This morning we moved along the short bit that was left of the Droitwich barge canal down to the River Severn. Two locks and we got our first glimpse of this mighty river, the longest in the country rising in Wales and gathering pace and size down to the Bristol Channel.
We were just going to travel a short hop from Hawford to Stourport-on-Severn, through 2 locks which are manned.
After all the rain we have had over the past week and especially overnight when we were woken several times with the drumming on the roof, we were unsure how the river conditions would be.
First sight and I thought, we won’t be going out on that. It was flowing very fast and a chocolate soup colour with all sorts of debris floating quickly by. However the indication boards showed the water level was on the orange band with several inches to go to red. So the skipper made a phone call to the lock keeper and we got ready to go out.
But first there was another boat to let in through the lock, a hire boat that had just come up from Worcester. Then it was our turn, through the lock and put some power on to make the turn against the flow of the river and we were on our way.
Leaving Hawford lock and the safety of the canal.
It was slow going and we met a lot of stuff coming down towards us………..
which Mr B managed to avoid.
We also saw these two creatures, among others, on our journey……….
kingfisher and mink
a guard of honour awaiting our arrival in Stourport.
With showers of rain still falling and the lock keepers warning that the river was rising we pressed on up river against the flow til we reached Stourport. Soon we had negotiated the two staircase pairs of locks up through the basins and once again the still waters of the Staffs & Worc Canal.
Here we saw that the new traffic light system was on red, warning not to take your boat out on the river, we were just in time!
Tuesday: 9 miles, 9 locks.
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