Yesterday (Saturday) we did the Tardebigge Locks for real. So we were off before 8am and when we got to the first lock there was a problem. The pound below was completely empty! How this had happened I could not really determine. No paddles seemed to be left open and the lock wasn’t leaking badly so it was a mystery.
We spent about 20 minutes letting water down from above the lock to fill the pound and then we were on our way. It took us 3.5 hours to get down the locks which was pretty much as we had expected. I was slightly surprised because the boat which it us had come up late (about 7-30pm) so I thought the locks would be set but they must have leaked because most of them needed filling.
Anyway we got into a routine of me opening the lock then going to fill the next one. Ken would come into the open one and open start the paddles then I would walk back to let him out and close it while he went to the one I had just got ready.
When we got to the bottom we moored opposite the Queen’s Head which would prove to be rather noisy later with loads of people in the garden. However there was no choice unless we wanted to do a further 5 locks and go down to Stoke Prior, which we didn’t.
We walked down to Stoke Prior and visited The Navigation which we had been to 10 years ago with Alan as the Queen’s Head had been closed for refurbishment. It was still a bit downmarket compared to the Queen’s Head and nearly as expensive too!
Today (Sunday) we have travelled 4 miles and another 11 locks, 5 at Stoke and 6 at Astwood and are now moored just before the junction to the Droitwich Canal at Hanbury Wharf.The locks were not set for us again even though a boat came up at about 9-30pm last night! At the Black Prince hire base at the bottom of Stoke Locks I did the elsan and rubbish. Then we stopped at bridge 42 for water. Astwood Locks quickly followed and we were soon at Hanbury.
We had a phone call from Phil on Friday wanting to know when we were going to get here. He and Rosie are waiting to go into the marina for blacking tomorrow. We saw them lunchtime at The Eagle and Sun, with Phil’s son and his wife. We are going to meet them again tonight for a carvery.
