and, by the time she reached them the lock keeper would have gone home.
Having finally seen this woman through both locks and to the top, she promptly got stuck with a huge piece of log wedged between the boat and the lock side. Removing the offending article, by the simple expedient of bashing it with a pole, took about 15 minutes and we sent the lone boater on her way.
We eventually arrived at Swindon at about 6 pm where we found a really nice 24 hour mooring spot and settled in for the evening. These moorings are on a short stretch of canal between two locks and with houses backing on to the canal on both sides. A very pleasant spot indeed.
This morning, after Wifey popped off to get the paper, we left at about 7.45 and headed for Greensforge, where there are, according to Nicholson, 48 hour moorings. Said moorings consist of room enough for just one boat, the rest of the space being taken up by long-term moorings and moorings for the lock and water points. We therefore had to go down through the lock and moor up a short way further on. And here we will stay for the rest of the day and evening.
Wednesday 6th July.
Today, as per the weather forecast, does not look promising, with heavy rain clouds overhead. I’m not sure where we’re heading for today, but will text when we get there.
As for yesterday, it seems I spent most of my time sending emails back and forth to different people and I am currently in the unenvious position whereby the only emails I am able to send through Outlook, with any guarantee of success, are replies to those received. I had thought that, by removing my own address from my Blocked Senders list, the problem would be solved, but we’re still in the same position.
Happily the rest of yesterday passed pleasantly enough, with a lunch of a Combo for Two at the Navigation, which lies just across the bridge. Last time we passed through here, which was about three years ago, we sat outside in bright sunshine and watched the world go by. This time, due to horrible rain, we were obliged to sit inside. Combo’s are great, a mixture of chicken wings and thighs, plus salad, breaded mushroom, onion rings and potato wedges, and all for just £5.95p. Oh, and don’t forget the garlic bread. Yummee!
It is now 06.15 and peeing down with rain. Happy days. Don’t suppose we’ll be moving on early today, if at all. Although, the forecasters think the rest of the week will be worse, right up to the weekend. Still, although these moorings are 48 hour, we’ve seen no evidence of BW wardens around of late and, on previous occasions, have been able to flout this little rule, as have many other boaters I have no doubt. We avoid cruising in heavy rain and we have plenty of food and milk to keep us going.
We also have plenty of time but, if this wet weather continues, there is a real danger of us missing out on cruising the Severn and Avon this year. We are hoping to take the River Severn from Stourport to Worcester. We also want to do the newly opened Droitwich Canal and the Avon up to Stratford. We tried this once before, but from Stratford down and only managed three miles, when the river went into flood and we had to wait for it to recede before going back to Stratford. But, judging by this rain and the forecast, I now have my doubts.
Thursday 7th July.
After a great deal of heavy rain yesterday we are hoping for better today, because we have to move from these 24 hour moorings.
I spent much of yesterday emailing back and forth to Sandra, who has been helping me to sort out my emailing problem. She also advised on how to request a ‘send/receipt’ when sending such emails. Unfortunately the instructions she sent did not agree with my version of Outlook 2003, but I eventually found the correct way of setting this up. This is only a temporary set up and will be removed as soon as the problem ceases to exist. Meanwhile, I have again forwarded an email from Alan, one that was returned to me after a previous effort to forward it.
This morning, when I first tried to forward this email I received an error message, telling me that although MS Word had been configured as my email message medium, MS Word was no longer on my computer. The message also suggested I was running a version of Word that was incompatible with the version of Outlook!!! What was that all about? Ye Gods, as if I don’t already have enough problems with this pesky machine!
That problem solved, I then re-sent the email. Hopefully you will receive it and I can remove the ‘send/receipt’ application. Now, enough of this malarkey. If successful, no more needs to be said. If not, then the letter I have drafted to ‘3’ will be sent and I will be using Yahoo for a while. Enough is enough.
Today we should, weather permitting, be going on to Kinver.
Friday 8th July.
The weather was fine enough yesterday for us to move on to Kinver, a rather quaint village with severe speed restrictions going through the centre. We took the time to walk into the village and were surprised at the range of shops there, Waitrose and the Co-op were represented, as were a butcher, baker, a bank and Post Office, along with a pub and various other small shops.
We did our main shop at Waitrose before realising that the Co-op was almost next door and before we were aware of the existence of the butcher and baker. Still, having purchased a loaf in Waitrose, we bought another at the bakery, which left us with far too much bread for just two people. However, Wifey makes a rather good bread pudding, so we have an enormous dish of same to wade through.
