Pictures (from the top):
Stourport Basin -- 2 staircase locks to get down to the River Severn
Elevenses -- Coffee with homemade "biscuits" (cookies)
Lincombe Weir, which then requires there to be Lincombe Lock
Gillian carrying out the relatively easy river lock duties
Bigger boats than we've been used to seeing
Worchester Cathedral from the Severn River under the Worcester Bridge
Into Lowesmoor Basin marina
Katie's final mooring for my trip
Gillian carrying out the relatively easy river lock duties
Bigger boats than we've been used to seeing
Worchester Cathedral from the Severn River under the Worcester Bridge
Into Lowesmoor Basin marina
Katie's final mooring for my trip
The last day of narrowboat cruising. It’s a little sad, but I think I’m ready to move on to different adventures. The weather was gorgeous today which was very nice. Not particularly warm temperatures but very sunny and blue skies.
At breakfast Michael was apologizing for the many used tissues in the trash required for him to clean up the bathroom because water dripped off his elbows onto the floor when he shaved. Daughter Gillian pointed out that there was a bath mat he could have used. “Oh, no,” he said, “then the mat would have been wet.” That resulted in general hilarity as everyone pointed out, using almost identical words, that a bath mat was intended to soak up water. Well -- maybe it was one of those things where one had to be there. . . . But we enjoyed it.
At 9:30 we took off, but there were delays at the three locks (one single, two staircase) between the canal and the River Severn so we didn’t start down the Severn until 10:40. It was a bit strange to be on a wide body of water – perhaps somewhat similar to the Mississippi at St. Paul. There were several locks on the river, but they are double beam, able to take larger cruisers, and are operated hydraulically by a lock operator. Easy, but boring…. Manmade weirs were created on the river to back up water to assure a more consistent river level and then locks put in so boats could navigate around the weirs.
Along the way we passed the unused locks into the Droitwich Barge Canal which has been closed but is in the process of being restored. When completed, it will provide another way between the Severn and the Worcester and Birmingham Canal. I spent much of the river cruise either on the back with Mike at the tiller or in the very front, enjoying the sun and relaxation. We stopped just outside Worcester at a public wharf alongside the Worcester Race Course for a ploughman’s lunch, the first I’ve had this trip. Since Gillian had a wide selection of cheeses, it was better than most pub ploughman’s.
As we reached our destination, there was a wonderful view of an ornamental railroad bridge and then the Worcester Cathedral from the river. Hope to visit the Cathedral tomorrow. We had to wait to enter the Diglis Locks (wide beam so can take two narrowboats at the same time) which get one from the River Severn onto the Worcester & Birmingham Canal. Two narrowboat locks later (now going up again), and we reached the Lowesmoor Basin and our mooring for the night. I walked to the chandlery shop for the marina to buy a few last canal postcards and returned to Katie to write them and this.
A bit after 7:30 we began our last dinner: gammon (ham) steak and roast potatoes. I’d treated myself to a glass of wine before dinner, and we finished the bottle so I had a glass and a half with dinner. As a result I’m writing this slightly tiddly. . . . Still don’t have definite accommodation in Worcester (the best possible hotels weren’t answering their telephones), but I will go to the tourist office and throw myself on their mercy. Usually they are very helpful.
Must pack and otherwise get organized this evening in order to be prepared to leave the boat at 9:30 tomorrow morning, after eating breakfast.
I had just finished this and closed down the computer when I heard the sound of fireworks. We all gathered at the side hatch and stuck our heads out to watch the fireworks, apparently being done near the river. We couldn’t see the very low ones, but the high ones were clearly visible and quite lovely reflected in the water of the marina. Don’t know what the occasion is. Today is August Bank Holiday Monday – but I’m not sure that’s a holiday worthy of fireworks. Maybe I’ll find out tomorrow. In any event, it made a fitting end to my narrowboat holiday.
At breakfast Michael was apologizing for the many used tissues in the trash required for him to clean up the bathroom because water dripped off his elbows onto the floor when he shaved. Daughter Gillian pointed out that there was a bath mat he could have used. “Oh, no,” he said, “then the mat would have been wet.” That resulted in general hilarity as everyone pointed out, using almost identical words, that a bath mat was intended to soak up water. Well -- maybe it was one of those things where one had to be there. . . . But we enjoyed it.
At 9:30 we took off, but there were delays at the three locks (one single, two staircase) between the canal and the River Severn so we didn’t start down the Severn until 10:40. It was a bit strange to be on a wide body of water – perhaps somewhat similar to the Mississippi at St. Paul. There were several locks on the river, but they are double beam, able to take larger cruisers, and are operated hydraulically by a lock operator. Easy, but boring…. Manmade weirs were created on the river to back up water to assure a more consistent river level and then locks put in so boats could navigate around the weirs.
Along the way we passed the unused locks into the Droitwich Barge Canal which has been closed but is in the process of being restored. When completed, it will provide another way between the Severn and the Worcester and Birmingham Canal. I spent much of the river cruise either on the back with Mike at the tiller or in the very front, enjoying the sun and relaxation. We stopped just outside Worcester at a public wharf alongside the Worcester Race Course for a ploughman’s lunch, the first I’ve had this trip. Since Gillian had a wide selection of cheeses, it was better than most pub ploughman’s.
As we reached our destination, there was a wonderful view of an ornamental railroad bridge and then the Worcester Cathedral from the river. Hope to visit the Cathedral tomorrow. We had to wait to enter the Diglis Locks (wide beam so can take two narrowboats at the same time) which get one from the River Severn onto the Worcester & Birmingham Canal. Two narrowboat locks later (now going up again), and we reached the Lowesmoor Basin and our mooring for the night. I walked to the chandlery shop for the marina to buy a few last canal postcards and returned to Katie to write them and this.
A bit after 7:30 we began our last dinner: gammon (ham) steak and roast potatoes. I’d treated myself to a glass of wine before dinner, and we finished the bottle so I had a glass and a half with dinner. As a result I’m writing this slightly tiddly. . . . Still don’t have definite accommodation in Worcester (the best possible hotels weren’t answering their telephones), but I will go to the tourist office and throw myself on their mercy. Usually they are very helpful.
Must pack and otherwise get organized this evening in order to be prepared to leave the boat at 9:30 tomorrow morning, after eating breakfast.
I had just finished this and closed down the computer when I heard the sound of fireworks. We all gathered at the side hatch and stuck our heads out to watch the fireworks, apparently being done near the river. We couldn’t see the very low ones, but the high ones were clearly visible and quite lovely reflected in the water of the marina. Don’t know what the occasion is. Today is August Bank Holiday Monday – but I’m not sure that’s a holiday worthy of fireworks. Maybe I’ll find out tomorrow. In any event, it made a fitting end to my narrowboat holiday.
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