Previous Year : 2013 The Bona Boater's Trips Following Year : 2015

2014 - The Droitwich Canals.

Crew : Pete W, John, Nursie, Stan, Alan, Ernie, Pete M

Boat : Buttermilk

From : Anglowelsh, Wootton Wawen

Route : Wootton Wawen > Lapworth > Waring's Green > Alvechurch > Stoke Works > Droitwich > Worcester > Tibberton > Stoke Works > Alvechurch > Earleswood > Lapworth > Lowsonford > Wootton Wawen.

Coverage : 191 Locks and 90 Miles.

Notes : After our unsuccessful attempt to do The Droitwich Canals in 2011 , we decided now was the time to try again. We had originally booked the 12 berth boat Floral Dance, but we were informed on Thursday 15th May - just two days before we were due to pick her up, that she was not available due to a serious breakdown. We were offered the alternatives of either another 12 berth boat at Trevor on The Llangollen Canal, or the smaller 9 berth boat Buttermilk at Wootton Wawen plus a £100 refund. We opted for the smaller boat and the refund as it was only two years since we were last on The Llangollen Canal. As there were seven of us, Pete M volunteered to sleep on the dinette in the kitchen, thus leaving us a spare bunk for bags.

Saturday 17th May

Afternoon : Wootton Wawen. As we had found out that our replacement boat Buttermilk had not been out the previous week, we decided to meet up at the boatyard early in the hope of a quick getaway. Pete W took Ernie, and after collecting Pete M from Trowell services on the M1, they arrived at the boatyard at about 12:15pm. John & Chris took Alan, arriving at about 12:30pm. A trip to the office confirmed that the boat was ready, and that we could load up as soon as we were ready. As the two Petes & Ernie were already in The Navigation having a pint, the others decided to join us. We had a couple of pints then loaded the boat, and after the handover we were away by about 2:30pm.

Evening : Lapworth. After a relatively uneventful trip up to Lapworth, we moored between locks 22 & 23. It was with some trepidation that we went to The Navigation. On previous visits, this pub had always been a good bet, but on our most recent visit in August 2011, it had proved to be a great disappointment as it had no beer and no food. (see August 2011) When we entered, things immediately looked up. Several beers were on (including some rather nice Phoenix Brewery Lapworth Gold) and there was a decent food menu available. We found a table while the Token holder went off to the bar to get some beer... and we waited.. and waited. The bar service was little short of appalling. There seemed to be three or four people running round like the proverbial 'blue arsed flies', with a great deal of activity but little actual serving going on. When we did eventually get our beer it was excellent, as was the food too. After several more pints, we returned to the boat for the first port & Stilton of the week, though for some obscure reason, we didn't actually eat any Stilton this particular evening - still, that meant that there would be more left for the other nights.

The Navigation, Lapworth.

Alan, Nursie & John in The Navigation, Lapworth.

...once we eventually got some beer.

Sunday 18th May

Lunch : Waring's Green. We left Lapworth, passed through the junction, climbed the locks and continued on up the North Stratford Canal. We eventually moored by Bridge 19, and went to The Blue Bell Cider House for a lunchtime stop. Pete W said he was not very impressed with the beer he had, but the several pints of Black Rat cider were excellent. There was a Sunday carvery, but none of us ate. After a few more Black Rats, it was back to the boat for most of the crew to have a snooze as, there would be no more locks today - apart from the King's Norton Guillotine stop-lock which is always open.

Evening : Alvechurch. Having left Waring's Green on the only lock-free section of the trip, we arrived at Alvechurch to find a C&RT workboat moored right in the centre of the 48 hour visitor mooring opposite the boatyard. We decided to move it back a bit so that we could fit our 67' 6" of Buttermilk in. After a bit of boat-jiggling, we went to The Weighbridge where we partook of numerous pints of Hobson's Mild and Dragon Chaser, and eventually ate there. There was a bit of a mix-up over tables, as the barman had said that he would move them around for us once the other two people had finished their meal. We expected him to come through but he didn't, so by the time the other guests had finished, we moved the tables ourselves and went to order some food, only to be told the kitchen was about to close. We explained the mix-up and they apologised and said it would OK to order. When it came, the food was excellent, as was the beer. The Thai Green chicken curry was particularly good.

Monday 19th May

Morning : Stoke Works . We decided on a very early start at 07:30 from Alvechurch in order to start the descent of The Tardebigge Flight in good time. When planning the trip, Pete W had used Canalplan to work out timings for the various legs of the trip. According to Canalplan, the run from Alvechurch to Stoke Works would take us about seven hours. On past trips, we have usually done somewhat better than Canalplan's default settings suggest, but it is easy to get caught in a queue. In the end, we arrived at Stoke Works at about 11:45 having had a clear run down the flight. With experienced 6 locking crew and nothing ahead of us or coming up the other way, we were able to set two locks ahead. When we arrived at The Boat and Railway, it had not yet opened. After a patient wait outside in the sunshine, we had few pints of Banks's Bitter. After leaving here, we took on water and set off for Droitwich. When we told the boatyard that we might be going to Droitwich, we were advised to fill the water tank before attempting to pass under the M5 bridge on The Droitwich Canal, as it is quite low... we were about to find out just how low it is.