In front of us at our moorings were a couple of boats whose occupants obviously knew each other because, later in the afternoon they set up the bar-b-q. This is not uncommon on the cut and these get-togethers can become rather rowdy at times. This group however were very reasonable in their behaviour and had retired to their separate boats by 9 pm.
As for television reception, well, that was almost non existent. Having tried to set the TV up on digital and failing miserably, the set took over and tried tuning in an analogue signal. This was a wee bit weak but watchable but, yet again, apart from the new series ‘The Killing’ on Channel 4, there really wasn’t much worth watching.
This morning we decided to move on to Whittington, which is only a mile further on, with just one lock to go through. In moving to these moorings we had hoped for better TV reception, and this was indeed the case. Unfortunately, despite pointing the aerial in the same direction as the local houses, we are still on analogue. However, the reception is far stronger and we have clear pictures on the first four channels.
Tomorrow we will move on again, this time to Woverley, which is about three miles and one lock away. We will first stop at Cookley for a Saturday.
The bad news is that, due to the severity of the rain over recent days, we don’t think we will be attempting the River Severn this time around. Once bitten, twice shy where flooding is concerned. So, on Monday we will move on to Kidderminster, where I will be paying a visit to the local ‘Three’ shop, which just happens to be a very short walk from the canal. I have already written and posted a letter of complaint to their Head Office in Glasgow, but I feel I should show that I mean business by a personal appearance. Armed with a bunch of printed out ‘returned’ emails, I am hoping they will use their ‘phone to talk to a technician within these islands, rather than one on the Indian sub-continent. I’ve had some success with this approach in the past, but it only works if the staff at the shop are interested enough in one’s problems.
O.K. Seven pages complete, most of which has everything to do with my problems with emails, and little to do with anything of great interest. Still, it is only an online diary aimed at friends and family, so I hope you all understand the frustration I’m feeling.
One final note to end with. Although I will continue trying to forward emails using Outlook, those that are returned will be sent again via my Yahoo address, which you should already be aware of.
Love and best wishes from the Chamberlain clan, consisting of:
Dave, Sheila and Rusty.
Having read through the previous blog, I noticed that I tend to ramble a bit. The most obvious of those rambles sees me switching back and forth between different days. In reading that blog I became somewhat confused as to where I was, so I rather suspect my readers are equally confused. I suppose a wee bit of rambling can be acceptable in someone of my years and creaky joints and I do hope you are able to sort the wheat from the chaff, so to speak. However, whilst the rambling may give some of you a chuckle or two, I would rather not confuse you too much. To this end I shall read each days offering and edit as necessary.
Note to self: Must try harder!!
Tuesday 5th July.
Yesterday morning we cruised along to Wombourne, a jounry that took us through several locks, including the staircase set at Bratch. We had intended to moor there overnight and, when Sheila spoke to the lock keeper there, he pointed down to the bottom of the locks to tell her where to moor. For some reason, best known to herself, my dear wife wandered past the spot where I thought we would be mooring up, and simply carried on walking. By the time she stopped we were at the next lock, with nowhere to go except down.
We eventually arrived at Wombourne and stopped, ostensibly for the night. We then took a walk to find the local shops and, bearing in mind the problems I am still having with my legs, discovered them to be well over a mile away, and all uphill. Still, having found the shops and picked up a few bits, the trip back was all downhill, with a welcoming pub at the end of it. A couple of pints of Stella went down very well. The surprising event of this trip to the village of Wombourne, was the price of individual pork pies at the local butcher’s. £1.55!! Most village butchers are pretty reasonable, this one we class as a greedy pig. At the Wheaton Aston store, where they sell pork pies that originate from a local butcher’s, they were just 99 pence each.
Around 4 pm I decided I wasn’t, after all, too keen on staying at Wombourne, so we headed off to Swindon. On the way there we came to another set of staircase locks, standing at the top of which was a woman, who waved us on as if to suggest that, as she had filled the top lock up, we should come ahead and use it first. This is normal procedure at single locks.
However, since I had to let Sheila off the boat first, we pulled in and she jumped off to have a word. It turns out that this woman had, all on her own, travelled from Gloucestershire and her moorings on the Gloucester and Sharpness canal. Being confused as to the operation of staircase locks, as she so obviously was, begs the question, just how had she travelled all the way from Gloucestershire without running into serious problems? Anyway, Sheila decided to allow this woman through first and send her on her way, she still had the Bratch staircase of three locks to do and, by the time she reached them the lock keeper would have gone home.
