Mike Stevens' UK Inland Waterways Pages

TRIP REPORTS : THE YEARS BETWEEN BOATS

TO THE SEVERN & SHROPPIE

August 1985

Part 3 : Stoke Works to Greensforge

An 06:45 start brought a good run down to Worcester, stopping below Astwood bottom lock to take on water. We stopped in Diglis Basin.

It was now very windy & rainy, so over an unspectacular pub lunch we decided to head straight for Stourport so as to get off the Severn that night before it was running any harder than it was at the moment, rather than going south first. We set off again, locked down into the river and headed upstream. At Bevere lock, the lock-keeper let Wendy operate his controls.

	STOURPORT BASINS

We arrived at Stourport junction almost as the locks were due to close at 19:30, but the lock-keepers (married couple) were resigned to the reality of boaters arriving later than that, thanks to wrong information in Nicholson's. We moored in the Upper Basin, which we enjoyed. Peter & Wendy went for a walk and found a mooring that would be more convenient for next day's shopping.

We had breakfast before moving up to a mooring above York Street lock that was to become a favourite mooring for us on future trips. I re-planned the rest of the cruise and worked out that by not going to Upton-on-Severn as planned, we'd save enough time to go down the Shroppie and up Heartbreak Hill. The others went shopping: this was an excellent place for it, especially for good veg (sadly that's not as true nowadays). They found and used a launderette.

Off again something after mid-day, we found the Staffs & Worcs a remarkably beautiful canal with vast numbers of kingfishers.