Waiting patiently in the sunshine for The Boat and Railway to open.

Evening : Droitwich. After filling the water tank, we left Stoke Works and headed for Hanbury Junction, arriving there at about 15:45. Unfortunately, the first over-eager crew member failed to spot the signs explaining the use of the side ponds, and filled the first lock directly from the main pound. This caused no real problem other than that the side ponds are meant to be used to save some water. Once the lock was filled, the side ponds were explained and were used as intended. To be fair, the system could do with somewhat better signage for the unwary. We descended Hanbury Locks, passed new The Droitwich Spa Marina, went down the new Staircase locks and on to the approach to the M5 bridge. This is VERY LOW indeed. We passed through with only a couple of inches to spare above the fixed TV aerial and the heater vent. We then passed through Vines Park and on to Netherwich Basin. After mooring, we went to The Hop Pole for several pints of rather nice Enville ginger beer - well, rather nice to everyone except Pete M, who doesn't like Ginger Beer. They weren't doing any food, but they gave us the name of a good curry house nearby called Spice Fusion, but we didn't know exactly where it was. After a bit of a walk and some fumbling with mobile phone maps, we found that it was actually only just round the corner from the pub. We had a good curry, despite the deliberately wonky glasses, then repaired to The Hop Pole for some more ginger beer.

The M5 Bridge on The Droitwich canal.

Will it fit ? Only just - it's a good job we filled the water tank.

Wonky glasses in Spice Fusion, Droitwich.

Tuesday 20th May

Lunchtime : Worcester. After backing the boat off the pontoon and winding it in the basin under the intense gaze of several people in nice shiny boats, we left Droitwich and continued along The Droitwich Barge Canal towards The River Severn and Worcester. There had been some suggestions of potential problems at Hawford Lock, but on arrival we found that it was only some minor towpath work on the off side of the lock, and that the lock itself was fully operable. We locked down on to The Severn and headed downstream to Worcester, arriving in Diglis Basin at about noon. After mooring up, we went to The Anchor beside Diglis Basin for several pints of Banks's Bitter and some rather nice Banks's Sunbeam.

Approaching Worcester...

... nearly there now...

... just get through those gates into Diglis Basin...

...Luckily, Pete M is already on the job.

Evening : Tibberton. After a few pints in The Anchor, we left Worcester at about 14:30. After a relatively leisurely trip to Tibberton, we went into The Bridge Inn, where we found that Tuesday was their curry night. Unfortunately, several of us found the beer to be not very good. More annoying however was that we were told that the curry special offer of a curry, rice, nan and a drink for £5.95 did not include a cask ale on this occasion, despite the menu saying it would. They said that it was because there was some sort of ongoing beer festival, which meant that they didn't have any of the specifically "allowed" cask ales. This meant that although Pete M wanted a cask ale with his curry, he had to make do with either gassy keg beer, lagerade or cider. He chose the cider, which he generously donated to Stan. On the plus side, the curries were rather good, in fact, remarkably good for pub curries, and they did come with a whole fresh chilli.

Wednesday 21st May

Lunch : Stoke Works. After leaving Tibberton, we had another relatively leisurely trip in store. We arrived at Stoke Works quite early, at about 11:30. We knew the Boat and Railway wouldn't open until 12.00, so while most of the crew hung around on the boat, Pete W & Nursie went looking for a local shop to buy some sausages and bacon. They walked past the pub, and continued on for about half-a-mile, until they met a lady at a bus stop. She advised them that the shop was about a mile back in the opposite direction. They turned round and set off back past the still closed pub, and walked for about a further mile or so with no sign of any shops. They came to a road on the right called Ryefields Road but couldn't see any shops down there, so they continued on for another mile or so. Eventually, after all but giving up hope, they came to another street on the right, which was the other end of the same Ryefields Road they'd seen earlier. They decided to gave up, and so set off back along Ryefields Road only to find the shops were at the top end, but as they were set back from the road, they couldn't be seen from the main road. With bacon, sausages and one postage stamp in hand they set off back, arriving at the pub at about 12:30. With a busy afternoon in store and the sun still blazing down, we left the pub at about 14:00 to begin the climb of The Stoke Locks and The Tardebigge flight.

We began the climb at about 15:00...