Having finally seen this woman through both locks and to the top, she promptly got stuck with a huge piece of log wedged between the boat and the lock side. Removing the offending article, by the simple expedient of bashing it with a pole, took about 15 minutes and we sent the lone boater on her way.
We eventually arrived at Swindon at about 6 pm where we found a really nice 24 hour mooring spot and settled in for the evening. These moorings are on a short stretch of canal between two locks and with houses backing on to the canal on both sides. A very pleasant spot indeed.
This morning, after Wifey popped off to get the paper, we left at about 7.45 and headed for Greensforge, where there are, according to Nicholson, 48 hour moorings. Said moorings consist of room enough for just one boat, the rest of the space being taken up by long-term moorings and moorings for the lock and water points. We therefore had to go down through the lock and moor up a short way further on. And here we will stay for the rest of the day and evening.
Wednesday 6th July.
Today, as per the weather forecast, does not look promising, with heavy rain clouds overhead. I’m not sure where we’re heading for today, but will text when we get there.
As for yesterday, it seems I spent most of my time sending emails back and forth to different people and I am currently in the unenvious position whereby the only emails I am able to send through Outlook, with any guarantee of success, are replies to those received. I had thought that, by removing my own address from my Blocked Senders list, the problem would be solved, but we’re still in the same position.
Happily the rest of yesterday passed pleasantly enough, with a lunch of a Combo for Two at the Navigation, which lies just across the bridge. Last time we passed through here, which was about three years ago, we sat outside in bright sunshine and watched the world go by. This time, due to horrible rain, we were obliged to sit inside. Combo’s are great, a mixture of chicken wings and thighs, plus salad, breaded mushroom, onion rings and potato wedges, and all for just £5.95p. Oh, and don’t forget the garlic bread. Yummee!
It is now 06.15 and peeing down with rain. Happy days. Don’t suppose we’ll be moving on early today, if at all. Although, the forecasters think the rest of the week will be worse, right up to the weekend. Still, although these moorings are 48 hour, we’ve seen no evidence of BW wardens around of late and, on previous occasions, have been able to flout this little rule, as have many other boaters I have no doubt. We avoid cruising in heavy rain and we have plenty of food and milk to keep us going.
We also have plenty of time but, if this wet weather continues, there is a real danger of us missing out on cruising the Severn and Avon this year. We are hoping to take the River Severn from Stourport to Worcester. We also want to do the newly opened Droitwich Canal and the Avon up to Stratford. We tried this once before, but from Stratford down and only managed three miles, when the river went into flood and we had to wait for it to recede before going back to Stratford. But, judging by this rain and the forecast, I now have my doubts.
Thursday 7th July.
After a great deal of heavy rain yesterday we are hoping for better today, because we have to move from these 24 hour moorings.
I spent much of yesterday emailing back and forth to Sandra, who has been helping me to sort out my emailing problem. She also advised on how to request a ‘send/receipt’ when sending such emails. Unfortunately the instructions she sent did not agree with my version of Outlook 2003, but I eventually found the correct way of setting this up. This is only a temporary set up and will be removed as soon as the problem ceases to exist. Meanwhile, I have again forwarded an email from Alan, one that was returned to me after a previous effort to forward it.
This morning, when I first tried to forward this email I received an error message, telling me that although MS Word had been configured as my email message medium, MS Word was no longer on my computer. The message also suggested I was running a version of Word that was incompatible with the version of Outlook!!! What was that all about? Ye Gods, as if I don’t already have enough problems with this pesky machine!
That problem solved, I then re-sent the email. Hopefully you will receive it and I can remove the ‘send/receipt’ application. Now, enough of this malarkey. If successful, no more needs to be said. If not, then the letter I have drafted to ‘3’ will be sent and I will be using Yahoo for a while. Enough is enough.
Today we should, weather permitting, be going on to Kinver.
Friday 8th July.
The weather was fine enough yesterday for us to move on to Kinver, a rather quaint village with severe speed restrictions going through the centre. We took the time to walk into the village and were surprised at the range of shops there, Waitrose and the Co-op were represented, as were a butcher, baker, a bank and Post Office, along with a pub and various other small shops.
We did our main shop at Waitrose before realising that the Co-op was almost next door and before we were aware of the existence of the butcher and baker. Still, having purchased a loaf in Waitrose, we bought another at the bakery, which left us with far too much bread for just two people. However, Wifey makes a rather good bread pudding, so we have an enormous dish of same to wade through.
