A week's cruise from Worcester: day 7

Thursday 28th August 2008

Stoke Prior to Lowesmoor Wharf, Worcester

The final push to Worcester. Still plenty of locks to do. I love narrow locks, and these are among the best on the system. Really quick fillers and emptiers. quiet surroundings ... perfect. Fergus steered competently in and out (I think we helped with the throttle). Here he is steering away from the bottom lock of the Astwood flight.


We tied up opposite the junction with the Droitwich Canal at Hanbury Wharf and investigated the three restored locks.


At the moment they are padlocked as the canal below is a reedy swamp.


Work is progressing nearer Droitwich itself, so this canal should soon be open for business.

Shortly after Hanbury Wharf, near Coffin Bridge, was this gruesome warning to anyone going too fast past Old Flame's mooring.


The caption reads "I was a boat speeder!"


At 1730 we arrived back at Shadow's mooring at Viking Afloat. We tied up alongside the floating dry dock and started unloading and cleaning. We had a barbecue in the marina's gazebo-covered smoking area, putting a couple of disposable BBQs in an oil drum BBQ which was already there. It worked well. Tomorrow we would finish the cleaning and go, having had about the best weather of the summer for our week. Such a difference from our two weeks on Willow in July: then we had only one day without rain; this time we had only one day when we had any rain.