... and got to the top at about 18:10

Evening : Alvechurch. Having climbed the Stoke and Tardebigge flights, we arrived in Alvechurch and moored on the visitor moorings opposite the boatyard. We found the C&RT workboat still on the mooring exactly where we had moved it to on Sunday evening. We repaired to The Weighbridge where we ate and had some excellent beers as well as some Thistly Cross Whisky Cask cider. Just before 22:00 a group arrived in the pub with one of them carrying an accordeon. They turned out to be the local Morris side Aelfgythe Border Morris. After a bit of a chat with them, Pete W & John got their melodeons from the boat, and we had a bit of a music session with them.

Thursday 22nd May.

Lunch : Earleswood. After leaving Alvechurch, we continued along the Worcester & Birmingham canal to King's Norton Junction where we turned on to the Stratford Canal. We eventually stopped at Earleswood and repaired to The Bulls Head for a little rehydration therapy. The cloud had been closing in on the way to Earleswood and rain looked imminent, but it held off until we reached the pub. Just as we arrived at the pub, it started with a vengeance. The pub was selling Thwaites nutty black and Lancaster Bomber. We ordered the nutty black only to find it was past it's best, so the next round purchased was Lancaster Bomber which was fine. After a several pints, the rain was still falling when we decided we should leave. As we left, miraculously, the rain stopped for the walk back to the boat.

With impecable timing, the rain stopped just as we left the pub.

Evening : Lapworth. When we left Earlswood, the cloud was lowering and rain was threatening again. Apart from the odd sharp shower, it largely held off for the afternoon. We arrived at Lapworth, and moored between Locks 15 & 14, and we went to The Boot Inn. The pub was hot and stuffy, and very busy as it is very much a 'foody' pub. Unfortunately, they also had a very noisy stag party in that evening. The beer was fine if a bit expensive. We were eventually shown to a table and we ordered. The food was excellent, if somewhat pretentiously named. Pete W had Gammon Pave with chilli-pineapple. Not a combination that he thought he would have expected to have been so nice, but he said it really was very good. After another pint, the heat and noise finally got to him, and he decided to "retire hurt", so he went back to the boat for a nap, but soon he livened up again when the rest of the crew returned and he heard the port bottle being opened.

Friday 23rd May

Lunchtime : Lowsonford - After sending John to get some bread and another 'emergency' bottle of port, we left Lapworth. After another relatively leisurely morning, we moored up outside The Fleur-de-Lys at Lowsonford. It now advertises moorings for patrons. On previous visits, there had been signs asking boaters not to tie up to the trees, but you couldn't see the signs until you had already tied to the trees... Now, there is a mooring ring and a bollard (.. a Great Western Railway Company Boundary marker bollard no less..) to tie up to. We arrived at about 12:00 and had several pints of Cameron's Golden Lion. At about 14:00, the rain started. The plan such as it was, had been to push on to Wilmcote, and wind the boat before exploring the two pubs there. This would leave us with about an hour's run back to the boatyard in the morning, and would give us enough time to get the boat cleaned up. By 15:00 the rain had stopped, so we decided to push on to Wilmcote. By the time we'd reached Preston Bagot lock, the rain was back with a vengeance. This time it was torrential, and it showed no signs of lessening. After a rather damp meeting of the steering committee in the boat, we decided to abandon the visit to Wilmcote, and stop at Wootton Wawen for the final evening instead.

We moored up at The Fleur de Lys at Lowsonford...

We tied up to the new bollard..

"Great Western Railway Co. Boundary 1918"

The Fleur-de-Lys, Lowsonford

The original home of "Fleur-de-Lys pies".

Evening : Wootton Wawen - Having finally abandoned the plan to visit to Wilmcote due the to persistent heavy rain, we decided to stop at Wootton Wawen. Rather than stop in the boatyard, we stopped just before Bridge 53, and made the long walk to The Bulls Head. This had changed since our last visit, (see 2006) and was now very food orientated - more of a restaurant with a bar than a pub with food. Luckily, it did have beer and the beer was good, though rather expensive at £3.90 a pint. After a couple of rounds, we were led to a table in the restaurant. Despite being expensive, the food was really good. Pete W had crispy belly pork starter, rare steak (..and it was properly rare..) and Eton Mess for sweet. Tonight was Stan's turn to "retire hurt". Having finished the meal, and a couple more pints, we returned to the boat to find Stan busily preparing the last of the port and Stilton.

Saturday 24th May

Morning : Back to the boatyard - As it was only a hundred yards or so to the boatyard, we set off just before 09:00. We were due to be back at the boatyard by 09:00 and were expected to be unloaded and off the boat by 09:30. On arrival, the boatyard wanted the boat to be moored stern-first to the pontoon, which meant having to wind and reverse in. Stan showed his prowess by completing the manoeuvre in one go whilst being watched intently from the boatyard. By this time, it was raining heavily. We unloaded the boat in the pouring rain and set off back for the 100 mile drive back to York. After dropping Pete M at Trowell services, Pete W and Ernie returned to York via The Karachi Restaurant in Bradford.

Previous Year : 2013 The Bona Boater's Trips Following Year : 2015