In front of us at our moorings were a couple of boats whose occupants obviously knew each other because, later in the afternoon they set up the bar-b-q. This is not uncommon on the cut and these get-togethers can become rather rowdy at times. This group however were very reasonable in their behaviour and had retired to their separate boats by 9 pm.
As for television reception, well, that was almost non existent. Having tried to set the TV up on digital and failing miserably, the set took over and tried tuning in an analogue signal. This was a wee bit weak but watchable but, yet again, apart from the new series ‘The Killing’ on Channel 4, there really wasn’t much worth watching.
This morning we decided to move on to Whittington, which is only a mile further on, with just one lock to go through. In moving to these moorings we had hoped for better TV reception, and this was indeed the case. Unfortunately, despite pointing the aerial in the same direction as the local houses, we are still on analogue. However, the reception is far stronger and we have clear pictures on the first four channels.
Tomorrow we will move on again, this time to Woverley, which is about three miles and one lock away. We will first stop at Cookley for a Saturday.
The bad news is that, due to the severity of the rain over recent days, we don’t think we will be attempting the River Severn this time around. Once bitten, twice shy where flooding is concerned. So, on Monday we will move on to Kidderminster, where I will be paying a visit to the local ‘Three’ shop, which just happens to be a very short walk from the canal. I have already written and posted a letter of complaint to their Head Office in Glasgow, but I feel I should show that I mean business by a personal appearance. Armed with a bunch of printed out ‘returned’ emails, I am hoping they will use their ‘phone to talk to a technician within these islands, rather than one on the Indian sub-continent. I’ve had some success with this approach in the past, but it only works if the staff at the shop are interested enough in one’s problems.
O.K. Seven pages complete, most of which has everything to do with my problems with emails, and little to do with anything of great interest. Still, it is only an online diary aimed at friends and family, so I hope you all understand the frustration I’m feeling.
One final note to end with. Although I will continue trying to forward emails using Outlook, those that are returned will be sent again via my Yahoo address, which you should already be aware of.
Love and best wishes from the Chamberlain clan, consisting of:
Dave, Sheila and Rusty.
Sunday 3 July 2011
Shiralee Cruise 2011 #14
Wednesday 29th June.
Whilst visiting The Hartley Arms yesterday, in order to celebrate Wifey’s birthday and our 31st anniversary, I noticed some sayings written over the bar. They were so good that I thought I might repeat them here. This is not the first pub we’ve been in that has such things written above the bar, perhaps there should be more of them.
OK. Here we go:
“Best while you have it, use your breath.
There aint no drinking after death”
“It ruins not your eyesight to look on the bright side of life”
And Finally:
“You can’t control the past, but you can ruin a perfectly good present by worrying about the future”
How perfectly true they all are. Have a nice day, we’re off to Brewood and beyond and will soon be on the Staffs. and Worcs. Canal and heading for Stourport and the River Severn.
Thursday 30th June.
After another walk into Wheaton Aston yesterday morning, to collect a prescription and do some more shopping, we headed off into the wild blue yonder of Staffordshire. But first we needed to top up with water and pass through the nearby lock.
On most days, when we leave an overnight mooring, we do so quite early so as to avoid the rush. Yesterday though, due to our visit to the local surgery and shop, we didn’t get away until about 9.15 and, after topping up with water and such, found ourselves in a queue at the lock, which wasted about an hour. However, the trip to our current moorings here at bridge#8, passed without incident, although it did seem like it might rain, but didn’t thank goodness.
This mooring spot is miles from nowhere and yet I am receiving a strong signal on the Internet. Talking of which, I received a message from ‘3’ asking me to give them a call so as to try to resolve my email forwarding problem. I am most grateful for all the jokes and such that I get from Alan and Sandra, but I am unable to forward them to multiple addresses because they all come back as undeliverable. In my Inbox this morning were four such messages from MAELER DEMON, so I will certainly phone ‘3’ later today, assuming of course that my ‘phone signal is strong enough.
After arriving here at about 11.30 yesterday my main job for the day was to set the aerial up for more Wimbledon. The two main events were the men’s quarter finals and turned out to be well worth watching. I think we have women’s quarters and some doubles today, which I may watch but don’t find as enjoyable as the men’s matches, because of the screaming mainly. I really hate that with a passion and, as Alan pointed out the other day, the men don’t do it so why do the women find it necessary. Sharapova is the worst culprit, followed by the Williams sisters, who are both now out of the tournament.
We are staying here at bridge #8 for today and will move on tomorrow. Hopefully I will have this email forwarding sorted by then.
Friday 1st July.
We are still at Bridge 8 and are staying for another day, because we want to be at Wightwick on the Staffs and Worcs Canal for the weekend. This is a place we’ve stopped at before and, according to my wife of 31 years, they have a very good watering hole. Sounds good to meeee!!
Yesterday was a bright, fine day, so we managed to get some work done on the boat. Sheila gave the nearside a good clean, whilst I did some more painting on our push-off pole. We also watched a bit of tennis later in the day.
Today, if it stays dry, I am hoping to finish the pole, which will be a banded colour affair using the same colours as those used to paint Shiralee. It’s looking good so far.
I had a very long conversation with a techie from ‘3’ yesterday, during which he took over my laptop remotely in an attempt to discover why I am unable to forward emails to multiple addresses. After much faffing about, during which, due to the expense of talking on the mobile, I asked him to ‘phone me back, which he did. Goodness knows how much the call has cost me up to that point, on a landline they charge 5.1 pence per minute, blooming cheek!!
Anyway, the upshot of at least ¾ of an hour of chat and investigation was, in all honesty, zilch, nada, nothing, except for him to suggest that the problem might lie with ‘3’s’ policy on spam. Now, back in the mists of time, when I had an account with Demon and living at Westfield in Harlow, I experienced a similar problem, and that was indeed down to spam policy. But I do not believe that forwarding an email to 10 addresses constitutes spam, especially as all the addresses are the same each time.
I now intend to set up a group email list, to which I should be able to forward emails with impunity. Should!! This situation is laughable, or would be if it wasn’t so damned annoying. The technician did suggest that I reduce the number of people I forward to, to, say, just six, and see if that solves the problem. Not good enough. I have now written to Customer Services regarding this problem. All I have to do now is find a post box, which are few and far between out here in the sticks.
Mind you, this is a delightful place to stay for a few days, even if it doesn’t have a pub. Incidentally, the route we have travelled up until Gnosall, has been completely devoid of Kingfishers. But now, thanks to the change in canal banks, which are somewhat higher and consist of earth and bushes, they are quite frequent in their appearances. We’ve also seen a couple of young Herons, which is very encouraging.
Saturday 2nd July.
Today we’ll be off to the Staffs and Worcs Canal and, after topping up at the end of this one, will pass through the shallow lock and turn right. After stopping off at Compton to catch up with some much needed shopping, we’ll moor up for the weekend at Wightwick.
Now, returning to the matter of my forwarding of emails to multiple addresses, I forwarded on yesterday with just seven addresses in it, that too has been returned.
The message I get from Hutchinson’s is as follows:
Hi. This is the qmail-send program at ukmrpl004.it.hutchison3g.net.
I'm afraid I wasn't able to deliver your message to the following addresses.
This is a permanent error; I've given up. Sorry it didn't work out.
Further along in the message is a reference to ‘spam assassin’, whatever that is and is one of the things the techie mentioned when I spoke to him, at great length I might add. This really is becoming a nuisance. I have now sent one to just two addresses this morning. Hopefully, after a bit more effort, I’ll discover just how many I can send.
Yesterday was another fine day, which we partially spent on jobs around the boat. I almost finished painting the pole and also did a bit on the body of the boat. If it continues like this, I’ll wear myself out with work and I’m supposed to be retired.
So, who else is not surprised that Murray was knocked out at the semi-final match? Enough said! One thing may not have escaped everybody else’s attention though. We teach the whole world about sport and other things, they then turn right around and bite us in the nether regions.
Sunday 3rd July.
We left the wild blue yonder at about 07.45 yesterday and, after a stopover at the end of the Shroppie for water, passed through the stop-lock and turned right up the Staffs and Worcs canal. What a difference to the Shroppie, lots of weed and nettles growing along the towpath, which probably deters people from taking a quiet stroll along it. Such a pity.
We made another stopover, this time at Compton, where we called into a mini-market that has been in the same family since 1976, or was it 1972? Anyway, they have resisted being bought out by bigger supermarket chains, and all to the good. Excellent service and products, especially the deli counters. Sadly they had run out of fresh bread by the time we arrived, and we don’t particularly like sliced bread. However, sometimes we find sliced that comes from local bakeries, and this was such a case. We found one of the thick cut loaves which, if we were able to use our toaster, would have been just the ticket. We bought it anyway, if only to save Wifey the job of making one.
Having passed through another three locks we finally arrived at Wightwick – pronounced witick at about 12.30.
The day turned into a rather hot one, which is something I hate and we didn’t get much joy with the TV reception either. Having pointed the aerial in the right direction – the locals point theirs in an either/or situation – we settled down to watch the tennis. But, being surrounded by roads and heavy traffic, the picture kept breaking up. It was only later on when I tried to tune in to ITV, that we found we could not receive any of them, no Channel 4/5 etc. Still, Saturday night on TV is not exactly a rewarding experience.
Judging by the sky this morning, which is almost completely clear of clouds, we could be in for another hot one, in which case I will probably give the pub a miss. Sweating out two or three pints of Guinness on a hot afternoon is not my idea of fun.
Monday 4th July, and a very happy birthday to my dear friend John, down there in Somerset.
Yesterday, weatherwise, was another real brahmer, hot, hot, hot, but we still managed to get to the pub, sit outside and enjoy a noisy drink. I hate to be deterred by something as normal as ‘weather’, although there have been days, thankfully few and far between, when I have had to abstain. Apart from the traffic noise – the pub sits at a crossroads, one of which is an A-road - the drink was most enjoyable.
Now, about my long-suffering problem with the Internet, to which I have already offered a temporary solution, the use of my Yahoo address instead of this one. Well, having asked my old pal Alan to see what his son has to say about it; he’s something of a whiz on all things web related; I had a sudden thought. ‘What if one of the addresses on my list is incorrect’, or, ‘what if one of them has me down as a spammer and has become less than enchanted with my blog’.
Anyway, my first thought after those two was to check my Safe Senders, Safe Recipients and Blocked Senders lists, which was when I had my ‘Eureka’ moment. I do hope what follows gives you all a chuckle, it certainly did me, after my red face cooled down. In amongst my Blocked list was my own address. Just how it got there I can’t be sure, but I suspect it has something to do with that MAILER DAEMON bunch.
I think, although I could be wrong, that after receiving such a message I decided I didn’t want them cluttering up my Inbox, and I labelled them as ‘spam’.
As I think I mentioned to some of my readers, I tested the system prior to this moment of glory, by forwarding to just two addresses and then only one, both of which came back via MD. Now, having removed my address from the Blocked list, I then sent a message to two people and, up until 05.30 this morning that message has not returned. Without actually forwarding another message to all in my list of Family and Friends, I won’t know for sure, but it seems a safe bet that I’m right. What’s that old saying, some thing about ‘hoist by his own petard? That’s me folks. My apologies for all the fuss.
Today we’ll be off to a place called The Bratch. Here we will find three locks, the gap between two of which is too short to moor a boat in, so we have to ensure nothing is coming down while we are going up, because it is impossible to pass in the middle. There’s no explanation in the Nicholson guide as to why they were built this way, suffice it to say that, other than the short pound I have just mentioned, the locks should be treated as normal. Well, that’s alright then. These three locks together, raise/lower the canal by 30 feet.
We are now on our eighth page so I think it’s time I posted.
Have a good week. I will test the efficacy of my cure to my email problems within the next few days and, assuming you all receive the next forwarded message, you may forget my Yahoo address.
Kind regards and best wishes to all.
Dave, Sheila and Rusty.
Whilst visiting The Hartley Arms yesterday, in order to celebrate Wifey’s birthday and our 31st anniversary, I noticed some sayings written over the bar. They were so good that I thought I might repeat them here. This is not the first pub we’ve been in that has such things written above the bar, perhaps there should be more of them.
OK. Here we go:
“Best while you have it, use your breath.
There aint no drinking after death”
“It ruins not your eyesight to look on the bright side of life”
And Finally:
“You can’t control the past, but you can ruin a perfectly good present by worrying about the future”
How perfectly true they all are. Have a nice day, we’re off to Brewood and beyond and will soon be on the Staffs. and Worcs. Canal and heading for Stourport and the River Severn.
Thursday 30th June.
After another walk into Wheaton Aston yesterday morning, to collect a prescription and do some more shopping, we headed off into the wild blue yonder of Staffordshire. But first we needed to top up with water and pass through the nearby lock.
On most days, when we leave an overnight mooring, we do so quite early so as to avoid the rush. Yesterday though, due to our visit to the local surgery and shop, we didn’t get away until about 9.15 and, after topping up with water and such, found ourselves in a queue at the lock, which wasted about an hour. However, the trip to our current moorings here at bridge#8, passed without incident, although it did seem like it might rain, but didn’t thank goodness.
This mooring spot is miles from nowhere and yet I am receiving a strong signal on the Internet. Talking of which, I received a message from ‘3’ asking me to give them a call so as to try to resolve my email forwarding problem. I am most grateful for all the jokes and such that I get from Alan and Sandra, but I am unable to forward them to multiple addresses because they all come back as undeliverable. In my Inbox this morning were four such messages from MAELER DEMON, so I will certainly phone ‘3’ later today, assuming of course that my ‘phone signal is strong enough.
After arriving here at about 11.30 yesterday my main job for the day was to set the aerial up for more Wimbledon. The two main events were the men’s quarter finals and turned out to be well worth watching. I think we have women’s quarters and some doubles today, which I may watch but don’t find as enjoyable as the men’s matches, because of the screaming mainly. I really hate that with a passion and, as Alan pointed out the other day, the men don’t do it so why do the women find it necessary. Sharapova is the worst culprit, followed by the Williams sisters, who are both now out of the tournament.
We are staying here at bridge #8 for today and will move on tomorrow. Hopefully I will have this email forwarding sorted by then.
Friday 1st July.
We are still at Bridge 8 and are staying for another day, because we want to be at Wightwick on the Staffs and Worcs Canal for the weekend. This is a place we’ve stopped at before and, according to my wife of 31 years, they have a very good watering hole. Sounds good to meeee!!
Yesterday was a bright, fine day, so we managed to get some work done on the boat. Sheila gave the nearside a good clean, whilst I did some more painting on our push-off pole. We also watched a bit of tennis later in the day.
Today, if it stays dry, I am hoping to finish the pole, which will be a banded colour affair using the same colours as those used to paint Shiralee. It’s looking good so far.
I had a very long conversation with a techie from ‘3’ yesterday, during which he took over my laptop remotely in an attempt to discover why I am unable to forward emails to multiple addresses. After much faffing about, during which, due to the expense of talking on the mobile, I asked him to ‘phone me back, which he did. Goodness knows how much the call has cost me up to that point, on a landline they charge 5.1 pence per minute, blooming cheek!!
Anyway, the upshot of at least ¾ of an hour of chat and investigation was, in all honesty, zilch, nada, nothing, except for him to suggest that the problem might lie with ‘3’s’ policy on spam. Now, back in the mists of time, when I had an account with Demon and living at Westfield in Harlow, I experienced a similar problem, and that was indeed down to spam policy. But I do not believe that forwarding an email to 10 addresses constitutes spam, especially as all the addresses are the same each time.
I now intend to set up a group email list, to which I should be able to forward emails with impunity. Should!! This situation is laughable, or would be if it wasn’t so damned annoying. The technician did suggest that I reduce the number of people I forward to, to, say, just six, and see if that solves the problem. Not good enough. I have now written to Customer Services regarding this problem. All I have to do now is find a post box, which are few and far between out here in the sticks.
Mind you, this is a delightful place to stay for a few days, even if it doesn’t have a pub. Incidentally, the route we have travelled up until Gnosall, has been completely devoid of Kingfishers. But now, thanks to the change in canal banks, which are somewhat higher and consist of earth and bushes, they are quite frequent in their appearances. We’ve also seen a couple of young Herons, which is very encouraging.
Saturday 2nd July.
Today we’ll be off to the Staffs and Worcs Canal and, after topping up at the end of this one, will pass through the shallow lock and turn right. After stopping off at Compton to catch up with some much needed shopping, we’ll moor up for the weekend at Wightwick.
Now, returning to the matter of my forwarding of emails to multiple addresses, I forwarded on yesterday with just seven addresses in it, that too has been returned.
The message I get from Hutchinson’s is as follows:
Hi. This is the qmail-send program at ukmrpl004.it.hutchison3g.net.
I'm afraid I wasn't able to deliver your message to the following addresses.
This is a permanent error; I've given up. Sorry it didn't work out.
Further along in the message is a reference to ‘spam assassin’, whatever that is and is one of the things the techie mentioned when I spoke to him, at great length I might add. This really is becoming a nuisance. I have now sent one to just two addresses this morning. Hopefully, after a bit more effort, I’ll discover just how many I can send.
Yesterday was another fine day, which we partially spent on jobs around the boat. I almost finished painting the pole and also did a bit on the body of the boat. If it continues like this, I’ll wear myself out with work and I’m supposed to be retired.
So, who else is not surprised that Murray was knocked out at the semi-final match? Enough said! One thing may not have escaped everybody else’s attention though. We teach the whole world about sport and other things, they then turn right around and bite us in the nether regions.
Sunday 3rd July.
We left the wild blue yonder at about 07.45 yesterday and, after a stopover at the end of the Shroppie for water, passed through the stop-lock and turned right up the Staffs and Worcs canal. What a difference to the Shroppie, lots of weed and nettles growing along the towpath, which probably deters people from taking a quiet stroll along it. Such a pity.
We made another stopover, this time at Compton, where we called into a mini-market that has been in the same family since 1976, or was it 1972? Anyway, they have resisted being bought out by bigger supermarket chains, and all to the good. Excellent service and products, especially the deli counters. Sadly they had run out of fresh bread by the time we arrived, and we don’t particularly like sliced bread. However, sometimes we find sliced that comes from local bakeries, and this was such a case. We found one of the thick cut loaves which, if we were able to use our toaster, would have been just the ticket. We bought it anyway, if only to save Wifey the job of making one.
Having passed through another three locks we finally arrived at Wightwick – pronounced witick at about 12.30.
The day turned into a rather hot one, which is something I hate and we didn’t get much joy with the TV reception either. Having pointed the aerial in the right direction – the locals point theirs in an either/or situation – we settled down to watch the tennis. But, being surrounded by roads and heavy traffic, the picture kept breaking up. It was only later on when I tried to tune in to ITV, that we found we could not receive any of them, no Channel 4/5 etc. Still, Saturday night on TV is not exactly a rewarding experience.
Judging by the sky this morning, which is almost completely clear of clouds, we could be in for another hot one, in which case I will probably give the pub a miss. Sweating out two or three pints of Guinness on a hot afternoon is not my idea of fun.
Monday 4th July, and a very happy birthday to my dear friend John, down there in Somerset.
Yesterday, weatherwise, was another real brahmer, hot, hot, hot, but we still managed to get to the pub, sit outside and enjoy a noisy drink. I hate to be deterred by something as normal as ‘weather’, although there have been days, thankfully few and far between, when I have had to abstain. Apart from the traffic noise – the pub sits at a crossroads, one of which is an A-road - the drink was most enjoyable.
Now, about my long-suffering problem with the Internet, to which I have already offered a temporary solution, the use of my Yahoo address instead of this one. Well, having asked my old pal Alan to see what his son has to say about it; he’s something of a whiz on all things web related; I had a sudden thought. ‘What if one of the addresses on my list is incorrect’, or, ‘what if one of them has me down as a spammer and has become less than enchanted with my blog’.
Anyway, my first thought after those two was to check my Safe Senders, Safe Recipients and Blocked Senders lists, which was when I had my ‘Eureka’ moment. I do hope what follows gives you all a chuckle, it certainly did me, after my red face cooled down. In amongst my Blocked list was my own address. Just how it got there I can’t be sure, but I suspect it has something to do with that MAILER DAEMON bunch.
I think, although I could be wrong, that after receiving such a message I decided I didn’t want them cluttering up my Inbox, and I labelled them as ‘spam’.
As I think I mentioned to some of my readers, I tested the system prior to this moment of glory, by forwarding to just two addresses and then only one, both of which came back via MD. Now, having removed my address from the Blocked list, I then sent a message to two people and, up until 05.30 this morning that message has not returned. Without actually forwarding another message to all in my list of Family and Friends, I won’t know for sure, but it seems a safe bet that I’m right. What’s that old saying, some thing about ‘hoist by his own petard? That’s me folks. My apologies for all the fuss.
Today we’ll be off to a place called The Bratch. Here we will find three locks, the gap between two of which is too short to moor a boat in, so we have to ensure nothing is coming down while we are going up, because it is impossible to pass in the middle. There’s no explanation in the Nicholson guide as to why they were built this way, suffice it to say that, other than the short pound I have just mentioned, the locks should be treated as normal. Well, that’s alright then. These three locks together, raise/lower the canal by 30 feet.
We are now on our eighth page so I think it’s time I posted.
Have a good week. I will test the efficacy of my cure to my email problems within the next few days and, assuming you all receive the next forwarded message, you may forget my Yahoo address.
Kind regards and best wishes to all.
Dave, Sheila and Rusty.
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